Blackrazor
| Greyhawk magic item | |
|---|---|
| Blackrazor | |
| |
| Blackrazor, as depicted in Dragon #360 (2007). Art by Steve Argyle. | |
| Type | Weapon |
| Price | 90,150 gp |
| Body slot | N/A |
| Caster level | 10th |
| Weight | 8 lbs. |
| First appearance | White Plume Mountain (1979). |
Blackrazor is a terrible, soul-devouring sword found in White Plume Mountain.
Description
Blackrazor is a greatsword that appears to have been forged from an unknown steel alloy. When unsheathed, its blade resembles a star-studded night sky. When it kills, the wielder hears faint whispers. Its black scabbard is decorated with pieces of obsidian.
Powers
Blackrazor drains life energy from those it strikes, temporarily granting the stolen power to its wielder. If the sword strikes a negative energy creature, it works in reverse, draining life energy from its wielder. It can grant its wielder a suite of other powers, including haste and resistance to mind-effecting magic. It is intelligent, and can communicate with those nearby through telepathy. If it goes too long without being "fed" with life-energy, its ego grows stronger, until it can take over its wielder's mind and forces them to satiate its hunger.
History
In a multiverse far removed from the planes of Oerth, powerful beings kept absolute order, banishing entropy and decay to preserve the planes of their reality from its long-overdue death. Yet with all their power, eventually the artificial stasis imposed by these entities failed and the multiverse began to die. Like worms in rotten wood, creatures from beyond infested the rotting multiverse, speeding its destruction.
The wizard Keraptis time-communed with the rulers of this multiverse, who granted Keraptis the knowledge needed to transform one of the reality-parasites into a weapon in exchange for taking it back to his own planes. The creature that Keraptis forged into Blackrazor was an abomination similar to an atropal, a stillborn god.
During the events of the original White Plume Mountain adventure, Blackrazor was guarded by the ogre mage Qesnef, who preferred not to touch the dreadful thing. In Return to White Plume Mountain, Blackrazor was wielded in battle by the efreeti Killjoy.
Creative origins
Blackrazor was inspired by Stormbringer, the soul-devouring sword in Michael Moorcock's Elric stories and novels.
Gallery
Bibliography
- Cagle, Eric, Jesse Decker, Jeff Quick, and James Wyatt. Arms and Equipment Guide. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.
- Cordell, Bruce R. Return to White Plume Mountain. Renton, WA: TSR, 1999.
- Shick, Lawrence. White Plume Mountain. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1979.
- Shick, Lawrence, Andy Collins, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, and James Wyatt. White Plume Mountain (Revised). Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online: [1]
- Sennert, Matthew. "Ecology of the Death Knight." Dragon #360. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
- Williams, Aaron. "Climb Every (White Plume) Mountain." Dragon #267. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
