Stat Anything: Excalibur for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition

Here we are with the first entry for Season Two of Stat Anything where I take the readers’ and Instagram followers’ suggestions and turn them into people, places, and things for Dungeons & Dragons 5e. It’s time to stat up the legendary sword of King Arthur, Excalibur.

What is Excalibur?

From Wikipedia:

Excalibur (/ɛkˈskæləbər/), or Caliburn, is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain.

Some other fun tidbits about Excalibur:

• Excalibur is often attributed as being the “Sword in the Stone”, the sword that Arthur pulled from an anvil sitting atop a stone in a church graveyard that proved his lineage. Not only is this a popular belief, but it’s more fun, too.
• Obviously, Excalibur is a +3 longsword, but what else can it do? Supposedly, it could blind Arthur’s enemies as well! “Thenne he drewe his swerd Excalibur, but it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys,” wrote Sir Thomas Malory.
• Its scabbard had magical properties, too. As long as Arthur was in possession (attuned?) to the scabbard, he could not be harmed. Sounds like immunities, to me!

 

Excalibur and its Scabbard

Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement)

Excalibur is a magic longsword that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it and deals an extra 3d10 radiant damage to fiends and undead. The sword can only be wielded by the rightful heir to the throne of Britain.

Random Properties. Excalibur and its scabbard have the following random properties:

• 2 minor beneficial properties
• 1 major beneficial property
• 1 minor detrimental property

Increased Charisma. After spending at least 10 days attuned to the sword, your Charisma score increases by 2, to a maximum of 22. You can’t gain this benefit from the sword more than once.

Rightful King/Queen of Britain. As long as you wield and are attuned to Excalibur, you are recognized as the rightful King/Queen of Britain. You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to interact with those who recognize you as the King/Queen and Charisma (Intimidation) checks made to interact with enemies of Britain. In addition, you have advantage on attack rolls against the enemies of Britain.

The Light of Thirty Torches. Once per day, the sword emits a brilliant light that has the potential to blind all hostile creatures in a 120-foot radius centered on the sword. Each hostile creature in that area that can see the sword must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or become permanently blinded.

Properties of Excalibur’s Scabbard. While the scabbard is in your possession and you are attuned to Excalibur, you gain the following benefits:

• You gain immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing by nonmagical weapons.
• Your Constitution score becomes 20 unless it is already 20 or higher.
• All of your Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity saving throws are made with advantage.

Destroying the Scabbard. As long as Excalibur exists, its scabbard cannot be destroyed. However, if one were to return the scabbard to the Lady of the Lake, all of its properties cease to function. The lady will only return the scabbard to the one who wields Excalibur.

Destroying Excalibur. As long as England and its crown exist, Excalibur cannot be destroyed. However, if one were to return it to the Lady of the Lake, it would temporarily vanish from existence for 1d100 years.

 

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Excalibur! I can already hear the chants from O Fortuna! Put on your shiniest armor and go to war!

Next up, I’ll be recreating the Cave of Wonders from Aladin. Should be fun!

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Art used with permission from Shutterstock.