Decks of the Four Courts
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Credits The Team Each one of these eldritch edges comes with their history, personality, awakening phrase, Designers: Darren Kenny & Conor Higgins which, along with their sensational powers and Cover Art: jadtart abilities, are so full of flavour that they could Layout: Darren Kenny inspire adventures and even whole campaigns; Editing: Conor Higgins quests to discover the resting place of fabled Interior Art: jadtart, LDP Design, WPX, Vros swords and arcs discovering the secrets, the Smith. motives and machinations of the awakened Playtesting & Feedback. Emmet O Connor blades and whether the wielder and weapon become united in purpose or become embroiled Grab the Original! in a struggle for dominance. However they are used, Awakened Blades add might and mystique Pick up the best selling original book now for to the game with their magical weapons and some amazing weapons! Don’t believe us? brilliant mechanics!" Check out the review by the esteemed @CurseofSebs! "This is an incredible collection of 50 Awakened Blades: magical weapons with extraordinary properties and abilities flowing from the power of the soul contained within and the strength and experience of their wielder, sometimes harboring their own machinations and insidious influence. These blades contain great power that evolves with the players with inspired rules and guidelines which allow for a weapon to be granted or discovered by a player during tier 1 or 2 of play, with greater abilities unlocking during tier 3 and tier 4, allowing for bonds (figurative and literal), to be made with these singular arms. These evolutions can be tied to events of true significance, creating some seriously epic and memorable moments at the table! Speak their words of power if you dare, and unleash the elements, become a gargantuan avatar of strength or an armored bulwark, summon a giant spectral chimera or hordes of dragons, wield phenomenal cosmic powers, and gain your own genie who will make your dreams come true…with only a small chance of having yourSample soul torn apart! file 2 Awakened Blades Traits of Awakened Blades Evolving Weapons These unique and powerful weapons share a As you increase your power and bond with few remarkable traits: your Awakened Blade, more of its powers will • A fully sentient or semi-sentient soul within unlock. An Awakened Blade has 3 states: Base the weapon. State, Awakened State, and True Awakened • Weapons that draw their power directly from State. its wielder, growing in power as their wielder In moments of terrible danger, during times gains more strength and experience. of peril or when facing off against a dangerous • The ability to transform the weapon, summon foe, the soul inside may grow in power and forth great power, or conjure an entity to fight allow you to reach the next stage. for you using a command phrase unique to the When a weapon evolves into its Awakened weapon. state, it gains new Awakened traits and retains • A link to the wielder that causes a physical all of its Traits from its Base form. When a strain on the user when the true power of the weapon evolves into its True Awakening, it weapon is awakened. retains all of its Base Traits and Awakening Traits. These weapons are known as Awakened Blades, weapons with an incredible amount of power that dwarf the abilities of most magical Levels of Sentience weapons. The Awakened Blades, when first acquired, While they have greater power, some have a minimal connection with their wielder. swords have been known to harbor dangerous As their connection grows, the wielder’s contact entities that seek to influence, control or even with the weapon’s spirit grows from sensing the kill their wielder. general feelings of the spirit, to full verbal communication. Each spirit has a unique personality and temperament detailed in the weapon. Some weapons will never reach sentient, or even semi-sentient levels of intelligence due to conflicting ideals with the wielder, a lack of identity or the dissolution of the spirit’s former consciousness. While these blades lack a personality, they still retain all of the powers of the creature. Sample file 3 Stages and Upgrading • A character defeats an old rival, villain or significant foe from their life. Awakened Blades require certain catalysts to • A character character becomes corrupted, evolve into a higher states. From its Base State redeemed or somehow changed by the soul of to Awakened State to its final True Awakening. the weapon. It could be as simple as having it advance when the character utilizes the weapons abilities a As a general rule, an Awakened Blade will certain number of times, or it could awaken remain in it’s Base State between levels 1-8, when the wielder is in grave danger or facing a gain its Awakened State early between levels 9- terrible