Swordtember Day 30 - Keyword: Glowing

This blade emits a dim white light when unsheathed. Any weapon touched by this light will glow with colors determined by the alignment and affiliation of the creature possessing each weapon.

 Swordtember Day 29 - Keyword: Necromancy

Any body part cut off by this sword will become a familiar of the wielder for 1-10 days. The wielder may use them to manipulate or hold objects; speak, see, or listen through them; or expend the energy within them to attempt to strike an opponent for damage equivalent to a dart.

 Swordtember Day 28 - Keyword: Crystal

This sword may focus sunlight into a beam of heat, moonlight into a beam of cold, or starlight into a bright light. The keen edge causes wounds that continue to bleed until healed magically.

 Swordtember Day 27 - Keyword: Insect

When this hilt is grasped it forms a long blade of stinging bugs.  It ignores any armor with gaps in it and on a hit the creature struck must save against poison or be sickened. Any victim will gradually loose balance, sight, and motor control before being paralyzed for 1 hour.

 Swordtember Day 26 - Keyword: Storm

When this sword hits an opponent it emits a thunderous sound that causes any not allied with the wielder to make a save or be deafened and disoriented for 10 minutes. It attracts lightning and may maintain a charge to be unleashed at its wielders discretion within the next day.

 Swordtember Day 25 - Keyword: Woven

This belt has a silvery color.  When doubled up and a key phrase spoken it forms a short sword with a magical bonus. When held by the buckle and a different key phrase spoken it forms a great sword that will strike magical creatures and may be wielded with one hand instead of two.

 Swordtember Day 24 - Keyword: Jeweled

Each time this sword is used to kill a creature, that creature is transformed into a gem.  The value of the gem is based on the creatures maximum health and the gem may have additional properties based on any special abilities possessed by the creature. If the gem is destroyed there is a chance the creature will be reborn and it would then be immune to any attacks by the sword's owner.

 Swordtember Day 23 - Keyword: Summoned/Banished

This sword automatically hits and does extra damage to any creature from a different plane/realm/dimension.  However, if the wielder is defeated by the creature, they are sent to that creature's home realm.

 Swordtember Day 22 - Keyword: Mechanical

When the holder of this sword concentrates for one minute they can use it to open any non-magical, non-combination lock.

 Swordtember Day 21 - Keyword: Eyes

Once this sword draws blood from an opponent, the user can close their eyes while holding the sword and see that creature's location. They can see 360 degrees as if that creature and a wide view which includes that creature from any angle.  They also get a sense of the direction the creature is in.

 Swordtember Day 20 - Keyword : FragmentedWhen first striking an enemy, whether successful or not, the Sword of 1000 Cuts appears to shatter into 10 pieces, which float in the air and surround the opponent. Each future strike with the sword causes damage from all 10 floating pieces, regardless of the result of the strike with the remainder of the sword. This automatic damage increases each time a successful strike is made.

 Swordtember Day 19 - Keyword : Forest

Appearing to be a wooden practice sword, this weapon gives its possessor complete alertness to any danger when in forested areas. The owner is also able to use the blade to cover tracks and, when run through underbrush, create a perfect hiding spot for up to 10 creatures.

 Swordtember Day 18 - Keyword :Jester

The Harlequin Blade has a mellowing effect on animals and hostile creatures.  So long as it is sheathed, any creature that wishes to attack the owner or any in their party must make a check to do so.  If successful, all attacks are still made at a disadvantage and it struck by the blade the creature will immediately be overcome by laughter for one minute.

 Swordtember Day 17 - Keyword :Glass

The clear blade of the Prism blade appears fragile with thin intricate patterns, The possessor may concentrate to brighten any ambient light to levels allowing normal sight.  Any spell cast at the holder has a 10% chance of being absorbed, providing extra damage on the next strike.

 Swordtember Day 16 - Keyword : Tooth/Bone

Tiger's Fang is a weapon of pure white.  It  has a 10% chance to break an opponent's bone with any strike. It's serrated edge renders any meat cut by it edible by its owner.  A side effect is that the possessor must save after any combat to avoid taking at least a few bites of any fallen foe or chunks of flesh cut off during the combat.

 Swordtember Day 15 - Keyword: Liquid

When concentrated on for 1 minute, this sword will always orient its blade in the direction of the nearest source of untainted fresh water within 5 miles. If there is none it will indicate drinkable water if any is present.

