This HeroQuest is so that Humakti can go seeking for the Sword of Death, retrieve it and then lose it to Orlanth before seeking it out again. It is written for the dedicated HeroQuester, although lesser versions do exist. For instance, a lesser version of this Quest may be used by those seeking to learn the spells of Truesword or Sever Spirit (very important in Paolo Guccione's Rune Magic system), or the Practice Quest version may be to gain a sword enchanted with Bladesharp or Parry, or to gain an allied spirit (for more information on practice quests, and of HeroQuests for initiates as well as Super-Rune Lords, see Simon Phipp's Webpage). It is written using YAHQS by Nils Weinander. I will supply rules for Maurer's system as well (and if anyone else has a HQ system on the Net, I'll gladly convert to that as well). Click Here for a copy of the Maurer conversion nots.
The version of the Quest given here is for the Bilini myth. The Sartarite version is unlikely to differ wildly, but Carmanian and East Ralian versions would have major differences. For instance, in the Carmanian version Humakt would probably have run in's with Ikadz rather than Bimbaros, or might have to convince the dread servants of Ganesatarus to let them through into the Underworld (sorry, I appear to have failed by Carmanian Lore roll and wouldn't like to comment on Hazari rites). The East Ralian version has no severing of connections to the Air rune, and the Otkorioni version has the Humakti aiding St. Orlanth in the death of the Emperor rather than letting him walk off on his own. A Gamesmaster should feel free to alter it wildly to annoy, confuse and irritate players who feel they are somewhat superior for knowing a few stories about Humakt.
The Quest is generally only used by cults seeking a powerful weapon to rally behind, a common theme in Humakti myth is to place all power into one individual rather than to spread it equally amongst the followers. This Quest produces a powerful weapon usually wielded by the HeroQuester. Those who suceed are inumberably better off for it. As for those who fail....
This is the Sword Story. It is a story of how Humakt became the controller of Death. He was approached by Eurmal, the Trickster, a weasel of a man who had conjured every trick in the book and more to get where he was, and that wasn't very far. But Eurmal knew something that Humakt didn't where a new power was located. Eurmal took Humakt there, down the Jewled Crevice, a gash in the earth that stretched to Hell and back. Humakt and the Trickster crawled for five days and five nights until they came out in the Underworld. Here Eurmal led Humakt to the Hidden Chamber of Subere.
The guardian of the Chamber was Vivamort, a guardian that seemingly did not guard very well. Humakt managed to breach the chambers defenses, taking heed of the advice he learnt whilst doing so. Inside he found Death, the new power. Vivamort, upon seeing this, fled. Humakt then led Eurmal back to the Surface World, wielding his new found power with impunity. Yet they had to evade the Underworld guardians, Sunbiter and Bimbaros. Sunbiter followed Humakt for many miles before the god summoned the air and wind to fly him away form the Hell Hound's claws. While try as hard as he might, Humakt could not evade Bimbaros who hunted him down and tried to impale him on one of his pegs. Humakt bested Bimbaros, and left his body as a reminder of his power. Humakt tried the new power of Grandfather Life, and much to his suprise found that the result was more than he could have hoped for. From this day forth was the world forever changed. The Age of Innocence had died with the First Mortal, and nothing would ever be the same again. Humakt, to contemplate what had happened, returned to his lodge. Here he was met by his brother, Orlanth, who was seeking new ways to defeat the Tyrant Yelm. Humakt listened to his brother's petition to have access to this new power, but eventually refused anyhow for Orlanth was not worthy enough to wield the unstoppable inevitability of Death. Yet he was betrayed!!! Eurmal the Thief took it from him and gave it to Orlanth as a gift, and he slew the Emperor anyhow. This is how Humakt first lost death.
