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monch9
Seeker
Poland
67 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Sep 2004 : 05:04:44
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Hi,
I'm trying to come up with a writeup of Drizzt's scimitars and would like to know if any of the history I've written conflicts with any realms knowledge. Would be nice if you can give suggestions in how to write it better as well. Hope you enjoy the writeup.
Icingdeath
quote:
He sifted through the portion of the pile he had just freed from the ice, uncovering a gem-encrusted sword pommel, its black adamantite hilt masterfully sculpted into the likeness of the toothed maw of a hunting cat. The lure of the intricate workmanship pulled at Drizzt, and with trembling fingers he slid the rest of the weapon out from under the gold.
A scimitar. Its curving blade was of silver, and diamond-edged. Drizzt raised it before him, marveling at its lightness and perfect balance.
"A few baubles . . . and this," he corrected.
- An excerp from The Crystal Shard
This +2 frost scimitar is made of Solarian Truesteel which gives it a silvery gleam (as well as a +1 to confirm critical). It sheds light as a torch when the temperature drops below 0°F. At such times it cannot be concealed when drawn, nor can its light be shut off. Its wielder is protected from fire; the sword absorbs the first 10 points of fire damage each round that the wielder would otherwise take. Icingdeath extinguishes all nonmagical fires in its area. As a standard action, it can also dispel lasting fire spells, but not instantaneous effects, though you must succeed on a dispel check (1d20 +14) against each spell to dispel it. The DC to dispel such spells is 11+ the caster level of the fire spell.
In addition to the frost brand abilities, Icingdeath is also an intelligent evil outsider bane scimitar with the following properties and powers; AL NG; Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 10; Empathy, 60ft. darkvision and hearing; Ego score 16.
Special Purpose : Slay/Defeat Evil Outsiders
Dedicated Lesser Power : Icingdeath has +10 ranks in sense motive against evil outsiders.
Dedicated Power : Icingdeath has the Magic Strike ability which treats damage inflicated as cold iron, silver, and good-aligned against evil outsiders.
Icingdeath communicates to the wielder by urges and sometimes emotions. This happens when the presence of evil outsiders is detected by the scimitar. Against evil outsiders (even in disguise or with an alter-self/polymorph spell in effect), Icingdeath will have a rank of +12 in sense motive to check to avoid being bluffed.
Strong evocation; CL 14th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, ice storm, aura against flame (MoF), summon monster I; Price 77,420 gp; Cost 39340 gp and 5 sp + 3097 XP.
History:
During the middle of the thirteenth century, some defenders of the high forrest banded together to help stem the corruption of the fiends of Hellgate Keep. Andrath, a cleric of Eldath created a scimitar with the help of his goddess for a half-elf ranger/druid of Meilikki name Celina. A fierce defender of the forrest, she (and Andrath) eventually fell to the fiends but not without taking a whole group with them. Part of Celina’s soul still powers the intelligence and the hatred against the fiends that defiled her beloved forrest. Sadly, the scimitar stayed unnamed until a little more than a century later, when the famed ranger Drizzt Do’urden named it after the dragon whose lair he found it from.
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richtinIII
Acolyte
USA
29 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2004 : 04:21:15
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| nothing sticks out to me as wrong, and i cannot add any information to your amount of knowlage to the sword. on the other hand could you tell me what that would mean in 2 Ed.? |
Where in the Nine Hells did you ever get the idea that I would fight fair? |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 22:01:41
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| BEAST, I'm sure you'll check this scroll. I wanted to ask you a question, I've been considering using the original Frost Brand from which Icingdeath was..inspired. I know the fire-bane property was a bolt-on, but other than the description it seems a reasonable facsimilie of the original. My question is thus, in the novels has Icingdeath ever exhibited the frost property? A glittering rime coating the blade, freezing fog or wounds slushed by frozen blood? I cannot recall even one instance of description that leads me to believe the sword possesses the frost quality at all. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 23 Dec 2014 22:14:20 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 22:37:19
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Drizzt's first scimitar was a 1E frostbrand which had a fire-quenching property and simply did extra damage versus fire creatures. It didn't need to look cold or freeze anything.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 22:46:16
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| I do not have a 1e DMG. Did the original Frost Brand do no additional cold damage? |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 23:25:50
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quote:
Sword +3, +6 vs. fire-using/dwelling creatures, bestows the +6 bonus in a self-explanatory manner. The weapon does not shed any light, except when the air temperature is below 0ºF, but it does give special benefits against fire, for its wielder is protected as if he or she were wearing a ring of fire resistance and whenever it is thrust into fires it has a 50% chance of extinguishing them in a 10' radius -- including a wall of fire, but excluding a fireball, meteor swarm, or flame strike.
That's the entirety of the entry, from page 165 of the 1E DMG. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 23:30:15
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| Hmmm. So it appears that Icingdeath was Frostbrand and the frost/freezing burst was, in fact, a 3e bolt-on. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 23:49:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
Hmmm. So it appears that Icingdeath was Frostbrand and the frost/freezing burst was, in fact, a 3e bolt-on.
