Albans’ Answer (the blade of Alban the Mad)

Steel Realms
Albans’ Answer – the blade of Alban the Mad – is a short curved blade like a tulwar that belonged to Alban the Mad. Alban was said to belong to a strange cult of Malek, but no records verify this. The blade and the death and chaos surrounding it has long vanished from the memory of the living. Its dynamic story is told as a reminder to be ever vigilant, lest the most mundane circumstances, lead to your ruin.

Chronicle of Albans’ Answer

Item Powers (common and Attuned) can be found under Common Knowledge tab.

Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability & Meticulous Record Keeping may improve usability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these. Specific Lores may increase the chance of knowing specific elements.

Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty

Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore

Albans’ Answer – the blade of Alban the Mad – is a short curved blade like a tulwar that belonged to Alban the Mad. Alban was said to belong to a strange cult of Malek, but no records verify this. The blade and the death and chaos surrounding it has long vanished from the memory of the living. Its dynamic story is told as a reminder to be ever vigilant, lest the most mundane circumstances, lead to your ruin.

Common Description: The blade is a short, curved one wrapped in strange light brown leather that seems to grip back. It has some decorative markings on the base of the blade, and a plain guard that had both ends made of silver and sharpened – in case the wielder meets undead that require the life-properties of silver to lay it low. The ball pommel was heavy for counter balance, and unadorned.

Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty

Alban was a strong blacksmith’s apprentice in the City of Twin Springs in CY 8114. It was said he was born on a full moon, and records claim he was driven mad by metal poisoning from his clumsy methods. He helped to forge a blade at the request of a merchant’s son as a present, for his service at Northgate Garrison in The Glaciers Guard. When he delivered it, he slew the father and son, performing the final quench in their blood, gibbering under the smaller Tillace’s full moon at the time. Rumors followed that he pledged himself to Malek at that moment.

He rallied to him a band of filthy degenerates, said to all follow the god of betrayal. They rampaged and killed many before Alban was taken down.

Item Purpose: Empower the Wielder
+1 Initiative and Damage – The blade swings seemingly with some of its own impetus.

Lesser Attunement (1 Essence total )

  1. Temp Health Pool: For each sentient humanoid the wielder kills, a measure is added to a health pool that is reduced before the actual Health of the Wielder.+1 false life in pool, max is character level x2.
  2. Sense Power Allows for the detection of powerful entities of good and evil 1/Short Rest cycle; or for 1 mana portion.
  3. Shifting Sentience: When attuned, the wielder must divide 3 measures between Charisma (affecting the physical appearance of the blade) and Intelligence (how the blade communicates).
    1. Measures Charisma: Terrifying visage – blood dripping, oily wisps coming off the blade, a horrid stench; Upon binding the blade will shout loudly “Some are born prey!”
    2. Measures Charisma: Scary visage – The blade appears cracked, broken and jagged, but hums with malevolence; Upon binding, the blade will declare “Rise above the pain and rage!”
    3. Measures Charisma: Normal visage – (Just the common description.); Upon binding, the blade will say “Weakness must be purged”
    4. Measures Charisma: A vision of awe – The blade is shining and polished, blowing the wielders’ hair and cleaning them; Upon binding, the blade will declare boldly “Fear must be forged into obedience”
    1. Measures Intelligence:
    2. Measures Intelligence:
    3. Measures Intelligence:
    4. Measures Intelligence:

i20™ Weapon Details

  1. Temp Health Pool: Each measure is +1 false life in pool, maximum is the wielder’s character level x2.
  2. Sense Power Detect Good & Evil.
  3. Shifting Sentience: Each measure is equivalent to 5 Attribute points.
    1. Measures Charisma: [adv] intimidate and Sanity checks, negates Reactions used vs wielder
    2. Measures Charisma: +2 Intimidate, [adv] terror/fear checks
    3. Measures Charisma: Item and wielder do not detect as magic/mystic source
    4. Measures Charisma: Fully +1 Standard Augmentation, [adv] Influence checks to Persuade
    1. Measures Intelligence: Empathy when held; DC 10 Sanity check in combat or loud & Reckless when attacking
    2. Measures Intelligence: Empathy 30′, Sense Power 60′ of general good or evil only
    3. Measures Intelligence: Speaks (all languages of wielder); Sense Power 60′; Immune to Bane, Charm Person, Command
    4. Measures Intelligence: Telepathy 30′; Sense Power 90′; Fully +1 Standard Augmentation

