Dumb Thoughts : The Mourneblade on the Mantlepiece

Wyrmrest Accord
1

So it has been a hot minute, but I want to do two or three things with this thread.

  1. How many, if any, artifacts does your character(s) possess, and what do they do? Do you roll with the in-game artifacts and legendaries, do you have your own, do you have custom magical weapons, etc etc.
  1. If your character has MacGuffinites, where do they store them, and who may have access to them while you’re out saving the world and slinging some swains down at the local watering hole?
  1. This is very, very, much an optional part of an already optional topic, but if somebody got hold of one of your relics, legendaries, artifacts or macguffinites, which one, and what do you think would happen?

Gen’tarn, in character, has three relics to his name.

One is a version of the https://www.wowhead.com/item=143732/uncertain-reminder Uncertain Reminder helm, which is a wolf-head helm reinforced with spiked iron flanges that he stopped wearing a long time ago because while it did make him a much better warrior, it had the same issue that the ‘Uncured’ Worgen did in that, gradually, the bloodlust of the wolf spirit bound to the helm became all-consuming.

The second is stone ring carved from granite that is always warm to touch which is the sign of his pact with an Earth Elemental, and what Gen’tarn uses to summon his Earth Elemental in combat, similar to the https://www.wowhead.com/spell=336739/deeptremor-stone Deeptremor Stone from Shadowlands, and also kinda serves as a one-two punch for his standing with the Elements as if Gen starts to go off the rails with trying to do more than he should, the ring will shrink, not enough to crush the finger, but enough to warn the Shaman that he’s treading perilously close to violating the balance of the Elements.

Third and final is his warhammer, made for him by his father, Krenk, when Gen’s axe was ruined during a fight with an Azerite-maddened lava elemental. Visually it is similar to the https://www.wowhead.com/item=163869/honorbound-skullcrusher Honorbound Skullcrusher Warhammer from the Battle for Azeroth expansion, but the red gemstones are expended Azerite from the fight with the lava elemental, rendered capable of holding an elemental ‘charge’ after all the World Soul energy in them was drained away by the lava elemental. Shadow’s Bane isn’t much more than a magical one-handed warhammer that can store elemental energy within it to fuel Gen’s spellcasting in a pinch, or be used to blast what it strikes with lightning or fire, depending upon what flavor of Elemental Energy is imbued at the time.

For Gen, he’s been trying for a while to figure out how to separate the wolf-spirit from the cursed helm, but the ferocity and bloodlust of the spirit trapped within causes him as much grief as the dark magic and blood-fueled binding rituals used to create the item in the first place. And unfortunately, the helm was stolen during some roleplay back at the end of Dragonflight, so I’d imagine some would-be warrior or hunter donning the helm to ask for the blessing of the Wolf-Spirit within, only to become consumed over time by the madness and bloodlust until they cannot tell friend from foe, and will fight on until they’re torn apart or drop from exhaustion.

A less dark writing prompt would be his little daughter, Geela the Harpy, getting a hold of his Granite Ring and, being a Harpy, and a smol child, being fixated on shiny object to add to her collection. The Earth Elemental, however, might be a little bit bemused by the situation, that this flighty creature of air has claimed it and is trying to wear it like a bracelet … and I want you to imagine a down-covered, three-year old Harpy chick with a burning contempt for the laws of physics and their own mortality that all small children possess, running madly with all the weight of the earth now tied to her footsteps through a house while her parents race after her in a panic because everything not nailed down is shaking losing and falling in her wake.

Imagine if she makes it into a settlement …

Shadow’s Bane, I think, might make more narrative sense that somebody trying to become a Shaman might lift it, mistaking the charge it holds being a conduit for Elemental power, and not realising that it is a very finite charge and has no actual power or authority over the Elements or the Elemental Spirits and might wind up having greatly offending some spirit by trying to use the Warhammer as a tool of subjugation, rather than worship and protection.

So what macguffinites does your character wield, and how badly would things go if somebody ‘borrowed’ them?

4 Likes
2

A few of my characters possess weapons that could be considered artifacts. I generally don’t associate any established artifacts with any of my characters, in part because I simply don’t think most of them should have such things and for those that do, I find more satisfaction in writing my own.

Two are tied to two of my Winterclaw characters; sisters Yun and Zhihao Winterclaw. Both are swords, a Tang Dao and Miao Dao, or rather approximations of those swords; favored designs of the Winterclaw clan. Of the two, Zhihao’s current sword, Bingzhulong, has the most written about it. Physically, its merely the hilt, fittings and bottom two inches of a blade with a scabbard. The remaining blade is formed from a combination of spiritual and elemental energy. Bingzhulong is one of a few ancestral weapons of the Winterclaw, the most important one, in fact, as it is symbolic of the clan’s relationship with the elements of Kun-Lai and their self-appointed charge to serve the land and its people, both of which contribute to the sword’s very function. Though she officially owns the sword, as acting head of the clan, Zhihao rarely actually uses it, preferring her original, and far less remarkable sword, but still often carries Bingzhulong as a status symbol.

