Dark Sword

[Manly Man]

And so, to complement my darksteel homebrew material, I've decided to remake a classic sort of weaponry, working much like the dark swords that Cecil uses in IV. Tell me what you think!

Dark Sword: Far more than simply a blade made of darksteel, dark swords are a mysterious trademark weapon of dark knights everywhere, regarded with a mix of both fear and wonder. Treated with even greater exposure to shadow-elemental magic during its forging, a dark sword is almost shadow magic made solid. They are typically a +1 darksteel knight sword, although they are also known to be forged as katanas in certain locales, as well as many other different swords, and treat their weapon damage as shadow damage for certain purposes. While the damage dealt is still physical in nature, creatures who are vulnerable to shadow damage take 50% more damage from attacks made by a dark sword. Upon a critical hit, this extra damage is determined after the total damage dealt by the critical hit has been calculated. When attacking creatures with resistance to shadow, the resistance applies to the damage dealt, stacking with any damage reduction that the creature has for determining the total damage, e.g. a creature with DR 5/adamantine and resist shadow 5 would take 10 less points of damage from a dark sword. Creatures who are immune to shadow damage only take 1 point of damage per hit, and creatures who absorb shadow damage take no damage at all,rather than absorbing it. Other sources of damage dice, such as precision damage or enchantments, or any other source of damage not multiplied upon a critical hit, are not affected by this ability.

All dark knights are proficient with any dark sword, even if it is normally a sword with which dark knights are not proficient. Dark swords can be further enchanted, calculating prices as normal.

Price: 6,500 gil

Construction:

Requirements: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dark III, darkra; Cost: 3,250 gil

[Manly Man]

And to finalize the concept of dark swords and their Final Fantasy flavor, I offer you three major artifact-grade weapons.

Deathbringer
Aura strong dark, necromancy; CL 20th; Slot none; Weight 6 lbs.

The infamous Deathbringer is a dark sword that is rightly feared by all who are mortal, for any time it has appeared in the annals of history, death and destruction have always followed mere steps behind. Said to have once been wielded by Odin himself before he took hold of his trademark sword Zantetsuken, this +6 umbral burst knight sword almost has a will of its own. Though not necessarily evil, holding the sword fills one with an almost mind-numbingly powerful desire to completely and utterly decimate one's foes; the weapon has been used both righteously and despicably throughout the ages, caring not whether those who are slain were villains themselves, so long as its purpose- doling out death- was fulfilled.

One of the most devastating abilities Deathbringer offers is, on a confirmed critical hit, to force the victim to make a DC 25 Will save, or be afflicted with the Doom status. On a confirmed critical hit after rolling a natural 20, they instead die instantly upon failing the saving throw. If both the attack roll and confirmation roll are a natural 20, then the victim instantly dies, no saving throw. This is a necromantic death effect.

Powers
3/day shadow blast
1/day countdown

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Muramasa
Aura strong dark, necromancy; CL 20th; Slot none; Weight 6 lbs.

Legend has it that a swordsmith from long ago had perfected the art of making a sharp blade, but in doing so, had gone violently mad. His magnum opus, the final blade into which he infused the last of his soul, was a dark sword so sharp that merely holding it in the water, edge against the current, could cut leaves, feathers, and fish upon a mere touch. However, such perfection came with a terrible cost, the insanity and bloodthirst of the sword's creator passed on to the weapon itself, taking on a vile will of its own. Calling itself Muramasa, after the name of its progenitor, the +5 keen umbral unholy katana of wounding left its gruesome mark on history, becoming the stuff of nightmares to all who have heard of the gory trail left in its wake whenever it reaches the hands of a capable warrior.

Upon a successful critical hit, Muramasa drinks deeply the blood of its victims, slaking its thirst if but for a moment and easing the wounds of its wielder. Those struck take 2d6 bleed damage that stacks with other sources of bleed damage, including itself, and the wielder is healed a number of hit points equal to the weapon damage dealt. However, Muramasa's insatiable desire to taste flesh and bone is one that is not easily swayed; those who draw it must make at least one successful hit upon a creature of flesh within 1 minute before putting it away, or else it turns upon its wielder, forcing them to make an attack on themselves that is an automatically confirmed critical hit, and does not activate the sword's healing ability. One must succeed in a personality conflict with Muramasa to ignore its hunger for that encounter. Its special purpose is to kill anything and everything it can dig its voracious blade into.

