“Where steel cuts and spells falter, the Aether answers.”
Description
Aetherbrand is a legendary glaive of haunting elegance, forged for those who master both the battlefield and the Weave. Its long shaft is crafted of polished black ebony, bound with mithril rings and smooth to the touch, perfectly balanced for whirling strikes. The blade itself is a long, sweeping curve of dark grey steel that gleams faintly like storm clouds at dusk. Along its length are engraved arcane glyphs and divine sigils, each line inlaid with gold and platinum that shimmer faintly even in shadow.
When raised, the weapon exudes authority: part martial banner, part divine relic, part arcane focus. Every sweep of the blade seems to hum with restrained power, its edge sharp enough to cleave stone, its runes alive with radiant and arcane light. To those who fight with steel, it is a weapon of unmatched reach and elegance; to those who wield magic, it is an anchor to the planes and a vessel for divine and arcane energies alike.
Aetherbrand is sought by paladins, eldritch knights, clerics of war, and warlocks alike—any who would blend spell and steel into one unstoppable art.
Magical Properties and Features
- Blade of Judgment
- The glaive deals an additional 2d8 radiant or force damage (chosen on attunement) against aberrations, fiends, and undead.
- Arcane Conduit
- While attuned, you may use the glaive as a spellcasting focus for both arcane and divine magic. Spell attack rolls and spell save DCs increase by +1.
- Warden’s Reach
- The glaive’s reach extends unnaturally: when you make an opportunity attack with it, you may do so against creatures within 15 feet instead of 10 feet.
- Convergence of Might
- Once per long rest, you may channel both martial and magical might into a single strike. Declare before an attack roll: on a hit, the attack deals an additional 4d10 damage of your choice (radiant, necrotic, lightning, or force), and you may immediately cast a cantrip as a bonus action.
Weapon Bonuses
- Attribute Bonus: +2 Strength or +2 Intelligence/Wisdom (chosen at attunement).
- Magic Bonus: +3 to attack and damage rolls.
- Skill Bonus: +2 to Arcana and Religion checks.
- Proficiency Bonus: If not proficient, you gain proficiency with glaives (martial melee weapons).
Drawbacks and Risks
- The glaive is attuned to purpose: if you go more than three days without using it in combat or casting a spell through it, you suffer disadvantage on saving throws against fear until you do.
- The sigils are alive with power—wielders who fail a concentration check take 1d6 psychic damage as the weapon’s magic backlashes against them.
Lore and History
Aetherbrand was forged in the sanctum-forges of Myrdrithis during the Celestial Convergence, when the veil between divine and arcane energies thinned. Its blade was tempered in starfire and cooled in holy water, binding planar authority into steel. The first bearer was Thaelion the Arch-Warden, who wielded it to defend the Oracle Isles from both fiendish incursions and aberrant horrors. Since then, the glaive has been a weapon of both reverence and terror, passing from champion to champion. It is said that Aetherbrand does not choose between mage or warrior—it chooses those who embody both.
Additional Roleplay Features
- While attuned, faint lines of golden and platinum light pulse along the blade whenever you cast a spell.
- The weapon hums softly when near ancient ruins, leyline nexuses, or divine altars.
- In dreams, the wielder sees visions of battles fought by past bearers, their victories and failures replaying as lessons.
Weapon Information
- Weapon Type: Glaive (Martial Melee Weapon, Reach, Heavy, Two-Handed)
- Weight: 6 lbs.
- Market Value: 250,000 gp
- Black Market Value: Priceless to collectors, heretics, and cabals of spellwarriors.
Summary of Weapon
Aetherbrand is a legendary +3 glaive, an elegant weapon of martial might and arcane resonance. It enhances Strength or casting attributes, bolsters Arcana and Religion, empowers spellcasting, and channels devastating radiant or force damage against unnatural foes. Both elegant and brutal, it is a relic sought equally by warriors and spellcasters, a blade that bridges steel and sorcery into one sovereign art.
“In its edge lies the hymn of gods and the silence of stars.”
Proficiency with a Glaive allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
This weapon has the following mastery property. To use this property, you must have a feature that lets you use it.
Graze. If your attack roll with this weapon misses a creature, you can deal damage to that creature equal to the ability modifier you used to make the attack roll. This damage is the same type dealt by the weapon, and the damage can be increased only by increasing the ability modifier.
Notes: Bonus: Magic, Damage: Radiant, Bonus: Spell Save DC, Bonus: Spell Attacks, Weapon Property: Reach, Weapon Mastery: Graze (Glaive), Damage: Radiant, Bonus: Choose Intelligence or Wisdom, Bonus: Strength Score, Bonus: Arcana, Bonus: Religion, long rest, Damage, Combat, Heavy, Reach, Two-Handed, Graze
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