Sword and Star of Kold-Robi
Author’s Note: I had planned the Sword & Star as an artifact for Susafras, my brother’s Elven fighter/mage. Again, I can’t remember the details, but if I recall correctly I realized the combination proved FAR too powerful and would upset game balance. So the Sword & Star went into history instead of PC hands.
In their place Susafras gained Kith-Kanae, which means Wyrm Slayer in old Elven. Somewhere I have the write-up on Kith-Kanae, but it’s essentially a long sword made from one of the fangs of a great wyrm in antiquity — imagine a wyrm with a 3′ plus fangs, if you will!
I can’t find my index card with Kith-Kanae’s abilities — it may be that it’s in a box in my brother’s attic. One of these days I’ll prevail upon him to dig it out …
In ages past the Elven fighter-mage Kold-Robi obtained from the demon lord Jxtl a pair of artifacts of great power. Weakened by the loss of these items Jxtl later lost a great battle and was imprisoned by the Archmage Ignatz. He later fought his way free and was forced to remain on his own plane for many centuries. Kold-Robi felt himself safe from the revenge and influence of the demon lord and rule a small kingdom for many decades.
Kold-Robi had not reckoned with the undead mind of the Arch-Lich Benra Sal Kee. From afar the lich watched the prosperity and happiness of the Elven kingdom; hatred and envy grew. Finally Benra Sal Kee, with a horde of evil and undead creatures, attacked. The countryside was laid waste and peasants were kills by the hundred, bolstering Benra Sal Kee’s army with new conscripts. Siege was levied upon the castle of Kold-Robi. Help was sent for but did not arrive in time to save the valiant defenders. The day before help arrived the castle fell, only a handful survived. Legends tell of the terrible battle between the two powerful spell casters, one Elven and one undead.
The body of the mighty king was recovered, but not so his Sword and Star.
Enraged by the slaughter the reinforcements carved the army of Benra Sal Kee to pieces. No quarter was offered even to the non-undead members of that army.
Benra Sal Kee was tracked back to his lair and was believed destroyed. But the Sword and Star were never recovered.
Stories persist that the Sword turns up from time to time, but no reliable sightings have ever occurred. Legends state that anyone can use the sword, but it’s full powers are available only to fighter-mages of Lawful alignment.
The location of the Star is shrouded in mystery. Learned sages believe that Benra Sal Kee still exists and that the Star is in his possession.
The Sword of Kold-Robi is a Long Sword +5 with Vorpal ability. It also has the following powers which are activated by the mental command of the possessor if the possessor is a fighter-mage:
- 12 die Cone of Cold once per day, +1 on each die of damage, saves at -1
- Cure Critical Wounds 4 times per day, +1 on each die
- Feather Fall at need
li>12 die Fireball once per day, +1 on each die of damage, saves at -1
There are two banes: All possessor saving throws are at -1, and none of the powers will work upon a lich or within 20′ of one, including the Prime power:
One 24 HD Elemental can be conjured once per day. The conjuring takes 1 full round to accomplish and can be whatever type the summoner choose. The elemental has 192 hit points and is AC 0. It has two attacks per round for the same damage as an elemental of its type. It will cooperate fully with the summoner.
Upon use of this power the user will age 3d10 years and the magic will be drained from one randomly determined item within 30′. If there is no other magic item within range the user will be aged a further 3d10 years.
There is a 3% cumulative chance per use that the owner will be charmed by the Sword. A charmed person will not permit the Sword from his possession and will fight with no other weapon except where a dagger or hammer is necessary. In addition, the owner will attack any lich on sight and will fight until the lich is dead.
The Sword has an intelligence of 21 and an Ego of 27. If the personality scores of the owner can overweigh that of the Sword the charm can be negated.
The Star is a 7-pointed star 5 inches in diameter. At each point is a 5,000 gp ruby and embedded in the center is a diamond of 15,000 gp value. The Star and the chain it hangs on are made of platinum, and as a piece of jewelry it is valued at 100,000 gp. As an artifact it is worth well over 200,000 gp, as is the Sword.
The following powers activate automatically:
- Absorb up to 51 points of Magic Missile damage per day
- Absorb up to 3 energy level drains or death rays per day
- Saving throws are gained against spells that do not normally allow them (see Scarab of Protection)
The following powers are activated by touching certain gems in a particular order. The numbers in parenthesis indicate which gems must be touched and in which order, starting with the bottom gem and going clockwise.
- Teleport Without Error twice per day (1-4-5)
- Cure Disease at touch at will (2-6-7)
- Move at 36″ speed for 1 turn once per day (3-5-7)
The preceding powers require 3 segments to take effect. In addition, there are two banes. The casting of spells that have a verbal component require that the caster shout. The second is that all dogs coming within 20′ will try to urinate on the possessor’s legs.
The prime power of the Star is a Time Stop at 30th level spell use. This power takes 5 segments to activate. There is a 3% cumulative chance per use, maximizing at 24%, that the user will be Disintegrated at the completion of the Time Stop (1-3-5-7-2-4-6-D).
The Star has an intelligence of 21 and an Ego of 22. If it is possessed by the same person as the Sword it will reinforce the charm.
That the Sword and Star are a set is of little doubt. In addition to reinforcing the charm of the possessor, a third prime power is gained when both are possessed. Once per day the user may invoke a double-strength Power Word Kill, activated by placing the hilt of the Sword against the diamond of the Star. Regardless of the effect of the spell, the user must save vs. Death Magic or be killed.