Of all the magic items created by the elves, one of the most prized and jealously guarded is a moon blade. In ancient times, nearly all elven noble houses claimed one such blade. Over the centuries, some blades have faded from the world, their magic lost as family lines have become extinct. Other blades have vanished with their bearers during great quests. Thus, only a few of these weapons remain.
A moonblade passes down from parent to child. The sword chooses its bearer and remains bonded to that person for life. If the bearer dies, another heir can claim the blade. If no worthy heir exists, the sword lies dormant. It functions like a normal longsword until a worthy soul finds it and lays claim to its power.
A moonblade serves only one master at a time. The attunement process requires a special ritual in the throne room of an elven regent or in a temple dedicated to the elven gods.
A moonblade won't serve anyone it regards as craven, erratic, corrupt, or at odds with preserving and protecting elvenkind. If the blade rejects you, you make ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws with disadvantage for 24 hours. If the blade accepts you, you become attuned to it and a new rune appears on the blade. You remain attuned to the weapon until you die or the weapon is destroyed.
A moonblade has one rune on its blade for each master it has served (typically 1d6 + 1). The first rune always grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. Each rune beyond the first grants the moon blade an additional property. The DM chooses each property or determines it randomly on the Moon Blade Properties table.
| d100 | Property |
|---|---|
| 01-40 | Increase the bonus to attack and damage rolls by 1, to a maximum of +3. Reroll if the moonblade already has a +3 bonus. |
| 41-80 | The moonblade gains a randomly determined Special Features; What Minor Property Does It Have (see "Special Features" DMG p143). |
| 81-82 | The moonblade gains the finesse property. |
| 83-84 | The moonblade gains the thrown property (range 20/60 feet). |
| 85-86 | The moonblade functions as a defender. |
| 87-90 | The moon blade scores a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. |
| 91-92 | When you hit with an attack using the moon blade, the attack deals an extra 1d6 slashing damage. |
| 93-94 | When you hit a creature of a specific type (such as dragon, fiend, or undead) with the moonblade, the target takes an extra 1d6 damage of one of these types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. |
| 95-96 | You can use a bonus action to cause the moonblade to flash brightly. Each creature that can see you and is within 30 feet of you must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become blinded for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. This property can't be used again until you take a short rest while attuned to the weapon. |
| 97-98 | The moonblade functions as a ring of spell storing. |
| 99 | You can use an action to call forth an elfshadow, provided that you don't already have one serving you. The elfshadow appears in an unoccupied space within 120 feet of you. It uses the statistics for a shadow, except it is neutral, immune to effects that turn undead, and doesn't create new shadows. You control this creature, deciding how it acts and moves. It remains until it drops to 0 hit points or you dismiss it as an action. |
| 00 | The moonblade functions as a vorpal sword. |
A moon blade is a sentient neutral good weapon with an Intelligence of 12, a Wisdom of 10, and a Charisma of 12. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet.
The weapon communicates by transmitting emotions, sending a tingling sensation through the wielder's hand when it wants to communicate something it has sensed. It can communicate more explicitly, through visions or dreams, when the wielder is either in a trance or asleep.
Every moonblade seeks the advancement of elvenkind and elven ideals. Courage, loyalty, beauty, music, and life are all part of this purpose.
The weapon is bonded to the family line it is meant to serve. Once it has bonded with an owner who shares its ideals, its loyalty is absolute.
If a moon blade has a flaw, it is overconfidence. Once it has decided on an owner, it believes that only that person should wield it, even if the owner falls short of elven ideals.
This weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property—the damage when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Of all the magic items created by elves, one of the most prized and jealously guarded is a Moonblade. In ancient times, nearly all elven noble houses claimed one such weapon. Over the centuries, some of these weapons have faded from the world, their magic lost as family lines have become extinct. Others have vanished with their bearers during great quests. Thus, only a few of these weapons remain.
Every Moonblade longs for a bearer whose disposition and goals are compatible with its own. If you try to attune to a Moonblade that doesn't want you as its bearer, the weapon not only rejects you but also places a curse on you, causing you to make D20 Test with Disadvantage for 24 hours or until the curse is ended by a Remove Curse spell or similar magic. If you're accepted by the weapon and try to attune to it, you become attuned to it instantly, and a new rune appears on it. You remain attuned to the weapon until you die or the weapon is destroyed. A Moonblade functions like a nonmagical weapon of its kind for anyone other than its chosen bearer.
A Moonblade has one rune on it for each bearer it has willingly served (typically 1d6 + 1). The first rune grants a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. Each rune beyond the first grants the Moonblade an additional property. The DM chooses each property or determines it randomly by rolling on the Moonblade Properties table.
In addition to its aforementioned properties, each Moonblade has a minor property determined by rolling on the Magic Item's Minor Property table.
A Moonblade is a sentient weapon with an Intelligence of 12, a Wisdom of 10, and a Charisma of 12. It has hearing and Darkvision out to 120 feet. Its alignment matches that of its creator.
The weapon communicates by transmitting emotions, sending a tingling sensation through the wielder's hand when it wants to communicate something it has sensed. It can communicate through visions or dreams when the wielder is either in a trance or asleep.
A Moonblade has a personality similar to that of its creator. Once a Moonblade has decided on an owner, it believes that only that person should wield it, even if the bearer's alignment differs from that of the weapon's or the bearer's goals later clash with the weapon's goals.
| 1d100 | Property |
|---|---|
| 01-60 | Increase the weapon's bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls by 1, to a maximum of +3. Reroll if the Moonblade already has a +3 bonus. |
| 61-75 | When you hit with an attack roll using the Moonblade, you deal an extra 1d6 Force damage. Each time the weapon gains this property after the first, the extra damage increases by 1d6, to a maximum of 3d6. Reroll if the Moonblade already deals an extra 3d6 Force damage on a hit. |
| 76-80 | The Moonblade gains T with a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet. Each time you throw the weapon, it flies back to your hand after the attack. |
| 81-85 | The Moonblade scores a Critical Hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20. |
| 86-95 | You can take a Bonus Action to cause the Moonblade to flash brightly. Each other creature that is within 30 feet of you and not behind Cover must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the Blinded condition for 1 minute. A creature repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. You can't use this property again until you finish a Short Rest or Long Rest. |
| 96-99 | The Moonblade has the properties of a Ring of Spell Storing. |
| 100 | You can take a Magic action to conjure a spectral entity that resembles a shadowy elf if you don't already have one serving you. The entity appears in an unoccupied space within 120 feet of you. It uses the Shadow stat block with these changes: it is a Fey, has a Neutral alignment, and doesn't create new shadows. You control this entity, deciding how it acts and moves. It remains until it drops to 0 Hit Points or you dismiss it as a Magic action. |
This item variant can be applied to the following base items: