Moonblades | Forgotten Realms Lore (D&D Artifact) 

Hey! Just out of curiosity, where did you find that properties sheet regarding the Moonblade? the page I found only gave about 10 different properties.

V CGC

Thanks for the idea

@@BenDover-dk2sp I made this exact character except I'm a Levistus Tiefling, great fun and the story behind the blade + Amnesia means i'm discovering new things all the time.

Look good until you find out that pact of the blade and invocation linked to it don't work with artifact/sentient weapons. D&d 5e balance. But fine if you play other pacts.

@@takkik282 I am sure any reasonable DM will allow this, if the blade builds up it's power as the character levels up.

*cough* Jedi *cough*

This was exactly my question. Jorphdan, help! Lore confusion!

Elf souls are reincarnated. So each new elf born on Faerun is a soul that has been to Arvandor and returned. There is a concept of Transcendence, where an elf is at the end of their life and Sehanine Moonbow has opened the door to allow the soul to return to Arvandor. Those that die of old age without experiencing Transcendence are believed to have been denied admission to Arvandor. Their soul just passes into the planes, never reincarnated. Perhaps the moonblade is a way to ensure your spirit is not lost forever to the cosmos, or to simply stop reincarnating.

@@Jorphdan Given the ties of a Moonblade is to the family lineage, it is more akin to giving wholly of oneself to protect and empower the next generation of the family - there is that difficult process to attune to it as dedication to that ideal. In that case, the elf would not care what happened to them, so long as they can sacrifice his/her-self for their loved ones' security (it is a weapon afterall), or fulfill a deep sense of duty to the family that fostered everything about them. Since the blades are tied to prestigious and ancient lineages, there could also be the selfish desire to not reincarnate to a lesser lineage but be bound to greatness for eternity.

@@Jorphdan So this might be a silly question but if every elf's soul is a reincarnation and some souls are "discarded" into the planes and thus never reborn, are the elves at one point going to "run out" of souls?

@@robertnixdorf6168 Could be though keep in mind Big C stockpiles some elf souls in Arvandor so he can send em were he expects trouble also if they ever get truly desperate they can always ask/take some blood from Big C since that is the source of elven souls. Than you got the dark elves and no one really knows were they get their elf souls since they been banished and don't get soul reincarnation, at least not in the same way.

I've dropped 10 billion hints at my Dm about this, but he just won't take the bait.

Currently reading the first book by Elaine Cunningham, Elfshadow. Just finished the part with her and Danilo cutting through a section of the Marsh of Chelimber.

Best cameo!

Nerd Immersion I forget you guys play a campaign together so it really came as a surprise 😆

so a human commoner Deku met the "elven" paladin All Might and become a blade singer with a smite too strong for his body?

Gaspar Díaz YES

@@Wreckur4203 I would totally tack on some kind of over-channeling ability on the Moonblade, where they can do the equivalent of a Smite or maximize the damage of a spell, but it causes problems for the wielder.

How dare you. You’re not wrong, but still... how dare.

Meanwhile, I'm level 9 still with a non magic Rapier 😂

@@Jk-zv6tz I see you’ve meet my DM also!!

Does this count Forgotten Realms Pantheon: ru-vid.com/group/PLJqE7QBvDyc-8EjJ59IcQC_weaD_TWdXr

Great idea! 😄

You forgot Bladesingers and Hexblade Warlocks

Hmm, this is a really interesting idea for a character that does happen to die during a campaign while atuned to the moonblade. They could continue roll playing as the sentient sword in the possession of another player/NPC... I like it!

Thank you Xander! He's part of September's release!

I'll see what info I can come up with. 😁

That sounds like a cool idea, but common knowledge would be different for different regions of Faerun. Different races such as Dwarves, Elves, or Humans would all have varying levels of local knowledge. Because it is really up to the DM and the player running the game I think I should leave it to those two! If your DM drops something on you and says your characters knows about it, well I'm just a google search away if there was a video done on that topic! If not make it up, make the forgotten realms your realms :)

Well, remember the Moonblades are a moon elven creation, and moonelves are less arrogant. They are only “We surely are better than you, we won’t tell you where are our cities but we can at least talk and have some fun”

Finally someone who actually knows the lore. So often I see these videos and they use D&D book lore and not the original from the books. The only thing I would add to this description is a high elf mage sacrificed himself during the original spell. His wisdom is what partially determines who is worth of the blades.

