Weapons of Legacy

Illus. by D. Kovacshe slithering, obscene runes carved into themetal of the pitted blade were not the iconsof good and light, Aedwar was sure.But the tombstone golems roused asage-old pacts were triggered, and guardiandemons swarmed around him, defending the finalresting place of their ancient master.Desperate, Aedwar snatched up the blade. It searedhis hand with cold, shooting tendrils of weaknessthrough his limbs. It was a thing of evil—but it wasthe only weapon at hand. It was this awful sword ornothing. Steeling himself against the terrible pain,he tightened his grip on the blade and turned to facethe fiendish horde.Later, with the crumpled, exsanguinated forms ofdemons scattered about his feet, Aedwar made to castaway the sword, but he paused . . .The pain was less. Oh, it was still there, but it wasn’tthe soul-wrenching agony of his first contact.Aedwar wondered at the change, but even moreso at his near miraculous victory over the swarmingdemons. The pain had lessened after the battle’s conclusion,as if the blade had reached an accommodationwith its wielder—somehow empowered or changedby the momentous conflict—who, all alone in aforgotten tomb, beat back a demonic swell.Aedwar girded the sword to his belt.So was the weapon of legacy Exordius founded.FOUNDINGLEGACY ITEMSTales of heroes are told far and wide because ofmighty exploits. Heroes accomplish great tasks,set to right monumental wrongs, and defeatinsuperable odds, sometimes at great cost. Theitem or weapon that a hero uses to accomplishthis goal makes the difference between successand failure.With the DM’s approval, a player might usea momentous event as the necessary catalystto begin investing her character’s signatureitem with legacy abilities. She controls theprocess of imbuing the item with particularabilities as she advances in experience, withinthe larger context of the campaign’s plots andadventures.179