Saberhagen's Swords

[Maxus]

So I'm sufficiently impressed enough by the Book of Swords to want to have the stats of these things around. Some digging turned up a statsheet for them that sounds mostly right, though vague. If you're familiar with the series, check out the spoiler

Basics: The swords are exactly a meter long, and the blades are a centimeter thick at the most. The swords are almost totally plain, with straight crossbars, except for a small identifying mark on the black hilts. Furthermore, they're indestructible, except to the sword Shieldbreaker (or possibly an effect like a Sphere of Annihilation). They grant the wielder Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword, as well as the feat Weapon Focus: Bastard Sword. Each Sword has a name, like Dragonslicer, and a designation or two, like “the Sword of Heroes”. All but one have a small white symbol on the hilt, and about half of them make a noise while wielded. The wielder does not know the special abilities, they must be discovered through experimentation, or found out in battle. The exception is Woundhealer; the wielder inherently knows the abilities.

Dragonslicer, Sword of Heroes.

Symbol: Dragon, Sound: Shrill Cry
Dragonslicer penetrates the awesome natural armor of dragons and similar beasts as though it wasn’t there. When used in battle, it will slowly direct the wielder to the heart of the dragon he is fighting, to help kill it. Unlike Shieldbreaker, this Sword does not prevent injury while used.
D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above

Woundhealer, Sword of Love, Sword of Mercy

Symbol: Hand, Sound: Human Breath
While Woundhealer is a Sword, it is not a weapon. Quite the opposite. When stabbed into a body it heals wounds that it is dragged through, leaving no sign the injury ever occurred. Dragging it through an amputated limb will cause it to immediately grow back. It can also be used to prevent injury. A man could stab himself with Woundhealer and jump off of a cliff, or fight while stabbed and any injury would immediately heal itself. Woundhealer is incapable of harming anyone, despite the fact that it is a sword. If it comes into contact with Shieldbreaker in battle, Shieldbreaker would shatter, while Woundhealer would be unharmed.
D&D rules: Artifact

Shieldbreaker, Sword of Force.

Symbol: Hammer, Sound: Slow thudding, speeds up in combat

Shieldbreaker has been called the ultimate weapon. One person using Shieldbreaker can defeat an army. It will defeat any weapon, physical or not, mundane or magical. Spells cast at the wielder count as weapons, as do a creature’s natural weapons, and demons. If someone attacks with a weapon, Shieldbreaker shatters the weapon, and then immediately kills the opponent. In the case of ranged weapons, like arrows or spells, the Sword will destroy the missile (like an arrow), but not the archer if he is out of reach. No weapon, magical or not, can survive. Any pieces of the weapon shattered will not harm the wielder. The downside is that Shieldbreaker cannot be dropped while in battle, and draws the user’s own energy to power its abilities. The Sword is essentially glued to the wielder’s hand, and attacks on its own, ignoring any attempt by the user to control it. A man could defeat an army, but be mortally drained at the end. Also, an unarmed opponent cannot be harmed by Shieldbreaker. The Sword will pass through him as though he wasn’t there, leaving no mark. All of the other Swords are useless against Shieldbreaker; Wayfinder won’t find him. Farslayer would shatter upon hitting him, causing no injury, etc.

D&D rules: Artifact, always strikes its target regardless of wielder’s skill, except unarmed combatants, as above. The special abilities offer no saving throw. When going up against Shieldbreaker, your party should really have a Monk.

The Mindsword, Sword of Glory, Skulltwister

Symbol: Banner, Sound: Dull roar, like a cheering throng

The Mindsword causes those around the wielder to perceive the wielder as the ultimate lord. They will spontaneously walk up and pledge their undying loyalty to the wielder. The Sword must be unsheathed for the power to initiate, but the effects last when the Sword is sheathed, slowly wearing off over three days. Even gods will fall down and worship the wielder.

D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above. The special ability offers no saving throw.

Wayfinder, Sword of Wisdom.

Symbol: Arrow, Sound: None, it quivers while it is being used.

Wayfinder, when asked a specific question, will point to the answer. It will tell you which direction to travel in or who to take with you, for example, by pulling itself to point at the target. If there is a task that must be done first, such as something you must retrieve to complete your quest, it will point to that instead.

D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above

Coinspinner, Sword of Luck, Sword of Chance.

Symbol: Dice, Sound: None

Makes the wearer or wielder magically, unbelievably lucky. If someone attacks the wielder, the attacker has unbelievably bad luck, slipping on a banana peel or swallowed by a dragon if necessary to help the wielder.

D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above

Soulcutter, Sword of Despair, Tyrant’s Blade

Symbol: None, Sound: None

When drawn, Soulcutter cause total, incapacitating despair, starting with the wielder and spreading throughout the field of battle. Nothing seems worth the effort. Whole armies have been known to disarm under Soulcutter’s influence. When opposed by Skulltwister, Soulcutter will prevail.

D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above, although once drawn, the despair would prevent the wielder from using it. The Despair ability offers no save.

Stonecutter, Sword of Siege.

Symbol: Wedge Splitting a Block, Sound: Heavy, slow hammering
Stonecutter will cut any kind of stone, from diamonds to sandstone, with almost no effort, “like a hot knife through butter”. Ignores the hardness of
D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above

Townsaver, Sword of Fury.

Symbol: Fortress Wall, Sound: Scream
Very similar to Shieldbreaker in that it shatters other weapons, but it must actually be wielded, it doesn’t do it by itself. The wielder uses his own skill with the blade. Also, the wielder must be defending a place of habitation, like a house, castle, you get the idea. It does not prevent injury like Shieldbreaker.
D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword. Special abilities activate under conditions set above.

Doomgiver, Sword of Justice.