Try as he might, Humakt could not reconcile the differences that he and his brother shared, and so he cut his ties to his family, forever. Humakt then went in search of the lost weapon. Orlanth did not have it for he had returned it to Eurmal, Eurmal had then given it to High King Elf who had lost it to the Dark Lord who in turn had it stolen by Ragnaglar and soon enough Humakt was left searching for Death amongst a thousand, thousand copies made by the Trickster. Everywhere he went he saw Death's work and everywhere he sought he could not find the True Death.
Eventually he arrived in the Center of the World. Here he saw the wreckage of a billion copies of his own true weapon. Standing amidst it was the Void, a creature from Outside the Cosmos. It had destroyed the Hinging Pin of the World and wrought much madness. Fortunately, an invisible voice whispered in his ear and passed him Death. Then the voice shielded Humakt from the madness of the Void and Humakt slew it. As the Void died it went from being Nothing to being Something, and the gods of the Cosmos could defend themselves from it and defeat it. In the ensuing confusion, Death was lost once more.
Again, Humakt sought it. Eventually he was led to the Underworld. Here he pulled it from it's shrine and claimed it as his own. Then he used it to slay the dead Devil, forced to Hell by the mighty Storm Bull who had slain the mortal body of Wakboth in the lands above. Humakt flung the Devil to the Lands Beyond the Dead, condemning Chaos to return to Outside the Cosmos where it had come from in the first place. Then the Spider Woman came to him, and whispered in his ear his final task. Humakt went to the Hidden Place and destroyed the Well of Death, freeing the world from both the terror of Death and the icy grip of Death. This did Death and Life become one within Time.
Humakt took his place in the Compromise, made peace with his brother and returned for the first Dawn and has ever since been the rightful owner of Death.
To start this HeroQuest, either the Humakti or his High Priest must have sacrificed for the spell of The Terminus Quest, it is a 6 point HeroQuest spell:
THE TERMINUS QUEST
6 points
Ritual (ceremony), reusable
This spell can only be cast on dedicated Humakti who have not only proven themselves worthy to the temple, but also undergone a Divination to determine their worthiness. It takes one day to cast and can only be sacrificed for at a Major Temple or better.
The spell can only be cast on the Humakti High Holy Day and if the Quester survives for the duration of the Quest then it will take from dusk till dawn to complete. Once the ritual is started no non-cult members may disturb it. Therefore, before the ritual is started all the worshippers gather themselves into the temple and seal the doors, placing allied guards on watch. The casting of the spell begins on the dawn of the holy day, the door is sealed and the guards are set. The priests spend their time in ritual matters, burning incense, chanting outloud and cutting their arms to bleed on the prospective Quester, the initiates spend the entire rite knelt in deep prayer. Lay members ensure to all their needs, feeding the worshippers when appropiate and casting Endurance when neccessary. The Quester stands in the centre of the temple, readied for battle, chanting silent prayers to his or her lord. At some point, normally just before dusk, the mudane and mythical collide and the entire temple ground becomes one huge entrance to the HeroPlane. As stated before, if anyone who is not a member of the cult of Humakt enters the temple grounds the rite is distured. If this occurs before the HeroQuest actually begins, then the only thing that is lost is the Rune Spell which must be reprayed for. If it occurs while the Quester is on the HeroPlane then the Quest may continue, but the Quester loses access to all Cult Support (in the form of Support Points etc...) which makes it infintely more difficult for the Quester.
At the point that the HeroPlane connects, the doors burst open and a small figure in black robes waddles in, his face concealed by shadows (a cross between Wormtongue and Yoda). He scoots over to the Quester, and leans up to the Quester (if he's too big, then the figue will clamber up his leg) and whispers "Great and valiant sir, I have something that I believe you will wish to see. While someone so low as me, lower than even a stickpicker, would not normally even think to talk to such a high and honourable gentleman as yourself, such is the value of the priceless item that I have found I felt only a man of your stature could dare to even look at it."
This is Eurmal the Trickster, and the Humakti is expected to leave with him through the doors and out into the HeroPlane beyond. The members of the cult are expected to remain in pray until (if) he returns.
