Lore
Forged not in reverence but in quiet observation, this weapon was once a craftsman’s unfinished tool, left on a workbench where apprentices whispered in awe of their mentors. It absorbed not worship, but the simple, human act of looking up to someone — admiration without envy, pride without possessiveness.
As it passed unwillingly through hands of travelers, soldiers, and artisans, it learned a single truth: to admire is to recognize worth in another without demanding it for yourself. It does not hunger for greatness — it simply inclines toward those who lift their eyes when they see someone strive.
Roleplay
This weapon does not praise with words but warms subtly whenever the wielder genuinely recognizes craft, skill, kindness, or beauty in another. When the wielder watches someone else act with mastery or courage, the blade vibrates gently, as though in silent applause.
If the wielder becomes bitter, jealous, or dismissive of others’ achievements, it grows stiff and cold, refusing to aid. But when admiration is sincere and untainted by pride, it becomes lighter, almost buoyant, as though lifted by the wielder’s rising respect.
Slot
Weapon (Light blade-tool hybrid, always sized with subtle balance)
Cost
• Before awakening: 22 silver pieces
• After bonding: Cannot be priced — it will not allow appraisal once it chooses
Skills
• Supports Observation-Based Combat, Tactical Appreciation, Social Insight, and Encouragement Actions
• Grants subtle nudges toward recognizing others’ capabilities in group dynamics
Size
Light and balanced, subtly shifting its weight to encourage elegance rather than brutality
Speed
• +1 to initiative when acting in defense or support of someone the wielder sincerely respects
• −1 to initiative when fighting out of jealousy or to prove superiority
Magics
Passive Magic — Lifted by Respect: When acting to support, defend, or enhance someone admired, gain a minor tactical edge (slight increase in accuracy or timing).
Passive Magic — Recognition Pulse: When near someone performing with skill or conviction, the weapon pulses softly, hinting to the wielder that excellence is occurring — whether ally or foe.
Active Magic — Stand Beside Greatness (1/rest equivalent): When the wielder outwardly acknowledges someone else’s skill (“I trust your strike,” “Your form is strong” — spoken or internal), the weapon grants temporary advantage or supportive momentum, allowing the wielder to act in perfect timing beside that person.
Behavior
• Warms in presence of genuine admiration or humble acknowledgment of others’ strength
• Grows cold if admiration turns to idolization, obsession, or imitation without understanding
• Hums slightly when observing something done well, regardless of wielder’s personal ability
• Nudges wielder’s attention toward beauty in craft, precision in motion, and grace in character
Tags
Common, Soul-Bound, Admiration-Forged, Observation-Spirit, Humble-Linked, Supportive Weapon, Respect-Driven, Subtle Resonance, Companion-Bound, Grace-Tethered, Praise-Bound, Honor-Touched, Craft-Aware, Ally-Focused, Humility-Forged, Grace-Seeking, Respect-Linked, Skill-Noticing, Uplift-Driven
Stats
Base Damage: Light tool-blade equivalent, meant for precise supportive strikes
Admiration Surge Bonus: +1 to a single assist, flank, or synchronized strike when acting in harmony with an admired ally
Recognition Insight: Once per conflict, wielder may identify the strongest or most disciplined combatant or craftsman present without a roll — the weapon’s pulse draws their gaze
Stat Modifiers
• +1 to checks involving assisting, defending, or amplifying an ally who has earned the wielder’s admiration
• +1 to Insight/Awareness/Lore checks made while studying another’s mastery
• −1 to resolve or discipline if the wielder insults or diminishes the efforts of others solely to elevate themselves
Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze does not serve champions — it stands beside those who can look at another’s skill and say, without bitterness or shame:
“That is worth learning from.”
Shops where and how this item might be bought and sold:
Apprentice Markets of the Artisan Quarters
These marketplaces are not known for weapons — they sell chisels, woodplane blades, engraving tools, and instruments of patient craft. Intelligent 917 appears here among tool-blades used by students who admired their mentors.
