You Find a +1 Sword, But…

This is a take on the Improv technique of Yes, but…

Roll 1d12 to see what the gods of magic and (mis) fortune have in store for you.

1. It’s not obviously cursed. It’s still +1 to hit, but on any max damage or critical hit, the sword shatters and can’t be repaired without extreme magic.
2. It’s a Sword of Magma. It’s a Sword +1 that becomes +3 Flaming when the command word on the hilt is spoken. However, when flaming, the sword begins to emit molten lava until the command word is spoken again. The lava will drip/run back onto the wielder dealing 1d6 fire damage until extinguished or removed. The lava begins to make the blade heavy after 3 rounds granting a cumulative -1 to hit. The lava all magically disappears when the command word is spoken again.
3. It’s stuck in a large stone. The sword glows of magic. Only the weakest (Lowest Strength, Constitution is the tie-breaker.) member of the party can pull it out. It’s still +1 to hit, +1 damage. IF the wieder’s Strength is below 12, it rises to 12 while the sword is held.
4. The new owner is permanently attuned to it. It is a permanently cursed sword that will ALWAYS find its way back to its new owner. Only death unlocks the curse. It can be thrown into an active volcano and the next day, it will reappear on the owner’s person or convenient nearby location. Scabbard included.
5. It can’t decide on a size. When found, it has the hilt of a dagger and a scabbard of a longsword. Any time it is drawn, it changes shape. It can be anything from a dagger to a zweihander (2 Handed/Greatsword.) It shrinks back down to dagger size as soon as the tip of the blade touches the opening of the scabbard again.
6. It’s super lightweight. The wielder may choose to swing this longsword with Agility (Dexterity) to hit/damage. It also floats on water. It does not have an encumbrance value. It can also be used as an offhand weapon with no penalty.
7. It’s all good until you try to pick it up. This sword is super heavy regardless of type. It can only be used without penalty by characters of 16 Strength or higher. it is considered unnaturally heavy. Triple encumbrance for the wielder while in its sheath. Non wielders suffer five times the encumbrance of a regular weapon.
8. It’s really shiny! This is a sword +1, +3 vs Un-dead. It has a permanent Light spell cast upon it and always glows brightly when removed from its sheath.
9. It’s all good until you say the word engraved into the blade. When invoked, the sword summons a Velociraptor that will immediately attack the closest target. If slain, the raptor can be summoned again the next day. This power can be used 1x/day. The raptor always has max hp. It disappears after 10 rounds or 10 minutes if summoned out of combat and for some reason it doesn’t try to eat the wielder.
10. The sword hums within 66′ of a demon or demonkin. The closer the demon, the louder the hum becomes. It can’t be silenced by any means. +1/+3 vs Demons.
11. Its blade is made of solid ice. +1, +3 vs Fire elementals. The sword freezes solid again as soon as the hilt makes contact with the sheath.
12. It’s a perfectly normal sword. And it will tell you that telepathically. It likes to speak to its new owner a lot. It’s very chatty, in fact. It might have other intelligent weapon properties, maybe? (*It could just be telepathic, too. The final properties are up to the DM/GM/Judge.)

Quick bladed weapon table.

1-2. Dagger
3-5. Shortsword
6-8. Longsword
9. Bastard Sword (Hand-and-a-Half Sword.)
10-11. Two Handed Sword.
12. Polearm (Flamberge, Bardiche, Naginata or some other blade on a pole.)

Bastard Sword (Hand-and-a-Half) deals 1d8 damage wielded one handed and 1d10 damage wielded two handed with no penalties switching between the two. Costs 17 Gold. Must be forged by a master blacksmith and are usually tailored to a specific wielder.

This table is compatible with Dungeon Crawl Classics and can be easily adapted to most Old School Renaissance games with little effort.