Symbol: Hollow Circle, Sound: None

Whoever tries to strike the wielder of Doomgiver, whether by weapon, spell, or something else, suffers whatever injury he was trying to cause.
D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above. The special ability offers no saving throw.

Farslayer, Sword of Vengeance.

Symbol: Target (Concentric Circles), Sound: Howl

Farslayer, when commanded, will fly any distance to kill a creature. As it flies through the sky toward its target, it howls, and is followed by a rainbow. It stabs through the chest, just to the left of center, straight through the heart. In the case of a demon, it will destroy whatever vessel the demon has put its life into. The only defense is wielding Shieldbreaker, or being transfixed through the heart by Woundhealer at the time of impact. Nothing else will help. No barrier, physical or magical, is effective. This is the sword for assassins, or any character needing to kill at a distance.

D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen throwing bastard sword w/ special abilities as above. Does NOT return. Special ability offers no saving throw.

Sightblinder, Sword of Stealth.

Symbol: Eye, Sound: None

When wielded, or just touched, Sightblinder causes those looking at the wielder to see the wielder as someone they fear or love. When used, Sightblinder becomes invisible to all but the wielder, allowing totally unseen attacks. It also enhances the wielder’s perceptions, allowing him to see things and people as they truly are. Rogues, this one is for you!
D&D rules: Artifact, +6 keen bastard sword w/ special abilities as above, allows wielder to See Invisible at will. Special ability offers no saving throw.

Townsaver and Dragonslicer could use some modification, and a lot more can use some clarification or actual stats put around them.

[Prak]

well, I haven't read the book, but Sightblinder needs to, based on the description, give it's weilder true seeing as well.

Sounds like Woundhealer casts heal and greater restoration, and grants regeneration and fast healing, oh let's say 10 when stabbed into you. I could see some guy walking around with woundhealer just permenantly stabbed through a shoulder blade.

Dragonslayer is easy. It needs Dragon Bane and a specialized Vorpal effect that only affects dragons and punctures their heart rather than decapitating them.

Shieldbreaker is an intelligent magic item that actually has it's own strength and base attack bonus. However, unless you make it a special rule, it can't autohit, it can hit at a very high attack bonus, but unless you arbitrarily decide to be one hundred percent accurate to the source material, then there's always the chance that it will miss something.
Actually, better way to do Shieldbreaker: Still intelligent, when it's weilder is attacked, it casts a shatter effect at CL 20 against the offending weapon, automatically sundering it, then casts Implosion on the offending weapon's weilder. This isn't an autokill, but about as close as you get save going into arbitrarium.

The Mindsword could be a simple continuous Mass Charm Monster effect that is always followed by a Diplomacy check to adjust your new friend to a helpful attitude, the DC of which is 1. CL will be at least 15, which means it will last five times longer than in the books, but that can be hand waved one way or another.

Wayfinder is just Locate Person/Object at will, basically.

that's all I've got for now.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Sounds like Woundhealer casts heal and greater restoration, and grants regeneration and fast healing, oh let's say 10 when stabbed into you. I could see some guy walking around with woundhealer just permenantly stabbed through a shoulder blade.

Closer to True Resurrection, really. You really are basically unkillable while carrying the thing in your body. You're probably also one of those conditions that gives you -2 to things, due to coping with the energy flowing through you.

Shieldbreaker is an intelligent magic item that actually has it's own strength and base attack bonus. However, unless you make it a special rule, it can't autohit, it can hit at a very high attack bonus, but unless you arbitrarily decide to be one hundred percent accurate to the source material, then there's always the chance that it will miss something.
Actually, better way to do Shieldbreaker: Still intelligent, when it's weilder is attacked, it casts a shatter effect at CL 20 against the offending weapon, automatically sundering it, then casts Implosion on the offending weapon's weilder. This isn't an autokill, but about as close as you get save going into arbitrarium.

You could make the damage auto-hit, but with a reflex save for less. Does Implosion cause damage if the save is successful?

Wayfinder is just Locate Person/Object at will, basically.

Sort of. Wayfinder will actually lead you to undefined objectives. If you want to destroy a city, it will divine the most effective physical path to travel to accomplish that goal. So it might lead you to a mighty wizard who hates the city, or to buried treasure and then a Russian nuclear missile silo filled with underpaid guards.

[traverse]

I'm well tempted to call them greatswords by the length of the blade, though that's hard to imagine for any instance where someone was carrying two. And while many of them are of an artifact level, I've really been stuck to the +2 keen I initially saw them statted up as years back. They all carry the same base potential when not being used for their specified purpose, and that power just isn't as 'oomphy'. Look for examples in the text where two wielders fight with, say, dragonslicer and townsaver(with no town being defended). Those people weren't lent any supreme magical bonuses to hit.

Here are a couple of spoileriffic pages if anyone wants to know more about the swords themselves and doesn't think they want to read the books:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Swords_of_Power
http://www.berserker.com/info_swdprop.htm

Honestly, I'd love to stick to the books for it all, even with shieldbreaker's autohit. The DM would really need to be the limiter in this case, shifting ownership of the swords to better serve the story, even if that is detrimental to the players. That's a big part of the books.

Townsaver would definitely also need to reference the fact that you can't physically stop yourself from defending once you start, even by going to negative hit points. Only after the battle is over will any wounds taken be counted. Literally you can be forced to fight for days are longer. Also some sort of martyr ability for taking hits meant for nearby townspeople.

[JigokuBosatsu]

I suppose Evasion or something similar could apply to Shieldbreaker's effect. IIRC, in the book where it is found, Baron Doon goes three rounds against its wielder by dropping his weapons and grabbing new ones. Until he gets stabbed in the face.