Stormbringer is a legendary soul-stealing sword wielded by Elric.
Appearance and personality[]
Stormbringer is a huge black sword whose blade is carved with runes. In battle, it emits a frightening black radiance.[1]
Stormbringer is sentient, with genius-level intelligence. It is a chaotic evil extraplanar being given form. In battle, it emits a horrible eager moaning, and radiates a visible black energy.
Abilities[]
Stormbringer is one of the most powerful weapons in the known multiverse.
In addition to powerful magical enhancement, the sword drains levels from those it wounds. It absorbs and consumes the souls of those it slays, and such creatures can never be returned to life. The sword temporarily empowers its wielder with the energy of those it slays.
Weaker combatants are magically compelled to flee in panic at the mere sight of the weapon.
The wielder of Stormbringer can summon it to their hand at will from anywhere in the multiverse, although this ability is not reliable.
Stormbringer has on rare occasion been known to fight by itself, particularly when in the presence of its counterpart Mournblade.
Drawbacks[]
The sword has a mind of its own, and occasionally sends its wielder berserk to satisfy its desire for souls. In this state, the wielder will slay even their allies, whose souls Stormbringer particular enjoys consuming.
Publication history[]
Original D&D[]
Stormbringer appears in Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976), p.52.
AD&D 1st edition[]
Elric and Stormbringer appear in the original printing of Deities & Demigods (1e) (1980), p.86-87. They were omitted from subsequent printings of the book over copyright issues.
AD&D 2nd edition[]
Stormbringer's statistics from Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes are reprinted in Encyclopedia Magica Volume Four (1995), p.1405-1406.
In Final Quest: They deserved it, Dragon #228 (Apr 1996), p.15-17, a D&D character's famous last words are cited as "Guys, look! I found Stormbringer in the chest!"
Creative origins[]
Stormbringer is the cursed blade wielded by the antihero Elric of Melniboné in the works of fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. It first appears in The Dreaming City (1961). It is thought to have been inspired by the Norse myth of Tyrfing, a sword cursed that it cannot be sheathed without killing, will kill its wielder's own kinsmen, and will ultimately destroy its owner.
Reception and influence[]
In Rules Compendium (3e) (2007), p.13, designer David Noonan cites Stormbringer as a direct inspiration for D&D's cursed artifacts.
Stormbringer is referenced in a handful of D&D sourcebooks and Dragon magazines, usually either as an example of an unreasonably powerful artifact weapon which can disrupt a D&D campaign, or as an excellent example of a unique and interesting weapon name.
In the D&D-inspired computer RPG NetHack, Stormbringer is a powerful chaotic intelligent runesword.
References[]
- ↑ Deities & Demigods (1e), 1st printing (1980), p.86-87.