Ashbond, the Hearthkeepers Blade

Compatible with Basic Roleplaying System

GM-Info!

Work in progress!

Slightly NSFW!

FEATURED

Swordtember: #brasero

On winter nights a brazier can hold a room together. Ashbond is that warmth given an edge. The long blade carries a lattice of fine, geometric engraving - filigree like the screens that guard hot coals - so dense it seems to breathe when the steel warms. The crossguard sits low and circular, echoing a brazier's rim. A smoked-leather grip keeps the hand sure, and the pommel bears a soldered copper coin stamped with a tiny hall and hearthmark. At rest the sword gives off a steady, homely heat. It dries sleeves, chases damp from boots, and makes cold stone tolerable. It smells faintly of orange peel, ash, and seasoned wood. Draw it in earnest, and the lattice kindles. Lines along the fuller glow like roused embers; every cut writes with burning flame.

History and keepers of the blade

Sebastia Brasswright by Tillerz using MJ

During a brutal winter, when the river locked and chimneys died for lack of fuel, a swordwright called Sebastia Brasswright of Magramine dismantled a courtyard brazier to see how kindly heat could live inside iron. She threaded copper veins through a billet of good steel, scored the lattice by hand, and quenched the blade in a communal oven while neighbours passed kettles and blankets. The sword that came out of that oven didn't scorch the world around it; it comforted it - until it needed to do otherwise.

Lidia Vervain by Tillerz using MJ

After Sebastia, Ashbond gravitated to people who held doors open. Matron Lidia Vervain kept the Honeywell Poorhouse warm on a shoestring and once ended a riot with a single parry that left cudgels smoking and tempers cooling. High on Brinstone Pass, Roadward Jasco Finn found a coach party sealed in by a nightfall avalanche; he planted Ashbond in the drift and over three hours melted a clean tunnel, the lattice glowing like banked coals while numb fingers remembered how to grip. River-captain Donat Peregrine, grandfather of Lydia Quillston, stood the blade point-down in his barge and ferried families through a flood without anyone freezing. Later in Bridgeport, when the Beacon’s presses seized during the "Black Frost", Lydia Quillston had the blade laid across the ink-stones; it thawed the rollers and drew neighbours in to warm their hands.

Description and use in the world

Travelling with Ashbond is like taking your hearth with you. The warmth is selective - blankets don't scorch, bread doesn't char, and patients in sickrooms doze instead of shiver. Folk unclench near it; voices lose their edge. Rest the blade across your knees and breathe, and you'll feel the heat settle into your bones, the sort of comfort that makes a bad day survivable. When danger arrives, the sword answers. The leather tightens in your hand; the engraved lattice wakes to ember-red; the air tastes of rain hitting hot brick. Cuts blacken spear-shafts, smoke rolls from split shields, beasts flinch, and people who don't truly want to fight find a reason to take a step back.

Ashbond, the Hearthkeeper's Blade

WFRP4e

Cypher

Type: Hand Weapon (Sword), Unique, Magical
Encumbrance: 1
Availability: - (Unique Artefact) Reach: Average
Damage: +SB+4
Qualities: Magical; Defensive; Precise
Hearth's Comfort (Passive, out of combat): While the blade is drawn and no open hostility is occurring, the bearer and allies within 5 yards count as sheltered from cold and damp. They gain +20 to Endurance Tests vs. Cold Exposure, ignore the first level of Fatigued from harsh weather, and may sleep in inclement conditions without penalty. Ashbond sheds steady, smokeless light equivalent to a lantern. Banked Ember / Battleflame (Stance): Outside combat the sword sits banked, radiating gentle warmth. When Initiative is rolled - or as a Free Action - the bearer may kindle Battleflame for the scene. Banking it again requires a Full Action and a moment's calm. Hearthfire in Battle (Battleflame only): Melee attacks deal +1 Damage (Fire, Magical). On a Critical Hit or when you win the opposed Melee Test by 6+ SL, the target must pass Agility or gain 1 On Fire Condition (flammables ignite at the GM's discretion). Creatures with Bestial must test Cool or suffer Broken for 1 Round the first time they are struck by Ashbond's flames. Keep the Threshold (Oath): When defending a home, sanctuary, or agreed truce-place, begin combat with +1 Advantage and gain +10 to Cool Tests to resist Intimidated or Broken. Notes: In its banked state the warmth is discerning - it will not harm those under your stated protection. In Battleflame it behaves as honest fire.

Artifact (Level 6) Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (on Flare only) Banked Heat (passive): While drawn and no violence is under way, you and allies within Immediate range are comfortable despite cold or damp (protection vs. environmental cold up to level 4). Once per rest period, a creature who spends a 10-minute recovery within range gains +2 to the recovered points (any Pool). Calm, friendly social interactions conducted at your “hearth” are eased by one step if the blade is visible but not brandished. Kindle Battleflame (stance): As you enter combat (or as an Enabler on your turn), kindle Ashbond. While kindled, the sword deals +2 Fire damage, easily ignites flammables, and attacks against creatures averse to fire are eased. Flare (active): Expend 2 Intellect or Speed to sweep a short arc of embers in a short cone; creatures in the area take 2 Fire damage (Speed defence to avoid; flammables may ignite). Roll Depletion after each use (1 in 1d20). On depletion, Ashbond cannot Flare or be kindled for 24 hours (Banked Heat remains). Hearthbound Mercy: While kindled, choosing not to strike a yielding foe or someone under your declared protection grants +1 to your next recovery roll (stacking to +3 until day's end). Limit: The warmth chooses its targets. In the banked state it will not harm those you shelter; to burn, you must kindle it and strike with intent.