Well every well designed or weapon important to a character has a good name for ten weapon. For example drizzt has icing death and twinkle. IMO twinkle is just a pure win name for a weapon. I have an ulfen barb(Titan mauler)/fighter (two weapon warrior) at the 10th level. He wields a +2 shocking dark iron greatsword with a +2 defending hand axe.
To me weapons help give him personality or can help evoke emotion from a visual point of view. But so far for the greatsword I have got the name fafnheir's fang and the axe I don't have a name for yet. I would love suggestions for each weapon and maybe suggestions for more weapons for the future.
In 2ed we had a lot of unique weapons, oF course they had names, a visual descrIption and a history.
that dried out with the 3ed magic mart
Hmm, maybe I should dig out some old charecter sheets and Look for names
Yea it sucks that the chart kinda killed it out. But when you get an item in game and it ha a name and a small history it makes it that much cooler. A lil more fluff an lore can go a long way. It's kinda lame being like hey pc 1 you got a +1 flaming long sword. I would rather rp it out and give the pc the long sword known as seethe. The more blood that it tastes the hotter the flames get.
Yea it sucks that the chart kinda killed it out. But when you get an item in game and it ha a name and a small history it makes it that much cooler. A lil more fluff an lore can go a long way. It's kinda lame being like hey pc 1 you got a +1 flaming long sword. I would rather rp it out and give the pc the long sword known as seethe. The more blood that it tastes the hotter the flames get.
I am with you on that
a goos source for item names are the little dictoneries at the back of tolkiens silmarillion, i made good use of that
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For names, I'm curious.... have looked at google or the wiki's yet?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_magical_weapons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_swords
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_swords
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mythological_objects
That was in about 2 minutes of hunting....
As for history for the weapons, go nuts. Look at the property. Look at what it means and work out who would use it and why. Elemental stuff is easy... forged by dragon / elemental. Elemental or outsider bound within the weapon etc etc. The obvious ones are always there, so look beyond those. Leave the obvious for the dime a dozen magic shops.
Defending weapon might have been a damaged breastplate that failed it's owner in a prior 'life' and was then re-forged, but not all the original magic purged from it. May have been forged by Hilda the town blacksmith (and witch, but she doesn't like to talk about that) when her husband Jovund went to war, not to take life, but as a blessing to keep him safe.
Ghost touch doesn't need to be a 'I hate undead' thing. A devoted student who had more to learn off his master may forge a ghost touch sword to continue his training with the ghost of his mentor. Alternately (depending on how you rule ghost touch in your world and if ghosts can wear / use GT items), you might have someone forging armour for a bunch of guys whose oaths to defend something extend beyond death.
A a blood encrused merciful weapon might be FAR from merciful, and actually be a chosen torture implement by a long dead inquisitor who took delight in knowing that no matter what he did to his "Guests" he'd never have to worry about them dying so ALWAYS got the information he needed.
A Brilliant Energy weapon might have been forged by a the lich Azrabuld and given to his powerful (but not very bright) second in command, Moriah. At the first opportunity Moriah turned the weapon on Azrabuld only to learn that the reason he'd been given that weapon is that it specifically couldn't harm it's creator (being undead). It's also recorded for being one of the shortest betrayals in history after Azrabuld plane shifted Moriah to the Positive energy plane.
It's always a good idea to build a history for magical and masterwork weapons. They don't always have to have a unique name however, sometimes giving a weapon a shared name, like a title almost, lends to the history of the weapon itself. For example, all weapons forged by the kobold master smith in Freehold City are given the name "Scalemarked", and bear a tiny artistic dragon scale etched into the base of the blade. In the arcanum academy students are often tasked with the creation of magic armor as part of their final exam to become master artisans these +5 suits of armor are called "Arcanic" and are each considered works of art expressed by each wizard in their effort to reach the pinnacle of craftsmanship. And they are a good excuse for me to place cool looking armor inspired by fantasy art into my game.
Or you could call the sword and axe Blitx and Boom
its a good old fashioned goblin name!
Edit: Ya the thought of Drizzit's weapons being named after the goblin philosophy of 'it goes boom' just made me laugh.