(1a) The Jeweled Crevice
Eurmal seeks to take the Humakti to Hell through one of the Jeweled Crevices, great veins of dead gods blood that burnt through the Earth into Hell, leaving veins of crystals in their wake. The character may wish to use a Station from another HeroQuest to get to the Underworld, but this is the one that comes with the Quest.
Eurmal quickly leads the character out of the temple and across a darkened landscape, and towards a chasm. A great gap in the ground, coated across the sides with onyx, and the walls sparlking with crystals. This Jeweled Crevice eventually collapsed in the First Age, but here in the Godtime it is intact and leads all the way through the roots of the mountains into the Underworld. To start the descent, the Quester must suceed in an uncontested Agility Contest against a value of 2+. Those who fail, fall. Falling is bad. A Quester who falls take two points of damage to Body, and must try again and keep trying till they suceed unless they manage to survive six consecutive falls (possible with the aid of Healing High magic) then they have reached the bottom anyhow. Eurmal dextrously and pliantly slips to the bottom.
Somewhere in the depths of one of the mountain chambers the Humakti encounters Jehkorghos, a child of Subere and a Mountain spirit. It lives in the roots of the mountain ranges, seething it's formless mass through the darkness preying on the odd spirit and Mostali. When it encounters the Quester it suddenley jetisons forth as black inky cloud, and the ambient heat in the cool depths suddenly drops to a tremendously cold degree, and the cloud takes form. The Humakti will more than likely be in a small rocky corridor. The figure has dark, glowing eyes that crackle with Subere's energy. An inky tendril swiftly passes by the Humakti and Eurmal before they can react, sending a shiver of coldness through their mortal frames. Then the cloud speaks in Darktongue, "You, you are not.." it pauses, "Stone. You are not a dwarf??? What are you?? Are you a troll??" The creature, suprised at not discovering something to snack on, has piqued it's inquisitive nature. The Eurmali hides behind the Quester, quaking in terror. To deal with the Darkness spirit the Humakti may choose Violence (always an option) or satisfy the creatures curiosity. In the former, go below for stats. For the later, more intresting option, the character will have to act in a particular manner. Firstly, they should act the way Humakt does - be bold and noble, and not quiver or falter in anyway, nor threaten the creature or act without respect. If they at all act nervous or unsure the creature rasps and says "Grukhgal" -- Darktongue for "Ah, Supper". Secondly, the character will have to describe themselves as best they can, without lying. They will have to describe their race and their cult without showing themselves to be (a) tasty, (b) easy to kill or (c) too dangerous. If they fail in any of these, the creature attacks. If the Quester lies at any point then they may continue with the Quest, but when they return they will be an inactive worshipper until they make recompense.
If the Quester kills the creature they may continue. If they satisfy it's curiosity then it rasps and leaves as quickly as it came.
JEHKORGHOS THE DEVOURER
Body 3; Mind 3; Spirit 4
Skills: Agility --; Combat 3; Knowledge +; Perception 3; Social +; Stealth 3
Runes: Darkness 4, Spirit 2.
Magic Points: 67
To get down the Mountain (which stretches to the roof of the Underworld) requires an uncontested agility against 2, a failure results in another fall of 2 points of Body damage. At the bottom the Quester must head towards the skulls. At this point the referee may insert additional encounters with Hellions, bands of Uz, huge shades, an enormous fear spirit or an Argan Argari caravan as they wish.
WHY DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN HANDLE SUCH AN ANCIENT POWER?
A Quester must honestly feel that as an individual they have a right to choose and pass judgement over others by wielding this new power.
WHY DO YOU STEAL?
Of course, any Orlanthi knows that this isn't theft, just plunder. Remember, "Violence is always an option."
Any character who cannot properly justify themselves will not be harmed whilst on the Quest, but when they return they will be inactive worshippers of Humakt and must go on more missions for the cult to return to their natural state.
