There are beings of great power in the multiverse. Gods, Angels, Monsters, Demons, and Devils. These beings constantly wrestle for power and influence over the multiverse. Some do it because of their need to dominate, while others contest this domination.
The cosmic ballet of Good vs Evil plays out over every realm, from the highest heavens to the lowest parts of the Abyss. Sometimes this contest spills over onto the material plane, and the Great Powers of good and evil have to call on mortal soldiers to fight their wars.
These powerful beings will often grant boons to those who serve them well, including magical weapons and armor so they might serve them better.
One of these great powers is the Empyreal lord named Ragathiel, the General of Vengeance.
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Ragathiel, the General of Vengeance
Ragathiel is an Empyreal Lord, which are beings of great power who have managed to shed their mortal forms and ascend to a status like unto Demi-Gods. They are considered Outsiders and often take the form of Angels or Archons of Goodness and Light.
Some of the Empyreal Lords are worshiped and venerated by mortals, who will call on them for aid in times of great need. Indeed some mortals are so devoted, they will become clerics or paladins of Empyreal Lords. This is definitely true for Ragathiel, who often responds to honorable and good knights and priests.
Ragathiel was the child of the Archfiend Dispater and the neutral fire demi-deity Feronia, conceived in a centuries long trist.
Somehow Ragathiel managed to grow beyond his parents and become a powerful force for good in the multiverse. He eternally struggles with his base impulses as a child of an ArchDevil, but seems to overcome despite that. He even managed to overthrow a former Devil Lord named Typhon, laying siege to the first layer of Hell and the iron fortress known as Avernus.
Ragathiel appears as a massive angelic being, wreathed in flame, with five angelic wings extending from his back. It was once six wings, but one was torn from his back by his erstwhile father.
Ragathiel’s Worshipers
Among Ragathiel’s worshipers are knights, soldiers, and those who have been wronged by evildoers. Many times, these worshipers will take oaths of vengeance against the machinations of evil, seeking to destroy those who would prey on the innocent.
Together the church of Ragathiel stands against evil in battle, praying for Ragathiel to turn his gaze on them and shield them from harm. They typically wear red and silver, and use a flame motif on their holy symbols.
Ragathiel has his own Organization and Prestige Class known as the Crimson Templars. They are holy assassins, seeking to root out and destroy evil where it is hidden. These Templars are often armed with bastard swords, and frequently can be gifted with Ragathiel’s signature weapon the Sword of Vengeance.
The Sword of Vengeance
The Sword of Vengeance is a powerful boon from the hand of Ragathiel and only gifted to his most loyal servants.
Sword of Vengeance
Source Chronicle of the Righteous pg. 53
Aura moderate evocation [good] CL 9th
Slot none; Price 32,350 gp; Weight 8 lbs.
Description:
It is said that the empyreal lord Ragathiel’s divine soldiers wield these golden +1 holy greatswords in their battles against fiends and other evil creatures. Once per day upon successfully striking an evil-aligned creature with a sword of vengeance, the wielder can cause the sword to emit a 20-foot-radius burst of holy energy.
This effect is identical to that of a holy smite spell centered on the creature struck, and deals 4d8 points of damage to each evil creature in the area (or 9d6 points of damage to evil outsiders) and causes each to become blinded for 1 round.
A successful DC 16 Will save halves the damage and negates the blinded effect. Neutral creatures in the area only take half damage (reduced to one-quarter on a successful save) and are not blinded.
Construction Requirements:
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, holy smite, creator must be good; Price 16,350 gp
This weapon is a powerful symbol of Ragathiel’s church, granted to loyal Paladins, Templars, and Fighters. They can sometimes be given to Clerics, but Clerics don’t automatically have proficiency in Greatswords. Rather they are proficient in Bastard Swords, which are considered Exotic Weapons if you want to wield them one-handed.
(This is kind of weird honestly, as I would think that the Sword of Vengeance should be a Bastard Sword as that is the very sword that Ragathiel uses, but that might be they wanted to make sure most melee characters wouldn’t have to take Exotic Weapon Proficiency to wield a weapon.)
