The Sword Of The Ancients
The Sword Of The Ancients is a +2 longsword, which is the least interesting thing about it. It cannot break, and it cuts through any material. That second clause is the one players forget, because it does not add to a damage roll and therefore does not register as “useful” in combat math.
It should. A blade that severs any material is a solution to locked doors, iron manacles, portcullis bars, dungeon chains, and the occasional stone wall. The sword can also be summoned to the wielder’s hand across the same plane, which means losing it is not the same as losing it. Disarmed, bound, searched at the gate, dropped down a chasm: none of these are permanent problems for someone holding this weapon, because they are never truly not holding it.
The error is spending it entirely on initiative. Every goblin you cut down with the Sword Of The Ancients is a turn you did not spend using the one thing a normal longsword cannot do.
At the table: A captured player is chained in a cell with the sword confiscated down the hall. They summon it to hand, cut the chains, and walk out before the guard finishes his round.
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