“Sword of Truth” D&D artifact

possiblities…

Option 1
I've taken over running a shared world campaign with a high
level group and an artifact that was hinted to have more
powers that might be discovered later.

The PCs just finished an adventure gained a lot of loot, and

hit 16th level.

The PCs are strong, have high stats, and a ton of items.

The paladin had quested for this sword, recovering it from

the bane warrens, then purging it of its former corruption
and restoring it to its original holy status.

I took over DMing the campaign at that point.

Now the paladin wants to use his share of loot (25,000 gp) to
go on a religious vision quest or whatnot to see what new
powers he can discover in the Sword of Truth instead of
spending his money on things like improving his amulet of
natural armor another plus or two which he feels would be
effective (he has a 30 AC already) but role-playing wise
boring. He said he will be happy with whatever he discovers
even though he is not choosing it, etc.

So there is room to do this in the history and I like the story

flavor here of this option, I just need to come up with an
appropriate add on power to an epic artifact sword that is
25K gp appropriate.

The Sword is called the Sword of Truth, it is a +2 epic good

cold iron long sword evil bane, arcane user (spell or spell
ability) bane, does a targeted dispel magic on crits, and
grants its wielder True Sight. Evil wielders gain a negative
level as do arcane wielders. Not clear if it was used in Clash
of Gods War where they amalgamated as single champions
squaring off on Good/Evil/Neutral alignment axis. It prohibits
wielder from speaking a knowing falsehood. In past used in
church trials to get truth out of suspects.

Yes, grossly powerful, but he still does less damage than the
PC dwarf fighter cleric when that PC gets going large and in
charge.

If it was a normal sword I could easily figure out a power, but

it is an artifact and the gp cost for adding a power on I'm
fuzzy on in my head.

Here are the powers I was thinking of and possible

limitations.

Turns opponents hit (on crit) back to original shape if in

alternate form (Save). [He has not hit a shape changer yet]

Dispels automatically (no dispel check) illusions on

opponents struck (on crit). [Don't think anybody with an
illusion yet since cleansed]

Grants wielder dark vision (although the paladin generates

4th level magical light as a prc ability already).

Illumine struck invisible creatures revealing their presence

(fairy fire on strike)

Bonus on Search checks

Bonus on Spot

Arcane Sight

Zone of Truth power

Discern Lies

Intelligent magic item powers

Option 2
Ummm... OK, here's a go at more completeness;

For those without Unearthed Arcana, this will not make much
sense, and I can't explain fully what the Battle Scion is (CoC
and all that).

Essentially: the Battle Scion is the warrior-type PrC that gets

its special abilities from the Legendary Weapon he wields. So
this Seeker is using this framework with the Sword of Truth
as the Legendary Weapon.

Sword of Truth
Forged long ago by wizards of tremendous power, the Sword
of Truth is a longsword gifted to special individual every
generation by the First Wizard. The Seeker is charged with
upholding justice and as such is not beholden to any power
political or otherwise, save the Truth.
Requirements Anybody can pick up and wield the Sword of
Truth as a +2 Keen Longsword with the Fueled by Anger and
The Price special abilities (see below). A Seeker (Battle
Scion) who wields the Sword of Truth gains additional special
abilities if he meets the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills Sense Motive 6 ranks
Feats: Iron Will, Power Attack
However, only a True Seeker can gain more than three levels
of this PrC. A True Seeker must also meet these criteria;
Alignment: any good
Skills Sense Motive 10 ranks
Feats Skill Emphasis: Sense Motive, Track
Attributes
Hardness/Hit Points: 12/25
Caster Level: 17th
Value: To anyone other than the Seeker, the Sword of Truth
appears to be worth as much as a Medium +2 Keen
Longsword (market price 18,325 gp).
Special Abilities: The Sword of Truth grants a number of
special abilities to its wielder, depending on on the
character's class level in the Seeker (battle scion) prestige
class.

Abilities granted by the Sword of Truth

Battle Scion
Level Ability
- Fury of Justice, Intent, The Price
1st: Righteousness
2nd: +3 Enhancement
3rd: Sunder Spell
4th*: The White Blade
5th*: Greater Fury of Justice
6th*: +4 Enhancement
7th*: Channel the Predessesors
8th*: Reflect Spell
9th*: Swordless Seeker
10th*: +5 Enhancement
Supreme Fury of Justice

Fury of Justice (Ex) When the Sword of Truth is drawn, its

wielder gains a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 Bonus to Dex
and a +1 dodge bonus to AC. The wielder is filled with rage
and passion, driven by a desire to destroy any they perceive
to be an enemy. These effects last until all enemies within
LoS are slain, or the wielder succeeds at a DC 15 Will save.

Intent: (Ex) The Sword of Truth will only harm a living thing
that the wielder perceives to be an enemy. If used to strike a
creature that the wielder believes to be innocent, the
damage from any strike is reduced to 0.