​@@TorilAthtar Thank you. Though it wasn't a spell that created the moonblades, but a high magic ritual (lalyshae'Seldar'Wihylos/ Sacraments of Seldarine Blessing) that was of massive cooperation and involvement: "An aged elf, the Grand Mage Ethlando at Elven Court linked all the rituals, and High Magic flowed across Toril, binding all the elven High Mages in solemn ceremony. Each elven civilization at that time created at least 25 moonblades for their clans, both noble elder Houses to commoner clans alike. In Arcorar’s northern glades, 100 were created for the combined nobles and clans of that great forest's three realms." I couldn't find a source that indicates Ethlando perished during the high magic ritual that created the moonblades, perhaps you were thinking of the Mythanthor who created the mythal for Myth Drannor and merged with it? Or was this stated perhaps in one of the novels? Information on Ethlando is really scarce. I did find this regarding how moonblades measure one's worth: "Known to all of the wielders of the moonblades, these magical blades were testing the moral fortitude of their wielders to help the Elven Court and the elves of all the realms determine the most worthy ruler among all the elder elven clans. The moonblades provided power to the worthy in their successes and death to those inharmonious to the betterment of the Tel'Quessir." Though, death has been nerfed by WotC in the latest edition and they added some sort of ceremony to the claiming that is not part of the lore, but such has been the tenure of WotC rewriting lore and canon. "The Grand Mage also set a magic in play within the moonblades that they would all pulse with magic to signal when the time came to find the King Blade among them: When the blades number a score and four, they shall ring out the time for the Ascension Ceremony. The one clan and one clan heir chosen worthiest by the moonblades shall unify the elves in their truest homeland, where the heir shall rule over all." Only the Straym moonblade works differently as it was corrupted with aid of Moander in order to let the first gold elf Starym draw the blade without being judged unworthy. It is also the only moonblade that steal a portion of the owner's essence to power the blade, normal moonblades do not. 2nd edition tends to be the best source for specific settings that existed in that edition as there was so much material that was printed compared to the rather anemic production of specific campaign setting material in the last two editions.

@@craigtucker1290 A friend of mine loves the The Starym name and is a pretty big elf player. Often times he gets his info from very old source books 2nd edition stuff and such. Mine is purely from the novel. So we often have slightly different knowledge. According to him the Rulers blade which I have heard it called more often than the Kings blade is held by the Srinshee. In one of the books he heard she went to claim it to stop the fighting between the gold elves over who should wield it. When the blade accepted her they all casted powerful killing spells at her. She had tears in her eyes as the spells were reflected back at the casters. From what i have read myself she seems to be the most powerful elf in existence. I think it is one of ed greenwood books "not a pure eleminster book" She helped fend off some shadow fell wizards from the netheril era from stealing something like the weave or part of it. I can't remember exactly but it was one of those kinda fights were everyone if just trying not to die while the wizards of titanic magic slug it out.

