Power-Wrought Special Material
A Power-wrought weapon is made as part of a magical process which subtly alters the fundamental structure of the weapon. Power-wrought weapons are unbreakable and cannot be damaged; in addition, they bypass all forms of damage reduction other than DR /epic. Only melee weapons may be Power-wrought, and a Power-wrought weapon costs 15,000gp in addition to the normal cost of the weapon. Power-wrought weapons are always masterwork, and this cost is included in the price.
Weapon Property: Studied (Edited from JoshuaZ)
Price: +1 bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster level: 7th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 18) transmutation
Activation: --
This weapon is sturdy and worn, but still quite sharp. It is clearly the veteran of many battles, and is all the better for them.
Studied is a weapon property that can be applied to any melee weapon of mastercraft quality. The wielder of a studied weapon gains a +2 insight bonus on Bladecraft checks, and can use the Bladecraft skill untrained.
However, a studied weapon reveals its true power whenever the wielder is in a Form. The enhancement bonus of a studied weapon increases based on the complexity of the Form that the wielder is in: +1 for a Basic Form, +2 for a Moderate Form, +3 for an Advanced form, and +4 for an Expert form. This effect cannot increase the enhancement bonus of the weapon above +10.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms & Armor, Bladecraft 6 ranks.
Cost to create: Varies.
Bracers of Stowing
Price: 4,000 gp
Body Slot: Arms
Caster Level: 5th
Aura: Faint; (DC 18) transmutation
Activation: Free action (mental)
Weight: 2 lb.
These heavy, armored bracers have beautifully-tooled leather straps, designed to hold a shield in place.
You can activate bracers of stowing as a free action whenever you have a shield readied, which causes the shield to shrink, becoming part of the armor on the bracers. You gain no bonus to your armor class, and you cannot benefit from any abilities or effects, from the shrunken shield; spell durations affecting the shield are not suppressed, and continue to expire. You can restore the shield to its original size, strapped to your arm and readied for use, with another free action. You cannot stow more than one shield with the bracers of stowing, and you cannot stow a shield with the bracers more than once per round.
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, shrink item.
Cost to Create: 2000gp, 160xp, 4 days.
Oaken Rampart
Price: 7,317 gp
Body Slot: -- (held)
Caster Level: 3rd
Aura: Faint; abjuration
Activation: See text.
Weight: 7.5 lbs
This heavy darkwood shield is scarred from the impact of many blows, but feels as solid and unyielding as an oak tree.
Oaken Rampart is a +1 heavy darkwood shield with +1 shield spikes, which grants the wielder a +5 competence bonus to make or resist bull rush attempts.
In addition, as long as the wielder has at least 6 ranks in Bladecraft, she may activate Oaken Rampart as a free action to aid her use of Bladecraft. When activated, the shield grants the wielder the [Rend] tag; if she had already been granted a different Hand tag, it is replaced by [Rend]. Oaken Rampart can be activated up to 3 times per day.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, tree shape, Bladecraft 8 ranks.
Cost to Create: 3,568gp 5 sp, 286xp, 8 days.
Calculus Spike (minor artifact)
(Edited from JoshuaZ)
At least three of these necromantic horrors exist: a dagger, a shortsword, and a bastard sword. No one is sure where they come from, but some speculate that they are formed when a particularly powerful Blademaster is killed by an Animatrix of War, who rends some of the Blademaster's soul and imparts it into the blade. Each calculus spike is a +1 vicious weapon, which also has the bane property against creatures with a higher Base Attack Bonus than the wielder.
If a calculus spike is wielded by a creature with ranks in Bladecraft and used to kill a living being which also has ranks in Bladecraft, the wielder immediately learns one blade technique that the slain creature knew, of any complexity that the wielder can learn. The slain creature cannot then be resurrected or reincarnated except by divine intervention.
Some say that using a calculus spike will slowly turn the wielder insane, as fragments of the victims' personalities intrude on the wielder's mind... but these stories may be fabrications, hoping to warn impressionable creatures away from these weapons.
Ruby Destiny (major artifact)
(Edited from JoshuaZ)
The Ruby Destiny is an ancient relic, sacred to Wee Jas. It is a short sword with a hilt of dull black material, a curved silver crossguard, and a blade of deep crimson. The Ruby Destiny is said to have been given as a gift from the goddess herself to a brave young paladin, but what that paladin did to deserve the gift the legends do not say.
For anyone who is not a worshipper Wee Jas, the Ruby Destiny functions as a +2 short sword, which also grants the wielder a +2 bonus to saves against any spell-like or supernatural abilities of undead, and a +1 competence bonus to Bladecraft checks (and the ability to make Bladecraft checks untrained).
When the Ruby Destiny is wielded by a worshipper of Wee Jas, however, in addition the normal effects, the wielder is treated as having maximum ranks in Bladecraft, and may use any technique in Cloud style as if they had learned it normally. If the wielder has a Base Attack Bonus of +6 or greater, they may similarly use any technique in Bone style.