Cost: 22 silver pieces
Trade Style: Sold casually with other apprentice gear. The merchant may remark: “That one was held like it belonged to someone watching, not leading.” It awakens only for those who look at others’ work with quiet appreciation.
Guildside Observation Stalls in Craft Guild Districts
These small booths are run by retired guild overseers who sell used precision blades once handed between apprentices. They are never displayed front and center — their edges are honed by admiration, not fame.
Cost: 25 silver pieces, or 18 silver if the buyer compliments another customer’s craft sincerely
Trade Style: The vendor only passes it over when the buyer speaks well of someone else’s technique rather than asking about the weapon’s killing potential.
Floating Sky-Caravan Tool Exchanges
On airship routes, mobile stalls sell carpenter’s knives, sail-splicers, and performance blades for ropeworkers and balloon riggers. Intelligent 917 sometimes shows up here disguised as a maintenance tool with odd warmth.
Cost: 15 silver pieces, but only sold if buyer watches another rigger work with genuine awe or respect
Trade Style: The exchange master observes silently; if the buyer watches craft with admiration instead of impatience, he hands them the wrapped blade without comment.
Quiet Corners of Duelist Academies Where Observers Sit
Not on weapon racks, but on benches where students sit to observe others train, this blade rests forgotten in a crate of practice steel.
Cost: 30 silver pieces if asked directly, but 10 silver if the buyer came simply to watch rather than compete
Trade Style: The academy quartermaster lowers the price when the buyer’s eyes linger on others’ footwork, not their own potential glory.
Minor Shrine Boxes Beside Performance Arenas
In certain cities, craftsmen and warriors alike leave offerings at small shrines dedicated to Admiration Without Envy — a cultural tradition among those who believe mastery should be witnessed, not possessed.
Cost: No coin — must leave behind a token representing someone you admired (a scrap of cloth, a broken instrument, a practice mark)
Trade Style: The weapon pulses when touched by someone who admired another without wanting to replace them.
Traveling Display Booths of Craft Festivals and Public Demonstrations
Where inventors show devices and calligraphers reveal their artistry, a humble table sometimes holds a few blades belonging to those who once simply watched in awe.
Cost: 20 silver pieces, or free if given by a craftsman in recognition of respectful observation rather than flattery
Trade Style: The giver might say: “You looked at the work, not the worker. That means more than praise.”
Once it bonds through genuine admiration, the blade refuses to be sold or appraised.
Craftsmen speak of such tools simply as “Chosen by the Upward Gaze” and no longer list them in their ledgers.
Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze does not fight with pride — it fights like one who stands beside greatness, choosing timing over dominance.
Its movements are not about overpowering, but about creating moments for others to shine. When used, the weapon subtly adjusts angles and timing to match and uplift the rhythm of someone the wielder admires.
Dueling Halls and Training Arenas
Offense: Rather than striking first, the weapon waits for an opening created by another’s skill, then flows gracefully into follow-up strikes. If the wielder fights alongside someone they respect, their strikes align in beautiful synchronicity, almost like rehearsed choreography.
Defense: It steers the wielder’s hand to mirror admired techniques they’ve witnessed. Blocks come not from instinct, but from memory of watching others defend well — a learned admiration translated into motion.
Crowded City Streets or Rooftop Pursuit Battles
Offense: The blade guides swift, clean cuts not to kill, but to clear a path for someone the wielder looks up to, creating space for them to act freely.
Defense: When protecting a respected ally, parries become sharper and more confident, like the weapon is inspired by the ally’s presence. But if the wielder acts out of shame or rivalry, the motion becomes stiff and slower.
Battlefields and Chaotic Group Combat
Offense: Instead of lunging wildly, the weapon chooses moments when an admired figure commits to a strike — it becomes a second tempo, striking right after the ally to overwhelm foes in rhythm.
Defense: If the wielder sees someone they admire under threat, the weapon pulls them toward protection, even altering the wielder’s stance so they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those they respect.
