This was an old Fudge Factor e-zine article about adding magic weapons without just saying "it's another +1 sword". In Fudge, a +1 was a pretty big deal.
I have not converted this to Barebones stats but any +1 on this list would probably be +20 in Barebones and any Fudge Points should be considered Bones.
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Basic Abilities
1. Magic weapon can strike otherwise invulnerable creatures (JH)
2. Unbreakable artifact
3. Never rusts or becomes dull
4. Grants 1 Fudge Point per combat
5. Grants Great weapon skill (not useful if you are already Superb)
6. Wielder is never affected by wound penalties during a fight
7. Tiebreaker power, ties go to the wielder for one point of damage (JH)
8. Automatically parries one blow per round
9. Silvered weapon, can strike were-creatures (PM)
10. Cold iron weapon, negates magical spells & defenses
11. Glimmers in the presence of specific enemies
12. Intelligent talking weapon
13. Floats on water; handy if you can't swim!
14. Boomerang ability (when thrown)
15. Truthful weapon, wielder can see through lies and illusions
16. Shatters opposing weapon (or shield) on any "tie"
17. Grants two attacks per round; also lets wielder run quickly
18. Grants +1 armor to wielder
19. Grants the ability to see in utter darkness when wielded
20. Holy weapon: wielder must serve a god, but gains the ability to work miracles, possibly other powers. It is not wise to abuse these abilities.
21. Wielder can become invisible by spending one Fudge Point
22. Legendary blade, impresses NPCs who wish to help the wielder
23. Legendary blade, dismays certain foes, causing fear and possibly flight/surrender
24. Holy Blade, wards against evil enchanted creatures
25. Grants Legendary strength to wielder
26. Immunity to fire/acid/cold/whatever (pick ONE)
27. Grants Superb leadership
28. Exudes a palpable sense of dread (Great will to resist, causes -1 morale)
29. Cleaving: no penalty when facing multiple foes
Damage Bonus
1. Grants +n advantages; each advantage negates one '-' die (MW)
2. Grants +n bonus dice; each bonus die ignores '-' results (B)
3. Grants +n re-rolled dice (MW)
4. Roll n dice, count only the highest four (E)
5. Has a 1/6 chance to do one bonus point of damage (MW)
6. Grants flat +1 bonus (this is a very rare and powerful weapon)
7. Cleaves through armor like butter.
8. Makes solid blows, all grazes are treated as wounds (JH)
9. Flaming, double damage versus "cold" creatures; also useful as a torch, or for lighting fires
10. Frosty, double damage versus "hot" creatures, grants wielder immunity to temperature extremes
11. Destiny, weapon will slay one specific creature with a single strike, but after that becomes non-magical
12. Drinks souls, each five points of damage dealt grants the wielder one Fudge Point
13. Bane, any of the above damage types, but only against a specific class of creatures
14. Scale-piercing, ignore Scale difference, wonderful against dragons and giants
15. Delivers painful wounds, wound penalties are doubled
16. Any natural roll of +4 automatically severs a limb
17. The weapon finds a "chink" in armor and bypasses it on any relative degree of +2 or better.
18. Sunblade, weapon glows so brightly it causes permanent blindness to foes. If they avert their gaze, wielder may strike unopposed at difficulty Poor. Wielder is immune to the light and can see normally.
19. Might, wielder gains +2 scale for the duration of the fight.
20. Peacemaker, weapon causes loss of consciousness on any successful strike (even if it does no damage) as if incapacitated. Unconsciousness lasts one round, plus a number of rounds equal to the relative degree of the hit.
21. Hammering weapon, stuns foes for one round, they can defend but not attack
22. Darkenblade, wounds inflicted never heal
23. Holy blade, double strength bonus against evil enchanted creatures
24. Inflicts disease on any Superb strike (resisted by Health)
Curses
1. Always appears in your hand in a fight, whether you want it or not
2. Constantly sings or murmurs to itself
3. Forces the wielder into battle (Great Will roll to resist)
4. Drives wielder berserk in battle (Great Will roll to resist)
5. Causes hostile reactions in potential foes
6. Destined to betray wielder at inopportune moment
7. Backbiter, on any naturally rolled result of Terrible or worse, weapon strikes wielder with relative degree +2
8. Causes bad luck in non-combat activities
9. Weapon is watched by powerful evil entities
10. Weapon is the "focus" for some evil god, who demands service
11. Weapon has an evil reputation, causing distrust
12. Weapon turns wielder into undead, very slowly
13. Frost weapon, causes wielder to be uncomfortable in warm weather
14. Once taken up, cannot be sheathed until it draws blood
15. Weapon drinks blood, no game effect other than to horrify any onlookers. Bonus: it is self-cleaning.
16. Practical joker weapon sometimes makes embarrassing comments, like "Help, I've been stolen!" or "You're ugly, and stink too."
17. Weapon powers are unreliable, and sometimes they do not function
18. Special powers only work for one hour after weapon has tasted blood, or for one day after killing someone
19. Weapon is very heavy, requiring Great strength to wield (and reducing damage bonus from strength by two points)
20. Weapon is absurdly decorated in gold and jewels, and it seems like people are constantly trying to steal it
21. Owner attracts the attention of members of the opposite sex only when unwanted, but never when desired
22. Weapon merges with the wielder's hand and can never be removed without severing the member
23. Very powerful weapon leaves wielder weak and fainting after being used
24. Destined to slay wielder's beloved
25. Grants wielder an undesired or embarrassing skill at Legendary
26. Wielder takes on appearance of weapon's infamous creator and is fated to fulfill the same destiny; is mistaken by everyone for the original, and even magical creatures are fooled by it
27. Wielder afflicted by seemingly unrelated events; random nosebleeds, attacked by chipmunks, etc.
28. Wielder becomes vulnerable to silver, cold iron, asthma, etc
29. Wielder has -1 on all spell resistance rolls
30. Dancing weapon, forces wielder to dance
Credits
B - Bill E - Eppy JH - Johann Hibschman MW - Mitch Williams PM - Peter Mikelsons
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I see the Menagerie of Magic got walking down memory lane. Thanks for this.