If a creature ever uses uses the Ruby Destiny in knowing opposition to the goals of Wee Jas, they must make a Fortitude save (DC 25), or die instantly as their body shrivels, and their soul is drawn screaming into the weapon. Any being who dies in this way cannot be resurrected by any means, unless Wee Jas herself specifically allows it.
It is said that the Ruby Destiny can only be destroyed by the will of Wee Jas, or if it is used to successfully kill a high priest or priestess of Wee Jas, taking the life of the wielder (with no save) in the process.
The Rusted Blade (Major Artifact)
(Edited from JoshuaZ)
Few creatures remember the Rusted Blade, though in some legends it is called the Sword of Paimon, or the Blade of the Forgotten God. The Rusted Blade has taken different forms over the centuries, and some have even questioned if the legends indeed refer to a single artifact. The only constants in every legend refer to the appearance: some sort of bladed weapon whose blade looks pitted and rusted, in sharp contrast to a hilt of smooth, unblemished morion.
The origin of the Rusted Blade is uncertain, with each conflicting legend positing a different beginning. Some claim it was the blade of Paimon, and that the Blade absorbed some of its powers when that being was thrust beyond the bounds of reality. Others acknowledge that it was Paimon's sword, but believe that it predates him. Yet others believe that the sword was the sacred relic of a now forgotten god of war, and still others point to the crystal hilt, as evidence of a powerful warrior with great telepathic ability, who imbued some of his knowledge and abilities into his own blade with his dying breath. Whatever the true history, many a Blademaster has searched for the blade, and of those who found it, many regret their successful search.
The Rusted Blade is a heron-marked weapon, and can appear as any bladed melee weapon, though most commonly a short sword, longsword, or bastard sword. Whatever its form, it functions as a +2 keen studied weapon. It also grants the wielder a +2 competence bonus to Bladecraft, Perform (Dance), and Tumble checks, which doubles if the wielder has ranks in Bladecraft.
However, the true power of the Blade emerges only rarely. Whenever the wielder of the Rusted Blade uses an Assault technique, there is a small probability that their mind will be briefly drawn into communion with the Blade. The chance of this occurring depends on the complexity of the Assault technique, with a 1% chance for a Basic Assault, 2% for a Moderate assault, 3% for an Advanced assault, and 4% for an Expert Assault.
When the communion occurs, it is so powerful that it overrides even immunity to mind-affecting effects. From the standpoint of anyone watching, the communion takes but a moment, but from the perspective of the wielder, it seems as if weeks or months have passed. The wielder finds themselves in a mental realm which reflects their own memories and experiences. A blademaster who trained at a temple might find themselves in a reflection of that temple, accompanied by the ancient warrior-priest who originally trained them. A druidic warrior who was taught by elves at the foot of a great tree might believe they had been transported across time and space back to the same gnarled roots.
In this alternate realm of the mind, the wielder is trained mercilessly in the art of Bladecraft, by tutors more than willing to inflict wounds that appear fatal. There are no breaks for food, water, sleep, or casual conversation, only continuous, brutal training. When the wielder's wounds are too grievous and they succumb to the sweet mercy of death, they are immediately resurrected, only to be thrown back into the grueling regiment.
The constant training and many repeated deaths can be extremely traumatic, and legends tell of at least one blademaster who, upon waking from the communion, threw down the Blade and walked off the battlefield, never to pick up a weapon again. However, the murderous experience has its benefits: upon completing their training, the wielder gains a permanent +1 inherent bonus to Bladecraft checks, and a Bladecraft feat of their choice for which they meet the prerequisites. The wielder also learns a blade technique of their choice, of any complexity for which they qualify.
The Rusted Blade will only commune with a single wielder, and only once, until it disappears and reappears in a different time, place, and shape. However, it continues to its other functions as an excellent weapon for the wielder after the communion has occurred. Most often, the Blade disappears 3d6 months after the communion, even if it has been secured in a vault or Bag of Holding. It tends to reappear a decade or two later, in a locked armory, a dragon's hoard, an ancient tomb, or the ditch beside a peasant's hovel.
There are legends of two Blademasters who have communed with the Rusted Blade more than once. Krevaric the Undying is a powerful undead Reaver who has allegedly sought out the Blade three times, and successfully found it and gained its benefits. On the other hand, the mythical Blade-bound paladin and dancer known as Lemat of the Flashing Swords, after having communed with the Rusted Blade in her youth, apparently took it up again when it appeared in her dungeon cell. As soon as she touched it, the communion began, and when it was complete, she used the Blade to destroy every creature in the dungeon, including the powerful necromancer who had imprisoned her. However, few people have the will (or lack the sanity) to experience the communion more than once, and even fewer have the opportunity.
While no surefire way of destroying the Rusted Blade is known, some bards claim that a true master of bladecraft, who carries the Rusted Blade for a year and a day without using it in combat, can render it permanently inert.