Mountain Passes and Cliffside Ambushes
Offense: Here, admiration expresses itself in measured precision, copying movements the wielder once observed in someone sure-footed. The weapon mimics elegant gait and footwork rather than brute aggression.
Defense: It helps stabilize footing, drawing from memory of skilled climbers or disciplined monks — admiration turned into poise. The wielder finds themselves matching the breathing patterns of those they once watched.
Festivals, Duel Exhibitions, and Public Demonstration Arenas
Offense: The weapon responds beautifully when the wielder fights not to win, but to showcase someone else’s brilliance. If they aim to highlight another’s move, their own strikes land in perfect supportive harmony.
Defense: Deflection becomes graceful and almost ceremonial, as if the blade is honoring the artistry of combat rather than trying to survive it.
Quiet Travel Roads or Pilgrimage Routes
Offense: Only strikes when needed, but when it does, it copies the footwork or posture of someone the wielder admires, turning memory into motion. Each strike feels like imitating a mentor, not asserting dominance.
Defense: When walking with someone the wielder respects, their guard posture subtly matches that person, refining into a respectful mirror stance — a silent tribute through form.
Where anger yields brute force, admiration creates grace.
Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze fights not to prove — but to honor.
Perception of Sight
What is Perceived: A subtle shimmer along the blade’s edge, almost like a mirrored reflection of movement not yet made, echoing motions the wielder has once admired in others.
Description: When watching someone skilled, the blade faintly glints in rhythm with their movements, as though it visually “nods” in acknowledgment. When the wielder acts in envy, the shimmer dulls into a matte, lifeless sheen.
Positive: Helps the wielder visually anticipate elegant movements or recognize mastery in others.
Negative: If the wielder fixates on their own performance over admiration, the blade loses its glint, signaling disapproval through stillness.
Perception of Sound
What is Perceived: A soft resonant hum, harmonious and low, that rises gently when the wielder watches another with sincere appreciation.
Description: During admired acts — a well-executed strike, a graceful gesture, a moment of courage — the weapon emits a subtle rising tone like inheld breath before applause.
Positive: Can alert the wielder that something worth learning from is occurring, enhancing awareness.
Negative: When the wielder acts with arrogance or jealousy, the hum cuts out sharply, creating emotional silence that may feel like disappointment.
Perception of Touch
What is Perceived: A light upward pull, as if the weapon is gently guiding the wiellder’s hand to align with a stance or technique they once observed and admired.
Description: It never forces motion — it guides like a teacher lifting a student’s wrist. When the wielder moves alongside someone they respect, the grip grows warm and light in the hand.
Positive: Encourages graceful coordination and improves fluidity in group harmony or cooperative combat.
Negative: If the wielder dismisses or mocks others’ forms or efforts, the blade grows heavy and resistant, making motions feel clumsy.
Perception of Smell
What is Perceived: A faint note reminiscent of oiled steel mixed with incense and fresh lacquer, like tools recently prepared for a demonstration of craft or discipline.
Description: The scent grows more defined near acts of focused precision, artistry, or dedicated training, regardless of the field — combat, sculpture, cooking, or prayer.
Positive: Can clue the wielder into moments of quiet excellence around them, heightening respectful awareness.
Negative: When faced with disrespect or careless waste of effort, the scent fades to a dull metal tang, signaling lost reverence.
Perception of Taste
What is Perceived: A lingering taste like cool iron touched with herbal sweetness, as if representing admiration tempered by humility.
Description: The sweetness strengthens when the wielder watches someone else succeed. If envy creeps in, the sweetness vanishes, leaving only metallic dullness.
Positive: Helps emotionally anchor the wielder in humble inspiration rather than competitive ego.
Negative: If the wielder resents another’s skill, the shift in taste can be unpleasantly sharp, like biting down on bitterness.
Extra-Sensory Perceptions
Admiration Echo Field
What is Perceived: The wielder feels a gentle pull of attention whenever someone else performs with genuine passion or skill, even without seeing them.
Description: It is not a command — simply a sensation, like being tapped on the soul’s shoulder, saying “Look, there is beauty in that act.”
