Something dawned on my recently. When my players find a weapon, I'd like to be able to give them a better description than "you find a sword."
I think the sameness of rpg weapons has always bothered me a little, but my solution has primarily been to make them magical, giving them some mechanical benefit. However, to create a blade that a player will really treasure (especially at lower levels when there really shouldn't be a whole slew of magical cutlery laying around), I think all you really need are a few interesting descriptors to make it come alive.
While I was at it, I thought it would be interesting to add a monetary value to each detail. It is loot after all; increasing its worth a bit also increases its perceived value for the player.
Below are a series of tables to randomly generate a description of a sword or dagger along with its worth. Like most generators of this type, it's meant to be a tool to plant seeds in the imagination, so feel free to roll, re-roll, pick and choose, expand, or make your own.
Instructions
To randomly determine the characteristics of a sword or dagger, first roll on the Type table below, which will establish the weapon's Base Worth. Then roll on each of the subsequent tables to flesh out the full description. At each step, make a note of the Worth Adjust and add it to the tally.
- Roll on Type table
- Roll on Blade: Shape table
- Roll on Blade: Cross-Section table
- Roll on Blade: Material table (and Decoration sub-tables if required)
- Roll on Grip: Material table (and Decoration sub-table if required)
- Roll on Cross Guard: Shape table (and Fanciful Shape sub-table if required)
- Roll on Pommel: Shape table (and Engraving/Shape sub-tables if required)
- Roll on Pommel: Inlay table
- Roll on Scabbard: Material table (and Decoration sub-table if required)
Type
| d12 | Type | Base Worth (gp) |
| 1-4 | Dagger | 3 |
| 5-9 | Short Sword | 7 |
| 10-11 | Longsword | 10 |
| 12 | Two-handed sword | 15 |
Blade
Blade: Shape
| d12 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 1-10 | Straight | 0 |
| 11-12 | Curved | 6 |
Blade: Cross-Section
| d20 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 1-10 | Lenticular shape | 0 |
| 11 | Lenticular shape with narrow fuller | 2 |
| 12 | Lenticular shape with double fuller | 5 |
| 13 | Lenticular shape with broad fuller | 6 |
| 14 | Hexagonal shape | 7 |
| 15 | Hexagonal shape with narrow fuller | 8 |
| 16 | Hexagonal shape with broad fuller | 10 |
| 17 | Diamond shape | 20 |
| 18 | Diamond shape with narrow fuller | 25 |
| 19 | Diamond shape with broad fuller | 35 |
| 20 | Hollow ground shape | 100 |
Blade: Material
| d100 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-80 | Steel (iron) | 0 |
| 81-87 | Steel (iron) decorated near the cross guard (roll on Blade: Decoration Sub-Table) | 10 + decoration |
| 88 | Steel (iron) decorated on the lower half of the blade (roll on Blade: Decoration Sub-Table) | 20 + decoration |
| 89 | Steel (iron) decorated on the full length of the blade (roll on Blade: Decoration Sub-Table) | 30 + decoration |
| 90-97 | Mithril | 50 |
| 98 | Mithril decorated near the cross guard (roll on Blade: Decoration Sub-Table) | 75 + decoration |
| 99 | Mithril decorated on the lower half of the blade (roll on Blade: Decoration Sub-Table) | 100 + decoration |
| 00 | Mithril decorated on the full length of the blade (roll on Blade: Decoration Sub-Table) | 200 + decoration |
Blade: Decoration Sub-Table
| d100 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-64 | Etched criss-cross of lines | 2 |