It might be too obvious but Shadowblast for the Greatsword (dark iron-shadow, shocking-blast)
After pouring over Ducaird's links I was inspired by some stories i read.
+3 Shocking-Burst Dragon Bane Dark Iron Greatsword (mouthful) could be known as Balmung - Fafnheir's Fang.
This legendary greatsword's origins are truly unknown, but it is said that it was a fang of Fafnheir's given as a gift
only to be reforged into a weapon with the purpose of striking Fafnheir down!
+2 Defending Handaxe is forged from the remaining breastplate of the legendary warrior known as Sigurd.
The blade was given the name Leafcutter - Sigurds Protection; for the metal wont fail the wielder as were it failed to protect Sigurd.
As a DM I name and give a history to ALL magic items but I do run a low magic game...
I have twice handed out a cold iron +2 flaming burst elf bane battle axe named Elf Black.
As a DM I name and give a history to ALL magic items but I do run a low magic game...
Aye to almost all of that I just dont like low magic games...makes melee classes unbalanced, but thats for another thread! But we should turn this thread into a compiled list of magical items with names and backgrounds!
Magic items are a bit rarer in my game than standard, even though I'm running an Adventure Path. It's relatively easy to buy low-level single-use or charged items (potions, scrolls, wands), but magic weapons, armor, and wondrous items aren't nearly so commercially available. And when they are, you're never exactly sure what you're buying-- I've had PCs pay good money for cursed or intermittent-use magic items in magic shops.
This makes it easier for me to produce backstories and names for magic items...
Brightblade, a +1 longsword that glows like a torch with a pale green light.
Falconheart's Mail-- a suit of +2 full plate armor that was originally forged for a general of the Knights of Ozem and is emblazoned with symbols dedicated to Iomedae.
Klar-Gotha ("Fairy-killer"), an orcish-made masterwork cold iron scimitar.
Nar-Alara'q-Bak: a masterwork mithril ranseur with a darkwood haft; a replica of the Runelord of Bakharan's symbol of power, the Alara'q-Bak
so you've got a slashing greatsword, and a hacking handaxe...
if you don't call them hack & slash, then I'm dissapointed.
I make it a point to name weapons, sometimes I name other items like a Cloak of Resistance called "Goblin's Luck" my Ulfen Barb took from a goblin. It is spreading to the rest of the group now and we have the following weapons.
Maljor - +4 Great Ax
Cairn - +1 Longsword
Gatesmasher - +1 Heavy Mace
Batfang - +1 Adamantine Longsword
Patience - +1 Keen Longsword
Since it is pertinent,
The Saga of Yric Volstag – The Naming of Cairn * Carrion Crown Spoilers
“Yric Volstag?”, the firm voice questioned the recessed corner that Yric had chosen in the temple of Pharasma. It held a small shrine to the Lady of Graves, one that depicted her standing with two other copies of herself. One older, One Younger, The Norns of Fate. “I did not think to find you at prayer, warrior, you seemed…uneased in our temple?”
Yric rose to his feet, “I am…” he somberly responded. “But the Norns brought me here; it would be foolish of me not to respect their will. No good has ever come from it. “
The priest smiled, “Your sword has been blessed, and it is ready.”
They walked to the central alter; approaching it as several adapts tended the incense burners that filled the room with a potent aroma. There on the altar, lying on a black shroud was the sword. “The blessing forged it anew as…” the priest caught himself, remembering Yric’s preference,” fate would have it.”
“It is the same sword?’, Yric asked, the puzzle of the change straining his understanding.
“It is.”, was all the priest replied.
Yric approached it, eyeing it like it was a viper about to strike. The metal was bleached out, drained of all color and brilliance. The color of bone left to the sun. The cross guard had transformed; it now was two whippoorwills who curved up along the blade to face each other. The hilt was wrapped in blackened leather, a single thread of silver spiraling down the haft to the pommel. The pommel itself mirrored the guard, smaller, and gripping the Lady of Souls symbol instead of a blade.
Yric grasp the blade. It felt heavy, much like his burden, but responded well to his movements.