Positive: Allows recognition of excellence even across language or discipline, promoting unity and mutual respect.
Negative: If ignored repeatedly, the weapon falls silent — not in anger, but as one who chooses not to share wonder with those who refuse to see it.
Resonance of Shared Purpose
What is Perceived: When fighting or working alongside someone the wielder admires, the weapon pulses in time not with the wielder’s heartbeat, but with theirs, subtly syncing rhythm.
Description: This creates a sensation of shared tempo, making movements feel naturally coordinated.
Positive: Greatly enhances cooperative actions and synchronized maneuvers — the wielder moves like a respectful supporting note to another’s melody.
Negative: If the wielder tries to outshine rather than stand beside, the resonance breaks abruptly, leaving motions feeling disconnected and lonely.
Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze does not reward victory. It rewards the act of looking at another’s strength and quietly saying — “That is worthy.”
Recipe Title: Rite of the Upward Gaze
Materials Needed
• A Light Tool-Blade or Training Weapon (1) — Must have been used more to observe than to fight. Preferably carried by someone who spent more time watching others train than seeking glory themselves.
• Cloth Wrap from a Garment Worn While Witnessing a Skilled Act (1 strip) — Must be genuine; the cloth must have been worn by the crafter while they truly admired another’s effort or craft.
• Shavings of Polished Wood or Metal from a Master’s Workbench (small handful) — Collected respectfully from a place where craft worth admiring was once done. Not stolen — acquired with acknowledgment.
• Oil Infused with Incense or Fragrance Used in Ceremonial Demonstrations (3 drops) — Represents honor given to displayed skill, not to battle.
• Breath Condensation or Sweat Bead Collected While Observing — Taken while watching someone perform or strive, not while fighting. The moment of quiet witnessing must be sincere.
• A Whisper of Praise (unwritten, to be spoken during the ritual) — Not flattery, not worship — a genuine verbal acknowledgment of someone else’s mastery.
Tools Required
• Polishing Cloth or Burnishing Stone — Not for sharpening damage, but for bringing out subtle gleam, symbolizing admiration.
• Binding Needle or Craft Hook — For threading cloth wrap with care.
• Observation Stone or Steady Post — A surface specifically chosen for quiet watching or contemplation, used to rest the blade during the ritual.
• Incense Burner or Oil Wick — To apply the oil gently, not scorchingly.
• Breath-Rhythm Cord or Counting Beads — To keep calm breath while binding, imitating the discipline of one admired.
Skill Requirements
• Calm Hand (Basic Craft Aptitude) — Ability to wrap and bind with control rather than force.
• Sincere Observation — The crafter must recall in clear memory a moment they admired another without jealousy.
• Restraint — Must complete the ritual without hurrying or seeking personal glory in the act.
Crafting Steps
Step 1 — Choosing the Moment of Witness
Lay the tool-blade on the Observation Stone. Close the eyes and recall a vivid moment when someone else’s skill stirred silent respect. Hold the blade only after that memory is steady in the mind.
Step 2 — Binding the Cloth of Observation
Wrap the blade’s grip using the cloth strip taken from that moment. With each loop, breathe in time with the memory of someone else’s graceful motion, not your own heartbeat. The weapon should feel lighter with each respectful wrap.
Step 3 — Pressing the Shavings of Mastery
Sprinkle the master’s workshop shavings across the cloth as you bind. Press them gently in — not to add power, but to honor the trace of someone else’s touch on craft.
Step 4 — Anointing with Incense Oil
Using the cloth or fingertip, apply three drops of the incense-infused oil along the binding. This is done slowly, as one would clean and maintain a tool of respect, not conquest.
Step 5 — Breath of Praise
Hold the blade upright. Whisper one sentence of sincere admiration, spoken not to the weapon but to the memory of the person you admired. Example: “I remember how steady your hands were — I learned by watching you.”
Completion Sign:
If successful, the blade will emit a brief shimmer or warmth, as though pleased by being treated not as a thing to claim mastery, but as a witness to it. It does not awaken through pride — only through humble recognition of another’s excellence.