Magical items often get seriously changed during edition changes.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 02:44:49
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Here are some key notes on the enchanted scimitar now known as
ICINGDEATH.
HISTORY:
*Fashioned by a Zakharan weaponsmith (A Reader's Guide to RAS's The Legend of Drizzt);
[So who knows its true, Zakharan name?]
*Wrought to destroy the fires of infernal creatures (The Crystal Shard); Forged as a bane to creatures of fire (The Halfling's Gem);
[Possibly this is a clue as to the "frost" property?]
*Enchanted by a Netherese mage to protect wielder from flames (ARG);
*Eventually made its way into Icingdeath the white dragon's treasure horde beneath the Reghed Glacier, where Drizzt found it (TCSh);
*Was newly named as "Icingdeath" in spring, 1365 DR (The Silent Blade);
*Its blade remained unblemished until being nicked in a fight with the drow sword Khazid'hea in spring, 1372 DR (The Orc King); Also dotted with brown rust from contact with Arthrogate's morningstar flail Rotter/Cracker in spring, 1377 DR (The Pirate King).
CONSTRUCTION:
*Steel (Streams of Silver).
[I don't see any reason why it couldn't have been Solarian Truesteel.]
*Ice-forged; Wrought of ice magic (THG).
PROPERTIES:
*Glowed with pale light in frigid temperatures (TCSh); Only bluish white when very cold ("Dark Mirror"); Only bluish in extreme cold, a different shade of blue than Twinkle (Passage to Dawn); Normal bluish hue (The Ghost King); Always had a bluish tint (Gauntlgrym);
*Glowed brighter when facing fire creatures (Gaunt.);
*Glowed bright white with power as its magical attack escalated (TCSh);
[I imagine that the glow begins as a pale bluish-white light, and then turns brighter and whiter as the temps drop, or as the intensity of the battle rises.]
[Also, while Twinkle's glow has been described as a trail of flames following the blade, I imagine Icingdeath's glow as a tight, conformal halo.]
*Pulled wielder toward magic monsters (TCSh, THG, & PTD);
*Protected wielder inside magical flames, and even doused magical flames (TCSh);
*Protected wielder from red dragon flames & fire salamanders (Gaunt.);
*Protected wielder from the heat of a nearby lava column (Gaunt.);
*Protected wielder from mundane fires in furnace and on a burning ship deck (THG);
*Quelched fire of Obould's sword (The Two Swords);
*Damaged the demon Errtu with a "cold strength", overpowering its hot life force, and iced over the edges of the wound, spewing forth steam (TCSh); Inflicted a "cold pain" upon creatures with an affinity to fire (TPK);
[That's gotta be the "frost" property, right?]
*Drew on wielder's life force too (TCSh);
*Damaged Sky Pony Pegasus on its own plane (SOSi);
*Sucked life force of faratsu demondand in Tarterus (THG);
*Possible semi-sentience:
-*Pulsed with hunger (PTD);
-Drizzt felt its fear as it contacted Rotter/Cracker's rust monster magic (TPK). |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 03:22:28
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Damaged the demon Errtu with a "cold strength", overpowering its hot life force, and iced over the edges of the wound, spewing forth steam
Yep, that seals it for me. I knew if anybody would know, you would. Thanks. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 03:41:38
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quote:
Originally posted by monch9
This +2 frost scimitar
* +3 frostbrand scimitar (Hall of Heroes, 1E; FRCS {2E}; Heroes' Lorebook {2E});
* +3 frost scimitar (FRCS {3E};
* +26 vs. AC; 2d8 + 13 damage (crit 22 + 3d8 + 5d6 cold) (Dungeon, #171 {4E});
* Lvl 25 +5, +1d6 cold damage per, ongoing 10 cold damage, resist 30 fire (Dragon, #386)
[I don't game, so I can't really interpret any of that.]
quote:
is made of Solarian Truesteel which gives it a silvery gleam (as well as a +1 to confirm critical).
[Definitely said to have heightened accuracy and damage, so that works for me.]
quote:
It sheds light as a torch when the temperature drops below 0°F.
[I would point out that the light is pale or dull the higher the temp or the lower the intensity of the action.]
quote:
At such times it cannot be concealed when drawn, nor can its light be shut off.
[I cannot find the particular page of notes I wrote this on, but at some point, Drizzt did learn to control the light level of his blade or blades through sheer will power.]
quote:
Its wielder is protected from fire; the sword absorbs the first 10 points of fire damage each round that the wielder would otherwise take.
[I cannot speak to exact game terms, but Icingdeath also protected Drizzt from some of the close-range, but indirect, heat of a fire primordial's fiery eruption. I do not knot how many points that would translate into.]
quote:
Icingdeath extinguishes all nonmagical fires in its area. As a standard action, it can also dispel lasting fire spells, but not instantaneous effects, though you must succeed on a dispel check (1d20 +14) against each spell to dispel it. The DC to dispel such spells is 11+ the caster level of the fire spell.