The Price (Ex) Whenever the Sword of Truth is used to kill a

living creature, the wielder must succeed at a Will save after
the task is done. The DC for this save is based on the dead
creature's alignment: LG = 30, NG and CG = 25, LN, CN, and
N = 20, LE and NE = 10, CE = 5. A successful save means
the wielder is fatigued for the remainder of the encounter. A
failed save means the wielder takes d10 damage and
becomes helpless from the pain. The wielder must then
make a second save one round later vs the same effects at
the same DC. This lasts until the wielder makes the save or
dies.

Righteousness (Ex) A true Seeker gains the ability to shield

themselves from The Price. When taking a life in their
capacity as Seeker or when justice is on their side, they gain
a bonus to the Will save from The Price equal to their Seeker
class level.

+3 Enhancement The Sword of Truth becomes a +3 weapon

in the hands of a 2nd level Seeker.

Sunder Spell (Su) A number of times per day equal to his

class level, the Seeker may ready an action to sunder a spell
that targets him. This gives the Seeker a Spell Resistance
score equal to 10 + his class level + his Charisma Modifier
against that spell.

*Only a True Seeker may advance beyond this point*

The White Blade (Ex) A true Seeker learns how to forgive any
one for their crimes, no matter how heinous or wrong. The
Seeker can fill his soul with the small amount of goodness
that exists within a single target and slay them without
suffering from the effects of The Price. The White Blade also
ignores the Intent special property; a true Seeker can kill
anyone.

Greater Fury of Justice (Ex) When the Sword of Truth is

drawn by a True Seeker of 5th level; he gains a +4 bonus to
Strength, a +4 Bonus to Dex and a +2 dodge bonus to AC
instead of the standard effects. This has the added benefit of
staving off the effects of The Price until the Fury has ended.

+4 Enhancement The Sword of Truth becomes a +4 weapon

in the hands of a 6th level Seeker.

Channel the Predessesors (Ex) The Seeker gains the ability

to call upon the skills and prowess of former Seekers in
Battle. Any number of times per day, as a free action, the
Seeker can gain an insight bonus to attack rolls and damage
rolls equal to his class level when wielding the Sword of
Truth. Alternately, a Seeker can forgo one or more points of
the insight bonus and gain a feat from the list of Fighter
bonus feats at a rate of one point per feat.

Reflect Spell (Su) Any spell cast at the Seeker that fails to
overcome the SR from Sunder Spell is also reflected back at
the caster as if affected by Spell Turning

Swordless Seeker (Ex) A true Seeker at this point no longer

needs the Sword of Truth to perform any of the above class
abilities, any weapon will do. A weapon does not gain or lose
any magical abilities when used by a Seeker. Additionally,
the Seeker is no longer affected by The Price under any
circumstances.

+5 Enhancement The Sword of Truth becomes a +5 weapon

in the hands of a 10th level Seeker.

Supreme Fury of Justice (Ex) When the Sword of Truth is

drawn by a True Seeker of 10th level, he gains a +6 bonus to
Strength, a +6 Bonus to Dex and a +3 dodge bonus to AC
instead of the standard effects.

Hokay, so there it is. I hope this is a little more defined. I'm

kinda fuzzy on what exactly happens when Richard turns the
Sword white, so if anyone wants to chime in a refresh my
memory, that'd be great. Also, I realize that Channel the
Predessesors is waaaay tough, but Richard used it to kill 30
of the best swordsmen in the world. And besides, it's not like
anyone is going to let a PC take this PrC, right?

EDIT: Altered Fury of Justice

Added Intent special property
Altered The White Blade special property
Added True Seeker requirements
LordChronos
02-16-04, 05:45 PM
Asok, going about a PrC I would have the rage (low lvl barb?)
be a function of the sword when the posessor confronts a foe
(enemy, all based on perspective). Have the PrC allow
control of the rage and possibly granting a type of greater
rage (consider it a refining of the ability). I think one of the
prereqs for the PrC should be a save or die effect (to justify
w/ yourself why you killed them) when you have killed
someone for the first time w/ the wpn.

Zunishahd, your write up seems okay for DnD terms I guess.

However, I disagree with power attack being a prereq and
the Swordless Seeker ability. Also add in some sort of sense
direction to the wpn, and when you are close enough (say
30') you know exaclty where the sword is reguardless of
senses. Almost like an extra sense.
Zunishahd
02-16-04, 06:46 PM
Thanks for the feedback :)

Originally posted by LordChronos

...I disagree with power attack being a prereq...

Yeah, the thing that made me think of this was when Richard
"saves" Kahlen and kills with the sword the first time. The
image of him putting
Everything.
He.
Had.
into that sword stroke.... <shrug> A PrC's gotta have some
prereq feats, what would you suggest in it's place?
Originally posted by LordChronos
...and the Swordless Seeker ability. Also add in some sort of
sense direction to the wpn, and when you are close enough
(say 30') you know exaclty where the sword is reguardless of
senses. Almost like an extra sense.

It's been awhile since I've read any of the books, but doesn't
Richard use the abilities of the former Seekers at one point
when he doesn't actually have the sword on him? Says
something to the effect of, "I am the True Seeker, I don't
need the sword" ? And was his bond with the sword a virtue
of the Sword of Truth or was it another of Richard's
ubermench twinky abilities?