Here they encounter the nightime guardian, urVivamort. He stands outside the Hidden Chamber. He appears to be unawares of the Quester and his companion, but an ambush would be dishonourable (but mind you, this mightn't stop all Questers; in case of ambush add 1 to Combat skill for the first round). e appears to be human but with a cloak of woven darkness and carrying a staff of wrought lead. He stands outside a door of thick granite. The spirit, unless ambushed, will stop all who come close and demand they turn back. Obviously they won't and so the spirit engages them:
URVIVAMORT
Body 3; Mind 2; Spirit 3
Skills: Agility 1; Combat 2; Knowledge 1+; Perception 1+; Social 1; Stealth 1
Low Magic: Death, Element (Darkness), Heal
Runes: Darkness 6, Magic 2
Magic Points: 149
He opens up with a Darkness attack boosted with his Runes. If he defeats the Quester (Eurmal will not aid him) then the Quester has failed, but will still awake alive but dishonoured back in the temple. The Quester can use High Death magic on Vivamort to get rid of him, but he will not be able to aid in the next station.
The Quester must use magic or spirit combat to attack it, if they say they are attacking it physically then they will cause no damage. Run the combat as follows, each round the bring with the lowest spirit score loses one point of spirit. Physical damage is meaningless, although maigc is effective.
DEATH
Spirit 6
As long as urVivamort is alive then part way through the combat he regenerates and runs in and shouts "Travesty!! This will surely be our end." becfore pausing with consideration then screaming, "No, not me!! Never!" and swings for the creature with his staff. This inflicts two damage to the creature, as he steals part of it's secrets before fleeing. Death bleeds spiritual darkened blood which congeals at the Humakti's feet. Humakt may notice Eurmal collects it in a jar for his own malign purposes. The Humakti may retreat at any time, Death will not follow.
Once defeated, Death will impart it's knowledge to the Quester. This permanently increases the Death Rune of the Quester by 5, and will allow the Quester to forge the blade of death. If for some reason the Quester does not forge the blade and instead attempts to keep the powers solely for himself (this would violate cult restrictions and result in excommunication) then they gain Heroic Castings in Sever Spirit, Truesword, Turn Undead and Beserk (for those who don't know, a Heroic Casting means that the spell can be cast and need not be reprayed for).
SUNBITER, THE DEATHOUND
Body 6+; Mind 2; Spirit 5+
Skills: Agility 2+; Combat 5+; Knowledge 1+; Perception 4; Social 1; Stealth 4
Runes: Darkness 5, Fire 5, Beast 5
Magic Points: 386
The Quester must do likewise. Those who attempt to avoid the Porter must match their Stealth against the Porter's Perception. If he suceeds then the Quester evades capture, if the Giant suceeds then he finds the Quester and attacks. The Giant appears to be a huge deformed human, with twisted features, carrying a dragon claw as a maul and wearing enchanted lead armour, he roars in anger at those attempting to leave the Underworld and threatens to hang them on his adamant pegs. If the Quester suceeds in defeating the Giant then they may escape back to the Upper World. If they fail then they are captured and spend an eternity on one of the admanite pegs of Bimbaros, unable to leave the Heroplane unless someone else braves it to rescue them.
BIMBAROS, PORTER TO HELL
Body 5; Mind 2; Spirit 6
Skills: Agility 1; Combat 5; Knowledge 2; Perception 6; Social 1; Stealth +
Runes: Darkness 4, Mastery 1
Magic Points: 184
Once out of the Underworld the Quester virtually always find themselves at the doors to their temple once more, although sometimes odd things happen such as finding themselves in another gods domain, sometimes friendly, sometimes malign. Often, Questers use this as a place to insert other HeroQuests before continuing.
