Thursday, October 2, 2014

Haunted Sword Table

With Halloween quickly approaching my mind always shifts to haunted houses. But what about something we do not hear about as frequently such as the haunted object? If you are planning on running some Halloween themed games this October I have created a Haunted Sword Table below. The idea is to add just enough scare to really spice up that +1 sword the adventurers just found. The possibilities are really endless in terms of how far the DM could take any of these themes.

Just imagine that a restless, malicious or even sadistic spirit is somehow permanently bound to the blade. Maybe an entire quest could be embarked on just to unravel the mystery of the haunting. Make the players wary of the weapon or maybe even intimidated by it. Perhaps despite their best efforts it keeps turning up time and time again. The sword mocks them, goads them, and continuously finds ways to cause unease among the party.

Maybe after a good haunting some old school caution will be injected back into even the most stalwart of treasure seekers!

Haunted Sword Table (d10)

1.    The wielder feels another hand grasp the handle of the sword and a control it for a fleeting second.

2.    Odd laughter emanates from the blade while it remains sheathed. The laughing stops when the blade is drawn forth and examined.

3.    The wielder hears the sound of the blade being dragged across a whetstone repeatedly late at night.

4.    The wielder begins suffering from a recurring nightmare of accidently cutting themselves. Eventually the wielder awakens to find unexplained cuts on their appendages.

5.    The wielder starts seeing shadow figures darting around in their peripheral vision which reach for the sword.

6.    The sword makes the wielder’s hand feel tired, numb and cold. When it gets almost unbearable a faint and undecipherable whisper is breathed into one of their ears.

7.    The sword is never where the owner left after the sun rises. When found there will be unintelligible scribbling obviously created by the blade on the wall or ground.

8.    At complete random times the blood curdling death screams of someone will echo forth from the area where the sword is.

9.    People will unknowingly and subconsciously avoid the owner of the sword. They will be seen glancing at the weapon and then quickly averting their eyes.

10.    The wielder’s skin takes on a sickening pallor and their eyes a solid black color whenever they use the sword in combat. Afterward it slowly fades and they feel cold and melancholy for a short time.