...what sort of creature would it be?
Thanks
You talking about the sword Blackrazor? I'm only familiar with it from the Baldur's Gate 2: SoA PC game.
If I were to actually personify it as a creature, it would be a Lich with character levels, namely the Magus (Bladebound archetype).
So, it's Stormbringer?
Stormbringer also gave Elric strength and constitution he lacked normally.
Death knell, temp hp and str bonus.
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It's a soul-devourer that actively wants to devour more souls, so I'd make it a daemon in the form of a sword.
It's bound into that form as a sort of punishment by other daemons (it didn't play well with others, it killed a bunch of daemon-worshippers and accidentally derailed a long-running daemon-plot, because it couldn't defer gratification and *not* kill the fools before they finished...), so that it's power and potential for soul-reaping and destruction wasn't lost, but it couldn't stir up quite so much trouble this way. Given it's weapon form, the punishing / cursing daemon could be Szuriel, Horseman of War, giving her favored servant (who was a bit independent minded, and she had to punish to satisfy the others), the form of a weapon and letting them at least continue reaping havoc, even if they didn't get to choose the targets anymore).
No force less than that of a godling like Szuriel could break this curse and turn the sword back into a daemon, so there'd be no need to stat it up or craft the daemon form, just make the intelligent NE sword and run with it. (Although, as an Outsider in sword form, it would likely have a heck of a lot more skills than the average intelligent weapon...)
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Stormbringer in the Elric stories was actually a demon, although what particular type would be represent that in Pathfinder I don't know.
"Farewell, friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!"
In the Stormbringer RPG all magic items were actually bound demons. There were also items that had some essence of Law bound into them.
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History lesson: Originally, Blackrazor first appeared in the 1979 AD&D first edition adventure module S2 White Plume Mountain by Lawrence Schick. The Module describes the sword as such:
Blackrazor, a chaotic neutral sword +3, intelligence 17, ego 16. Purpose: to suck souls. It is a black sword that shines like a piece of night sky filled with stars, and it is sheathed in a black scabbard decorated with pieces of cut obsidian. On a killing stroke, Blackrazor temporarily adds the number of levels of the dead foe to its bearer's level (in terms of fighting ability). The bearer also temporarily gains the full hit points of the victim. All subsequent damage to the sword's wielder is removed from the added hit points first. The extra levels and hit points last a number of turns equal to the number of levels received. The souls of all entities killed by Blackrazor are sucked out and devoured; those killed by the black sword cannot be raised.
For every three days, the sword remains "unfed", its ego increases by one point, until it can compel its bearer to kill a human or humanoid being. Upon feeding, its ego returns to 16.
The DM will note that Blackrazor is a negative-energy entity that exists by absorbing positive life energy levels from those it kills. However, if it even strikes a negative-energy being like an undead (except for ghouls and ghasts), it will work in reverse, transferring one level and corresponding hit points from the wielder to the creature attacked. It will do this each time that it strikes. Under these conditions, the wielder can actually die and have his soul sucked out by his own sword. If the wielder survives, he will need a restoration spell or twice the usual number of levels received from positive "kills" to replace the lost levels. Those killed for replacement must be from the same race as the sword-wielder. Blackrazor (and you, the DM) may very well keep this little drawback a secret until the first time the sword bites into a wight or a vampire. The DM must remember that Blackrazor exists solely to feel power and souls coursing through itself, and sometimes it may not be too picky about where the energy is coming from.
In addition to the above, the sword has the following powers:
Speech and telepathy (common and whatever tongues its wielder knows, which it learns telepathically)
Detect living creatures (souls), 60' r.
Haste spell (bearer only, 10 rounds), once per day
100% magic resistance to charm and fear (exact percentage chance of resistance will depend on the level of the opponent casting such a spell)
The adventure was most recently remade in the 5th edition D&D adventure Tales from the Yawning Portal.
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I fully believe Blackrazor was inspired by Stormbringer, Mournblade, and the other sword-trapped demons in the Elric stories. The similarities are too close for it to not be.
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I fully believe Blackrazor was inspired by Stormbringer, Mournblade, and the other sword-trapped demons in the Elric stories. The similarities are too close for it to not be.
Oh yeah, it was pretty blatant about it.
But from that module, Blackrazor wasn't even the best weapon choice. The one that also acted like a cube of force, rocked. (Wave? Whelm? I don't even remember if it was the trident or the warhammer.)
Ah, to specialize in sword and board or archery for 10 levels, and then be handed an amazing magical trident. Proof that the GM hates you. :)
I ended up using the Colour Out of Space and reskinning it a bit to make it look like the sword itself. It turned out to be kind of a weird fight because one of my players got really upset that, in the description I gave of the monster (not information the got from a knowledge roll, just my general description of what it looked like), I didn't convey to him that it would have a high touch AC. He, somewhat understandably, thought that it would be relatively easy to land a touch attack on a huge ooze, but when he tried and failed he got upset and blamed me for it. It was weird and I was somewhat taken aback by it.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/oozes/colour-out-of-spac e/
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Stormbringer in the Elric stories was actually a demon, although what particular type would be represent that in Pathfinder I don't know.
"Farewell, friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!"
Stormbringer itself was a pretty unique demon and might even rank as deity/demon lord due to it's power.
Best few lines to me were also the most depressing(Paraphrasing)
Elric: Why does this all happen?
Prince (Forgot his name) Who knows? Perhaps all is circular and will keep happening until all is oblivion. But do not think that way, madness lies there.
Elric: Shall we be a part of this new world?
Prince: No, our time is done.