Adamantium Weapons (sage ability)

Adamantium weapons is a sage-status sage ability in the study of Weaponwright, enabling the character to create +2 or better magical weapons made of metal, as well as fabricating added special features to weapons, such as luck, throwing, elemental influences, venom, wounding, slaying, life stealing, sharpness and holiness, besides a great many more. Success is more or less certain — except that the time necessary to create truly powerful items is long and arduous, and full of set-backs, while inculcating a given power into the weapon requires the character to possess that power, or something very like it, or convincing a being with the necessary magic to take part in the weapon's making.

In fact, the material used is not pure adamantium, but an adamantium-mithril alloy, which must be provided by someone able to make it. This must be available in steady supply, especially if the character wishes to forge a truly monumental weapon, which would surely take years. One-twentieth of the weapon's weight is used or wasted during each fortnight, or two-week period, while the weapon is fashioned. The fortnight is used as a measurement throughout this page.

If a part of the weapon is made of some other substance, be it stone, ceramic or wood, then the character must either possess at least authority-status in that material, or have an individual with at least expert-status as a consultant, or else the weapon cannot be adequately made. If the weapon is in no part metal, or the metal is of incidental importance, such as a club, bow, sling, godentag, bolas, bo or jo stick, quarterstaff and so on, then the character cannot make the item.

Preternatural Weapons

This includes those weapons that possess an attack or damage bonus, but no further abilities. Weapons with a +1 bonus can be fashioned using only mithril, when the character reached expert status. Thus, preternatural weapons requiring this page's ability have a bonus of +2, +3, +4 or +5. Preternatural weapons with a greater bonus cannot be made in the game universe.

Just as a +1 weapon could be fashioned within two or more fortnights, a +2 weapon requires at least six; a +3 weapon requires at least 18; a +4 weapon at least 54; and a +5 weapon at least 162. Each fortnight requires an ability check, or as termed here, a "design check." This reflects the character's creative process, as designs are tried, elaborated and improved upon, steadily over time, until the object is complete. Each failed roll only puts off the character's eventual success, as a failure only indicates that particular strategy didn't work. Failure allows another strategy to be tried, and another, and another, until the final product is at last managed.

Design Checks

The bard's primary attribute is charisma ... which is of no use in this sort of project. In making a magical weapon, there are many difficulties to solve: balance, weight, magical reliance and equalisation, fragility, thrust and many more, but these don't have to be listed. The character chooses to deal with them each fortnight with finesse (dexterity), problem-solving (intelligence), force (strength), sweat and toil (constitution) or research (wisdom). Choosing the best stat, the player rolls an ability check; if it succeeds, another fortnight is managed, bringing closer the fruition of the weapon. Yet any success presumes that the problem has changed, and must be dealt with differently. The same stat cannot be used two weeks running, and the stat that achieved the last success cannot be used at all until another success is recorded.

For example, Jarod has a strength of 10, an intelligence of 12, a wisdom of 14, a constitution of 15 and a dexterity of 16. He has just gained a success with his dexterity, bringing his total succeeded fortnights to 16. To move on, he must now use one of his other stats, most likely his constitution. If he succeeds with that, he can go back to dexterity the next fortnight. Conceivably, through finesse and sweat, going back and forth between dexterity and constitution, he could succeed in the whole project.

But suppose instead, he fails with his constitution. Trying wisdom, he fails with that ... and then he fails with his intelligence. Now everything rests on his 10 strength. And he fails with that too. He has tried every stat he can to solve the problem, one that dexterity has no chance at all to solve. He's come to a dead end. At this point, he subtracts five fortnights from the 16 that he's collected, reducing his total to 11. His stat use is completely restored and he can do the next check with any stat he wishes.

This penalty conveys the notion that while he was succeeding, it was in the wrong direction — which, while heartbreaking, happens in design. Jarod can take comfort in knowing that the chance of his failing with all four of his lowest stats is just 1 in 66.67.

Once the number of required fortnights has been succeeded, the weapon is made; the character can stare in stunned shock, realising it's finally happened.