@@TorilAthtar Your friend is mistaken for the Ruler's blade is not a moonblade, it is an elfblade of which there are only three for the kingdom of Cormanthyr. The other two are the Artblade and the Warblade. The ruler's Blade is quite powerful in the fact that it has three selu'kiira as part of its construction that allows the wielder to perform high magic rituals without being a high mage or even a wizard. The King's Blade was decided among the surviving moonblades. The King's Blade is Zaor Moonflower's moonblade that existed at the same time as the Ruler's Blade was held by Colonel Eltargrim, though at that time it was just a moonblade because the choosing of the most worthy to lead the elves had not yet been triggered by the moonblades. When Eltargrim passed, the Ruler's Blade was left to what most believed to be his daughter's future rule, but she was assassinated in a manner that defied any resurrection efforts. That left the the rulership of Cormathyr and Myth Drannor contested and this is what happened with those trying to claim the Ruler's Blade: "Over the next four days and nights, each of the noble Houses sent at least one heir to the Tower to touch the blade and gain its power. No feet touched the stairs of the Rule Tower’s interior, and it was not the barring by the armathors that kept the stairs clear. All the elves flew to the Tower in full regalia and honors, and one by one the result was the same. The elves, no matter how penitent or honorable they seemed to themselves, reached for the elfblade and were found wanting. The gold arc of light that crackled along the blade flared into fiery life, crawled down the blade to engulf each elf, and consumed the body utterly in arcane fire, ending the elf’s life in a bolt of eldritch flame that blasted skyward to explode high above the Tower, signaling yet another failure. By the dawn of the sixth day, a noble from each of the 24 different gold elf Houses had been consumed by the Claiming Ceremony, and their Houses wept. Even in grief and in this time of trial, conspiracies abounded." It got worse before it got better with the rule towers destruction: "To this day, none know who unleashed the killing magic within the Rule Tower, only that the Tower exploded in arcane fury at dusk and none walked away. Under the thrall of their own hubris, the children of Cormanthyr, rather than risk the fate of rule by a non-elf, sundered the first and purest symbol of their fair city. Though few were surprised, the explosion affected none of the High Mages or the elfblade within the Ceremony Sphere, which still floated serenely and silently above the chaos. Despite the discord below, six more elves had tried and failed to become Coronal that day, though these elves were bold commoners, servants who sought to reclaim sense and peace while their masters warred. In all, 40 elves had tried, and the People had failed on two fronts that day." The Srrinshee has a complicated history of being both elf and human, baelnorn, wizard and high mage: "In her time, she has been so many things: the Lady Oluevaera Estelda, Cor’Selu’taar (Grand Mage of the High Mages of Cormanthyr), leader of Srinshinnar (and thus her commonly known title), savior of Yrlaphon’s Survivors, the Wardnorn of the Vault of Ages, tutor of the Armathora, and (her current status) High Court Mage of Myth Drannor." "During much of the Coronal Eltargrim’s rule, she was a baelnorn, guardian of the Coronal’s most precious treasures, and teacher to many of the Court’s mages. However, shortly before the Opening, she was inexplicably restored to life and youth (though rumors persist that the Lady of Mysteries, the human goddess Mystra, had a hand in this); within a few mere decades, she stood among the other mythal-casters as a fresh-faced (but still agedly wise) elven maid of only 200 winters! She now walks Myth Drannor as an adult, her lustrous sapphire-blue hair nearly two feet longer than her own height and her ivory-skinned beauty in a fullness unseen in more than a millennia." She can also handle the Ruler's blade without harm, is a 30th level mage and high mage with an intelligence of 25 and a wisdom of 24.

@@craigtucker1290 Hmm I must of misspoken what he told me since what you wrote out sounds a lot more like what he told me than what my memory recalls if that makes sense. Or what he told me got mixed up with something else in his head. Its cool to see someone actually quote it from the source material. I would do that more often but scouring through my book collection would be a bit daunting at this point. I'll look for you in future videos on these types of things. Thanks for the lesson.

The most successful!

well its also Tied to a specific bloodline

@@wolves600 true, the OG plan was to have one of the characters' father be the previous wielder But also the blade is entirely able to choose if none would otherwise wield it

Remember the Moonblades are haunted by their last user, so it’s possible to the spirit to make an exception.

Excellent!

@@Jorphdan well after doing some research on bealnorn (undead elves like liches) Said elf would kinda be giving up its life for a higher purpose for the greater good. Apon death, soul goes to the moonblade but the body is filled with devine energy and that person lives on being the head of house guardian. Etc etc. Would make for a interesting in a way that it's a good guy and views the players as the villains. Depending on the actions the players take and things. Great rp value

for sure! Would be an interesting transition for a character in the 11+ levels.

@@Jorphdan omg. Lol a moonblade that is cursed. Only attunes to female elves. The current soul in the moonblade wants to permitently stay in the blade. Currpts the weilder to the point that apon death they come back as banshees. Thank you Aj and the mighty gluestick. Lol

@@Jorphdan wow I'm firing ideas off left and right. And I've only had 2 cups of coffee. Lmao

Who keeps the Martians under wraps? We doo~~~