“It will strike true, Yric Volstag.” The priest could see Yric’s growing ease.
“What is it called?” Yric asked.
“A name? We have … left it to you.” The priest smiled, it was an old tradition to name such things. An old “magic” warriors used for luck.
Yric pondered it, “This was the blade of a guard, lost to the horror that befell Harrowstone. It was all that was left to mark his passing, his grave. It is heavy like a stone. It reminds me of the cairn stones that dot your land and mine. So it is Cairn.”
The priest nodded, “May it help you find your fate Yric Volstag.” and made the spiraling sign of Pharasma.
Yric slid Carin into the sheath he had kept, it went in effortlessly. It was the same sword. Grinning to himself he stepped down the street toward a pub nearby that he had discovered on one of the trips to the temple. “A drink for Cayden, then we shall go to Caromarc and see where this “father” fits in this quest.”
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As a GM I always try to come up with fluff and names. I've stolen naming conventions from Diablo, Gauntlet, old D&D magic compendiums, even MTG cards.
For stock items, like generic +1 spear: You hold in your hand one of the fabled Icatian Spears. The ranks of the Icatian Phalanx were legend even before the fall of the Empire and none has matched their discipline since. As was common with the Army of the White Tower this battle spear is an ivory haft of spun birch laquered with the resin of a Fangald Fir in high winter. It is tipped with a thrice-fluted head of hammered steel, honed to a razor's edge and gilt in silver runes.
For something specific I want the player to keep for a while: hoisting the weapon you know at once you've grabbed no ordinary weapon, despite its deceivingly ragged appearance. No this axe draws a second glance at once.
Its haft is some monstrous bone, blackened in a white-hot flame and then sealed with layers of boiled tallow polished to a dull but potent sheen. The grip is wrapped in wyvernskin leather and the pommel is the beast's own barb curving wickedly from the base. The single head flares out like the dragon's wing; it's shadowed edge etched with uneartly precision to match the scale pattern of the grip. (This was an actual weapon, called a Vicious Axe of the Wyvern and was, well, Vicious. After the first hit) As the blade bites deep into the flesh of the dragon you face the tail barb at the weapon's end shudders to life. You feel white-hot pain and blood trickles from a fresh wound on your arm as the axe extolls it's due for the gifts it bestowed on your blow.
Mark both of those are awesome!!!!
Thanks GR! I like the idea of the greatsword being a Shadowblast weapon; you could take it a step further and say that it was forged either with the aid of or IN the realm of Shadow and that the lightning coursing along the blade is black, crackling darkness.
As for the OP's axe here's another take outside the Sigund route: as you first grip the hatchet you smell the damp fog of a northern swamp. The grip is constructed of red maple sealed well as if against the worst elements. The weapon is topped with a broad blade ending in a ball peen. The metal is a dusky cold iron inscribed with elaborate knotwork. This is the weapon of the Middenvurd Militia.
Fighting among the swamps and nettles of the Findlethorn Reaches the ready at Middenvurd has no use for the heavy gear of plate armor and shields. Instead their axes become their defense and they wield them so well they appear to take on a life of their own.
This one was held by one of their best and brigtest; a woman named Ingrid Ozrun who legend says stood her ground against an onslaught of seventy goblins at the battle of Felder's Gap so that her men could fall back to the town to raise the muster. And so it is said that a portion of her spirit lives on in Ingridgield; the Defender.
/clap That is really good Mark...*writes it down*
Thanks. This is fun; a good creative exercise. What else...
How about a simple +1 mace: Maces are known as simple weapons; the Fists of Vardok would disagree. Their legendary maces are quad-flanged steel tinted with vermilion to represent the 4 tribes of the Dunevain pledged in service to Overking Thane. The weapon's haft is a baton of the purest darkwood with a slimmer grip fitted inside. The whole of the shaft is fastened with hammered brass rivited in more of the bloodsteel featured in the head.
It is an elegant weapon that lends a weight to your swing you've not known before. As you test its balance you feel the air tremble before you. Somewhere in Vardok tonight the corpse of a Fist will grin that the weapon sings once more.
