Bonded blades are swords imbued with the spirit of a powerful fiend. According to legend, when a warrior trades their soul in exchange for power or help from a hopeless predicament, they can attempt to earn back their own soul by sending enough other souls to the afterlife to become slaves of that fiend instead. It is unknown whether anyone has rescued their own soul in this way, but several of these swords have grown powerful in the hands of their owners over the ages. Aside from stories, there have been few documented examples of such blades throughout history.

The bonded blade has the appearance of an ornately crafted steel longsword. But now the blade is covered in a thick coating as though it were dipped in a grimy rusty paste that has dried into a jagged pitted crust. Grey streaks run like veins down the length of the blade, occasionally flickering darkly with the cruel energy contained within. The blade is warm to the touch. When you pick it up, you receive a strong feeling of malevolent power from within it. Once you attune to the weapon, it becomes bonded to you. Remove Curse frees you from the bond, removing your attunement and resetting the blade's level to 1. Whether this frees you from your contract is another matter altogether. While you and the blade are bonded, the following features apply to you:

• You always have disadvantage when using any other wielded melee weapon, regardless of modifiers which may otherwise negate disadvantage.
• As a bonus action, you may summon your bonded blade to your hand or dismiss it. If you have no free hands, you drop at least one held item to make room for the blade.
• Each day at dawn, your bonded blade regains a number of charges equal to its blade level. These charges can be used like a wand to invoke various effects.

Absorb Soul

When you slay a creature, your bonded blade hungers to consume its soul. As an action, you may absorb the soul of a creature you slew within the last 1 minute. When you do this, you recover hit points equal to the CR of that creature. Creatures below CR 1 provide no healing. There is no limit to the number of souls your blade is capable of absorbing. Its hunger is insatiable. Constructs have no souls, so they may not be absorbed.

Blade Advancement

Your blade grows in power as you defeat stronger enemies. The level of your blade is equal to the CR of the strongest soul your bonded blade has absorbed, up to your character level. When your character reaches level 18, the limit is removed. As your blade grows in power, it becomes a more formidable weapon. Blade advancement follows the table below:

Blade Level	1h Base Damage	2h Base Damage
1	1d8	1d10
2	1d8	1d10
3	1d8	1d10
4	1d8	1d10
5	1d10	1d12
6	1d10	1d12
7	1d10	1d12
8	1d10	1d12
9	1d12	1d8+1d6
10	1d12	1d8+1d6
11	1d12	1d8+1d6
12	1d12	1d8+1d6
13	1d8+1d6	2d8
14	1d8+1d6	2d8
15	1d8+1d6	2d8
16	1d8+1d6	2d8
17	2d8	4d4
18	2d8	4d4
19	2d8	4d4
20	2d8	4d4
21	4d4	3d6
22	4d4	3d6
23	4d4	3d6
24	4d4	3d6
25	3d6	5d4
26	3d6	5d4
27	3d6	5d4
28	3d6	5d4
29	5d4	6d4
30	5d4	6d4

Uncanny Blade (from blade level 3)

As a bonus action, you may spend 1 charge from your blade to call forth dark energy from your blade. For the next minute, your slashing damage is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming damage resistance and immunity.

Devil's Sight (from blade level 4)

As your sword begins to grow in power, its dark gifts start to reveal themselves to you. As an action, you may spend 2 charges from your blade to invoke a limited version of Devil's Sight, meaning you can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet for 10 minutes.

Bully (from blade level 5)

You have begun to come to terms with the powers of your blade and the effect it can have on you and on those around you. As an action, you may spend 3 charges from your blade to enhance the most sinister aspects of your appearance and demeanor. You gain advantage on intimidation checks for 1 minute.

Hellfire Blade (from blade level 7)

As a bonus action, you may spend 4 charges from your blade to invoke an incantation that ignites your blade with infernal hellfire. On a successful melee attack, your blade does an additional 1d6 fire damage. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

Release Soul (from blade level 9)

You have learned advanced techniques for how to work with the souls of slain enemies absorbed into your sword. When you absorb a soul, rather than taking the healing energy into yourself, you have 1 minute to touch an ally with your blade as an action and release the soul's energy into them as healing for hit points equal to the CR of the absorbed soul. No soul below CR 1 provides any healing.

Infernal Resistance (from blade level 11)

As the bond between you and your blade intensifies, your tolerance of heat and flame increases along with it. As an action, you may spend 3 charges from your blade to gain resistance to fire damage for 1 minute.

Hellfire Burst (from blade level 13)

You are now able to master the explosive energy trapped within your blade. You gain the ability to release an explosive burst of hellfire upon your enemies. As an action, you may spend 7 charges from your blade and cast fireball from it.

Infernal Magic (from blade level 17)

The infernal nature of your blade grants you access to some rudimentary fire magic. Your mind comprehends the methods of calling a fire shield or a wall of fire. As an action, you may spend 9 charges from your sword to cast either of these spells.

(Sword art by Bill McBee)

Proficiency with a longsword allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

Notes: long rest while pledging one's soul to a powerful otherworldly being in exchange for great power in this world, Damage, Buff, Combat, Cursed, Versatile