The Living Weapon

My Child, Be A Sword

My mother was a hammer. My father was a forge. And when I lay down in the cold, they whispered, 'Child, be a sword.'

Some want their children happy. Some want them safe and calm. Others, though, will scrape their bones, and sing them songs of war.

My mother's milk was blood. My father's love was pain. And in the dark I heard them whisper,

'Child, be a sword.'

A sword will never hurt. A sword will never cry. And if you keep it sharp, then a sword may never die.

A sword is not a comfort. A sword is not a friend. A sword has but a single task; to tear, and cut, and rend. But a sword won't be forgotten. It won't be cast aside. For a blade as sharp and cruel as you will be very hard to find.

So put away those dreams, and clear them from your head. They will do you naught but harm down the road that you must tread. For it is with great care we hurt you, and with malice grind your edge.

For good steel's hard to come by, but even harder still. To turn it to a purpose with a true, unbending will. While others dream of love, and sing of face and form, those things my dear are not for you.

My child, be a sword.

Sleep well, child. Death comes in the morn.

The Living Weapon

I originally wrote this poem as a piece of background for a Fianna ahroun I was contemplating playing in a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game, and since I spent the last month working on my 100 Fianna Kinfolk with High Level Games, it's been on my mind quite a lot. Because it represents a piece of inspiration for a certain archetype that I come back to time and time again in both my work, and in my play; the Living Weapon.

A Living Weapon is a character for whom violence is second nature. Whether they were trained by warmasters from birth, bound to deadly spirits of bloodshed, or they've been dedicated to a spirit of destruction, these characters are deadly, to be sure... but they are also ripe for engaging arcs of character growth.

As one example...

 

Living Weapons are most at-home in the thick of brutality and violence, and it's why they're so often thought of as badasses. But once the battle fades, they retreat into themselves. They're quiet, often uncomfortable, and at times they can even have a child-like fear of things outside their very specific niche. They may be surprisingly gentle, or they may lash out in a way that's completely out of proportion if they're scared by something. And gods help the person who hurts someone the Living Weapon considered a friend, because there is no measuring the lengths they will go to in order to make it clear what a mistake that was.

The difficulty with this concept is that it is very tough to get below the surface, and to bring all the feelings bubbling up so the roleplaying can be put on display for everyone else to see, and get involved in. That's why I recommend going one of two ways with it, in order to make it really stand out at your table.

The first is to make sure the character has a minder. The minder is the person who ensures the Living Weapon follows certain rules, stays involved with the group, and they can act as the can opener to help give others a peek beneath the carapace. If the Living Weapon is trying to be good, then the minder might be a gentle influence, keeping them calm and trying to introduce them to simple pleasures. They can also help bring the Living Weapon out of their killer's state, if something trips them and they go back to their old ways. On the other hand, if the Living Weapon is an evil character, the minder will be the one who holds their leash, and gives them their orders. In this case they become the mouthpiece for the Living Weapon's raging Id, though if you want to do a redemption arc then the minder could also act as the manifestation of the Living Weapon's worst impulses. If that's the case, I'd recommend making them an NPC, rather than a PC, as death is quite likely for the minder in this scenario.

The second way is to let your setup do the talking for you. I mentioned this back in Character Reputation in RPGs: The Small Legend, but if your character was part of a certain organization, tradition, tribe, or cult whose reputation is well-known, then you can get a lot of mileage out of that. A perfect example is Todd in the film Soldier. Everyone in that setting knows that Soldiers are dangerous, trained to fight and kill from birth. They know enough to know what he is, but not enough to understand who he is... which is the goal. Set up the backstory for your Living Weapon, such as making them a member of the mercenaries known as the Sons of War, who are all trained from childhood by older members of the company, or by making them a knight of the cursed legion the Howl (these are found in 100 Random Mercenary Companies and 100 Knightly Orders respectively), and you've cemented their reputation. Add some rumors about how people like them only speak with their swords, or how they're like rabid dogs once you get their blood up, and the stage is set. Once your PC starts disproving some of those rumors, and the rest of the party learns who they are as an individual, they can become a part of the Living Weapon's growth and change.

Either way, it's important to remember that it's not enough to have the pathos and character development going on beneath the surface with this concept; you need to put it out front for it to mean anything. Otherwise you just look like the sort of character who only wakes up when it's time to fight, going silent the rest of the time. Let everyone join in on the Living Weapon becoming more than just a blade... or following their descent into monstrous depravity. Whichever direction you're going, make sure everyone at the table is along for the ride.

Also, remember what I said in 10 Backgrounds For Your Scoundrels and 10 Backgrounds For Your Spellcasters; not all warriors are traditional, martial characters. A Living Weapon might be an assassin trained to deliver death with a flick of their wrist, or a sorcerer who was bred and raised to become a weapon of mass destruction. These are also options if you want to try something a little less traditional with this archetype.

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That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

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