Does anyone else want a weapon named or need similar fluff?
I will think of some tonight while at work and then tell ya...but yes a good creative exercise indeed!
Personally one of my favorites is a weapon ripped off from another salvatore character. I kinda rebuilt artemis entreri's dagger and named it thivris, which if you go back far enough in the lore was the name of the mage who crafted the dagger originally. I've also dropped Cattie brie's bow into a loot pile that the party wouldn't actually be able to keep to help them beat overwhelming odds before.
Asta
PSY
You know as a gm I think it would be nice to drop a +1 of any weapon the pcs are interested in. Give it lore and try to relate it to their or the characters interest and so they might take it with them the whole way enchanting it and adding more lore to the blades past.
Yes but if you make it a lil better and slightly cheaper. Rewarding the player for sticking with a weapon that has more and a story and adding to that could make great rp memories and build up a lot of pride in ones character. . If someone wants to min max you can do that while making the fluff of your character as fluffy as possible.
One of the things about Mark's descriptions I like is that the history of the items like "The Fists of Vardok" points to superior craftsmanship and cultural context. Mechanically it is a +1 mace but the fluff makes it unique and explains why there may be more than one. Rather than seeing a wizard blacksmith cranking out made to order items from the Skymall catalog. I see a culture with a sect of warriors who use a mace and have passed down secrets of metalurgy and craftsmanship that have given them and edge in combat.
Here's what I've noticed: none of my players are particularly roleplayers per se but when I gave the barbarian that vicious axe of the wyvern above he held onto it for a while, even though it was slowly killing him. He said not only did it do a lot of damage but it also had a really cool tie in with his character's background.
Another character, a paladin, wanted armor that offered good protection and mobility as well. They were low level, she was willing to quest for it, and she was an elf. Here's what I came up with:
The armor is a supple scale, crafted from the bark of the Bloodoak alchemically treated and infused with arcane power. The mingling of the Twilight power and the crimson hue gives the appearance of the summer sky at dusk. It flows effortlessly and allows the wearer to move with ease across any terrain. However, upon donning the male you feel the cloying tendrils of the Twilight pulsing across your skin, begging for release.
Now, here's the thing: it was +1 scale mail. It didn't ACTUALLY reduce skill penalty any lower than that, but it did provide freedom of movement so the paladin didn't get tripped up by terrain any more. Unbeknownst to her I had a plan to introduce new powers in the armor but the game flamed out.
Even still the paladin had the choice a level later to have the NPC cleric/blacksmith make her a suie of +1 platemail but she declined; not because it would hinder her movement or anything but because she'd quested for this stuff and it was an awesome element to her character.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Some of my named weapons.
Glorious Hand of Imperial Wisdom, a psionic, keen adamantine great scimitar wielded by the head of the Amethyst Emperor's honour guard. Lost when the empire fell. The 'freaky' thing was while the blade wasn't intelligent, it remembered imparting the history of things it 'witnessed' in dreams. (DM plot device)
Continuation of Diplomacy This +2 keen adamantine great axe gave orcs (and half orcs) a +4 enhancement bonus to charisma for purposes of the leadership feat. Weilded by the last great orc warlord, it was lost when his hoard sacked the Imperial capital.
The Lady's Caress a +2 vicious wounding scourge, this was wielded by the high priestess of the church of Loviatar. Its barbs were a mixture of cold iron and silver.
Others not from that campaign.
Lightning Crashes and Thunder Rolls A matched +2 shocking burst katana and +2 thundering wakazashi.
Conductive blade The heirloom blade of house Paultros, +2 shocking burst sword made of magically hardened copper. This was given to house Paultros by a copper dragon ancestor.
I don't tend to give the items I find a name/history but I do like to describe them in detail, even the mundane things:
I'll give any animals we travel with a name, colour and breed.
Weapons and armour get a description beyond 'sword', 'platemail', etc.
I tend to describe my characters' personal items (clothes, jewellery, etc), even though I know that no-one else cares. :)
As for magic items, I'll give a description for everything I own, some items getting more detail than others.
