This is an entry for the Indonesian TTRPG Blogwagon.
In the Bronze Age, three siblings settled on a small island. Rika, Jote, and Pesa Kèli. The youngest of them brought the plant dhao1, otherwise known as tarum or true indigo. The blue magic. One of the indirect reasons that pushed European explorers to colonize Southeast Asia millennia later.
As the population grew, the island became known as Rai Dhao2, or the isle of true indigo. Yet the land is barren. It is also only 14 km2, too small for a self-sustaining agriculture. Most people are fishers. A few became bronze smiths. These smiths slowly evolve into an elite artisan class of its own, even replacing their culture’s previous matrilineality because smithing skill is only taught to sons. (Islands around it is still matrilineal to this day.) They went itinerant, trading their skill to other islands for goods during voyage seasons, following the monsoon.
A pinnacle of Rai Dhao smithing are these banner-like blades, depicted above. Only four of them are found so far, two of which are not intact, and one is in a private collection. They were erroneously named Surya stambha, which is impossible because they existed long before the Indianization of Southeast Asia. No known name nor purpose has been proposed so far.
Mark of the Blade
Here are the D&D3 stats for Banner Blade as monster:
Number Appearing 1–4, Armor Class 3 (Plate Armor), Move in Inches 12/18, Hit Dice 4, % In Lair 25%, Type or Amount of Treasure Type F
Alignment Chaos, Attack 4 Light Horse, Defense 4 Armored Foot
Undead. Banner Blade is infused with the soul of the smith’s dead son. If he couldn’t continue his father’s legacy, then he should become the legacy.
Attacks with 2 dice (2–12 damage) vs unarmored.
Soul can only be damaged by magic. Just ruining the blade won’t stop him.
He either drags his blade part on the ground or flies to slash. He can stand upright from the tip of his blade without toppling. He doesn’t check for morale.
A Blade Is Whole
Here are the D&D stats for Banner Blade as weapon:
Alignment Chaotic: 2–12 damage to Lawful or 1–6 damage to Neutral characters who pick him up, Intelligence 8, Mental Powers 2, Communicative Ability Empathy, Egoism 6, Origin Chaos: The ability to disintegrate Lawful opponents, Purpose Slay Magic-Users, Damage Bonus +2
Detect Sloping Passages: Balance him upright. He’s always perpendicular to ground level.
See Invisible Objects: Knock the side of the blade with metal to see airwaves outlining invisibility.
/ɖ͡ʐaɔ/
Pulau Ndao, in modern Indonesia. Official records use their exonym Ndao rather than their endonym Dhao for some reason, taken from its Nalī Rote pronunciation instead of the indigenous Lī Dhao.
Dungeons & Dragons (1974)