I just finished rereading Fred Saberhagen's excellent Book of Swords and was wondering if anyone had ever statted these bad boys up for a system?

Farslayer: Kills anything at any distance, but doesn't return.

Shieldbreaker: automatically parries, sunders, and cleaves through any weapon that attacks the wielder. Wielder is powerless against unarmed foes (a buncha peasants dragged down a god because of it).

Townsaver: while protecting innocents in a town or building the wielder has superhuman combat abilities and cannot die, but he can still be wounded.

Doomgiver: Turns their powers against them.

The Mindsword: Anyone seeing it is an abject worshipper and slave to the owner.

Woundhealer: Heals all wounds instead of delivering them. Also causes love between two people if they're both stabbed through the heart with it simulatneously.

Dragonslicer: Cuts through dragons like butter

Wayfinder: Points the way unerringly to any goal, but doesn't always choose the safest route.

Coinspinner: Grants the holder great luck, and has a minor Pathfinder-esque ability.

Sightblinder: Clouds the eyes of those around you, making you seem to be someone they greatly respect or fear.

Soulcutter: saps the will to continue from all around it.

Stonecutter: Cuts through earth and stone like Dragonslicer through Tiamat.

Quote from: Song from the intro to tthe bookWho holds Coinspinner knows good odds,
Whichever move he make,
But the Sword of Chance, to please the gods,
Slips from him like a snake.

The Sword of Justice balances the pans
Of right and wrong, and foul and fair,
Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans
The fate of all folk everywhere.

Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how d'you slay?
Reaching for the heart in behind the scales,
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where do you stay?
In the belly of the giant that my Blade impales.

Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart! For thy heart! who hast wronged me,
Vengeance is his who casts the Blade,
Yet he will, in the end, no triumph see.

Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath,
Whose soul its heals has wandered in the night,
Has paid the summing of all debts in death,
Has turned to see returning light.

The Mindsword spun in the dawn's grey light,
And men and demons knelt down before,
The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright,
Gods joined the dance, and the march to war,
It spun in the twilight dim as well,
And gods and men marched off to hell.

I shatter Swords and splinter spears,
None stands to Shieldbreaker;
My point's the fount of orphan's tears,
My edge the widowmaker.

The Sword of Stealth is given
To one lonely and despised;
Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen,
His nature is disguised.

The Tyrant's Blade hath no blood spilled
But doth the spirit carve,
Soulcutter hath no body killed,
But many left to starve.

The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow
With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall,
Stonecutter laid a castle low
With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.

Long roads the Sword of Fury makes,
Hard walls it builds around the soft,
The fighter who Townsaver takes
Can bid farewell to home and croft.

Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads,
Its master's step is brisk;
The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads
But adds unto their risk.

I tried to read that series 4 or 5 times.  Loved the magic swords idea, but just did not like the writing.

-O

I've not heard of it. Where'd you get it from, James?

- Q

The Library. It's a pretty old series. I first read it when I was a kid, so it has to be.

It almost plays out like a D&D campaign. The first book has backstories, an intro to the various swords, a party meeting, and a little bit of intrigue. The second book has a dungeon crawl complete with traps, monsters, and magical opposition. The last book culminates in a big wa. Interspersed through it all is a rich history, a Game of the Gods, cool fights, and magic that's more flavor than fireball.

He also has the best substitute for vision I've ever seen in the form of Vilkata's sight. (very minor) Spoiler:

Spoiler

Vilkata, sorceror king of an evil empire, pulled his eyes out as part of a ritual and then bound a demon to give him sight. The demon shows him the world, but not as it truly is. Instead he sees inner essences of magic and people, caricatures that help him to more easily divine motives, and can even order the demon to edit things out. When he's on a battlefield he has the demon edit out the dead and fallen because they're no longer important to his plans. When he's sleeping with a courtesan she has no face.

I'm not actually sure why I spoilered that, because it gives absolutely none of the plot away, but I'll leave it as it is.

QuoteLoved the magic swords idea, but just did not like the writing.

The writing is a bit odd at times. Sometimes it's because he uses grammar properly, and most novels have a less formal tone. For instance, he uses "that" and "which" correctly. That's not to say it's stilted language or anything like that. It just struck me as a litle odd in some parts. Nowhere near bad enough that I thought about putting it down though.

He does strike me as someone who hadn't experienced true love though. Love doesn't play a huge role in things, but he has, for example, characters leap fall in love on journeys without showing any of the interaction that causes it, making it seem a little forced at times.

Quote from: James McMurrayI just finished rereading Fred Saberhagen's excellent Book of Swords and was wondering if anyone had ever statted these bad boys up for a system?

Someone posted versions of them to the old Exalted Compendium, but that site went down and I think all its old content has been lost.

God, I read that series a long time ago myself. I've tried to re-read it several times, but Saberhagen just doesn't speak to me as a writer. I LOVED the swords, how they worked, the little tricks and whatnot (like Sheildbreaker, which literally could not touch unarmed men....)...

... but the writing just seemed so very very dull to me.  I've read some of his other stuff, and he is just... boring. Always with the good ideas and unique spins on stuff, but... lifeless.  Shame really.

The only other thing I've read from his is the first of the Berserker novels. I quite literally can't remember anything about it. I can picture the cover, so I know it's a scifi story, but that's it.

I don't have a link handy, but Sean K Reynolds statted some weaker versions up for D&D (maybe for 2nd edition)?

Man, this takes me back.  I read the Swords books and another work of his I think called "Empire of the East" back in college in the early 80's.  It is tough getting into Saberhagen at times but he grows on you.  I statted all the swords for Runequest and found that they worked pretty well in that system (Shieldbreaker's damage applied directly to the hp of the weapon or shield parrying it for instance, Mindsword cast automatic befuddle on a successful pow v. pow roll, etc.).  I think it would be a lot more challenging for DnD.  If you work the bugs out it should make for some good gaming though so best of luck.

I just read that series for the first time about a month ago. Didn't care for the writing or much of the plot, but loved the idea of the swords. I was thinking of stealing a few for use in my PFRPG campaign. Shieldbreaker, Wayfinder, and Townsaver have to be my faves. I can see Wayfinder being especially helpful in getting the oh-so-certain heroes into trouble via some "questionable" yet unerringly direct routes.

I think Townsaver is definitely my favorite for dropping into a heroic fantasy setting. For a gloomier realm I love Doomgiver and Soulcutter.