At this point the Humakti is expected to forge the blade Death. Humakt, being a master forger, created the greatest weapon in the world except for Kargan Tor's First Weapon. Of course, not all Questers may be as proficient as Humakt was. All temples provide a forge as part of the preparation. The forging requires part of the essence of the Quester as well as part of that which he has taken from his battle with Death. It takes a period of about four or five days in subjective time (remember, time flows at different rates on the Heroplane as compared to the Mundane Plane). The forging requires an uncontested test of Knowledge (representing the characters ability to forge) against a set difficulty of 7. This may be increased by gambling, support points etc... as per normal. The Death rune may also be used. Modify the difficulty as follows:
+2 if the weapon being forged is anything other than a sword
-1 for every special condition that the Humakti accounted
for in preparation (i.e. getting a Diamond Dwarf to design
the sword, or getting Lodrilites to bless the forge)
-1 for every 2 points of POW invested in forging
If the forging fails then the Quest ends, and the Quester is left only with the increase in his Death Rune statistic. If it suceeds then the Quest continues, see below for a description of what a Death Sword can do.
Eurmal will take the player back out of the temple and walk for what seems like half a day to a sea coast and board a boat. In the distance the Quester will see a huge column of truestone stretching all the way from the basin of the Cosmos to the roof. Eurmal embarks the boat with the Quester and they head off to the side of the Spike, ploughing through the "morning" mist. Eurmal takes a deep lungful of air and says "Just think, sir, after today everything could be different. Imagine what changes your power will make."
The Spike appears to be a block of bluish stone, glimmering slightly, from where the Quester disembarks. Near one end is a small glade with a village, prancing men and women leap around with happiness acorss their faces. The entire village radiates pure peace and innocence. When Eurmal and the Quester enter the village they will be met by a handful of children who ask why they are there, and want to know virtually everything about them. Any reference to Grandfather Life will lead the players to his hut in the centre of the village, the children gladly lead the Quester there on the promise that he will, at some point, play a game with them. The hut is attended by Flesh Man who inquires to the players name and then announces them to the hut's occupants. Inside is Grandfather Life who heartily accepts the group, and has his wife poor some mead and have some splendourbread. When he discovers the Quester has brought a new power for him to try, he will seem more intrested than before. However, Grandfather Life is still unsure about testing out new Powers, after all they could be dangerous. He will question the Quester over what he will gain and what he will lose. If the Quester cannot give a convincing argument as to why he should wish to have Death used upon him, then the Quester will be asked to leave. His Quest has failed, and when he returns to the Mundane Plane the sword he carries will be little more than a piece of wood.
If Grandfather Life accepts then he will gladly have the player test out the blade. The player must kill Grandfather Life, who then dies. His spirits departs from his body. He looks down at the shattered corpse and tries to rejoin with it. And fails. The spirit looks down once more and shakes his head. Slowly he cordially thanks the player and then leaves the hut and walks off into the distance. The village starts to gather round the body and suddenly an eruption of noise and confusion breaks out as the villagers wonder what has happened. Meanwhile, Eurmal congratulates the Quester for being such a worthy man participating in such a worthy venture, and winning such a grandiose prize. The two can then head back, once more, to the temple grounds (which seems that bit bigger everytime they re-enter).
The Quester is disturbed by a man who enters through the doors to the temple, he wears Orlanthi noble robes and has a heavy set figure. He has a full face, wild eyes and a long beard. This is Orlanth.
He comes to the player and asks about this new weapon. Then he tells of his coming fight with Yelm the Emperor. Then he asks for the Sword. If the Quester refuses then Orlanth talks of Bonds and Bloodoaths. If the Quester is true of resolve then they must sever all ties with the Orlanthi family to avoid having to give Orlanth the blade. This basically means severing all contact with the Air Rune, permanently. This can be done by using the magic powers of the sword, and expending one point of the Death Rune. The Quester then loses all points they may have had in the Air Rune, and are now considered to be Severed from it (see YAHQS for a description of Severed runes).
