The Marquee
Forged by a storm-obsessed artificer-celebrity of the Gilded Reach who believed that combat was, first and foremost, a performance, The Marquee was intended to be both weapon and brand identity. Its creator died at the blade's first public demonstration, struck by his own reflected lightning, and the sword passed through the hands of twelve subsequent wielders, each of whom built a following, a legacy, and then a dramatic exit. It remembers every one of them in the branching scars it leaves on whoever holds it.
Mechanics
A lightning-wreathed greatsword that crackles with showmanship, the more eyes on you, the harder it strikes.
Headliner
This greatsword is a +3 weapon. It deals an additional 2d6 lightning damage on a hit. Arcs of brilliant white-gold lightning continuously trace the blade's fuller, illuminating a 20-foot radius as bright light and an additional 20 feet as dim light. This light cannot be suppressed while the sword is drawn.
Prime Coverage
Whenever you score a critical hit with this weapon, every creature of your choice within 30 feet that can see you is momentarily dazzled by the discharge. Each chosen creature must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of its next turn. The lightning flash also captures a perfect still image of the moment: the DM describes one piece of tactical information about the battlefield, such as the position of a hidden creature, a trap, or a structural weakness, that the flash revealed.
Lightning Review
Once per dawn, when you hit a creature with this weapon, you can channel the blade's full output as part of that attack. The creature takes an additional 10d10 lightning damage and must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be thrown 30 feet directly away from you and knocked prone. Every creature within 10 feet of the target's landing point (or its original position if it fails to move due to a wall or obstacle) must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 4d10 lightning damage, or half on a success. The strike produces a thunderclap audible out to one mile.
Signature Look
While attuned to this weapon, your shell (if you are a Tortle) or your armor gleams with faint branching lightning-scar patterns called Lichtenberg figures. You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks made to impress, entertain, or establish your reputation. Additionally, hostile creatures that start their turn within 10 feet of you and can see The Marquee must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw at the start of their turn or use their movement to give you at least 5 feet of space, they find the crackling display instinctively unsettling.
DM Notes
Balance consideration: The +3 bonus combined with 2d10 base greatsword damage plus 2d6 lightning is already substantial for Legendary. Lightning Review's 10d10 bonus damage is the signature once-per-dawn nova, at high levels this is strong but not broken given a single daily use; it is the payoff the item is built around. Prime Coverage's blind-on-crit is powerful but naturally gated by critical hit frequency (approximately 10% without other modifiers). The Signature Look aura's Wisdom save is cosmetic-adjacent and primarily narrative, but the forced movement effect can be meaningful in environmental encounters, DMs should feel free to rule that creatures immune to being frightened are also immune to the Wisdom save component. The ambient light emission is a genuine downside in stealth situations and creates interesting tactical decisions. This item is designed for a character who wants to be seen, it actively punishes low-profile play, which fits the Tortle brand-reviewer concept perfectly.
Generated with: Level 17 · Fighter · Echo Knight · Weapon (Greatsword) · A theme that fits the character · Heroic · Lightning · Legendary · No curses