Yun’s sword is more one of personal importance. Qianrizhiren is a runeblade replica of a sword I never got around to naming so for now we’ll just say that name has been lost to time until further notice. The original is said to have bolstered the wielder’s chi but it’s most significantly a sword used by the clan’s leaders to defend their home stronghold from invaders. It was last used by Yun and Zhihao’s mother for that purpose. Qianrizhiren holds the souls of various people from Yun’s past, former friends turned enemies, ever-loyal fallen comrades and Yun’s mother herself. The sword Qianrizhiren is based on was once recovered by Yun and hidden but has since been returned to the Winterclaw through Zhihao. Qianrizhiren is Yun’s main personal weapon.

Bingzhulong’s power can only be invoked by a blood member of the Winterclaw lineage. Unless one found a way to circumvent that or obtain the permission of those responsible for its creation, it’s pretty much an elaborate paperweight to anyone save Yun and Zhihao, the last remaining of their lineage. Tampering with it might additionally run the risk of agitating the spiritual echoes bound to it, which could prove hazardous. Meanwhile the spirits residing in Qianrizhiren are likely to make wielding it difficult. It’s more or less a living weapon and half the spirits that make it so support its creator/wielder. Its predecessor could likely be stolen but that would invite the ire of a potent Assassin and an equally potent Death Knight. Overall, the only ones who’d really be in trouble in either scenario would be the instigator and/or their collaborators most likely. Some of the souls in Qianrizhiren might potentially cause some greater trouble but it’s very likely they’d be easily delt with by a seasoned adventurer before they could reach anything close to world threat status.

Addendum:

Recently I was looking into what I wrote about Bingzhulong (as in the lore I archived) and found a line that I thought was prudent to add in case anyone is still looking at this thread…

“Those who manage to draw the blade unnaturally are then cursed, forcibly taken and purified by the spirits of the Mountain Court with every swing.”

I don’t quite remember what I meant by this, sounds bad though.

17 Likes
3

I’m an absolute sucker for special/named weapons! Unfortunately, Thomas is not a fan and would rather not have any fame or infamy attached to his sword. Well sucks to be him, cause I’ve given his sword backstory anyways! Not the spectral sword he actually uses, mind you, but his steel sword he died with and that got passed down to his daughter.

Duskandi, Memory of the Brotherhood is what has become of Thomas’s old standard issue greatsword from the First War. It’s currently in a form of hibernation/stasis as his daughter uses it as a mantlepiece, but should it become plot relevant and return to Duskwood its spooky powers can awaken!

4 Likes
4

Several of my characters carry custom artifact weapons, I prefer not to use lore named weapons. Most have a connection to the Shadowlands or Void and are sentient. I love the idea of sassy sentient weapons, but it doesn’t come up in rp very often. I like to imagine they always have access to them and can call on them at will.

3 Likes
5

I think my Vulpera is walking around with a gun named Vera.

3 Likes
6

Kina has some weapons that are special to her, but I don’t know if I’d call them artifacts. Usually the weapons she carries are weapons that she made. The fel iron two handed swords are her favorites. And yes, she prefers matched pairs. If need be, I have a lot of different weapons I’ve collected, and some of them are lost in void storage, from before we had transmogs. And I can come up with a weapon, and back story, for just about any kind of weapon.

There is one specific sword - and yes I still have the sword - that was made for her on the occasion of her wedding by Borgg. Because what does one warrior give another warrior for a gift when they marry a warrior? A weapon! And Kina made another sword to try and match it. So, ICly, it’s a mis-matched pair, but it means a lot to her. In player housing if we could display a weapon, that would be it. It represents a lot, both IC and OOC.

3 Likes
7

Though it’s not technically an artifact currently, I’d like to think it would become one given enough time and I think it’s unique enough to justify sharing. Another assassin of mine, a sniper by the name of Yshalar Alan’thera, uses a peculiar sort of gun. This weapon at first glance may appear to be a relatively normal rifle but closer inspection reveals a curious lack of any visible firing mechanisms. This gun, internally dubbed the Starlance because I’ve yet to encounter a situation where Yshalar had cause to share its name, is a weapon that fires and is powered by magic. Through specially marked sigils on the wielder’s hands, small amounts are magic are fed into cartridges that serve as the weapon’s ammunition. Other runes on the rifle itself allow it to alter several other factors, such as the nature and type of shot, from the default beam-bolt to streaks of lightning.

Yshalar created the Starlance in collaboration with a couple others, a Gnome and a Dwarf, both skilled gunsmiths with significant knowledge in the arcane arts; a project pursued in the early days of the modern incarnation of the Alliance. Since the original Starlance’s creation, Yshalar has refined the design to make a few pistols she keeps as sidearms, along with a set of throwing knives. As she is technically the firing mechanism for these guns, there’s little danger to her or nearly anyone else if she were to lose them. An arcanist could technically fire them by channeling into them, but the effect is comparable to a wand, and while comparably more powerful, it still pales in comparison to the raw power of most offensive spells, making it ultimately a waste of time for any Mage of skill. Channeling might additionally pose a potential danger if too much energy is fed, as the cartridges aren’t made to withstand a certain amount.

Fun fact, the Starlance is more or less lifted wholesale from my personal fantasy setting, wherein it’s the weapon a special military unit from a high magic nation. Both iterations serve a somewhat similar function of empowering low magic individuals to be closer to more magical peers, though this concept is far less significant in WoW.

4 Likes