The Penitent’s Blade for KOOKS 2d10 RPG

The Penitent’s Blade

This weapon appears to be a masterfully crafted longsword. Its steel is polished to a mirror shine, and faint, elegant script is etched along the fuller of the blade. The hilt is wrapped in white leather, and the pommel is a simple, unadorned sphere of silver. When unsheathed, it emits a soft, almost imperceptible hum.

Magical Properties

• Weapon Bonus: The Penitent’s Blade is a +1 magic weapon, granting a +1 bonus to Attack and damage rolls.
• Aegis of the Faithful: The wielder feels a sense of calm and conviction. This manifests as a +1 bonus to all saving rolls. This bonus stacks with the Paladin class feature.
• Smite the Unworthy: Once per day, the wielder can channel their resolve into the blade. On a successful melee hit, they can choose to add an HPCombatBonus equal to their level without paying the associated HP cost. This decision can be made after the roll has failed, potentially turning a miss into a hit.

The Curse: Subtle Atonement

The blade was created to embody a Paladin’s ideal of atonement—that for every failing, a price must be paid, even if one is not aware of the transgression. The item is not possessed by a demon but is imbued with a powerful, lingering enchantment.

• The Price of Failure: The curse activates whenever the wielder fails a crucial roll, representing a moment of personal failure. This does not apply to simple mistakes, but to moments of consequence, as determined by the GM. Specifically, the curse triggers under the following condition: Whenever the wielder rolls to make a saving throw against a magical effect or a poison and fails the roll.
• The Subtle Drain: Upon failing such a save, the blade silently enforces its own form of penance. The character does not take extra damage or suffer an obvious penalty. Instead, 1 point of damage is applied directly to the character’s BRAIN Competency Stat.
  • This effect is extremely subtle. Damage to a Competency Stat is separate from HP loss and represents long-term harm. The wielder will not feel this damage occur; it is a quiet erosion of their mental faculties.
  • According to the game’s mechanics, a character’s BRAIN Bonus only decreases after losing two full points from the stat. A player might fail several saves and suffer this stat damage before noticing any change in their BRAIN Bonus, which affects skills like Knowledge and Communicating, as well as Magic Attack Bonus rolls.
  • Recovery from Competency Stat damage is very slow. It requires either two weeks of dedicated medical attention and bed rest or recovers at a rate of 1 point per day (or the stat’s current bonus, whichever is greater) if not receiving dedicated care. The player might attribute their slowly diminishing capabilities to bad luck or stress, never connecting it to the “holy” sword they carry.

The true nature of the sword is insidious because its benefits are immediate and powerful, encouraging reliance on it, while its curse is a slow, creeping decay of the character’s mind, punishing the very moments of weakness the sword’s wielder would most regret.