challenge. Sometimes it might just feel 15, and reach its True Awakening between right in the moment to grant your player that levels 16-20. extra power for the sake of the story, and if it Always remember this rule is not set in feels right then give them that extra power - stone and the weapon can evolve faster or even if just temporarily. slower depending on the character and situation. Consider the wielder’s beliefs and Some examples of when the weapon may ideologies and compare them to the personality upgrade include: of the weapon. If a person seeks to be the • A character finally overcomes a terrible fear, strongest warrior in the land, and the sword is or past challenge that once defeated them. the soul of a powerful warrior, then they would • A character is being beaten by a terrible foe, be extremely compatible an advance quickly. and their death is almost guaranteed. The On the other hand a weapon that seeks blood weapon lends it power to the wielder to save and death in the hands of a faithful protector their life. would clash horribly, either corrupting the • A character loses a friend, ally or sees wielder or failing to reach its greater stages. innocent people killed - possibly angering the soul within the blade. • A character accepts their destiny, joins a heroic faction or their adventuring party decide to face a terrible evil. Sample file 4 Words of Power Base State Each spirit that inhabits these powerful The normal state the blade is in when resting. weapons has a unique command phrase for its • Yougain+1toallmeleeorrangedattack Awakening and True Awakening. and damage rolls with this weapon. Awakening. For the Awakening, when a Awakened State weapon’s activation phrase is spoken using your The weapon often undergoes a minor physical bonus action, the weapon transforms into its transformation, such as catching fire, beginning Awakened state. For example, while wielding to glow or creating an aura. the spear, Akatona which has the activation • Your attack and damage bonus increases to phrase “Fight”, your character would say “Fight, +2. Akatona” increasing the weapons power and • Your Awakened Save DC increases by 2. sending it into an Awakened State. You can use • Your Awakened Ability Modifier increases this Awakening once, regaining the uses after a by 2. long rest. Once Awakened the blade remains in this state for 1 hour. True Awakened State At 15th level your Awakening regains its use The weapon can transform significantly, change after a Short Rest. the wielders form or summon other creatures. • Your attack and damage bonus increases to True Awakening. This power can be +3. called upon during the Awakening. When you • YourAwakenedSaveDC increasesby+3(1 call upon this power using an action, your more than the awakened state). Awakened Blade goes through dramatic • Your Awakened Ability Modifier increases changes. Whether its summoning a creature to by 3 (1 more than the awakened state). fight for you, transforming your body, creating armor or changing the weapons form - every True Awakening immediately uses a certain Durability feature or power, or lasts a length of time equal Durability represents how long your True to its Durability Score. Awakening lasts. Some are Instantaneous and You have one use of your True Awakening, immediately end, while others have a Durability regaining the use after a long rest. score. This Durability score is reduced by 1 at the end of each turn after your True Awakening is activated, excluding the first turn it is Awakened Spells, Powers and activated. When it reaches 0, your True Attack Bonuses Awakening ends. Under certain conditions When casting spells or using certain abilities described on the weapon, these True with an Awakened Blade you do not use your Awakening’s lose more of this Durability by Spellcasting Ability Modifier or Spell Save DC. using certain features, or regain some of it’s Instead you use the weapons Awakened Ability Durability each round under certain conditions. Modifier and your Awakened Save DC. A weapon that lacks an Awakened Ability modifier or an Awakened Save DC does not use The Toll them for any abilities or attacks, and is At the end of your True Awakening your body thereforeSample excluded from the item details. suffers a physical cost fromfile the stress of the When your Awakened Blade is in various power you unleash. This cost is known as a forms it gains different benefits as detailed Toll. Each True Awakening will have a below. different Toll detailed on the weapon. 5 Awakened Blades ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ Sample ’file 6 Aiko, Awakening The Soul Reaver When you awaken Aiko, the blade begins to radiate a ghostly green flame. A blade containing an Onryo, a powerful and Life Drinker. You gain 10 temporary hit vengeful spirit. With the power to command points whenever you hit a creature with Aiko.