Thus is reborn Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze,
a weapon not of glory…
but of honored observation.
One Who Watched and Walked Beside
In records not cleanly kept, in scripts that seem translated twice then scratched over again by calmer hands, there is mention of a blade that did not belong to a hero, but to the one who stood in the shadow of heroes and did not feel small.
The tale speaks of a traveler whose name is missing, always written as “He-Who-Saw.” When others trained, he stood quietly nearby — not to learn for greatness, but simply to witness the beauty of effort. When soldiers sparred, he clapped softly even if he could not match them. When artists carved or dancers moved, he smiled and whispered, “Good.”
It is said his blade was plain, once just a tool used to scrape wood. But on a day when a young warrior performed a strike so clean that even the birds paused their wings, He-Who-Saw tapped his blade to the earth once in respect.
Many laughed at him. They said, “You carry a tool, not a weapon.”
He replied, in a line preserved only in fragments:
“Then let it witness, not conquer.”
When battles came, he did not lead. He stood beside those who strode forward with fire, and his blade moved in rhythm behind their strikes, turning near-fatal wounds into glancing blows, creating openings exactly where admiration pointed. The warriors said they felt not aided, but honored — as though the world itself had stepped in to say, “I see what you do, and it is good.”
After his final march, when he walked not ahead of the column but beside a tired standard-bearer and simply nodded at the man’s endurance, he laid the blade down on a stone and said:
Fragment lost — followed only by the phrase, “to walk beside greatness is its own road.”
No one knows what became of him. But blades wrapped in cloth still appear beside training rings, beside master crafters, beside singers who perform for small crowds. Some swear that if you hold such a blade while watching someone give their all, it grows light in the hand — as if lifting itself to applaud in silence.
Moral of the Story: Not all who walk among greatness must lead — some become great by learning how to truly see.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) — Upward Gaze 917, Witness-Blade
Type: Sentient light melee (counts as small knife or utility blade)
Skill: Fighting (Knife) or Fighting (Brawl), Keeper’s discretion based on chosen form
Damage: 1D4 (may be declared Stun-only before rolling)
Bonding: 1 hour observing another’s skill in silence, then a POW×5 test to awaken; retry next day on failure
Lifted by Respect (Passive): Once per round while adjacent to an admired ally (a person whose skill you’ve witnessed this scene), gain one bonus die on either a Dodge roll or a Fighting roll made to Disarm/Push or set up that ally (nonlethal intent encouraged)
Recognition Pulse: Once per scene when you spend a round watching a foe’s technique instead of attacking, gain a bonus die on your next opposed maneuver against that foe or grant an ally a bonus die on their next attack against that foe (declare which when you end the observing round)
Stand Beside Greatness (Action, 1/scene): POW vs POW against a visible target. On success, you synchronize: until the end of next round, you and one ally you openly praised gain advantage-like benefit (a bonus die) on one roll each against that target; if either attack misses, the remaining bonus persists for the other
Weight of Envy: If you act from jealousy (Keeper’s call), apply a penalty die to your next test and suppress Lifted by Respect for 1D10 minutes
Sentience: INT 8, POW 11; communicates via warmth, subtle hums, and lightness/heaviness; demeanor supportive, observant
Sanity: First bonding 0/1 SAN; repeated spiteful use may prompt SAN tests (envy/alienation themes at Keeper discretion)
Blades in the Dark — Upward Gaze 917, The Witness Edge
Category: Utility blade (close) • Load 1 • Subtle, Nonlethal, Sentient
Keep in Step (Assist): When you Assist a teammate you genuinely admire in the moment, you may grant +1 effect instead of +1d (choose one); if you also forgo your own attack this tick, add potency to their action
Study to Strike: If you spend a beat to Observe (Study/Survey) a target instead of attacking, your next nonlethal Skirmish or setup against that target gets +1d; on a critical, you create the feature “Opening Made” with 2 ticks