How to Wield the Sword of Vengeance
The Sword of Vengeance is a Greatsword, meaning it requires Martial Weapon Proficiency to wield it without penalty. Greatswords require two hands to wield effectively. It has a heavy five-foot-long straight blade meant for slashing.
The Sword of Vengeance is a +1 Holy Greatsword, this means that it automatically adds a +1 to all attack and damage rolls, and has Holy special ability.
Holy
Price +2 bonus; Aura moderate evocation; CL 7th; Weight —
Description:
A holy weapon is imbued with holy power. This power makes the weapon good-aligned and thus bypasses the corresponding damage reduction. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against all creatures of evil alignment. It bestows one permanent negative level on any evil creature attempting to wield it.
The negative level remains as long as the weapon is in hand and disappears when the weapon is no longer wielded. This negative level cannot be overcome in any way (including by restoration spells) while the weapon is wielded.
Construction Requirements:
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells holy smite; Special creator must be good; Cost +2 bonus
This power allows it to deal a great deal of extra damage to evil creatures and characters, a whole 2d6 extra damage. For a Greatsword that is like a whole extra hit with your weapon. The additional negative levels make them even weaker to follow up strikes by yourself and your allies.
The follow up special ability that the Sword of Vengeance has, specifically the 1/day AoE that does damage and blinds evil, can be a great Alpha strike for your party. Wielders of the Sword of Vengeance can cause their sword to burst out with holy light in a 20 foot radius (that’s 5 squares of space).
Any evil-aligned creature will take 4d8 holy damage (9d6 for evil outsiders) and will cause them to be blinded for 1 round. There is a DC 16 Will to take half the damage and not be blind, which most powerful characters will be able to overcome, but there is always a chance they can fail (natural 1s are a thing).
This is a great ability if you want to start the fight already having the lead. Dropping this ability is almost like dropping a holy fireball into the middle of a bunch of very unholy kindling just waiting to be burned like so many dry twigs.
Even if your enemies survive the blast of the AoE, there is a real chance that the blindness will catch them. This is a great set up for your party to unleash their most powerful abilities with a much easier opportunity for those abilities to hit.
This is also conducive to a retreat or to attempting to gain the initiative back if your party is getting a whopping. Blinding your opponents will make them have to step back and reassess, giving your party the option to redouble their efforts or beat a hasty retreat.
Ragathiel is a Demi-God of Vengeance, not stupidity. He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. That other day is another opportunity to bring Vengeances Hammer (or Greatsword) down on your enemy.
How Can I get one?
Considering that these weapons are typically reserved for the members of Ragathiel’s Church, it is really going to be down to how generous your DM is feeling.
Most often you will need to be a member of the church in order to be granted the sword. You might also be given a version of the Sword of Vengeance for doing a major boon for the church.
Something like removing a great evil, returning a powerful artifact, or defending against an evil force on behalf of the Church or Ragathiel himself, might be enough for the Demi-Deity to grant you his powerful weapon.
Conversely, you COULD attempt to steal one, but…that seems sort of antithetical to the process of getting a powerful sword for good.
Can I Make My Own?
Yes, you can! It is possible to craft your own version of the Sword of Vengeance.
Like for all magical items, you will need the materials costing at least 16,350 gp, the ability to cast the Holy Smite spell, the required Feat (Craft Magic Arms and Armor (Item Creation)), and the crafter MUST be a good character.
The Magic Item Creation rules show that you will need to be able to craft a +3 weapon (+1 Enhancement bonus and a +2 for the Holy Ability). Because it is a +3 weapon, the caster level of the creator needs to be at least level 9.
When crafting magical items, you need to take 8 hours per 1000 gp cost of the item. So in this case, the crafter will need to take 128 hours total. If you are an arcane caster, you can cooperate with a Cleric who has the spell, to imbue the weapon with the Holy Smite spell.
As for the weapon’s special ability, the character in question would need to specifically request help from the Ragathiel Church. Creating counterfeits would probably be a non-good action, which would disqualify the caster from being able to actually build the weapon in the first place.
Keep it Holy, Pathfinder!
