These items are from the Black Scales' vault. Each blade has not a story, but a legend, and all of these blades were... liberated by a member of the Black Scales. The legendary thieves have added many blades of renown throughout history to the infamous thieves' guild vault deep beneath the cobblestones of their home city, Wellstôn. Some were forged by gods and others by mortals, but each blade has carved its legend through history with its edge.
Artifacts are one of the purest expressions of a culture. They can tell us what a civilization fought for, what materials it possessed, what craftsmanship it valued, what myths it believed, and what stories it chose to preserve. This collection began as Swordtember but evolved into an exploration of history, mythology, and worldbuilding through the legendary artifacts hidden within the Black Scales' vault.When I started this project, it was for Swordtember, but since then it has spun out into a larger exploration of the legendary artifacts acquired by The Black Scales thieves' guild.
The Vault has given me a structured and concise framework to better understand my process while creating artifacts that I would actually want to loot in a game.
One of the things I've always loved about gaming is loot that feels unique and carries a story with it. Whether it's Mehrunes' Razor from Skyrim or the incredible weapons and artifacts found throughout games like Elden Ring, those items become memorable because they feel connected to the world around them.
Designing a thieves' guild is one thing, but figuring out what legendary items fill their vault is another. I plan to continue exploring this aspect of the Black Scales Thieves' Guild and expand the project over time.
It was also fun to explore the lore through the process videos I posted on YouTube. Combining my interest in voice-over work with learning video editing, this project really took on a life of its own.
The original ten swords in the vault begin with Krackensväng. This project started here because I wanted to push the boundaries of what a sword could be, embracing more magical elements while designing something that felt like it emerged from the depths of a black, inky void. I wanted to explore that idea while also beginning to define my process for designing the rest of these swords...
What's a collection of swords without a blade wreathed in flame?
Fire has always been tied to the act of forging. Every sword ever made begins and ends in flame. The first step is heating the steel until it's malleable enough to shape, and the final step is tempering: reheating the hardened blade to relieve internal stresses...
Viking swords have always fascinated me because of both their rarity and the reverence they held within Viking culture. During the Iron Age, swords were difficult to produce, and the rituals surrounding their creation became deeply mythologized...
When I think of Dwarves, I don’t think about beards, ale, and smithing. I think about stone. The mountains they delve into the way they have a relationship with rock and the cavernous dwellings they call home. The earth’s greatest craftsmanship is after all mountains, so it only makes sense that its greatest craftspeople, dwarves, would live within them...
Ahhh... the katana, one of everyone's favorite sword shapes.
I think that's due in large part to the fact that Japan's feudal era lasted for centuries and that so much care was taken to preserve these blades. Many medieval European swords were eventually melted down and repurposed into other tools or weapons...
With this falchion/scimitar, I wanted to go a bit more magical with the design. I wanted to create a sword that felt like it had been forged by twisting metal into root-like and trunk-like forms, something that looked as though it had been crafted by wood elves...
One of my favorite movies as a child was Disney's live-action The Three Musketeers. I loved the adventure, the characters, but most of all I loved the swords and the sword fighting.
The rapier is famous for a reason...
This is the first sword in the series inspired by the idea of a soul trapped within a blade, and I wanted it to vissually look like the kind of sword a wizard might actually wield. I wanted the hilt to be wrapped in a spell scroll, while the ricasso would take on the shape of an owl to represent the Herald of Knowledge, a god in my fantasy world...
This sword was inspired by the petals and thorns of a rose, along with the shape language of the Roman gladius.
I absolutely love Ridley Scott's Gladiator. It was the beginning of my fascination with the Roman Empire. The empire is fascinating to me not only because of the culture it created, but also because of the incredible feats of engineering its people accomplished...
The blade breaker is a famous Renaissance parrying dagger. The teeth along the back edge of the blade were designed to catch an opponent's rapier and, well... break it, disarming them in the process. It's debated how frequently blade breakers were actually used, since they would have been expensive to produce and their practical advantage was probably overstated...