Banner of Three Swords

Highly prized by kings and generals, the Banner of Three Swords is a powerful magical item that grants great aid to armies who fight under its aegis.  Specifically, it grants all who fight while the Banner is being held (within line-of-sight of the Banner) the following bonuses, for the duration of the battle:

• +2 to all attack rolls
• +2 temporary HD
• +4 to all attribute checks, class ability checks, saving throws, and morale checks

However, these bonuses come at a cost.  The bearer of the Banner suffers a -4 penalty to AC, and a -4 penalty to most saving throws.  They do gain the temporary HD listed above, and have a +4 bonus to resist any attempts to take the banner from them, magical or otherwise. Due to its size, the bearer of the Banner can not otherwise attack while holding it.  The bearer of the Banner must understand and freely accept the risk involved; someone bearing the Banner through ignorance, coercion, or trickery confers none of the above-listed bonuses to those who fight under the Banner.

Those who die bearing the Banner are usually accorded much honor and respect.  If a PC dies bearing the Banner, they should receive some sort of bonus to creating their next character.  If using an Honor system (like that used in the 1st ed AD&D Oriental Adventures rulebook), grant the dying character double the "heroic death" honor award.  If not, the player's new PC can either choose to start one level higher than normal, or add +1 to any two attribute scores.

Inspired by Marvel Graphic Novel #15: "The Raven Banner - A Tale of Asgard"