Swordmites, as they are affectionately known, are chaos-infused offshoots of the Mimic species. When grasped, their minor telepathy allows them to sense the shape that their wielder desires, and shift to reflect that. The shapes are always slightly organic-looking, with crystalline blades, and odd horns, spikes, eyes, and other protrusions.
Swordmites are found in unusual places, often deep in the Underdark, though there are rumours of a weaponsmith farming them for sale somewhere in the Human realms. Those who bear a swordmite often find themselves with a hand on the weapon's hilt or handle, which they find comforting. They often also sleep beside their weapons, and find the swordmite's little mouth nuzzling up against their skin somewhere. Swordmites are slightly intelligent, and easy to please with attention and physical contact. They are able to speak, although they cannot pronounce or understand many words, and often resort to "baby speak". Swordmites that have experienced large amounts of combat often manifest magical qualities, and become more powerful as they age. If a swordmite's wielder dies, the swordmite suffers psychic feedback, and usually loses their gained powers. Once every few years, the swordmite will crawl off somewhere to bud, laying little crystalline eggs. The wielder is aware of the swordmite's absence, but feels unalarmed about the situation. Hooks:
Statistics: When unbonded, a swordmite is a Tiny sized Monstrosity with 3 hit points, and an Intelligence score of 2. When they have bonded with a host (over a long rest's worth of skin-to-skin contact), they can change into the form of a normal melee weapon, with a clearly unusual appearance. They function as an ordinary weapon of that type until the next time the user gains a level. From this point, attacks using the swordmite count as being magical for the purposes of resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks. The swordmite can change the form of weapon it takes when the bonded user finishes a long rest. The second time that the bonded user gains a level, attacks using the swordmite gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. The third time that the bonded user gains a level, when attacks using the swordmite roll a 20 on the attack roll, the target takes an additional 2d6 points of damage if the target isn't a construct or undead, of the weapon's type. The bonded user then gains 5 temporary hit points. The fourth time that the bonded user gains a level, the swordmite reaches its final stage and takes on a permanent magical quality. At the GM's discretion, the swordmite gains the special qualities (but not necessarily the shape) of one of the following magic weapons, based on a creature it has been used to slay: - dagger of venom, dancing sword, defender, dragon slayer sword, flame tongue, frost brand, giant slayer, luck blade (luck quality only), mace of disruption, mace of smiting, mace of terror, scimitar of speed, sword of sharpness, sword of wounding, vicious weapon, or weapon of warning. Swordmites have Intelligence 2, and can sense with sight and hearing within 10 feet, with a Perception skill of +1 and a passive Perception skill of 11. Swordmites do not sleep except when hibernating, so they also guard their wielders while they rest. If sundered by an enemy attacking them directly, they can be harmed and slain as normal. A swordmite's maximum hit points are increased by 5 x the bonded user's proficiency bonus. A newly-hatched swordmite sells for about 1,000 gold pieces to a discerning buyer. Updated for 5e from an earlier post, originally published on 19 April 2019. Comments are closed.
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