Do you name your equipment?

[James Harrison]

hum neat idea - I think I may steal it a little; have a named weapon that use to be my grandfathers handed down to me at somepoint. But it doen't have to be 3xvirtues to be named... just probably to be great

[Beran]

IMO a named weapon doesn't need to have any particular number of virtues associated with it. It could just have a really good backstory to it. It is just that it probably has been around long enough to have picked up virtues along the years. But, you could have a long sword that has been in the family for generations and it could have a gotten named some where along the line and still be an ordinary long sword.

for example the Dwarf I played in a TOR game started out with an ordinary Mattock and eventually added Fell and Grievous (I think, it has been a while) and was I was considering calling it "Orc Breaker". An ordinary weapon that received upgrades along the way was all it was.

[Mim]

Yes, I name them too, but only if they accomplish something extraordinary (as Balin & Elmoth point out). Playing in Middle-earth all but demands this type of attention to atmosphere

Concerning Orcrist or Glamdring just being similar to Cultural Rewards, I respectfully disagree. They were powerful blades forged of old by the Elves, & I believe their stats should reflect it.

BTW, according to C7's announcement in their release schedule, Rivendell (TBC) will include artifacts, so I presume that Francesco will probably add these as Cultural Rewards OR something more...

IMHO, Andúril, however, should not be on a par with the other blades we've discussed in this thread. Telchar forged it in the depths of time, & it is one of the oldest & most renowned swords in all of the world. Aragorn/Elessar is destined to wield it, & while the King does he's all but unstoppable. Therefore, I mostly agree with Angelalex242's previous write-up, & especially with his point about the impact of the sword on Sauron.

While we're on the subject, Elessar's also a great example to remind everyone about the renown issues associated with these ancient weapons, which can help rally broken troops just by their appearance/name.

[Angelalex242]

Not even cultural rewards. I claimed one of my characters is packing a first age gondolin blade (like Orcrist and Glamdring, just different...)

And the only way I have of reflecting its superior quality is to Grievous/Keen/Fell it, with the Loremaster adding in special stuff to reflect the 'detect evil' thing they do.

[DavetheLost]

I am not sure how much mechanical advantage even blades such as Glamdring and Orcrist need. They were named, yes, but even ordinary swords were often named by their owners. Beyond that one was the sword of the King of Gondolin, that alone is enough to make it famous.

Bilbo named his blade "Sting" in commemoration of his battle with the great spiders.

If I get a chance to play I will likely name my chief weapon.

[Mim]

Actually, Francesco mentioned in a previous thread that the Cultural Rewards available thus far are meant to represent some of the lesser (relatively speaking) weapons we're discussing, such as Gúthwinë or Herugrim, but that the more powerful ones, such as Glamdring or Orcrist, will require additional abilities.

I don't know if he'll include them in the artifacts section of Rivendell, but one can only hope

[Beran]

Hopefully they will be new artifacts in the Rivendell sourcebook. Describing Orcrist, Glamdring, Sting and Andruil/Narsil would be interesting history, but ultimately useless in a game setting. Unless you don't mind changing continuity.

[Angelalex242]

Not at all, if you assume ANY blade out of Gondolin has the same stats as Glamdring and Orcrist, it gives players a chance to recover Gondolin Blades by other names.

[Elmoth]

I doubt that. They are hero blades, belonging to high profile personalities. The sword of an unnamed elf of Gondolin is unlikely to have the same characteristics. Maybe similar, but lacking some stuff for sure.

For me the funniest thing about these 2 swords is that it brings forward the option of goblins being immortal, like elves, and have a Lore score of 3-6 since they recognize perfectly both weapons at first sight.

Xavi

[Beran]

For me the funniest thing about these 2 swords is that it brings forward the option of goblins being immortal, like elves, and have a Lore score of 3-6 since they recognize perfectly both weapons at first sight.

I don't think it is a case of Goblins being immortal, but more that they recognized "Beater" and "Biter" from their histories of the Goblin Wars.