I'm honestly asking as I don't remember properly.

unusualsuspect
02-16-04, 06:59 PM
If i remember correctly, Richard almost ALWAYS wielded the
sword two-handed... Which really sounds like a bastard
sword to me.
LordChronos
02-16-04, 08:34 PM
Originally posted by Zunishahd
A PrC's gotta have some prereq feats, what would you
suggest in it's place?

It's been awhile since I've read any of the books, but doesn't
Richard use the abilities of the former Seekers at one point
when he doesn't actually have the sword on him? Says
something to the effect of, "I am the True Seeker, I don't
need the sword" ? And was his bond with the sword a virtue
of the Sword of Truth or was it another of Richard's
ubermench twinky abilities?

I'm honestly asking as I don't remember properly.

Toughness? Blind-fight? Wpn Focus? Skill Focus (Profession

Guide)? I dunno as I said before taking things from one place
and putting them in DnD does not work. And if I cannot copy
something correctly I do not bother (when I copy an idea)
out of respect for the idea/thing/person in question. Try to
think of something from before he got the sword and/or right
when he got it *shrugs*

And that in that line I believe he was retorting to someone

questioning his credablility as the Seeker (since he did not
have it to prove himself). Basically he is the Seeker, the
sword is just a tool. The Seeker is a type of person (like a
paladin ugh) the sword is just a badge of office so to speak.
Even without a badge of office, a mayor is still a mayor.
Brac64
02-17-04, 09:52 PM
i agree with unusalsuspect. Richard charges into battle
sword raised and wielded with two hands. When he is
battling the baku-tau mana in the books, Goodkind describes
the sword as more of a longsword. Furthermore i think the
sword is the one that should have the rage ability, it did put
whoever was wielding it in a rage, even if they weren't a
seeker. Like Fitch for example in Faith of the Fallen i think it
was.
Asok
02-18-04, 04:52 PM
It's true that the Seeker PrC outlined by Zunishahd is
powerful, but I feel that it a fairly accurate representation of
the book. It's got a different feel then the PrC I thought of.
My idea wasn't to make it an exact copy of the book, but
rather a balanced PrC that most DMs wouldn't mind letting a
player have.

With Zunishahd, you'd almost have to put in a bonus rule

saying you can only take a Seeker PrC level for every two
levels of another character class. That way when you get to
the 10th level, you'd be epic anyway, and the Seeker PrC
wouldn't be so over-powered. I would change a few things
about the design though.

First, it is just nitpicky, but I see the Sword of Truth as a

bastard sword because, as someone else mentioned, he
used it two-handed a lot. Of course, that’s no big deal and if I
was DM, I’d let the player pick.

Second, the alignment doesn't need to be good does it? I

mean, Richard was good, but can't anybody be the Seeker.
Hmmm... my memory is going bad since it has been awhile
since I read the first book, but it seemed to me that when
Zed gave Richard the sword it was more of a ceremonially
thing than magically (I’m at work so I can’t just check my
book right now).
Zunishahd
02-18-04, 11:40 PM
Hello again! This project has gotten under my skin, so I went
and dragged my books out of storage (TOR has got to start
using real glue for their bindings, yeesh :rolleyes: )

Going back through Wizard's First Rule, I altered my PrC

(making it tougher, but I'm just doing this now to try to
convert honestly and completely. Take what ever ideas you
like, change the rest :) )
-I made a distinction between a wielder of the the Sword of
Truth and the True Seeker (Samuel had the sword, but he
wasn't a Seeker, and look what happened to him).
-I changed when Fury of Justice was gained, and added
tougher versions of it at the high end.
-I added the Intent special quality

Barbarian-type rage doesn't feel right for the effects

Goodkind describes, so I made my own.

About the longsword vs. bastard: Of course, Goodkind

doesn't give a blade length in his description in WFR. But
there's that sword at the begining of every chapter in every
book. I don't think Goodkind would have put it there if the
Sword of Truth didn't resemble that.

Yes, Richard uses it in two hands a lot. You can use a

longsword in two hands. If you have a free hand, it's a good
idea (and not just in DnD).

And I stand by my Swordless Seeker special ability. In Blood

of the Fold, pg 517 (for the paperback), when Richard has to
leave the sword behind to travel in the sliph;

"When he took his hands away, he could still feel the magic
within him. He had to leave the sword, but he still had the
magic; he was the true Seeker."

And later, when he's looking for Khalan (pg. 562);

"Richard was livid- lost in the thundering rage of the magic

storming through him.
Even though the sword wasn't with him, the magic was still
his; he was the true Seeker of Truth, and he was bonded
irrevocably to its magic. It coursed through him with lethal
vengeance...
He whirled through the men of the Blood of the Fold as if
they were mere statues, toppling before a ruinous wind."
Omeganian
01-12-07, 03:50 PM
When Richard fought with the sword in the first book, it was
already showing signs of being vorpal and giving the Sunder
and Cleave feats for free