For example, my current character was given some leaf armour which got a whole section in her journal. It's only recently that she's stopped wearing it.
She also carries a Staff Of Healing made from laminated bone discs. A small humanoid skull sits atop it, one of it's eye-sockets holding a green gemstone that glows faintly when a charge is spent; the other gemstone was lost long ago. (One for Mark to bring to life?)
Last session, she "rescued" an adamantine scythe and armour from a vampire that I'll be describing in due course.
(The DM isn't too good at details so he's happy to just say 'you find a X' and then let me get on with it, which is good for me as it means I'll never end up with lime-green boots of speed!! :) )
Challenge accepted. I give you the Embalmed Word:
Looking upon this hoary masterpiece conjures images of dark rites and insidious evils, yet at the merest touch a resonant sense of calm washes over you. The staff you hold is in fact the spine and skull of its creator; perfectly preserved in a bath of vital fluids and extracts, then sealed in a sacred parafin and tallow mixture boiled for thirteen hours by the light of a midsummer moon.
The witches of Siedhelheim are proof that not all of their kind are wicked. Despite the Inquisitors of Asmodeus and their relentless persecutions the conclave at Siedhelheim works in secret to protect the beleagured peasants of Agonoszk.
When one of the witches senses her own death is near she calls her sisters to her for a final rite and her familiar inhales her final breath. At this point her body is embalmed and submerged in the mud of the bog until the proper time.
Finally the corpse is exhumed and the former sister's familiar is Called to the ceremony. The after all is in readiness the creature expells the breath into the night air where it crystalizes on the altar into a pair of gems affixed in the eye sockets of the of the skull.
Any time an Embalmed Word is used the stones glow faintly. What's more the user is heard to emit a low, sonorous hum ululating from deep within in a voice that is never their own. This sound is said to be the last word of the Siedelheim Witch, speaking their last forever to continue the good work for which she was condemned.
I prefer the weapon naming approaches of Fafhrd & Grey Mouser, Luciphur, Jayne Cobb, John Crichton, etc. The weapons aren't special inherently, it's the relationship with their wielder that's special.
The warpriest naming every horse he rides Griever (because it's going to die and that will make him sad), the mad swordsman's basic starwheel pistol called Princess (always pretty, never useful), the elven archmage's generic tattered travel cloak named Mellon (lasted from 1st to 20+ unlike most of the rest of his friends), each one of the gunmonkey's weapons named after a different pornstar...
Thinking about it, I would allow a 'named' weapon the grow with the character. For no cost the weapon would become more powerful as the character leveled. Make such weapons rare of course. Be quite cool to have the same magic sword from level 1-20!!!
I used this in a low magic game once and it worked pretty well. We only made it to 4th level unfortunately but the fighter had a family heirloom sword which he'd used to defend himself (we were using parrying rules) so it became a defender.
I think if I were to do it again I'd either build in scenarios to "awaken" the powers of the device or work directly with the player on what their device is intended to become.
I'd want the magic item to reflect the character in some way. For example in my current game I have a guy playing 2 brothers. One he plays is a monk who's very "monkish" except that he has a very quick temper while the other is a cocky prettyboy fighter. I'd want to give the monk some kind of flaming/fire burst item (temper) and the smarmy one would get either some kind of distraction, thundering or dancing special ability...
I had an idea for some black banded mail of improved shadow created by a necromancer, with dark souls bound to it, hiding it from the eyes of mortals. (The PC who has it found it on a skeleton guardian with a ceremonial dagger in its ribcage where its heart was - the guardian was unwillingly sacrificed and bound into the armor.) It's also undetectable by Detect Magic, or any magic short of True Seeing when hidden... not sure what I should call it, though. Any suggestions?
Unknowable Armor
Bound Darkness
Bands of Midnight
Viridian Armor of the Forbidden
Edit: for added creepiness every time a living person dons the armor they feel the souls trying to escape (potential negative here or just fluff) and every time the armor is penetrated and damage dealt to a living creature wearing it a tortured face strains against the shadow of the armor.
