This page is about Xan's moonblade as found in the Nashkel Mines. For the dead elven warrior's moonblade in a house in Suldanessellar, see Moonblade (Suldanesselar).
This Moonblade (Moonblade +3 in EE) is a powerful magical sword.
Description[]
| “ | This potent weapon was created by the smiths of ancient Myth Drannor. Moonblades are used in the long process of selecting a ruler for the isle of Evermeet. A Moonblade chooses its owner, and in the case of this sword it has chosen the elf, Xan. Only Xan can use this blade, anyone else who tries will find themselves unable to lift the sword. This particular Moonblade gives resistance to fire and gives its user a bonus to his armor class. | ” |
Gameplay[]
When unsheathed, the blade will be engulfed in blue flames, very similar to The Burning Earth. It can only be used by Xan, who was chosen by the sword itself to wield it.
| “ | This blade resists any attempt at using it. Likely it is attuned to its owner and none other can wield it. The hilt bears the name "XAN."[1] | ” |
It falls under the Small Sword proficiency in Baldur's Gate and Dagger in the Enhanced Edition.
The blade offers a bonus to the Armor Class of 1, a THAC0 bonus of 3 and +50% Fire damage resistance to the wielder. It can inflict 1d8+3 Slashing damage and has a speed factor of 2.
It's found in Mulahey's chest in the Nashkel Mines, on the fourth level. Xan is held prisoner nearby.
Background[]
Moonblades generally are longswords which mages, as Xan, in the underlying Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition ruleset usually can't wield. To circumvent this and make Xan a valid wielder of his weapon, the item was changed to be a Dagger in terms of game mechanics. As a result some remnants of a common Long Sword still can be found in the item file, such as the false description of the weapon's speed factor in the non-Enhanced Edition of the game (see the Bugs section below) or the (never appearing) description of the item if it was unidentified, which isn't the case.
Notes[]
- Baldur's Gate (1998)
This icon indicates content from the original Baldur's Gate campaign. Besides having absolutely no usage restriction in the item file, neither the name nor its other identifiers appear in any 2da file or script. This also applies to the above-mentioned text. It appears as if the restriction is hardcoded in the game's executable. - In Baldur's Gate III a pulp erotica book can de found, and the description of its contents on the cover reads:
'After months of imprisonment in the Nashkel Mines, Enchanter Xan cannot bear his solitude any longer, and decides to pleasure himself with the only companion he has: his sentient sword the Moonblade.'
Bugs[]
- ↑ In the classic Baldur's Gate the description reads "Speed Factor: 5", which has been fixed in the Enhanced Edition.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Xan's moonblade on the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms.
References[]
- ↑ Message on the inventory screen when trying to equip someone else with the weapon.