Statistics
Alignment NE; Ego 30; Senses 120 ft., blindsense
Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 20
Communication empathy, speech, telepathy
Languages Abyssal, Al Bhed, Common, Infernal

Powers
At will vampiric touch
1/day slay living

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Valhalla
Aura strong dark, enhancing, enfeebling, healing; CL 20th; Slot none; Weight 8 lbs.

Tales of old speak of a fearsome dark knight who, against all odds, defied his very life as he had known it and carved an entire army of fiends and evil men to shreds with his dark sword before dying on his feet, propped up by the hilt of his blade, which had impaled the last foe and buried itself halfway into the earth. It was done for the sake of people he had come to love and cherish, who would have been helpless against the onslaught of such forces, and as their only hope, the dark knight had single-handedly slain the foul legion to save them all. He was lauded as a savior, and despite his weapon's shadowy origins, it was given a powerful blessing by the people and had become a symbol of honor and glory. This legendary dark sword is an intelligent +5 holy keen greatsword of speed, and patiently waits for its next wielder to grasp it.

The dark sword, which came to be known as Valhalla, holds a defiant will and a sense of compassion uncharacteristic of what one expects from weapons with such tenebrous origins. The great blade scorns evil creatures who attempt to wield her- indeed, the weapon has taken on a female identity, seeing herself not unlike a protective mother- with an overwhelming vehemence, and gladly welcomes the touch of those who seek to do right through using her. Holy knights who take hold of her hilt are granted shadow resistance 15, so as to counteract the draining energies of the darksteel from which she was made, and all creatures she allows to hold her are given fast healing 1. Valhalla is even able to let holy knights use the metal's conductive properties to channel their lay on hands ability through her blade, albeit at the cost of three uses instead of two; though willful, she can still only do so much. Upon a confirmed critical hit, if the enemy is evil-aligned, they must make a DC 24 Will save or be frightened, ignoring any immunities to fear or mind-affecting effects; a successful save renders them shaken instead. If the confirmation roll was a natural 20, then the enemy is panicked upon a failed save, and frightened upon a successful save. Evil outsiders must make a DC 26 Will save or be rendered panicked, success indicating that they are frightened instead, but receiving no save if the confirmation roll is a natural 20.

Statistics
Alignment NG; Ego 31; Senses 120 ft., blindsense
Int 12 Wis 18 Cha 18
Communication empathy, speech, telepathy
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Infernal

Powers
At will deadly juggernaut (upon wielder), zeal (upon wielder)
3/day crusader's edge, greater fear
1/day breath of life

[Manly Man]

Enchantments introduced by these weapons:

Umbral: Upon command, an umbral weapon is cloaked with darkness that deals an extra 1d6 shadow damage on a hit. The effects remain until another command is given.

Construction Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dark, dark II, or dark III; Cost +1 bonus

Umbral Burst: An umbral burst weapon functions as an umbral weapon that also explodes with darkness upon striking a successful critical hit. The darkness does not harm the wielder. In addition to the extra damage from the umbral ability (see above), an umbral burst weapon deals an extra 1d10 points of shadow damage on a successful critical hit. If the weapon's critical multiplier is x3, add an extra 2d10 points of shadow damage instead, and if the multiplier is x4, add an extra 3d10 points of shadow damage.

Even if the umbral ability is not active, the weapon still deals its extra shadow damage on a successful critical hit.

Construction Craft Magic Arms and Armor, darkra or darkga; Cost +2 bonus

[Manly Man]

Added a little detail to dark swords about proficiency.

[silverwerret]

So comparing these weapons to your lustrous ones, the light weapons have more enchantments and abilities. Curious to see if it wil balance out later.