Those who give the Sword to Orlanth are going against both their common sense, honour and the warning by Subere written on the door that opens into the chamber of Death. If they do then they will lose the Blade, fail in the Quest and be made inactive worshippers until recompense is made. Note, however, that certain cultures such as Otkorioni and East Ralian are the reverse and at this station they must pledge themselves to Orlanth and seek out the Emperor, slaying him.
Those who do not give the sword and sever their connection to the Storm Family will be saved the dishonour of refusing Orlanth. Orlanth will leave, very upset and distressed. Eurmal will leave with him, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.
Eurmal has stolen Death and replaced it with a Copy. The Quester has no way of stopping this, as Eurmal is the Greatest Thief ever and could remove the blade even if the Humakti glued it to his own hand and hid himself away in the Underworld. If the Quester returns back to the Mundane Plane with the copy they will discover that it is only a sword made of wood, but whilst on this HeroQuest it acts exactly as the normal Sword Death should. Eurmal has given the blade to Orlanth, as the Quester will soon find out, as shortly after the two leave the Quester hears in the distance drum beats, followed by a pleasant melody, then a few minutes later the world falls dark. Eurmal runs in screaming that the sun has fallen, that the sky is crashing and that the end is nigh. Eurmal will scream and screech at the Quester in fear, nagging them endlessly. First he shouts warnings, then insinuates that it was the Quester's fault that Orlanth got hold of the blade, then he shouts for the player to go and reclaim the blade and then he makes snide comments about the Quester being "yellow" if he refuses. The Humakti has only one choice, to follow Eurmal to Umath's Camp and investigate.
(6c) Umath's Camp
The Queter must go with Eurmal to Umath's Camp. The Quester, upon, leaving the temple instinctly knows the path to the Camp. He walks for what may seem like days through rolling hills, bracken, dark forests, woried villages etc... seeing the carnage that Death has wrought. At the North Gate of the Camp, which appears on the horizon as a dark outline against the starlit sky, they are greeted by Ygg Seastorm, a towering giant of a man who stands next to an enormous gate located in a palisade around the hidden camp. He is shaking his head worriedly and shouts for the Quester to halt when he spots him. Once he realises it is Humakt, he relaxes. He will answer any questions the Quester has about what has happened, answering that Olranth has used a new power on Yelm, plunging the world into Darkness. He also says that Umath has now summoned an Iron Council.
Inside the Quester finds a ring of gods and goldings centered in Umath's Hall. Each awaits King Storm's words. Umath comes forth, bold and brisk, and announces that his One Ring has triumphed over the Autocratic Emperor of the Universe, and his son is the victor. Orlanth then walks in and the members of the ring roar in approval. Orlanth then relates his tale of fighting and battling, and of banishing the Emperor to the Underworld. Umath calls for Minlister's Greatest Ale and calls for great celebrations of freedom. Each of Umath's sons come forward to congratulate Orlanth on his endeavour, Urox followed by Ragnaglar, then Vadrus and Gagarth - each giving him their own words of confidence and advice. It is Humakt's place to remind Orlanth of his own flaws and of the dangers of Death.
If Humakt attempts to reclaim Death, Orlanth will say that he owed Eurmal a boon and gave it to him. In turn Eurmal has already passed it onto High King Elf. Humakt has lost the blade. For now.
At this station, the Humakti seeks for Death across the Broken remains of the world. It culminates with Humakt's arrival in the Underworld and his claiming of Death. The major stations are listed here, often Questers have visions and hallucinations of Humakt's travels across the world in his search for the Sword Death.
JOTIMAM, THE DEVIL
Body --; Mind ??; Spirit 6
Skills: Agility --; Combat 6; Knowledge ??; Perception 3; Social --; Stealth 3
Runes: Void 30, Chaos 10
Magic Points: NA
Notes: All damage inflicted upon Jotimam is applied to Spirit, and all damage caused by Jotimam is caculated using his Spirit and affects the Quester's Spirit.
