Corruption, the sword

WARNING: do not read this. it is bad. it is the first RPG thing I wrote.

At the bottom of an ancient tomb, or some great temple or other, there lies a sword sung of in myth and song. It is not a remarkable sword, no mark or glyph crosses it, no precious jewels adorn its hilt.

No, it is sung of not for presence in the hand of a king, not for its use on the field of battle. It was never graced by god, nor by any known wizard of any court.

It is known for power, child, and that is all you need.

Welcome to this first post in my OSR blog "Traveling Mailsman", today we will be discussing why giving your players an insta-kill sword is a great idea.

Mechanically speaking, a corruption sword is an ordinary sword that kills anybody who takes even a single point of damage from it. Maybe give a round or so before death for a single last deed. Or not.

Because of this, you dont need any special aesthetic for it. I personally have it rapidly turn its target to crystal, and have them vanish in a flash of light, but it really is up to you.

Other than the corruption brought on just by its very nature, be sure to have occasional thieves try to steal it. Generally, i like a base 0 in 6 chance for secluded areas (like a nunnery or lumber camp) 1 in 6 for villages or towns, 2 for cities, 3 for weird places like hell or some kind of wizard land.

Add 1 to the chance if the player uses it in the place. If the chance comes for someone to steal it, have a couple burglars or assassins come for it in the night. The first time, have them crack a tree branch or something. Your players will make sure they hear every time after.

The idea is that the sword is far more trouble than it is worth. It gets assassins after you, you lose money on guards and traps to protect yourself and the sword, and the power to kill anyone wears down your humanity.

You're an outlaw, an addict, and a fool, but the sword is too powerful. Too strong. You cant give up now. Power through.

It is no suprise to learn i wrote this after reading "the pearl"

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