[Again, I am so not hip to the gaming jargon. But the blade has automatically quelched lots of flames without Drizzt's will. It does not do so to absolutely all flames, however, as Drizzt does occasionally "feel the burn", even with the weapon.]
quote:
In addition to the frost brand abilities, Icingdeath is also an intelligent evil outsider bane scimitar with the following properties and powers; AL NG; Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 10; Empathy, 60ft. darkvision and hearing; Ego score 16.
Special Purpose : Slay/Defeat Evil Outsiders
Dedicated Lesser Power : Icingdeath has +10 ranks in sense motive against evil outsiders.
[...]
Icingdeath communicates to the wielder by urges and sometimes emotions. This happens when the presence of evil outsiders is detected by the scimitar. Against evil outsiders (even in disguise or with an alter-self/polymorph spell in effect), Icingdeath will have a rank of +12 in sense motive to check to avoid being bluffed.
[I don't know about sensing bluffs, but Icingdeath has definitely urged Drizzt toward certain evil enemies, and exuded a sense of fear at at least one opponent's rust-monster-based weapon.]
[Also, its special purpose is specifically to slay fire creatures, rather than evil outsiders, per sé. It didn't seem so flashy against Nyphithys the erinyes in TPK, for example.]
quote:
Dedicated Power : Icingdeath has the Magic Strike ability which treats damage inflicated as cold iron, silver, and good-aligned against evil outsiders.
[The cold iron sounds great. I don't know about the others.]
quote:
Strong evocation; CL 14th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, ice storm, aura against flame (MoF), summon monster I
[Icingdeath has never been shown to demonstrate any of these abilities.]
quote:
Price 77,420 gp; Cost 39340 gp and 5 sp + 3097 XP.
* 625,000 gp (Dragon, #386).
quote:
History:
During the middle of the thirteenth century, some defenders of the high forrest banded together to help stem the corruption of the fiends of Hellgate Keep. Andrath, a cleric of Eldath created a scimitar with the help of his goddess for a half-elf ranger/druid of Meilikki name Celina. A fierce defender of the forrest, she (and Andrath) eventually fell to the fiends but not without taking a whole group with them. Part of Celina’s soul still powers the intelligence and the hatred against the fiends that defiled her beloved forrest. Sadly, the scimitar stayed unnamed until a little more than a century later, when the famed ranger Drizzt Do’urden named it after the dragon whose lair he found it from.
[Canon lore already exists on the blade's history.] |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 03:45:47
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| Is there anything that spells out what the extra damage a frostbrand does to fire creatures? Could that extra damage be cold damage? It sure would seem to make sense. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2014 : 19:01:06
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| If say, Errtu were wearing a 1e Ring of Cold Protection would he still take the dbl dmg from a 1e Icingdeath? Interesting question. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 24 Dec 2014 19:02:33 |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 02:56:10
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| It gives me a headache thinking about all these positive and negative values, hot offensive and cold defensive abilities, spells and items and rings, oh my... |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 03:27:34
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Without copy/pating your long reply to an '04 scroll, where the OP may not have known better yet, I would ask you to paraphrase the Zakharan origins (source; unknown to me) of the blade.
"Fashioned by a Zakharan weaponsmith (A Reader's Guide to RAS's The Legend of Drizzt"...
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Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 25 Dec 2014 03:29:42 |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 05:18:00
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A ten-year-old necro-thread. Well done, scribes, this forum leaves no thread un-raised, eventually. And with more rigorous discussion far beyond the initial exchange.
Coincidentally, I was looking for more information on this topic and you saved me the trouble of having to search for it. Please carry on. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 25 Dec 2014 : 08:00:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
Without copy/pating your long reply to an '04 scroll, where the OP may not have known better yet,
Haha. I was just following suit, after several of you other scribes went back and forth with each other on same said necro scroll. I figured if I could add in tangible details, then age be danged, I'd relate it all right back to the beginning!
quote:
I would ask you to paraphrase the Zakharan origins (source; unknown to me) of the blade.
"Fashioned by a Zakharan weaponsmith (A Reader's Guide to RAS's The Legend of Drizzt"...
I think I can just quote it. There really isn't much more to the actual source passage than what I already paraphrased:
quote:
The weapon was fashioned by a Zakharan master weaponsmith whose name has been lost to the ages. It was eventually sold to an archwizard of ancient Netheril and enchanted so that it protects its owner from fire. (A Reader's Guide to RAS's The Legend of Drizzt, 2008, by Philip Athans)
This was a large coffee-table type art book that summarized all of the major characters, locales, and events in the first thirteen Drizzt books, which were re-packaged and re-released under the series title "The Legend of Drizzt" in the mid-2000s.
Some of the details are sketchy as they either contradict or stray from the established lore of RAS's own Drizzt books (thus my occasional abbreviation of the book as ARG, as in *arrghh*!). And a lot of the artwork was actually directly lifted from other WOTC materials and transplanted into this book under different, Salvatorean names.
But there are also some novel bits of artwork and mapwork here and there, and a few blurbs of new lore. This stuff on the history of the scimitar is an example of some of the best, all-new, original stuff in the book.
I'm sorry there isn't any more to it, than this. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Icingdeath Stats 3.5 (w/history) realmslore check