| 65-70 | Etched diamond pattern | 20 |
| 71-75 | Etched circular pattern | 25 |
| 76-79 | Etched spiral pattern | 30 |
| 80-84 | Etched vine pattern | 35 |
| 85 | Etched sunburst theme | 50 |
| 86 | Etched crashing waves | 60 |
| 87 | Etched seafaring theme | 75 |
| 88 | Etched night sky theme | 80 |
| 89 | Etched gnarled tree | 80 |
| 90 | Etched intertwined snakes | 80 |
| 91 | Etched cityscape of randomly-determined city | 80 |
| 92 | Etched flame pattern | 100 |
| 93 | Etched eyeball pattern | 120 |
| 94 | Etched intertwined dragons | 150 |
| 95 | Etched hellscape | 200 |
| 96 | Etched intertwined tentacles | 250 |
| 97 | Etched names of the sword's former owners | 275 |
| 98 | Etched indecipherable ancient curse | 400 |
| 99 | Etched holy symbol of a randomly-determined deity | 450 |
| 00 | Roll again on Blade: Gilded Decoration Sub-Table | - |
Blade: Gilded Decoration Sub-Table
| d20 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 1-3 | Gilded spiral pattern | 750 |
| 4-6 | Gilded vine patern | 900 |
| 7-9 | Gilded sunburst theme | 1000 |
| 10-11 | Gilded crashing waves | 1200 |
| 12-13 | Gilded intertwined snakes | 1500 |
| 14 | Gilded flame pattern | 2000 |
| 15 | Gilded pentacle pattern | 2500 |
| 16 | Gilded intertwined dragons | 3000 |
| 17 | Gilded hellscape | 3500 |
| 18 | Gilded portraits of each of the sword's former owners | 4000 |
| 19 | Gilded portraits of all enemies slain with the sword | 4500 |
| 20 | Gilded holy symbol of a randomly-determined deity | 5000 |
Grip
Grip: Material
| d100 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-15 | Wood | -1 |
| 16-20 | Wood wrapped with weather-beaten leather | -1 |
| 21-25 | Wood wrapped with basic fabric and binding cord | 0 |
| 26-30 | Wood wrapped with leather | 0 |
| 31-35 | Wod wrapped with fine fabric and wire | 5 |
| 36-40 | Natural Bone | 7 |
| 41-45 | Bone wrapped with weather-beaten leather | 8 |
| 46-50 | Black-Stained Bone | 10 |
| 51-55 | Red-Stained Bone | 12 |
| 56-60 | Bone wrapped with fine leather | 15 |
| 61-65 | Natural Horn | 17 |
| 66-70 | Horn wrapped with weather-beaten leather | 17 |
| 71-75 | Black-Stained Horn | 21 |
| 76-80 | Red-Stained Horn | 24 |
| 81-85 | Horn wrapped with fine leather | 30 |
| 86-90 | Decorated wood (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 30 + decoration |
| 91-92 | Decorated bone (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 35 + decoration |
| 93-94 | Decorated horn (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 40 + decoration |
| 95-96 | Decorated bronze (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 45 + decoration |
| 97-98 | Decorated steel (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 50 + decoration |
| 99 | Decorated steel gilded in silver (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 100 + decoration |
| 00 | Decorated steel gilded in gold (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table) | 150 + decoration |
Grip: Decoration Sub-Table
| d100 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 0-10 | Lateral ribbing | 0 |
| 11-20 | Criss-cross of lines | 3 |
| 21-30 | Diamond pattern | 5 |
| 31-40 | Circular pattern | 7 |
| 41-50 | Spiral pattern | 10 |
| 51-55 | Feather pattern | 13 |
| 56-60 | Fish scales | 15 |
| 61-65 | Snake scales | 20 |
| 66-70 | Dragon scales | 25 |
| 71-75 | Vine pattern | 27 |
| 76-80 | Braids of a maiden | 30 |
| 81-82 | Intertwined tree limbs | 35 |
| 83 | Intertwined sparrows | 50 |
| 84 | Holy symbol of a randomly-determined deity | 100 |