Thinking about it, I would allow a 'named' weapon the grow with the character. For no cost the weapon would become more powerful as the character leveled. Make such weapons rare of course. Be quite cool to have the same magic sword from level 1-20!!!They aren't very rare if every L1 adventurer has one . . .
I certainly understand your point here but common in the lives of uncommon people does not make it common for the world as a whole. Because of the nature of published worlds there is a feel that thousands upon thousands of adventurers are running around wiping out magic items. But the flavor of the campaign can be arranged so that it might be rare for the world even if it is common for the party. Take the most famos "Low Magic" world of all time Middle Earth. Most people talk about ME having a low magic feel but by the time the fellowship left Loth Lorien they are loaded down with magic items. Lego has a magic bow, the have magic food, magic rope, magic potting soil, three magic swords, magic light up water, and a world altering powerful magic ring. They way in wich the story unfolded brough them into contact with magic and spectacular things but it is still felt rare.
If we're talking the difference between low magic and high fantasy then we're talking a matter of availability. In a low-magic world (Greyhawk, Middle-Earth) magic items are something found, quested for, or made only for the most elite of elite; in high fantasy (Forgotten Realms) a +1 sword is available in every corner drug store.
Now in a low-magic world you can have guys loaded down w/magic items, it just means they're successful at their dungeon hacking. But it ALSO means that they probably don't have much control over what they're carrying; its a hodge podge of whatever treasure the GM throws out there. Thus in one 3x game I played a couple years ago I had a sorceress that went unconscious a lot since her only magic weapon was a +1 spear w/no magical protection and our gnomish illusionist wielded a small sized +1 trident of shock.
In high fantasy (my homebrew) the players have to ability to pay for EVERY magic item if they so choose. Sure, this makes for a more blah magic item use experience for the players but that's why the fluff I throw in on found items becomes that much more important. I try to include at least one item that is kind of tailored to one of the players and then give it a background that dials the player into the world around them.
Try using the Dwarf Fortress naming method!
Tunneledtongs, the Hoarder of Cheeses
This is a +1 flaming spear. All craftsmanship is of the highest quality. On it is an image of a gnome. The gnome is in a fetal position. This object menaces with spikes of chicken feathers.
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I figured I could add in an item I made for one of my characters, it has a story tie in as well. (I made an item for each character in the party that has a tie in somewhere in the current story, whether distant or really close up).
The Key to Lastwall's Tyrant - You hold in your hands one of two keys to unlocking an evil overlord that the realms have not seen in many, many lifetimes. This bow, and only this bow can fire a flaming arrow that will fit the lock underneath the city of Gallowspire, or what remains of it. This lock holds the leader-lich Tar-Baphon, former ruler of Ustalav and terrorist of the realms. This bow was crafted from the bones of demons, blackened in white hot flame and sealed with layers of boiled tallow. Laquered with the resin of trees grown only in the Abyss and its torrential fires, the bow emanates heat at all times, not burning the wielder but creating a ring of fire around the owner. The handle's grip made from the rotted skin of Tar-Baphon himself. Forged in the fires of the Abyss by evil blacksmiths under threat of eternal punishment, this key was Tar-Baphon's last act before being captured and sent to his eternal (or so thought)prison under the province now known as Lastwall. The finely crafted bow is heavy for its size and silver runes dot the sides from tip to handle. Only thought to be a rumor, this tainted weapon holds strength and power beyond a normal bow, while not an intelligent weapon, it does have knowledge of many interesting things from the tyrant's rule... This bow has a sister weapon, The Song of Sweet Freedom, thought to have been destroyed by the Watcher-Lord Ulthun I, many years ago.
This bow cannot be held by paladins. When held, the bow creates a wall of fire dealing 1d4+1 fire damage to any character making a melee attack against the wielder, whether successful or not. Unfortunately the wielder takes 1 pt of damage per round that the power is activated unless he/she has some sort of fire resistance. It is a free action to activate or deactivate the ability. By activating the power, the bow's knowledge begins to seep into the hands of the wielder. +2 to hit dmg (1d8+2/x3 +1d6 fire dmg or +2d6 fire dmg on crit)