A sword is a kind of spiritual poison—why do you think clerics spurn them? To cut with a sword is to profane the laws of man and God alike. Pity those sainted few who drink too deeply of its venom, for they shall soon forget how to be human.
Perhaps this is what happens to Sword-Shepherds who have grown tired of reaving and ruling.
Sword-Saint
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| Salomé by Francisco Masriera |
A: Live by the Sword
B: Die by the Sword
C: Blade-Breaking Mantle
D: Sovereignty
A: Live by the Sword
You may own naught but swords; all other possessions are proscribed. You wander the land naked. Tools of peace and plenty fall from trembling, insensate fingers, fit only to clutch a hilt.
You are exceptionally adroit in the use of a sword, and never miss against archers, spearmen, and peasants. Blades do not bend or break in your hands unless you will it. You can swallow up to seven swords whole, and draw them from your mouth in an instant.
B: Die by the Sword
By the sword alone may you be slain. Other forces can conspire to bring you to 1 HP, but only a sword can put you down for good.
C: Blade-Turning Mantle
You can turn swords like a Cleric turns undead, treating the HD of the wielder as the HD of the sword for the purposes of the turning attempt. Magic swords may be treated as a higher HD at the GM’s discretion. Turned swords flee from the hands of their bearers, or become heavy and leaden. Destroyed swords shatter or dissolve into sharp dust.
If you don’t have a Cleric with turning ability in your game, use the following simple rule: swords with HD fewer than [Templates] are turned, swords with HD fewer than [Templates] - 2 are destroyed. Magical or intelligent swords might be entitled to some type of saving throw to avoid such a fate.
D: Sovereignty
When you call a sword’s name it will fly to your hand. By such means may you compel blades to betray their masters.
If the sword’s wielder does not know its name, you can automatically compel its loyalty. If both you and the wielder know its name, you engage in a contest of will, to be resolved via some sort of opposed roll.
Any sword you call in this way will come, regardless of distance. In theory, this would allow you to call legendary swords to your hand, should you learn their names. All famous blades have secret names–their publicly known personae are a misdirection.
All swords you own now trail you in a harmless but dreadful corona, allowing you to call them to hand in an instant. They cannot be removed from your possession while you yet live by any power save another Sovereign. Even God could not prise a blade from your panoply.
