Kharille wrote:
Certainly good for smiting ghosts but upon striking innocents/women/children/old farmers it bleeds leaving a blood trail that can be tracked by every bear, wolf, orcs and 1st ranked trackers...
I like the idea of a weapon that bleeds. To generalise from your example, how about something like:
The weapon, upon dealing a killing blow against a living creature, starts to bleed for the same number of hours as Health Points it has dealt in damage to any living foe (not just the one it has just killed) since it last bled. The bleeding cannot be staunched and whilst it is not particularly fast-flowing, will soak through any wrap or cover within seconds. The dripping trail of blood the sword leaves can easily be tracked and may attract predators. In a social setting, this is, at best, embarrassing, and at worst, grossly upsetting and insulting.
If the weapon is wielded in combat whilst bleeding, the hilt/handle will become liberally covered in blood and difficult to hold. Instead of a positive benefit from the magic, the weapon now causes a penalty, equal to it's magical bonus (so a +2 shortsword would behave as a -2 cursed shortsword during its 'bleeding' phase).
I also like the idea of effects that are triggered when the weapon is used against an innocent/women, etc., instead of it always being when a weapon strikes a killing blow. Killing an innocent, for example, might cause it to bleed for a number of
days, rather than hours.
Cheers Kharille.