In Arden Est, intelligent swords are created when their owner perishes and his or her soul, rather than passing on, inhabits the weapon they bear instead. Here are five such swords:
Detects evil, invisible or hidden, and traps.
Vajra was owned by an enthusiastic, but none too bright, cleric of Fayon named Marcus. Marcus desperately wanted to be an adventurer, but his order, fearing for him in his foolishness, attempted to dissuade him. When he would not be dissuaded, they gave him a magic sword that shed light, hoping that it would light his way. Sadly, Marcus fell in with the Family, a mafioso type of thieves guild that Marcus thought was just a normal family business. While attempting to retrieve a golden falcon for them from a tomb, Marcus was killed by a pit trap.
Detects traps, metals, and invisible or hidden.
Chris was a halfling thief who often performed heists far beyond his ability. He attributed his success to skill, but in fact, he was always merely incredibly lucky. His luck ran out when the mound of rubies he was climbing turned out to be a red dragon, who incinerated him.
Detects magic
'Gram' was the blade of a barbarian named Gram who hated magic-users. Whenever the wielder of this blade is in the presence of a wizard, she feels a compulsion to slay them. Gram left a streak of dead witches and warlocks throughout Fogelon, until a wizard named Wilhelm proved to be too much for him.
'Skofnung', Sword +3, vorpal, INT 12, EGO 6, AL L, speaks Common, Morachi, Dwarven, and Thyranian, can read languages. Detects magic and invisible. Can levitate the bearer for 15 turns.
'Skofnung' was wielded by Thorkel, a warrior from the early days of the Solarian Empire. Thorkel led a band of barbarians against the attempts of Solaria to expand into Fogelon, but he was eventually slain when a Solarian mage summoned an invisible stalker to assassinate him.
Detects secret doors, traps.
Reed was a famed tomb robber, best known for a legendary set of thieves' tools. He commissioned Gallowglass to help him defeat the undead who tended to guard the more lucrative of these tombs. His friend, the sage Zakarios, worked with him on a translation of the epic story of the defeat of the lich king of Surash-Knaak, leading them to believe they knew where the lich king, and his treasure, was interred. They were correct: however, they did not know that the tomb was guarded by a massive iron golem. Zakarios escaped with the sword containing the soul of his friend, but himself was killed by bandits shortly thereafter.
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