Canonfire! - Nitalae, the Lonely Blade

The Suel Imperium died under the Rain of Colorless Fire, its treasures hidden under the ever-shifting ashes of the Sea of Dust. And in one lost crypt, deep in the trackless desert, the sword Nitalae waits . . .

. . . waits for the hand of a hero to grasp her hilt and wield her once more. Is she waiting for you?

Nitalae, the Lonely Blade

Long buried beneath the Sea of Dust in the remnants of the catacombs of the ancient Suel Empire, the longsword Nitalae awaits to be released from her prison. Forged nearly a millennia ago by a Mage of Power, Nitalae is an intelligent adamantine longsword. For the crimes of which she was accused, the Empire sentenced the woman that she once was to be imprisoned within the item, her soul powering the blade for all of eternity. The Rain of Colorless Fire ended the Suel Imperium, and Nitalae would have been pleased that those who had sentenced her had suffered, but she was forgotten, and buried beneath the shifting dunes of ash; left alone with only the Undead for company—and she became lonely, so terribly lonely. She longs for a living companion to wield her once more, and to feel the warmth of the sun on her blade.

Nitalae is a Lawful Neutral intelligent +3 frost ghost-touch keen adamantine longsword (1d8+3+1d6 cold; 17-20/x3; see text) with a hardness of 26 and 47 hit points. Her creator’s effective caster level was 20, and she has the following saving throw bonuses (like all magic items, she may instead use those of her wielder if that is higher than her own): Fortitude +12, Reflex +12, and Will +17. She is valued at 180,000 gp, including all magical properties, her intelligence, and her material composition.

Nitalae has an Intelligence score of 16, a Wisdom score of 20, and a Charisma score of 12. She can speak common, Ancient Suel, Ancient Baklunish, and Elf; furthermore, she can speak telepathically with her wielder when carried on his or her person. She is able to read all languages and can also read magic at will. She can both see and hear out to 120 feet, and has both darkvision and blindsense within that range. She retains two skills that she may freely use: Perception and Sense Motive, both at 10 ranks, for a total bonus of +15. She is exceptionally sharp of edge, and deals greater than normal damage on a critical strike. She can coat her blade in supernatural frost that deals additional cold damage to those she strikes in combat, but none to her companion wielder. She hates ghosts, after being confined among them for centuries, and is able to affect them as readily as a corporeal individual.

Nitalae is an extremely powerful weapon, with a myriad array of special powers. First, in life Nitalae was a young arcanist and retains some of her spell-casting abilities. She may use the following as spell-like abilities up to once per round (this is in addition to any actions taken by her wielder; she decides when to use her powers): magic aura (at will), know direction (at will), light (at will), cure light wounds (3/day), detect secret doors (3/day), shield (3/day), see invisibility (1/day), knock (1/day), make whole (1/day), heroism (1/day), fireball (1/day), lightning bolt (1/day), greater invisibility (1/day), and secure shelter (1/day). For the purpose of the duration and damage, as well resisting dispels and penetrating spell resistance, Nitalae has a caster level of 15.

In addition to her spell-casting abilities, Nitalae grants anyone who wields her with the proficiency to do so. Even a monk who lifts Nitalae finds that he is as skilled in using her as any other of his weapons—and he may flurry with her as if she were a special monk weapon. These powers come at a price, however, for Nitalae has a powerful Ego of 40. She will allow herself to be handled by any character whose alignment includes lawful (and because of her long isolation, even neutral characters can wield her), but she will not abide any chaotic alignments. Characters who are neither lawful nor chaotic can wield her, but she will only aid them with her abilities in the direst of circumstances—and only until she is in an area where she can select a new companion. Even then, the neutral character gains 1 negative level that cannot be removed by any means so long as he wields the sword. Releasing the sword also restores the negative level.

Chaotic characters not only receive the negative level listed above, but Nitalae seeks to dominate them with her superior Ego and drive them to their death—either in combat or in another fashion. She cannot stand those who lie, and will almost constantly use her Sense Motive on those within range to ensure that they are not lying to her companion.

So long as her wielder is lawful in alignment, than Nitalae is happy just to be free of the old crypt in which she lay for so long. She will even allow her companion to fraternize with characters of chaotic alignment, although she may well make disparaging remarks about them aloud. She is always rather quick to offer her advice and opinion, which could be awkward for the character, especially in dealing with those of a chaotic alignment.

As one of the consequences of her long time alone, Nitalae chatters. She almost never quits talking. She is just so happy to have someone to talk to, that she does so constantly. She’ll even carry on conversations with her companions adventuring party, and tries to convert them to a lawful alignment. She is quite insane, but in a (mostly) harmless way. She is terrified of being alone, however, and will exert her full Ego to prevent ever being locked away in a chest or cupboard or even left alone in a room. She also likes nice things, both for herself and her companion, and will sometimes take control of her companion when she spies something that she wants either for herself or him in order to purchase it—his plans for spending the money do not seem to matter to the sword. She really likes new scabbards, especially those adorned with gems and precious metals. She also enjoys the look of a person wearing a hat, and can’t resist taking control whenever she sees a hat shop (of course, her taste is a little old-fashioned and . . . well, a little gaudy). Not a helm, but a plain old hat. She also tends to sulk if her companion doesn’t like her ‘gifts’ and wear them whenever possible.

With her powers and abilities, Nitalae is a tremendous boon to most adventuring parties, although some may soon want to exchange her for a less complicated non-intelligent blade: if she lets them, that is.