Knowledge Bonus

The character's knowledge can make these checks more likely to succeed. For each pt. above 100 the character adds a 0.1 to each stat they possess — remembering the character must have 100 pts. to even possess the sage ability.

Thus, if Jarod had 105 pts. of knowledge, his dexterity would count as 16.5, not 16. This would mean that if he rolled a 17, which would normally be a failure, he'd have a 50% of succeeding anyway. Once Jarod had accumulated 150 points of knowledge, he'd have enough to adjust his dexterity and constitution to 20 or more ... whereupon, he'd no longer be able to fail a check.

Egoistic Weapons

To create weapons of even greater power than preternatural weapons, an "ego" must be induced with the weapon. This grants the weapon a degree of self-awareness, or intelligence, which empowers the item with knowledge of what it's attacking and towards what purpose. Further, the ego gives a necessary aid in putting a desired power in place. For the most part, and with most weapons, the ego is quite benign and obedient. However, the more powerful the weapon, the greater must be the ego's consciousness, and consequently the less cooperative the ego becomes.

Note however that before the ego can be impressed into the weapon, any flat bonus to hit or damage must be designed first, as explained above. Adding "holy avenger" to a +5 sword requires, obviously, that the latter article be made first. Then the ego is installed, as explained below.

Stealing Intelligence

To invest the weapon with intelligence, a point must be gotten from somewhere — perhaps even from the character, ready to invest his or her self into the design, if it's wanted badly enough. Another person's intelligence will do ... but it's worth noting that if the "volunteer" is forced to surrender a point of intelligence — permanently, mind — then an unwilling victim is bound to bear a grudge, which can also be transferred to the magic weapon. Unfortunately, the donor must possess a "soul." An animal or monster simply won't do.

Importantly, the exact point of intelligence taken matters. If the donor's intelligence was 7, that 7th point has much less potential than if the donor lost his or her 16th point of intelligence. This matters greatly in terms of what kind of power is desired. A +2 vs. reptiles or mammals is a small thing; for that, anything below the 8th point is sufficient. On the other hand, the power of luck, or the beckoning of a thrown weapon to return, that takes more oomph. And even more for a vorpal blade.

Not only that, but the source's morality must be considered. A weapon designed to slay or steal lives must come from a less-than-savoury character, the sort willing to do the very worst things; on the other hand, a holy avenger calls for a donor beyond reproach ... just the sort to be unforgiving where experimental stealing of intelligence is involved.

Installing Intelligence

The exact method by which intelligence is taken from the donor, whoever that is, isn't described here. Surely it would be something involved; something requiring a laboratory, straps, needles, a certain amount of electricity and an unfortunate amount of discomfort. Let's say that it would be something, um, traumatic. We don't need details. Suffice to say that once the deed is committed to, it can be accomplished within a fortnight. Afterwards, something like a forget spell might be in order.

Special Features and Effects

The list for these is long, absurdly long, so that it will take a great deal of time to assemble. Suffice to say that the designer must somehow be able to obtain the power sought after in some pre-existing form, which can then be transferred to the weapon. If luck is desired, then luck must be found — which perhaps can be solved through a DM's quest. If the ability exists in spell form, then all that might be needed is the right spellcaster or a proper scroll. Other magic items might be conceivably sacrificed, or monsters with the power might also be "encouraged" to surrender that benefit. One use would be sufficient.

The actual number of fortnights necessary to invest this power is uncertain; it must be managed on a case-by-case basis. The inclusion of a 9th level spell would surely take at least 9 fortnights, with ability checks, with the necessary magic being available once per die's success. Wounding or vorpalness are trickier, requiring that some figure would be assigned in advance, for the character to consider the practicality of the attempt. In any case, I would withhold such numbers until the character definitely reached that level of ability, whereupon it could be discussed as part of the game.

Overall Difficulty

Yes, the above is designed to place enormous resistance against the character's creation of extravagant weapons in large numbers. A Holy Avenger sword does exist, but it's assumed this was the seminal work of a character's lifetime ... not something that could be churned out weekly! Success is de facto guaranteed. Eventually. Lesser weapons are very much easier to make. That's intentional.

See also,
Bard Sage Abilities
Metalwork (sage field)
Weaponwright (sage study)