 Swordtember Day 14 - Keyword :Poisonous

The Thorn

This blade appears to be carved from bamboo or a similar plant. Any creature stabbed or scraped by the tip must make a check as poison enters their system.  On a pass the creature becomes sluggish for 10 minutes, on a fail it falls unconscious for 1 hour at which point a second check is made. A fail on this second check results in death. A pass results in sluggishness as above. Magical healing vs poison gives a bonus or advantage on the check.

 Swordtember Day 13 - Keyword : Ice

 After this sword strikes any icy surface, the owner may walk across it as normal ground for five minutes.  This includes the ability to walk up vertical surfaces as if level ground.

 Swordtember Day 12 - Keyword : Fire

The runes of this sword are activated when it passes through a fire.  When it is returned to its scabbard, the fire will be extinguished if it is small and nonmagical.  Larger nonmagical fires will have a section five feet wide and up to six feet long extinguished. Extinguished sections will relight at the normal rate when the sword is drawn again.  While the sword remains in its scabbard the wearer and all gear will remain  safe from the fire it passed through for up to 5 minutes.

 Swordtember Day11 - Keyword : Dual

This slender sword is a masterwork from a forgotten dwarven blacksmith.  It has a mechanism in the hilt that balances for quick thrusts and parries. When the hilt is squeezed it will briefly extend the blade for two inches.

 Swordtember Day 10 - Keyword : Ceremony/Ritual

During the Harvest Festival, this sword is passed over all the best of the grains, vegetables, and fruits in the village square.  Those crops that please the gods will drop seeds that are blessed and will be resistant to drought and pests.

 Swordtember Day 7 - Keyword : Moon

The Lunar Sword gains ever more power with the fullness of the moons. The brightness or dullness of the blade indicates the level of power.  When black, a stroke against a hard object may shatter the sword.  When blindingly bright, it is capable of shattering mountains.

 Swordtember Day 9 - Keyword : Ocean

The Sword of the Seas gains power the closer it is to the ocean. Its wielder can breathe underwater and perform in water as they do on land, finding purchase in water as if walking along the ground.

 Swordtember Day 6 - Keyword : Smoke

When drawn from its scabbard, the Burn Blade immediately begins to heat up nearby wood and plant matter, causing it to char and turn to ash.  No actual flames are produced but the smell of smoke is quickly evident.  In enclosed areas or thick areas of vegetation, the smoke will begin diminishing eyesight and burning lungs until vision and breathing become extremely difficult.

 Swordtember Day 5 - Keyword : Edible

 The Great Knife is a zweihander blessed by the god of feasts. Any plant or animal matter cut by it is transformed into a nutritious and delicious dish based on the type of meat or vegetation and cuisine of the local culture.

 Swordtember Day 8 - Keyword : Sun

The Solar Scimitar is weapon for only the most experienced of fighters. In light of day its ability to reflect and channel the light and heat of the sun can result in major destruction if not properly controlled. Even in the darkest cave or dungeon, between dawn and dusk it is capable of shining brightly and causing enemies to suffer burning cuts.

 Swordtember Day 4 - Keyword : Divine relic

The Blessed Blade is the material avatar of the god of the harvest. The knight who successfully quests for it becomes the Protector of the Lands.  This title does not only signify their role in turning away invaders, bandits, and despoilers. It also places the responsibility of the wielder to use the powers in the sword to manage the rains; prevent pestilence by animal, bug, or weed; and to encourage the farmers to be diligent in their role of successfully growing their crops.

 Swordtember Day 3 - Keyword : Cursed relic

The Bright Blade is renowned through out the realms for it's power and precision, being the weapon of many long lived conquerors. While the blade does ignore physical armor and project damage across great distances, it's true power has been kept secret by its many wielders. 

Upon taking possession of the blade, the wielder instantly becomes a revenant.  Initially physically unchanged, their body will slowly begin to rot. Only regular use of the blade to kill and harvest the life force of its victims will halt the degradation of the body. And as time passes the preservation of the flesh and continued life of  its owner will require ever more blood to be spilled.

 Swordtember Day 2 - Keyword :Floral

 The Garden Blades consists of a katana and paired wakizashi of unknown rainbow hued alloy.  When flourished by a skilled swordsman, they create a rain of petals of fragrant local flowers in the immediate area, growing as the swordman continues. If ritually wielded by a priest they induce growth of flora of all types in a widespread area.

Swordtember Day 1 - Keyword : Wings

 

 Sword of Return

The pommel of this sword looks like a pair of eagle wings.

The sword bonds with its owner as long as the previous owner gives it up willingly or is dead. On any night it is away from its owner, it takes flight and finds its way back.