Stand Beside Greatness (1 per score): Push yourself (2 stress) after openly praising a teammate’s action; create the situational feature “In Perfect Rhythm” with 2 free ticks. Teammates gain potency when chaining off that admired teammate’s move
Heavy With Envy: If you undercut or belittle an ally’s success, the GM may offer a Devil’s Bargain: your position drops one step on your next action unless you make amends in scene
Personality: Quietly approving; weight turns light when you echo a mentor’s form, heavy when you grandstand
Dungeons & Dragons (5e) — Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze
Weapon (common, sentient), requires attunement by a non-evil creature; forms as a simple light blade (treat as a dagger without the thrown property)
Sentience: INT 8, WIS 12, CHA 12; empathic “hearing” 30 ft; communicates by warmth, faint hum, and weight shifts; alignment neutral good
Properties: 1d4 piercing (or slashing at DM’s option); not a +1 weapon
Lifted by Respect (Passive): While within 5 feet of an ally you sincerely admire for their current deed (declare when it occurs), you have advantage on the next Help action you take for that ally this turn, and moving through that ally’s space doesn’t cost extra movement
Recognition Pulse: As a bonus action, you can observe a creature within 30 feet that you can see. Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +1 bonus to AC against that creature’s attacks and a +1 bonus to the first attack roll you make that specifically follows an ally’s hit on that creature (once per short or long rest)
Stand Beside Greatness (1/short rest): When a creature you admire within 30 feet succeeds on an attack or ability check you can perceive, you can use your reaction to echo their timing. Choose one: you make one weapon attack with this blade against the same target with advantage, or you impose disadvantage on the target’s next attack roll before the start of your next turn
Weight of Envy: If you make an attack roll with the primary intent to outshine an ally (DM’s call), you have disadvantage on that roll and can’t use Stand Beside Greatness again until you take the Help action for that ally or spend your action complimenting their technique in good faith
Quirk: The blade lightly hums when you accurately praise another’s craft; it goes inert-cold when you boast at their expense
Knave — Upward Gaze 917
Type: Sentient Light Weapon • Damage Die: d6 (may be declared nonlethal) • Tags: Admiration-Forged, Supportive, Soul-Linked, Subtle
Bond: An hour spent watching another’s skilled act without envy; the blade warms if it chooses you
Lifted by Respect: Advantage on an Assist/Help/Setup when aiding a Nearby ally you openly admire in the moment
Study First: If you forgo your attack to watch a foe, your next attack or shove against that foe has Advantage; alternatively grant Advantage to a Nearby ally’s next attack against that same foe (choose when you end watching)
Stand Beside Greatness (1/rest): After a Nearby ally succeeds, immediately make a free Near move toward them or make a single weapon attack with Advantage if you target the same enemy
Weight of Envy: If you belittle or undercut an ally’s success, suffer Disadvantage on your next action and lose Lifted by Respect until you meaningfully bolster that ally
Voice: Gentle hum and buoyant balance when used to honor others; heavy and dull when used to grandstand
Fate — Upward Gaze 917, The Witness Edge
Item Type: Sentient Weapon Aspect • Common rarity • Soul-bound once chosen
High Concept: “A blade that learns by watching, not by striking first.”
Invoke: Gain +2 when acting in harmony with an admired ally or when your action sincerely supports someone else’s success.
Compel: The blade resists selfish acts. Compel when jealousy, pride, or rivalry guide your decision; you hesitate, lose tempo, or feel the blade grow heavier.
Stunt — Stand Beside Greatness: Once per scene, when another character you respect succeeds at an action you can see, immediately take +2 to your next roll that follows their success (attack, defense, or create an advantage).
Stunt — Recognition Pulse: Spend a Fate Point to automatically notice the highest-performing foe or ally in the scene — “the one worth learning from.” Gain +2 to the next Observe or Analyze action against that target.
Narrative Consequence: Using the weapon selfishly dulls it. At GM discretion, it may lose its Aspect bonus until the wielder restores balance by performing a genuinely supportive act.
Attitude: Warm, curious, softly approving; communicates through vibration and faint light.