What has kept these people here, away from the maw of Oblivion, is their respect and faith in Death. Since Humakt is now Death he is expected to protect them, and slay the Devil again. This time he comes as Kajaboor, the Other Half of Wakboth. A giant spectral spider composed of anti-light with a head of the Void itself. Humakt must slay it and send the Devil to the lands Beyond Death. Failure again results in Oblivion.
KAJABOOR, THE DEVIL
Body 6; Mind ??; Spirit ??
Skills: Agility 3; Combat 5; Knowledge ??; Perception 2; Social ??; Stealth 2
Runes: Chaos 10
Magic Points: NA
Once defeated the Cosmos begins to strengthen again.
Physically, Humakt encounters a roaring Well, the Well of Death, and must slice it in two with one blow. Spiritually, Humakt must overcome Death and his own flaws so that he can master it. He must suceed in a contest of his spirit against the spirit of the Well, which is 6. If the Humakti suceeds, the Well is cut asunder and Death spills out, the Quester absorbs it all. If the Humakti fails then he is consumed by the Well and Dies, never to return. Those who suceed gain one more benefit, they may return to the Hidden Place at one point during their life. This effectively gives them an instant teleport to a safe haven on the Heroplane where they can remain for as long a period, or as short a period, as they like. When they return it is always into a Humakti temple. Once used, it cannot be used again.
Usually the other gods are actually toher HeroQuesters from other cults, although a Quester would have no way of telling one way or the other. The Quester also gains 1d6% in Godtongue. Orlanth then greets his brother and says:
The Quester, as well as those who aided him, are all held with the highest honour and respect. The Sword is made real, and becomes a very deadly weapon. Often blessings of Humakt are passed amongst the worshippers. All Questers gain 15% in Ceremony/Cult Lore (as appropiate to your own house rules) to represent their insight into the Quest. Celebrations usually last two days, and never more than four.
If the Quester fails they may or may not be dead/devoured by chaos. However, disaster always befalls the temple that aids the Quester who fails. Noted examples are all the swords of the Supporters shattering, or the temple collapsing, or being attacked by dragons etc.... This disaster usually results in the destruction of the temple and the vast majority of it's worshippers. Any Quester who survives but fails anyhow loses access to Sever Spirit, any uses they have currently become one-use and they cannot sacrifice for more.
When forged it is always made of Iron, no matter if the Quester has access to the metal or not. The weapon is virtually always a sword. It is always sharp, always shines and never tarnishs. It is covered in runes, and the hilt depicts the elements of the Quest that the Humakti had to go through to win the Blade. The sword always weighs half of what it should, and has half the STR requirements for it's use. The magical powers of the blade are as follows:
* If it kills someone on the HeroPlane, they are dead. There is no need to use magic to separate their body from their soul.
* Anyone slain by the blade cannot be ressurected or have their soul brought back by magic or undead raising powers.
* All Death Magic and undead powers are ineffective upon the wielder, this includes Sever Spirit, disrupt, venom and a vampires hypnotising glare.
* The blade is Powered. This means that when it strikes the level of success is increased by one i.e. a normal attack roll becomes a special, a special becomes a cirtical etc... This applies to parrying aswell.
* The blade has a number of additional AP's and inflicts additional damage equal to the number of Support Points that are supporting the Quester. It does not matter whether these Support Points have been used or not, but is instead based on the initial number of points the Quester had access to. And it never loses AP, even if a parried blow does damage in excess of the AP. It is unbreakable.
* The blade is enchanted with a spirit that has an INT equal to the initial Support Points the Quester had (max. 25) and a POW equal to three times that amount. It has a full INT of Humakti spirit magic and has a number of points of Rune Magic equal to the Support Points the Quester initially had. It is in mindlink permanently with all those who took part as Supporters, as well as the Hero himself. It is sentient and cannot be commanded to do anything, but will gladly serve most Humakti.
For a description of what Invoked Powers are refer to Simon Phipps HeroQuest rules. Where it says Piety/POW, use Piety if you use my HeroQuest rules and POW if not.