The sword is made of an adamantine alloy that is extremely sharp. When used in combat, it provides a bonus to hit and damage. Anyone who grabs it while in flight automatically suffers double damage and must make a strength check to maintain their hold.

RPGaDay2024

 On my podcast, Phantom Thoughts, I am participating in RPGaDay2024, a month long celebration of RPGs in the month of August.  Every August, on the blog Autocratik, prompts are published to help people share about their experiences with RPGs or alternatively to trigger creativity to share on blogs, podcasts, videos, and social media.

The following creators are also participating. I encourage anyone reading this to check them out. My thanks to another participant, Free Thrall of The Stochasium blog and Keep off the Borderlands podcast (find links on the blog), for compiling many of these links and inspiring me to do likewise. Far too often I ignore/forget the social part of this hobby and social media in general.

 If anyone would like to suggest other creators to add to this list, feel free leave a comment or to contact me on Discord (ThePinkPhantom), Twitter (@ThePinkPhantom), or email (thepinkphantom1@gmail.com)

Podcast: Mirke the Meek

Podcast: Hindsightless 

Podcast: The GMologist Presents 

Podcast: The Arcane Alienist

Blog: Nerd's RPG Varietycast  

Podcast: Dekahedron

Podcast: Diagetic Advancement

Blog: Casting Shadows Podcast: Casting Shadows

Youtube: Ivanmike1968 

Blog:  The Stochasium

 

Also checkout #RPGaDay2024 on the artist formerly known as Twitter and Facebook

  

Chain of Thought: Fatigue in Chainmail

 Amidst a blog post documenting the first part of a play-by-post Chainmail battle, 

How to Play Chainmail: A Play-by-Post Experiment

 Purple Druid posited a question:

There is no rule for what happens when Fatigued beyond "-1 level of Troop type", do y'all have any ideas?

Me being me, I went straight to the rules in Chainmail, 3rd edition 

I responded on the blog entry, suggesting there is nowhere in the rules that suggests fatigue is a one time process, and that units could cycle through the steps over and over. This would mean ever increasing penalties until the unit in question rests. That was how I thought it.

Later on while I was in the shower (why do these things always happen in the shower where paper and electronic recording are not recommended?) I realized, the rules do not say anything about *rest*.

For some time I've seen those posting, blogging, and viding (?) about Chainmail struggle with combining the effects of steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 above. What if a unit moves 4 turns and then melees 1 round? What about moving once, charging, then meleeing twice? How exactly does 3 melee rounds = 5 moves?

But changing the mindset from resting (no activity at all) to not moving potentially clears up some things. Points 2 and 3 are no longer connective tissue to aid wargamers in mixing and matching all variations of melee and movement. They are special cases being specifically addressed in the rules. They stand alone, only used in those 'corner cases'.

Now the thought process for fatigue is: Did a unit move five turns in a row? Did it melee three rounds? Did it meet one of the specific cases? If the answer to all three is no, that unit is not fatigued. A unit moves on four straight moves and then is engaged in turn five in melee action. Unless it is forced to move due to morale failure (or fight two more rounds of melee for those that advocate multiple rounds of melee in a turn) that unit is not fatigued.

And I just realized while typing this, there's a word that is not present in point 4. The word "consecutive" is not there. Three melee rounds = fatigued, regardless of timing. I think that makes things even simpler. Now there is even less need to worry about the math of movement + melee when figuring fatigue other than the specifics of points 2 and 3.

This really leaves me with only one question, and then I think I could adjudicate fatigue under any circumstances. Does a unit that hasn't yet engaged in melee but is fatigued, does not move in a turn, engages in one round (or two if doing multiple rounds in a turn) melee, and wins (not forced to move due to morale failure) lose their fatigue? Logic says no (melee is stressful), but a straight reading of the rules says yes.

Okay, two more questions (dang stream of consciousness): Do fatigued archers that do not move in a turn, but fire ranged attacks lose fatigue at the end of that turn? Does shooting without moving incur fatigue as melee does? Going strictly by RAW, I would say yes for the first and no for the second.

For each of these three questions, a strictly RAW adjudication feels wrong. But what say you?

 

Edit (about two hours after original publication):

RHampton on the Wargame Culture Discord responded there:

 After reading his comment, I've changed my mind about my questions on archers and fatigue. A RAW interpretation of how fatigue applies to ranged attacks makes more sense to me now than my initial misgivings.

Also, he has some interesting rules systems on Drivethrurpg so check those out.