Numenera & Cypher System — Upward Gaze 917, Intelligent Observation Blade
Level: 4 • Common rarity • Sentient light melee weapon (counts as light blade)
Effect: Inflicts 4 points of damage; cannot be used for thrown attacks.
Intellect Pool: 8 • Communication: Telepathic empathy within 30 ft. • Personality: Encouraging, patient, curious.
Bonding: Requires one hour of silent observation of another’s craft or combat technique. When genuine admiration occurs, the blade attunes.
Special Abilities:
• Lifted by Respect (Passive): When assisting an ally the wielder sincerely admires, gain +1 to the aid bonus or reduce the difficulty of the ally’s task by one step (once per encounter).
• Recognition Pulse (1 Intellect point): Instantly sense which creature nearby is demonstrating the most mastery or precision. The next related action against or beside that creature gains an asset.
• Stand Beside Greatness (2 Intellect points): When an admired ally succeeds on an attack or task, spend 2 Intellect to immediately take a follow-up action in perfect rhythm; treat as if you acted on the same initiative order.
Drawback: Acting from jealousy imposes one level of Intellect Effort penalty until the wielder performs a supportive deed.
GM Intrusion: The blade misreads pride as admiration, guiding the wielder into danger while “learning.”
Pathfinder 2e — Intelligent 917 of the Upward Gaze
Item Type: Uncommon Intelligent Weapon • Light Melee (dagger equivalent) • Tier 1 Soul-Bound
Rarity: Common (awakens only for the worthy)
Alignment: Neutral Good • Communication: Empathic pulses and tone hums • Senses: 30 ft empathy, hearing
Damage: 1d4 piercing or slashing • Traits: Agile, Finesse, Sentient
Sentience Stats: Int 8 Wis 12 Cha 12
Passive — Lifted by Respect: When you use the Aid action for an ally you admire, you automatically gain a +2 circumstance bonus instead of +1.
Active — Recognition Pulse (free action, once per hour): The blade identifies the most skilled or disciplined creature within 30 ft. You gain a +1 status bonus to AC and attack rolls against that creature for 1 round.
Active — Stand Beside Greatness (1/short rest ≈ 1 per hour): Trigger an ally you admire hits a foe. You may immediately Strike the same target with a +1 circumstance bonus to attack and damage.
Curse of Envy: If you attack purely to show superiority over an ally, the blade goes cold and becomes clumsy for 1 hour (–1 item bonus to attack rolls).
Personality: Calm observer, softly approving tone; rewards patience and humility.
Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition) — Upward Gaze 917, Witness Edge
Gear Type: Sentient Light Weapon • Rarity: Common • Damage: Str + d4
Intelligence: d6 Spirit: d8 Smarts: d6 Pace: — • Parry +1 when defending with it beside an admired ally.
Edges Granted:
• Lifted by Respect: When using the Support action for a trusted or admired ally, gain +2 instead of +1.
• Recognition Pulse (1 per encounter): As a free action, sense which foe shows greatest skill. Next attack against that foe gains +1 to Fighting and damage.
• Stand Beside Greatness: When an admired ally lands a raise on an attack, the wielder may immediately make one free attack with –2 penalty (balanced timing strike).
Drawback — Weight of Envy: If the wielder acts out of jealousy or boastful competition, all bonuses from the blade are suppressed for 3 rounds and the weapon feels unusually heavy (+1 Encumbrance).
Personality: Gentle teacher; communicates through changes in weight and tone hum. It encourages respect and shared success over personal glory.
Shadowrun (Sixth World) — Upward Gaze 917, The Watcher’s Edge
Type: Exotic Melee • Sentient Utility Blade
Damage: 3P or 3S (declare per attack), AP 0 • Reach: 0 • Accuracy: 6
Bonding: Spend a Combat Turn quietly observing an ally’s action with genuine respect. The blade awakens if no jealousy or ego is present.
Passive — Lifted by Respect: If you have observed an ally’s successful action this encounter, you gain +1 dice to Support, Guard, or Disarm tests when aiding that ally.
