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''This bastard sword is well made, but otherwise unremarkable for its kind if it wasn't embedded within a heavy granite block of stone, the cubic surface covered in engraved runes detailing the legend of the sword of kings. It is said that he who pulls the sword from the stone would be given the right of to be king. It is a pity then that the sword has never been pulled free, rendering the use of this sword difficult to impossible.''
The Sword of Kings is a bastard sword of an ancient and powerful king of legend who at once one point controlled the entire world. A representation of his authority, the story tells that in his final battle , his sword was embedded within the ground where he defeated a great evil and was never able to be removed. Though the king and his kingdom are long gone, the legend remains. Yet none have been able to draw the blade, and so to "use" the sword of kings, one much must swing it with the heavy rock attached, turning it into a crude but disturbingly effective stone sledgehammer. Those proficient in martial weapons may use the sword of kings as a two-handed weapon, or one-handed with exotic weapon proficiency in bastard swords. Feats and abilities which apply to bastard swords or warhammers apply to this weapon (regardless if the stone is attached or not).
It starts out as a ''+1 bastard sword'' that does bludgeoning damage with a 20/x3 critical, and glows within 30 ft of evil creatures as if using a constant ''[[SRD:Detect Evil|detect evil]]''. Because it is not intended to be swung as a hammer, you take a -4 −4 penalty on all attack rolls. It bypasses DR/good as if it were a good aligned weapon. Evil creatures which pick up the sword of kings gain a negative level, as if they were wielding a [[SRD:Holy|holy]] weapon. As various rituals are made and power is gained, the weapon starts taking on stronger powers. There are five rituals that are performed when unlocking this weapon's power. They must be performed in order (the 2nd ritual must be completed before you start the 3rd, even if you achieve the 3rd level prerequisites). Rituals cost gold (in the form of feeding the weapon raw materials) and xp, with an additional prerequisite. Once the 1st level ritual is unlocked, the sword-turned-hammer displays its omen effect. You can take time out and spend 8 hours bringing the weapon to the next level once you have the prerequisites.
The Sword of Kings is a unique magic item, on its way to becoming an artifact. While it has a price, it cannot be completely destroyed. If reduced to 0 hp, it instead falls inert in a broken condition, and unable to be used until repaired, but is not destroyed as items usually are. It is treated as an artifact against the effects of ''[[SRD:Mage's Disjunction|mage's disjunction]]''.
'''Royal Blood:''' You gain a +6 bonus on Diplomacy, Knowledge Nobility, and Intimidate checks, and may use the checks untrained as long as you are the owner of this weapon (that is, if you have wielded the weapon in at least a year and have unlocked at least the current ritual).
'''Unwieldy Penalty 1:''' The penalty to attack rolls from this weapon decreases to -3−3.
'''Weapon Bonus:''' The enhancement bonus on the weapon is improved to +2. This bonus increase is not counted in the overall price for enhancing the weapon further.
===2nd Ritual (Evil's Bane)===
'''Cleave and Smite:''' You may smite evil as a [[SRD:Paladin|paladin]] of your character level at will, but only once per creature. Once used, the creature is immune to further smite attempts from this weapon for 24 hours. If you accidentally smite a creature which is not evil, you take backlash damage equal to the damage of your smite. If you manage to drop an evil creature with your smite attack , you gain an immediate [[SRD:Cleave|cleave]] as per the feat, but only against another evil creature.
'''Heavy Impact:''' You may choose to bull rush opponents you successfully hit with your hammer as part of the attack action, without provoking attacks of opportunity. You do not follow your opponent through with your bull rush.
'''Unwieldy Penalty 2:''' The penalty to attack rolls from this weapon decreases to -2−2.
'''Weapon Enhancement:''' You gain the effects of the Bane enhancement, but against all creatures of evil alignment. This bonus increase is not counted in the overall price for enhancing the weapon further.
'''Leader of Men:''' As long as you are the owner of this weapon, you gain the [[SRD:Leadership|Leadership]] feat as people begin to recognize your authority.
'''Unwieldy Penalty 3:''' The penalty to attack rolls from this weapon decreases to -1−1.
'''Weapon Bonus:''' The enhancement bonus on the weapon is improved to +3. This bonus increase is not counted in the overall price for enhancing the weapon further.
'''Fearless Loyalty:''' You become immune to fear, as well as any charm and compulsion effects which would place you into conflict with allies.
'''Seal Evil:''' Whenever you bring an evil creature to 0 hp or less, you can choose to seal away their evil into the stone instead of killing them. These creatures are trapped as the spell ''[[SRD:Imprisonment|imprisonment]]'', though it leaves a visible crystal sphere at the point they were sealed. Other creatures can break the crystal (hardness 8, 10 hp) by force to release the occupant, otherwise they are safely contained. They may be released as normal for ''imprisonment'' as well. Creatures get a [[Will]] save to resist equal to the excess damage beyond 0 hp. If they succeed on the Will save, they are not imprisoned but may die as normal if the blow would kill them.
'''Unwieldy Penalty 4:''' The penalty to attack rolls from this weapon vanishes completely.
'''Divine Blessing:''' You gain divine blessing as a [[SRD:Paladin|paladin]]. If you already have divine blessing, you gain a +3 bonus to your save bonus from divine blessing.
'''Right to be King:''' You are now able to remove the sword from the stone, thus completing the 6th ritual right away. However, you may not wish to , as you become fully aware of the nature of the stone the sword embeds itself into. It is no rock, but the petrified heart of a great evil which would destroy the world. If It may be wiser to continue using the Sword of Kings as a hammer and do not tempt fate...
'''Symbol of Authority:''' As long as you are the owner of this weapon, You you gain a +10 bonus to your [[Charisma]] for determining bonuses for your Leadership feat and for Charisma based skill checks and ability checks.
'''Weapon Bonus:''' The enhancement bonus on the weapon is improved to +4. This bonus increase is not counted in the overall price for enhancing the weapon further.
===6th Ritual (Kingship)===
'''Absurd Strength:''' It seems that swinging around the sword of kings with a heavy counterweight for so long has caused you to grow strong, though once again you are thrown off balance. You once again take the -4 −4 penalty to attack with the weapon, but gain a +16 bonus to damage rolls. You also automatically beat any break DC equal to your BAB or less, and ignore an amount of hardness and damage reduction equal to your BAB.
'''An Ancient Evil Awakens:''' When you removed the sword from the stone, the imprisoned spirit of the great ancient evil escapes into the world. Though you have claimed true kingship, it comes at the cost of danger. The nature of the ancient evil is up to the DM, but is a creature of at least CR 25. It will re-appear within the world within 1d12 weeks of removing the sword from the stone and threaten the world, especially that of your newfound kingdom. How you choose to deal with the beast is up to you, but if you seal it using Seal Evil, the evil is contained within a heavy stone at the end of the blade and the sword reverts to its 5th ritual status. To this date, none have successfully kept the beast down for good without resorting to sealing the evil.
''Cost:'' 0 gp, 0 xp.
Prerequisites: N/A.<br />
Cost to Create: Unique item, cannot be created.