| 85 | The name of each of the sword's former owners | 150 |
| 86 | Intertwined eels | 175 |
| 87 | Intertwined snakes | 250 |
| 88 | Crashing waves | 260 |
| 89 | Sunburst theme | 270 |
| 90 | Seafaring theme | 300 |
| 91 | Night sky theme | 350 |
| 92 | Flames | 375 |
| 93 | Intertwined tentacles | 400 |
| 94 | Pentacle pattern | 450 |
| 95 | Pattern of eyeballs | 450 |
| 96 | Portraits of each of the sword's former owners | 450 |
| 97 | Portraits of all enemies slain with the sword | 500 |
| 98 | Diamond pattern with inlay (roll on Pommel: Inlay Sub-Table and apply to grip) | 100 + inlay |
| 99 | Circular pattern with inlay (roll on Pommel: Inlay Sub-Table and apply to grip) | 150 + inlay |
| 00 | Holy symbol pattern with inlay (roll on Pommel: Inlay Sub-Table and apply to grip) | 1000 + inlay |
Cross Guard
Cross Guard: Shape
| Roll | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-30 | Short, rectangular bar | 0 |
| 31-50 | Straight horizontal bar, cross-section tapers toward the ends | 1 |
| 51-70 | Straight horizontal bar, cross-section flares out toward the ends | 2 |
| 71-80 | Simple cross with terminals which bend toward the blade | 3 |
| 81-90 | "Bow tie" cross | 5 |
| 91-95 | Broad, flat cross which curves toward the blade | 12 |
| 96-00 | Forged into fanciful shapes (roll on Cross Guard: Fanciful Shape Sub-Table) | 30 + shape |
Cross Guard: Fanciful Shape Sub-Table
| d100 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-25 | Curvileanear scroll form | 5 |
| 26-30 | Zig-zag form | 10 |
| 31-35 | Twisting curvileanear scroll form | 20 |
| 35-40 | Twisting curvileanear scroll forms which include a hand guard | 22 |
| 41-45 | Wolf heads | 24 |
| 46-50 | Mermaids | 25 |
| 51-55 | Salamanders | 27 |
| 56-60 | Small swords | 30 |
| 61-65 | Curved vines | 33 |
| 66-70 | Thorny roses | 45 |
| 71-75 | Outstretched arms | 48 |
| 76-80 | Jumping fish | 50 |
| 81-85 | Crashing waves | 55 |
| 86-89 | Dragon claws | 75 |
| 90 | Dragons | 200 |
| 91 | Straight oxen horns | 300 |
| 92 | Bull horns which curve toward the blade | 400 |
| 93 | Curved and twisted ram horns | 500 |
| 94 | Holy symbols of a random-determined deity | 600 |
| 95 | Twisting tentacles | 700 |
| 96 | Multiple tentacles twisted together to form a hand guard | 750 |
| 97 | Large set of stag horns | 750 |
| 98 | Heads of a randomly-determined deity or patron | 800 |
| 99 | Screaming faces | 950 |
| 00 | Large demon horns which curve toward the blade | 1000 |
Pommel
Pommel: Shape
| d100 | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-10 | Spherical | 0 |
| 11-20 | "Brazil nut" | 0 |
| 21-30 | "Cocked hat" | 2 |
| 31-40 | Disc, plain | 2 |
| 41-50 | Crescent | 5 |
| 51-60 | Shield | 10 |
| 61-70 | Floral | 12 |
| 71-80 | Beveled Cube | 15 |
| 81-90 | "Scent-stopper" | 18 |
| 91-96 | Spherical, engraved (roll on Pommel: Engraving sub-table) | 20 + engraving |
| 97-98 | Disc, engraved (roll on Pommel: Engraving sub-table) | 25 + engraving |
| 99-00 | Forged into a fanciful shape (roll on Pommel: Fanciful Shape Sub-Table) | 50 + shape |
Pommel: Engraving Sub-Table
| Roll | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-20 | Simple circle | 0 |
| 21-40 | Diamond pattern | 2 |
| 41-60 | Circular pattern | 3 |
| 61-65 | Spiral pattern | 4 |
| 66-70 | Sunburst | 6 |
| 71-73 | Night sky theme | 9 |
| 74-76 | Tree | 10 |
| 77-79 | Beehive | 12 |
| 80-82 | Windmill | 13 |
| 83-85 | A famous ship | 14 |
| 86-88 | Mountain range | 15 |
| 89-91 | Pentacle | 23 |
| 92-94 | Setogram | 25 |