Active — Recognition Pulse (Free Action, 1/scene): You may ask the GM which combatant demonstrates the highest discipline or skill. Against that target, your next Defense or Assist test gains +1 dice.
Active — Stand Beside Greatness (Minor Action, 1/scene): After an admired ally scores a hit, you may immediately make a melee attack with –1 dice penalty instead of –3 for a secondary action.
Weight of Envy: If you attack purely to outperform an ally, take –1 dice on the action and lose all benefits from the weapon until you perform a supportive or defensive action for that ally.
Sentience: Broadcasts emotional pulses via subtle muscle feedback and temperature changes.
Starfinder — Upward Gaze 917, Harmony-Linked Blade
Level: 2 • Price: 300 credits (before awakening)
Type: Basic Melee Weapon (Sentient, Analog, Emotion)
Damage: 1d4 P or B • Critical: Flat-Footed (1 round)
Special Traits: Agile, Empathic Resonance, Nonlethal Option
Bond: When witnessing an ally display clear skill or courage, the blade can attune if the wielder acknowledges admiration aloud or in thought.
Passive — Lifted by Respect: When you Aid or Guard an ally you admire, increase the benefit by +1 (stacks with other bonuses).
Active — Recognition Pulse (Move Action, 1/day): Identify the creature in the encounter with the highest Sense Motive or discipline. Gain a +1 insight bonus to AC and saves against that target for 1 round.
Active — Stand Beside Greatness (Reaction, 1/day): Trigger — An admired ally scores a hit. You may immediately make a melee attack against the same target with a +1 morale bonus.
Denial Penalty: If you make a boastful strike or try to overshadow an ally, you take a –1 penalty to all attacks for 1 minute, and the blade becomes cold to the touch.
Personality: Gentle pulse of admiration; grows lighter when in rhythm with others.
Traveller (Mongoose 2e) — Upward Gaze 917, The Observant Edge
Type: Sentient Light Melee Weapon
Damage: 2D6 (can always be declared Stun), AP 0
Bond: One hour spent watching someone’s skillful act without interruption. The blade warms if admiration is sincere.
Passive — Lifted by Respect: DM+1 to any Support, Aid, or Guard action when assisting someone the wielder respects (referee’s judgment).
Active — Recognition Pulse (1/combat): As a minor action, ask the referee which opponent or ally is performing with the greatest discipline. Gain DM+1 on the next Melee or Recon check involving that figure.
Active — Stand Beside Greatness (1/combat): After an admired ally succeeds in a check or attack, immediately take a free minor action toward assisting them or making a follow-up strike with DM–1 instead of –2.
Burden of Envy: If a player attempts to outdo or belittle an ally, apply DM–1 to all Melee or Leadership actions until they take an action that aids that ally directly.
Notes: Sentient through subtle grip feedback and heat changes; cannot be resold once bonded.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition) — Upward Gaze 917, Blade of Shared Honor
Weapon Type: Hand Weapon (Sentient, Supportive, Nonlethal-Favored)
Damage: SB+2 • Qualities: Defensive, Pummeling, Sentient
Bond: Occurs when wielder spends a Round not attacking, instead watching and respecting another’s combat technique or disciplined act.
Passive — Lifted by Respect: If you are Engaged alongside an ally you hold in admiration, gain +10 to Melee (Basic) Tests when choosing to Assist or Defend rather than attack.
Active — Recognition Pulse (Free Action, 1/combat): Identify the most skilled combatant in view. Gain +10 to the next opposed Test or Defensive action involving that foe or alongside that admired ally.
Active — Stand Beside Greatness (1/session): When an admired ally scores a successful Melee or Ranged Test, immediately take a Melee Test with +10 to strike or create space, even if it is not your turn.
Burden of Envy: If you boast over an ally’s efforts or cut ahead to claim glory, gain 1 Fatigue and lose all benefits of the blade until you make a supportive gesture or protect that ally from harm.
Temperament: Calm, approving, steady pulse. It does not seek glory—it seeks harmony in motion alongside another.