DESTROY EFFECTS: They will gain 1 Essence and 1 mana per False Life field they had built (min 1). Additionally, they must make an average SAN check to resist the crushing wave of memories that are cast loose. If they fail, they gain a Mark of Sundering and some of these memories are imprinted: +1 skill level from skills of Commoner of the Steel Realms.

iCore iCore™ Weapon Details

Estimated Value: ? (Silver Crowns)

Item Source: i20™ OR iCore™ #YYYY

Destroying the Item: As an item with inherent mystic nature, it is deeply bound to The Pattern – mere mundane efforts cannot destroy it. It must be melted, disintegrated, or heated and shattered – not merely made Useless. Destroying the item releases the agonized spirit imprint of everyone the blade has slain. Whoever was last Attuned to it must be within 10m to use that bond to absorb some of its power.

Uncommon Knowledge / Average Difficulty

The blade was not forged anew, it was actually an ancient blade that had chipped and been broken. The merchant was a descendant of Sir Alain Mallory, who pursued The Men of Ver. Although Ver and his band were never found, the posse Alain was in, one of many searching for them, came across their abandoned camp. There he found the blade. Continuing their pursuit, the band came across a beast that escaped from the Valley of Sighs that had just begun to terrorize the area. It slew a dozen or more of his posse before he managed to slay it with the sword. It earned him his knighthood. The blade was chipped and pitted from the unknown creature’s blood in the process, but handed down as a symbol of family success ever since. They became minor land holders and merchants. One particularly successful season gave the family enough to sponsor the youngest in their time to serve in The Glaciers Guard at Northgate Garrison – it would bring glory, fame and more prospects to the family.

Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty

He was hunted and killed by the Vice Deputy Gary Haldoff, of the Barony of Fortun (representing the sheriff of Principality of Redmarch). Gary managed to track and corner him, though not until Alban had killed several more, including children. Driven into a barn on a farmstead, with no escape and no allies left, Alban had killed a pair of posse members and been wounded, all the while screaming “Remember Alban!”. He faced more than a dozen more and angry relatives of the steading family he had killed. Instead of capture, Alban braced the sword and drove it into his own heart. The deputy charged the building and found him that way. He took the blade, for it was of good quality with a sharp edge.

Rare Knowledge / Very Hard Difficulty

A madness fell over the posse though. The blade’s description from this time changes to a terrifying one, witnesses claiming it dripped blood. The deputy soon adopted the name ‘Alban’, and became a bandit; The posse became his gang. They used the decaying body of Alban as a banner. They terrorized the Redmark region, drawing recruits away from North Gate Garrison to their side instead of fighting against the undead. The deputy became a warlord and stole cattle, wagons, carts and horses. He in turn was killed by Errol Thomas, a farmer’s son. The gang had terrorized the region for a year, and killed Errol’s father. Errol stood up to the gang, ambushing them after providing them drinks in his barn they were demanding to use. He set fire to the barn, killing them all in a drunken stupor.

Then Errol took the blade from the burnt wreckage. Descriptions of the blade differ here as well, to one gleaming and bright – perhaps the fire had burned off a taint? He began calling himself ‘Alban’ as well and led a peasants revolt against his baron who he blamed for not defending the commoners against the deputy’s gang. He slew the knight, Sir Andrew Washman, in single combat. He attacked the land-holder Sir Phillip Desmund and drove him from his home, burning it to the ground. He pursued him into the The Bromarre Stretch. Neither of them were ever seen again.

Warning
Obscure/Hidden Knowledge is not generally available in known references; It is not necessarily Forbidden.
DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT unless a character has the capability to gain such knowledge [through association, organization, or relation] if they do not possess it themselves or the reader intends to participate in scenarios using this material as a PLAYER! GM Narration will typically provide relevant information by check or story.

There is a secret catch on the pommel of the blade nearly impossible to see, the seams hide themselves from notice. Inside, empowering the blade, is a scroll with the Smyo Pa – Ritual of Emrigga’s Call from the forbidden Duchess Dementia work of Rasillions Diabolique.

Realm's Aptitude Powers: Divine, Occult, and Psychic