| 95-97 | Standing Stones | 30 |
| 98-00 | Holy symbol of a randomly-determined deity | 50 |
Pommel: Fanciful Shape Sub-Table
| Roll | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-10 | Fish tail | 0 |
| 11-20 | Pineapple | 5 |
| 21-30 | Crown | 10 |
| 31-40 | Randomly-determined fort, castle, or keep | 15 |
| 41-45 | Sparrow | 20 |
| 46-50 | Rabbit head | 25 |
| 51-55 | Bear head | 30 |
| 56-60 | Wolf head | 35 |
| 61-65 | Fish head | 40 |
| 66-70 | Cat head | 45 |
| 71-75 | Boar head | 50 |
| 76-80 | Dog head | 55 |
| 81-85 | Tiger head | 60 |
| 86 | Lion head | 100 |
| 87 | Elephant head | 200 |
| 88 | Famous ship | 225 |
| 89 | Head of the former owner | 250 |
| 90 | Parrot head | 300 |
| 91 | Snake head | 350 |
| 92 | Eagle head | 400 |
| 93 | Tentacle | 450 |
| 94 | A tableau of a famous hero's deeds | 475 |
| 95 | Head of the current monarch of the realm | 500 |
| 96 | Head of an ancient monarch of the realm | 675 |
| 97 | Head of a monarch of a far-off realm | 700 |
| 98 | Dragon head | 1000 |
| 99 | Head of a randomly-determined deity or patron | 1200 |
| 00 | Demon head | 1500 |
Pommel: Inlay
The pommel inlay will adapt to the pommel shape. For example, for a disc shape a precious stone will be inlaid in the center. For an animal head, however, the stone will be set into the eyes or mouth.
| Roll | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-50 | None | 0 |
| 51-70 | Ordinary coin | 1 |
| 71-75 | Rock crystal | 2 |
| 76-80 | Coin from a distant land | 5 |
| 81-85 | Miniature portrait of the current monarch of the realm | 12 |
| 86 | Miniature portrait of an ancient monarch of the realm | 20 |
| 87 | Mother of pearl | 24 |
| 88 | Garnet | 25 |
| 89 | Bezoar stone | 35 |
| 90 | Saphire | 40 |
| 91 | Lapis Lazuli | 150 |
| 92 | Pearl | 275 |
| 93 | Coral | 300 |
| 94 | Topaz | 500 |
| 95 | Turquoise | 600 |
| 96 | Emerald | 1100 |
| 97 | Ruby | 1300 |
| 98 | Significant religious artifact | 1500 |
| 99 | Crystal container, banded with steel and filled with the ashes of a fallen hero | 1750 |
| 00 | Diamond | 2000 |
Scabbard
Scabbard: Material
| Roll | Description | Worth Adjust (gp) |
| 01-20 | None | -2 |
| 21-40 | Wood | 0 |
| 41-60 | Leather | 1 |
| 61-65 | Wood with bronze trim | 2 |
| 66-70 | Leather with bronze trim | 3 |
| 71-75 | Bronze | 3 |
| 76-80 | Wood with steel trim | 4 |
| 81-85 | Leather with steel trim | 5 |
| 86-90 | Steel (iron) | 6 |
| 91 | Decorative wood (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 10 + decoration |
| 92 | Decorative leather (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 10 + decoration |
| 93 | Wood with decorative bronze trim (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 10 + decoration |
| 94 | Leather with decorative bronze trim (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 10 + decoration |
| 95 | Wood with decorative steel trim (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 10 + decoration |
| 96 | Leather with decorative steel trim (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 10 + decoration |
| 97 | Decorated bronze (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 20 + decoration |
| 98 | Decorated steel (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 50 + decoration |
| 99 | Decorated steel gilded in silver (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 150 + decoration |
| 00 | Decorated steel gilded in gold (roll on Grip: Decoration Sub-Table and apply to scabbard) | 200 + decoration |
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