Definitely cool, but I noticed that even on a skim through volume 2 had a lot more mistakes, spelling errors and unclear rule text than volume 1. For example, Sakushi's Petal Swarm; Petal Swarm. You can use a reaction when a creature makes a melee attack against you to reduce that attack by 1d4.

Reduce that attack's what? The attack roll? The damage roll? I assume the former but I don't actually have a way of knowing.

Perindo's True Awakening is also kind of mistyfing. It has two distinct areas of effect, but then says only creatures within 30ft of you advance the 7 Stages if they remain there (end their turn there, I guess?), but then says that advancing the stages causes ALL CREATURES in THE AREA to suffer the effects. This is a shame, because I fucking love Perindo.

Nisshoku is another example of the earlier Sakushi problem; Break the Dark. If it is Day Time, at the end of your turn you can have your skin erupt with vibrant sunlight. All attack rolls made against you are reduced by 1d10.

I assume this is intended as a 1d10 rolled for each attack but since its not actually stated, your True Awakening could just as easily be a +1 AC boost for a bit. Have no fear, the once per long rest half a Shield of Faith that also cripples you afterwards has arrived. As an aside, Nisshoku itself is very underwhelming, which makes me sad since I like it a lot conceptually too. The fact that its only True Awakening abilities are either a decent AC boost but only against a specific subset of attacks or a super inconsistent one against anything that isn't a save makes me sad.

If I have the time another day I might go and make a list of the spelling errors I've noted later, too.

That said, I would not have written this if I didn't like the supplement itself a lot. It's just frustrating that, where pretty much all of Volume 1 just worked and was good and fun, merely flicking through to find some neat weapons in this volume frustrated me when the cool concept had stuff that just didn't fully work or that I'd have to homebrew the rest of the way if I wanted it to function.

As great as the first volume, and I'm always a big fan of more options.

Awakened Blades 2 by Darren Kenny (@DeleniaCreation) & Connor Higgins (@HigginDazs)

Truly astounding stuff that is so much more than another supplement of magic items!

I make no bones about the fact that the first volume of Awakened Blades holds a pride of place within my pantheon of my favourite supplements I’ve ever had the pleasure of reviewing. I absolutely love the originality and epicness of the concept of awakened blades and the incredible variety, inspiration and lore woven into these magic marvels (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/306310/Awakened-Blades--A-5th-Edition-Magic-Item-Collection?affiliate_id=1507682). The supplement made such an impression on me that I started designing my own awakened Blades to fit the stories and characters in campaigns, gleefully giggling inside when my players would finally get their hands on them and pulling out my hair as I had to wait for a later session than expected to have the weapon awaken and evolve! So when I saw there was a second volume coming down the pipeline, I was beside myself with excitement, shortly before my face was melted by the indescribable awesomeness of jadtart’s cover art!

Believe me this is a whole other bundle of fabulousness! Awakened Blades are magical weapons with extraordinary properties and abilities flowing from the power of the soul contained within and the strength and experience of their wielder, sometimes harbouring their own machinations and insidious influence. These blades contain great power that evolves with the players with inspired rules and guidelines which allow for a weapon to be granted or discovered by a player during tier 1 or 2 of play, with greater abilities unlocking during tier 3 and tier 4, allowing for bonds (figurative and literal), to be made with these singular arms. These evolutions can be tied to events of true significance, creating some seriously epic and memorable moments at the table!

Ways I have implemented these blades in my games are as a simple magic sword discovered at a secret shrine that revealed itself as a powerful weapon of the god in question once the member of my party of that faith wielded it causing a seriously awesome and memorable moment. Another time, I had a player multiclassing into Warlock in Avernus while playing through the brilliant To Hell and Back Again (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/288363/To-Hell-and-Back-Again?affiliate_id=1507682), so I had the blade they had been gifted by the shade of a knight they swore an oath to become an awakened blade tied to their patron unbeknownst to them, which evolved in the presence of a member of the knight’s order once their tale had been told. These moments are so wonderful and precious and this book is absolutely chock full of countless opportunities for your own epic moments, phenomenal magic weapons, and so much lore amen awesome ideas to inspire your games!

Frankly, there are far too many of these nearly 50 wonderful weapons to get into every one I want to share and show, coming in all shapes and sizes from daggers to spears, mace and shield to quarterstaff, so I will pick out some that stand out to me and have me foaming at the mouth with excitement.

First up, it isn’t possible to talk about this supplement without mentioning the first blade that kicks things off a serious bang and is captured beautifully in cover artwork, Aiko, the Soul Reaver. “A blade containing an Onryo, a powerful and vengeful spirit. With the power to command the dead, split the soul of its wielder and summon spectral weapons, the one who wields Aiko is one to be feared.” This ghostly blade can take the form of any weapon its wielder is proficient with and can send a phantasmal duplicate of yourself by “[splitting] a fragment of your soul from your body”, which is freaking awesome. As the blade awakens the phantasms increase in strength and number, finally become a solid, undead copy of the wielder. True awakening also grants the ability to have a horrifying vision of Aiko appear above the wielder to scare the pants of your enemies. This is a seriously awesome supernatural blade that kicks this supplement in style! What’s not to love about a spectral weapon that makes spooks and can scare crooks?!

