Sheknar (Rune Short Sword):
There are many stories of Rune Weapons which are soul stealers and many are greatly feared. Sheknar is very usual in that instead of stealing souls, it steals magical energy. The Rune Weapon is thought to be extremely ancient and there are stories which seem to mention that the short sword existed before the great Elven Nation. Some believe the weapon can be dated to the times of "Thousand Magics" and that the weapon itself was created by the Gods with Thoth being the most likely candidate for the maker of the rune sword. Many scholars believe that few others would have the ability to build such a weapon. Unfortunately, most of the tales about the weapon are fragmentary and many are believed to have no real historical basis. While not especially powerful as “Greater” Rune Weapons go, the sword is much feared by wizards because the act of stealing magic can often disrupt spells being cast. It is interesting that the sword appears to have no real hatred for Mages itself and there are stories which tell of it having been wielded by Wizards in the past. Most owners have been warriors, including several knights, and one especially famous Elven Mind Mage carried the weapon for centuries. Scholars believe that the sword was used by both Elves and Dwarves during the war between the two ancient races. Like many rune weapons, the short sword appears and disappears throughout history and has been lost several times. The stories on the wielders of the weapon is highly mixed, some have been considered heroes while others were considered cruel and almost villains. Every possessor of the weapon appears to have some sense of honor although some of those sense of honor have been highly particular.
The most charitable statement which can be made about the personality of the sword is that it is honorable and loyal. Once bonded, the short sword appears to be completely loyal to whoever it bonds with. The sword also takes oaths extremely seriously. On the other side, the sword considers that anything goes with the treatment of those who it considers dishonorable. It also believes that enemies deserve a quick and merciful death. As well, it considers torture necessary to get information at times. The sword will not bond with those which it considers to be dishonorable but seems to care little about the concepts of good and evil otherwise. With several wielders, the weapon has had disagreements on morality although most commonly it aligns itself with individuals with similar personalities. While many rune weapons have personalities which can be attributed to a male or female personality, there is no such feeling about Sheknar. Some scholars consider that the personality in the weapon is some kind of alien presence although some others consider that the sword simply lost all sense of sexual identity over its long history. The sword has been wielded by both men and woman and they have come from a great many different races. The sword will tell tales about the fairly recent past, the last thousand years or so, although will not tell much if anything about its more ancient history. It might be that it simply forgot or it may have secrets which it is simply unwilling to share.
It is almost certain by the appearance of the weapon, that it is somehow related to the "Church of Light and Dark" due to its general design. The length of the blade and handle of the short sword are covered with small runic style hieroglyphs with a large hieroglyphs forming the center of the hand guard. Sheknar's hand guard is otherwise simple and the handle is straight with grooves to make it easier to grip. The whole sword is black, a flat black which seems to absorb the light around the weapon. The sword comes to a sharp point for stabbing as well as for slashing. Like many rune weapons, Sheknar is extremely well balanced and only weapons made by Dwarven master sword makers can be considered its equal in balance.
As is well known, the sword has the ability to steal magic energy when it strikes an opponent. This is not permanent and the victim will regenerate their magic energies as normal. The sword seems to be able to steal magical energy from humans, elves, dwarves, and even dragons equally. Supernatural creatures have as much to fear from the weapon as mortals and wizard, who can normally prevent others from taking their magic energies, seem unable to prevent the weapon from pulling magic energies. Generally the more magical energy a being has, the more the sword seems to be able to take at a time. This pulling of magical energy can often disrupt a spell being cast of the caster is struck in the middle of casting. The sword can cast various magical spells and the magical energies seem to be able to be used by the sword itself. A variety of different spells have been attributed to the weapon including creating magic armor around the wielder, turning the possessor invisible, creating paralysis in a limb of an attacker, throwing objects by telekinesis, create a cloud of slumber, and allow the wielder to see invisible beings. It appears as if the sword cannot pull more magical energy that it can normally store but otherwise can use the magical energy which it steals. As might be expected, the weapon is completely indestructible and has the magical abilities common to most rune weapons.
- Attributes:
- Like all Rune Swords, it is completely indestructible
- Links to wielder within 6 months of constant contact. Can sense each other presences within 4 miles (5.4 km).
- Gives wielder +1 on all saving throws.
- Add +1 Attack per melee and doubles speed.
- Can be used to parry energy blasts at -6
- Aberrant in alignment and will only bond to individuals of Aberrant, Scrupulous, and Principled Alignments although it prefers wielders of Aberrant alignment. Will often disagree with wielders of other alignments, Any being which attempted to wield the weapon with a different alignment takes 2D4 points of damage each time they touch the weapon or 3D6 damage if creatures of magic.
- IQ: 16 Communicates with wielder through limited telepathy
ME: 14
MA: 12
Characteristics:
Weapon Bonuses:
- Due to superior craftsmanship, equal to Dwarven quality, and enchantments
has +2 to Strike, +3 to Parry, and +2 on Initiative
Weapon Damage:
- 4D6+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:
- Magic Stealing: Whenever the sword strikes directly on flesh,
it will steal magical energies. Mortal beings (Humans, Elves, and Dwarves)
lose 1D6 P.P.E. Points per strike, practitioners of magic (Wizards, Warlocks,
and Psi-Mystics) lose 3D6 P.P.E. Points per strike, and Supernatural or
Creatures of Magic (Dragons, Elementals, and Demons) lose 4D6 P.P.E. Points
per strike. P.P.E. gained cannot exceed total (80 P.P.E.) and cannot be
transferred to the wielder. If the weapon steals magical energy while the
target is casting magic, the spell caster must save against magic at -4
or their magic is disrupted (75% chance of spell failing / 25% of unexpected
results) but even if they make their saving throw, they will still lose
P.P.E.
Wizard Magic: P.P.E.: 80, recovers at a rate of 10 P.P.E. for every three hours (every hour while on a ley line or nexus point.) Spell are cast equal to sixth level Wizard. The weapon can also steal magical energy to power its magic spells.
- First Level: Cloud of Slumber (4), See the Invisible (6)
Third Level: Armor of Ithan (10), Invisibility: Simple (6), Paralysis: Lesser (5), Telekinesis (8)
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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2005, Kitsune. All rights reserved.