Eight Swords that will Kick Your Ass
Legends are made by powerful heroes wielding magnificent blades; here’s a list of some of our favorites.
- Glamdring: The blade carried by Gandalf the Grey throughout the Lord of the Rings; it was crafted by ancient elves for Turgon, the King of Gondolin. It glows in the presence of any enemy. It was found in the troll-hoard by Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves as they traveled on the Quest of Erebnor. It is also called Foe-Hammer and is the mate to Orcrist, the blade of Thorin Oakenshield.
- Farslayer: One of the Twelve Swords forged by Vulcan in Fred Saberhagen’s Swords series. Also known as the Sword of Vengeance, the power of the sword is unleashed when the bearer holds it and, visualizing the target of their revenge, chants “For thy heart! For thy heart! Who hast wronged me!” Upon its release, it will fly forth and kill the target of the spell. However, the drawback is that once released, it does not return like a boomerang. If the victim can identify the slayer, the sword can be used upon the original revenge-seeker. The only known way to defeat the sword is to use its brother, Shieldbreaker, to defend against it.
- The Black Sword: In Ultima VII, this is the immensely powerful blade which grants the powers a fire shield, the replenishment of mana, and the power of instant death against any enemy.
- The Power Sword: A mystical blade from the He-Man mythos. In the original mini-comics, the blade was divided into two halves, and Skeletor’s goal was to unite the halves and open a mystical gate to his home dimension to gather his forces to conquer Eternia. Unfortunately for him, he loses the sword in battle. It is divided once more and sent to two different dimensions. Interestingly, this is the last mention of the sword in original comics. However, when the Filmation animated series was released, the Power Sword was carried by Prince Adam. When hoisted aloft with the incantation “By the Power of Greyskull….I HAVE THE POWER!” The Power Sword transforms Prince Adam in the hero He-Man.
- Caledfwlch: The original Welsh name of Excalibur, the blade given by the Lady of the Lake to King Arthur after he shatters his original blade in a battle with Lancelot du Lac. It is said to represent the potency and sovereignty of the ruler of Britain. Even though most people think of Excalibur as the sword in the stone, this is not the case. And while Excalibur is a powerful weapon in its own right, the scabbard was far more powerful, as any man wearing it would not suffer from injuries caused by a loss of blood (like sword cuts, for instance). Just before Arthur’s final battle, the scabbard was stolen by Morgan le Fay and was never seen again.
- The Sword of Omens: The Sword of Omens is the blade containing the mystical Eye of Thundera and is carried by Lion-O in the tales of the Thundercats. Its powers include the ability to shift shape from a short dagger to a longsword, shoot energy beams and produce a force field. Lion-O can summon the sword into his grasp with a simple command, and it can be used to enter the Book of Omens and travel through time and space when used with the book. The Eye gives Lion-O “sight beyond sight”, which is essentially clairvoyance, and will growl in warning when Lion-O or his comrades are in danger.
- Grayswandir: Also called the Nightblade, it is carried by Corwin, Prince of Amber in Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber. It is the twin to Prince Brand’s Werewindle, call the Dayblade. Both have been forged with a portion of the mystical Pattern of Amber in their blade, and as such, have a devastating effect against sorcery or Chaos creatures.
- Stormbringer: The legendary two-handed blade carried by E;ric of Melniboné in the series by Michael Moorcock. It is the twin to Mournblade, carried by Elric’s mad cousin, Yyrkoon. The blade drinks the souls of its victims and transfers the life energy to Elric. It sings a low, eerie tune in battle and is semi-sentient throughout the books, often moaning lowly when it fells a battle approaching. At times, it will kill of its own accord, lurching and pulling Elric unpredictably. Later, it is revealed that the blade is actually one of a race of demons who take the forms of blades to feed.
Episode 0048: The Great Old Pumpkin
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module S2: White Plume Mountain (a classic!) features Black Razor, one of the most coveted magical items I ever came across in my many years of gaming. It’s a bastard sword drawing inspiration from/plagiarizing Stormbringer. With each blow landed in combat, the wielder absorbs hit points from the target, even allowing temporary boosts above their normal maximum. The lucky owner of this prize evolves into a nigh-unstoppable hack-n-slash juggernaut whose need to adjust current hit points becomes so frequent that the corresponding spot on their character sheet is in danger of being worn through from constant erasing/rewriting.
While Farslayer was pretty grim I think Shieldbreaker was the worst of the lot, as close to a “trump” as any of them could be.
Now if Stormbringer, which is a pretty horrific item, catches your eye take a look at the Morganti blades in Stephen Brust’s Jhereg series. Blades, not hard to acquire, that destroy your soul. Nasty stuff indeed.
En garde.
As a long-time player of D&D (although never in the FR), and a reader of most of the Dark Elf Legends books, I have to say that as a PAIR of swords go, I don’t think there is a better combination of IcinGdeath and Twinkle. Now maybe, of course, it is my bias as it relates to their weilder himself, but still, one has to have respect for a pair of wicked scimitars.