Swords of Answering

The Swords of Answering or "Final Word" swords are a collection of 10 named magical swords introduced in the campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. There exists one original Sword of Answering and 9 others that were created as duplicates of the original.

Publication history

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The Swords of Answering first appeared in the Temple of Elemental Evil. The original Sword of Answering, Fragarach is described as a "hefty steel broadsword". One of six of Fragarach's duplicates, Scather is also introduced as a treasure that the players could possibly gain though the names of the other five are mentioned.

The Swords of Answering, appeared next in Unearthed Arcana and renamed "Final Word" Type broadswords. The number of duplicate swords that exist is raised from six to nine, one for each alignment choice.

Lastquip makes an appearance in the module H4: The Throne of Bloodstone ^[1] as possible treasure found while exploring the layer of Orcus.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The next appearance was in Dungeon Magazine.^[2] Here, Scather is reintroduced as a minor artifact and a bastard sword. The number of existing swords stay the same with all nine described as bastard swords and each "has a different-colored 10,000-gp gem set in its pommel."

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-2014)

In Dragon Magazine,^[3] 4th edition introduced the Final Word Swords as a weapon property, no longer unique to nine swords. The Final Word property can be applied to any axe or heavy blade.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (2014-present)

The Swords of Answering appear in the Dungeon Master's Guide as their own magic item again: this time as magic longswords of legendary rarity.

In game information

History

In the Temple of Elemental Evil, Fragarach is found on top of a sarcophagus but an illusion spell cast over it disguises it as a silver cross. Within the sarcophagus (also disguised by illusion as a vampire) is Prince Thrommel, Grand Marshal of Furyondy, Provost of Veluna, a Paladin Lord. Prince Thrommel is the owner of Fragarach and if "the broadsword Fragarach is in sight, he simply speaks—and it comes to his hand." If rescued, Prince Thrommel later on gives the players gifts as rewards and Scather to the player that "recovered the broadsword Fragarach and was gladly willing to allow or help Thrommel to regain it". Fragarach is later on described as being created by a demigod elsewhere and eventually ended up in the Forgotten Realms world. Fragarach is also described as Chaotic Good, implying there was a mistake on either its alignment or Prince Thrommel's character class as Paladins in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons could only be Lawful Good. Gary Gygax later corrected this mistake by stating it was an editorial mistake and the sword should have been Lawful Good.^[4] Fragarach's unique power which coined it the Sword of Answering is that it would strike unerringly as many opponents that had struck its possessor's. But the trade-off was that Fragarach always struck last in the round. Fragarach is also described as possessing a hilt of silver and gold wire with seven perfect emeralds set in its pommel.

The duplicate Swords of Answering made in honor of Fragarach are of lesser power and gem values. Each separate sword having amethyst, aquamarine, garnet, peridot, topaz, and tourmaline stones set in their pommels respectively. Their names were Rebutter, Scather, Replier, Retorter, Squelcher, and Back-Talker.

In Unearthed Arcana, the Swords of Answering are called "Final Word" types and still were broadswords. Here, they number nine, one for each of the nine alignments. They all still are patterned after a more legendary sword called Fragarach. All nine have a single gem set in their pommels, again with each gem differing from each other. And the names of these nine are Answerer, Back-talker, Concluder, Lastquip, Rebutter, Replier, Retorter, Scather and Squelcher.

Dungeon Adventure reinvented the Swords of Answering for Dungeons & Dragons third edition. In this magazine, the nine Swords of Answering became creations of the god Kelanen. Fragarach is described as a sword that Kelanen stole from an alien god and then used it as a template to create the other nine. Afterwards, Kelanen passed Fragarach down to his worshipers. The nine Swords of Answering are re-written as bastard swords but keeping the different colored gems set in their respective pommels. And all nine are again of each alignment. Dantalion is a master swordsman introduced as an antagonist in the Dungeon issue who wields Scather.

In 4th edition, Dragon Magazine introduces a variant of the Swords: they lose their uniqueness of only existing as nine swords to becoming a weapon property. These weapons are among the many magic items that were looted from Ashardalon's lair after his demise. The description given to the blades is "Etched into the weapon’s blade are profound curses and dire threats."

As of 5th edition, the Swords of Answering make a return to form in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Only the nine duplicates make an appearance, this time as longswords. Due to the changes with magic items in 5th Edition, the Swords require attunement before their full power can be used, but they can only be attuned by a player character who's alignment matches the blade's own alignment. The "Final Word" property has also been changed: the wielder of the sword can use their reaction to make one melee attack with advantage against any creature within reach that deals damage to them and any damage dealt with this special attack ignores any damage immunity or resistance the target has.

References