Let’s talk about Dokuchi, Venom’s Bite a wild, virulent dagger: “The apothecary Dokuchi was equally respected for her alchemical skill as she was feared for her madness. Ethics and morals had no meaning to her, as she would use whatever or whoever she could coerce into testing her newest potions and poisons. Her soul lingered after she was killed, as she still had not completed her life's work of completing the deadliest poison.” This poisoned blade has a lively and eager personality described as “Inquisitive, experimental. Insane, always wanting to test itself against new foes.” As it awakens the wielder can mark and slow your foes with its toxic sting, but with true awakening the wielder can summon an Avatar of Dokuchi. This is a “giant semispectral spider, that has clawed human hands on the end of its legs” with “a number of large cysts/vents on its back, which is bloated and bulbous”, and one large, nasty elemental font of venom!

So, you wanna be a dragon? Get your hands on Tyrignis, Tyrant of the Flame: “A drake as old as time itself, banished to the plane of fire for daring to take rise up against his Chromatic Queen. He wandered the plane hundred of years, searching for a way to return. A trickster approached the drake and made a deal, he would give the dragon a weapon that would let him cut his way back into the world. When the dragon agreed he was bound to Tyrignis and trapped within the blade. After hundred of years, his wrath has not tempered.” This angry, angry blade grants all manner of flaming abilities, before finally giving the wielder the ability to become a freaking adult red dragon!

How about, Uminaga, Ocean’s Reach, on cold, cold dagger?: “Deep beneath the waves, where the boundary between the plane of water and the material plane grows thin, monstrous krakens roam. These titanic beings are lords of the sea, wielding unfathomable power, and hungering for conquest. Imagine the destruction that could be caused if such a such a being's essence was contained within a weapon and unleashed upon the world...” This edge brings the crashing, choking power of the sea...and then gets into some “spectral tentacles made of sea foam" growing from the wielder’s back as icy whips, before finally granting the ability to summon young krakens!

Not all these weapons are so apoplectic, hateful and destructive. Some have some thoughtful and interesting abilities, which I would be doing a disservice not to share a couple in this review. Ittarikitari, Back and Forth, are a longsword and shield that are “happy and encouraging” when together, but become “anxious and frightened” when apart, which is an adventure hook if ever I saw one! “Ittari and Kitari, were twin elf researchers, who were always fascinated by magic. They trained to be artificers, in order to better understand the nature of magic items and spells. It was tragic that the accident took both of their lives at the same time, but fortunately the result of the experiment was successful; their souls, linked for eternity, trapped in a sword and a shield.” Together these arms and armour add to the magical acumen of their wielder, allowing them to analyse your opponent’s weaknesses, as well as being able to absorb and return spells back to their sender. Ultimately, these spells come back much more powerful and the wielder gains the ability to use your reaction to hit back against an opponent that has damaged you with an ultimate retributive strike, which I had to read a couple of times and actually said, “whoa” out loud. Truly the most perfect gift for the spellsword in your life!

Finally, Sakushi, Blooming Rose, a “composed, Peaceful” longsword: “Imbued with the power of an ancient Fey Lord who lived in the Verdant Grove, this Fey Lord was killed by a broken heart when his love was unrequited. Sakushi has all the devastating power of the ancient being while retaining his indescribable beauty. The flowers which grew on his grave now emanate from the blade when blood is spilled and battle begins.” This blade uses the power of petals and blossoms to deal extra slashing damage and reduce damage, awakening with the beautiful description: “When you Awaken Sakushi beautiful pink flower petals will drift off the blade until. The blade of Sakushi completely dissolves into a swarm of vibrant white, pink and red flower petals that drift around you. You can mentally command these petals to move and slash your foes.” The image of petals drifting off the blade is gorgeous and the fact they can create a beautiful, deadly vortex around the wielder, before finally Sakushi’s True Awakening, “the entire swords dissolves into flower petals which begin to duplicate into a massive swarm that engulfs the battlefield.” Sumptuous, glorious exquisite carnage!

This is another absolute triumph of magical weapons that are far more than they seem, each filled with lore and soul that will either bring your players untold joy, give your big bad evil folx truly terrifying power and have almost 50 items with enough character to inspire quests, adventures and campaigns! Truly astounding stuff that is so much more than another supplement of magic items!

The Team Designers: Darren Kenny & Conor Higgins Cover Art: jadtart Layout: Darren Kenny Editing: Conor Higgins Interior Art: jadtart, LDP Design, WPX, Vros the Smith. Playtesting & Feedback. Emmet O Connor My Affiliate Link: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/331821/Awakened-Blades-Volume-2--A-5th-Edition-Magic-Item-Collection?affiliate_id=1507682 Awakened Blades Volume One: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/306310/Awakened-Blades--A-5th-Edition-Magic-Item-Collection?affiliate_id=1507682