Celestial Fury (Magic Sword)

Many years ago, fierce tempests and fires ignited by lightning ravished the province administered by daimyo Hoshi Katahiroi. The daimyo's advisers, all respected shukenjas, soon divined that Nature was not to blame, but a powerful dragon of an unknown order. Some of the wise men suggested that the creature was an abomination: others believed it was born of Primal Chaos before Kara-Tur was formed. All the advisers agreed to name it Celestial Fury.
Yet daimyo Hoshi did not want to categorize the scourge of his province: he wanted to destroy it. He commissioned the famed Chigatta (a reclusive artisan, master of mystic arts), to construct a weapon that might sunder the dragon's spirit as well as cleave its scaled body. Chigatta's labors resulted in the finest katana imaginable, dubbed Celestial Fury after the beast it was fashioned to destroy, and enchanted with the power of flight.
With this weapon. Hoshi sought his province's bane among the storm clouds. Shouts and roars resounded through the heavens for days, and forked fire lit up the nights. At long last. Hoshi destroyed the dragon's body and trapped its spirit within his sword, merging the two Celestial Furies and imposing order over chaos. To finalize his victory. Hoshi had Chigatta fashion a scab bard from the dragons hide and embed its magic pearl in the hilt.
Yet the dragon had its revenge. Hoshi was skilled in battle but weak of will. Celestial Fury's spirit took control of Hoshi, forcing him to slay Chigatta and then slay himself. The katana subsequently disappeared (most likely, Hoshi's grieving family discarded the traitorous weapon) and has perhaps changed many hands in the years since.
Celestial Fury is a katana of excellent construction-a flexible but unbreakable blade of razor sharpness, a hilt covered with comfortable leather, and a huge pearl fixed at its end. The magical characters for celestial fury are inscribed on the blade, which glows pale violet and crack les with electricity when drawn (5' radius illumination). The sword is sheathed in a scab bard of dragon bide, the slate-gray scales of which constantly Hash with streaks of silver, blue and violet.
Only chaotic-good, chaotic-neutral, or chaotic-evil individuals may safely handle Celestial Fury: others receive an electrical shock for 9 points of damage each round they touch it. On compatibly aligned characters, Celestial Fury bestows complete immunity to all forms of lightning mundane and magical-and protects the user and his possessions from wetness due to fog or rainfall (even during a hurricane) but not immersion.
Each time Celestial Fury is drawn, thunder and lightning explode from the scabbard, causing everyone within 10' to save vs. wands twice— once to prevent blindness for 1d4 rounds, the second time, deafness lasting 2d6 rounds. The wielder is immune to these effects, and characters who take suitable precautions (those who do not look at the wielder or who stop their ears with cotton) save at +5. Celestial Fury is a +3 magical weapon with the following additional powers:
* Storm Gathering: Once drawn. Celestial Fury and its wielder are constantly surrounded by foul weather for a two-mile radius, despite the environment's natural tendency. This power has an effect similar to the 6th-level shukenja spell control weather except that the weather only gets worse-precipitation moves toward cloudiness, winds become stronger, temperature is unaffected. This effect cannot be dispelled, though an anti-magic shell will stop it.
* 'Booming Thunder: Each and every successful strike on an opponent causes a deafening boom. While of lesser intensity than the sound resulting from Celestial Fury being drawn, the thunder is sufficiently violent to stun an opponent for one round unless he saves vs. spell.
* Shocking Blow: Three times each day, the wielder may designate a given strike as a shocking blow before the attack die is rolled. A successful hit causes an additional 20 points of electrical damage. If the blow misses and the Opponent wears metallic armor, a second attack roll against AC 10 is made: a hit signifies the opponent takes 10 points of damage from arcing electricity. Opponents in nonmetallic armor must be struck for this power to work. Once called, the blow counts as one usage of shocking blow: whether or not it succeeds.
* Lightning Strike: Once a day. Celestial Fury may release a lightning bolt at a target within 240 yards, causing 10d6 points of damage.
* Flight: This power operates for four hours per day, at MV 18 and Maneuverability Class B.
Celestial Fury is a sentient weapon (Intelligence 12, Ego 9) of chaotic-neutral alignment. It communicates its desires through semi-empathy. Its thoughts revolve around causing foul weather and mindless exhibitions of power. It also seeks vengeance against the descendants of Daimyo Hoshi and Chigatta.
Category:Encyclopedia Magica Magic Items
Category:Magic Items
Category:Magic Swords
Category:Magic Weapons