Weapons of Sharpness

Like a sword, but better.

Weapons of Sharpness are a catchall term for a basic sort of enchantment that imbues a blade with an incredibly sharp edge, capable of cutting through almost any non-magical armor.

Description

Although any edged weapon can be enchanted with Sharpness, it is most common among weapons with some heft to them. One or twohanded swords, axes, or polearm are the most common - anything that provides the wielder enough momentum to swing right through the armored foe in front of them. A least kind of enchantment, these weapons are usually sparsely decorated by their creators, though those made on commission are regularly made with more care and flair (if only to jack up the price).

Spears are an underappreciated but highly lethal kind of weapon, as it cuts just fine with a well-placed thrust as it would with a dramatic sword swing.

Weapons enchanted with Sharpness can cut through iron and steel like cloth, making short work of lesser materials. A strike from a Greatsword of Sharpness can carve through a raised shield, the chainmail around the arm holding it, and the person behind that. Tougher material offers more resistance, and enchanted armor deflects the blades of Sharpness as usual. Wielders must take care with their strikes, as those unaccustomed to the ease of cutting can throw themselves off-balance. Others leave their Sword of Sharpness half-way cutting through something, and find them difficult to extract.

Parrying a Weapon of Sharpness without a magic weapon of your own is a quick way to lose some fingers, an arm, or maybe a face.

Construction

As a Least artifact, Weapons of Sharpness is relatively simple to make. Unlike more powerful items that require specific conditions, places of power, or powerful reagents to create, weapons of Sharpness need only the metal to make the blade and an appropriate skill of the enchanted. The blade is tempered with Earth magic to hone the edge down to the finest point possible, then hardened to make it almost unbreakable. As a result, Weapons of Sharpness never chip and never lose their edge - a trait alone that would make them desirable.
Some mage-smiths decorate their weapons with arcane runes, but these aren't required and function more as a signature on a piece of artwork.

Rarity

Least Enchantment

Magic Use

Earth

Maces of Mashing, Clubs of Crushing

A similar but distinct version of the Sharpness are the weapons of Crushing. Instead of cutting, these kinds of weapons attempt to just cave right through whatever it is they strike. For the same reason, they're considered barbaric by some and very satisfying by others.

Hard Hides

While the Weapons of Sharpness work just fine on many critters, any whiff of magic about them afford them the same protection as enchanted armor. Elementals, dragons, and demons suffer no more than they otherwise would from an enchanted blade hitting them in the face.
Some variants of the Weapons of Sharpness exist that have been specifically enchanted further to defeat these sort of protections, usually one particular beast. Depending on the critter in question, such weapons range in rarity from Lesser to Greater.

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