Scale Balancer (Lightbringer Rune Sword):
In one of the smaller kingdoms making up the Eastern Territories, there had been a dispute simmering between Baron Koldar and several of the free hold farmers. He had what claimed to be an ancient treaty between his kingdom and his neighboring nation which supported his claim that the farmers' land was actually his. Many were afraid that the Baron would resort to force to seize the land.
One day, a young knight appeared at the gate of the Baron's castles. Beardless, thin, and with light blond hair, his appearance was far different than most knights and many commented that he appeared to be a squire not a full knight. Before appearing at the Baron's estate, he had apparently visited the king and had received a letter from the King stating that the King had empowered him to mediate the dispute. He claimed to be a servant of the Church of Light and carried a famous sword of light called "The Scale Balancer." It was reputed to be able to always tell the difference between the lie and the truth, both in words and in written text. Legend also tell that the wielder of the sword cannot tell a lie.
He requested that he be able to see the documents. He was lead to the library of the castle. Along with the castle's seneschal, the Baron himself and a pair of the baron's guards accompanied the young knight. The documents were kept in a locked chest and it took the seneschal several minutes to get the chest unlocked. Something seemed wrong to the young knight. He looked around and noted that the Baron and his guards hand were near their sword.
When the document was finally removed from the chest, the seneschal laid the scroll on a table. The vellum document sure looked like it was ancient. The young knight laid his hand on the scroll as if to look at the text in question. He could feel wrongness from the scroll. While it looked authentic, it was an obvious forgery. He turned to look at the Baron. The seneschal backed away as the two guards and the baron drew swords. Obviously, judgement would come in a different form. The young knight drew his sword and prepared for a grim battle. A grim battle which had been fought by wielders of "Scale Balancer" for generations. In his other hand, a glowing shield appeared. He just hoped the gods would be with him.
Many scholars consider "Scale Balancer" to have been created by the God Thoth many millenniums ago. A few stories from the time of Elves seem to support the long history of the weapon. There are many gaps in the history of the weapon but it is unknown if this is through gaps in history or if the weapon has been lost several times during its long history. In more recent times, there are stories of the sword being carried by knights, paladins, and priests of light. Most of them actively served the "Church of Light" and many of them have dedicated themselves to Horus. The sword has only been carried for extended periods by those with an honorable intent. For some reason, those of dishonorable nature seem to quickly get rid of the weapon. Even though very beautiful, the few times the sword has been stolen by thieves, the thieves quickly got rid of the weapon. In one case, the thief actually returned the sword to the owner. The problem is that the Truth is very unpopular and many wielders of the sword have been murdered to prevent the truth from coming out.
Scale Balancer is a slim and well balanced double bladed short sword. The sword appears to be indestructible and shows no signs of wear even after being in existence for several millenniums. The sword is extremely sharp and comes to a very point for stabbing as well. The blade is silvery grey and appears highly polished. Along the blade are hieroglyphic style runes and at the base of the blade is the design of a set of scales. Like the blade, the handle and guard of the sword is highly polished and silvery grey as well. The guards have a half curve pattern similar to a crescent moon turned towards the tip of the blade. The handle has a twisting design which gives the wielder the ability to grasp the weapon firmly. The bottom of the handle is an incredibly detailed figure of a Sphinx. The figure is so detailed that it almost looks to be alive and some scholars believe by many to be a representative of Horus, the Great Sphinx.
Many psychics have the ability to judge truth from lies in both words and written texts but few psychics can claim what the sword has the ability to perform. This is because many people can block psychic probes and due to the large number of people involved in most texts, it is hard to get an accurate read on the writer's aura. Scale Balancer does not suffer from this and can read both individuals and documents about the truth involved no error. Some scholars believe the ability is from the gods while others believe it is a highly specialized psychic talent. In support of this, the sword has additional psychic abilities including all sensitive abilities and the major psychic abilities, one which allows the wielder to heal himself and another which allows him to create a shield from psychic energy.
No one has ever heard the sword talk to them even though the sword should have the ability to communicate with telepathy. The sword’s wielder can use the ability of telepathy from the sword so it definitely has the ability.
Still, the sword seems to have a personality which is far stronger than many Lightbringer weapons. Instead of communicating through telepathy, the sword seems to communicate through limited empathy. When the wielder feels someone is lying, the possessor just feels that they are lying. The same is the case when a text is a forgery, the wielder of the sword just feels that something is wrong with the text. The short sword will bond with its wielder after about six months of continuous contact. The sword also give a possessor a bad feeling whenever they lie although the sword generally will not do so if the possessor simply state that they cannot or will not tell. If the person is dishonorable or lies often, they will develop a headache from the continuous transmissions from the sword. As well, if they commit any serious crime. At first the headache will be minor but will get more extreme through time. This ability will even work on those who are not actually carrying the sword but those who have it within a dozen feet of them. This can include a thief who stole the sword. The possessor's only choice is to discard the weapon or reforming their actions.
- Attributes:
- Like all Rune Weapons it is completely indestructible
- Links to wielder within 6 months of constant contact. Can sense each other presences within 4 miles.
- Gives wielder +1 on all saving throws.
- Can be used to parry energy blasts at -6
- Can only be used by individuals of Scrupulous or Principled Alignments, anybody not of those alignments takes 2D4 points of damage each time they touch the weapon or 3D6 damage if creatures of magic.
- IQ: 10 Can communicates with wielder through limited empathy (Rarely
does).
ME: 16
MA: 10
Characteristics:
Weapon Bonuses:
- Due to superior craftsmanship, equal to Dwarven quality, +2 to Strike,
+3 to Parry, and +2 on Initiative
Weapon Damage:
- 3D6+6 per strike, inflicts S.D.C. in S.D.C. Worlds and inflicts M.D.C.
in M.D.C. Worlds. (Plus strength bonus if applicable.)
Weapon's Special Abilities:
- Psionic Abilities: I.S.P.: 120, recovers at a rate of 20 P.P.E.
for every three hours. Equal to sixth level psionic where applicable.
- Sensitive: Has all sensitive abilities.
Super Psionics: Bio-Regeneration (Super) [20], and Psi-Shield [30].
Psychic Feedback / Headaches: If the possessor of the sword lies, they will get bad feeling off the sword. If the possessor lies continuously or is generally dishonorable (or commit a serious crime), they will develop a headache which will not go away. This starts at the one month time frame. The headache gives the person -1 to strike, parry, and dodge. It also gives -5% to all skill performance. The headaches will get steadily worse with penalties increasing with penalties increasing after sixth months to -4 to strike, parry, and dodge. In addition, the possessor will be at -20% on all skills. Other effects will be last for initiative and a spell caster will only be able to cast one spell per melee. This ability will even work on those who are not actually carrying the sword but those who have it within a dozen feet of them. This can include a thief who stole the sword. The possessor's only choice is to discard the weapon or reforming their actions.
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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2004, Kitsune. All rights reserved.