Mistcutter is a fine bastard sword with a repeating helix pattern running along much of the blade. It glows with a bluish light under normal circumstances but can flare into brightness as per Daylight when needed (it's call or it's wielders). Mistcutter exists to cut through lies and deceit, leaving only Truth.
As such, Mistcutter is considered True Neutral in alignment, for as long as the truth is made known, it cares not one jot nor tittle about the results of such revelations. As such, it prefers Lawful and Good aligned wielders, as those beings tend to be more honest than those with a Chaotic and Evil bent.
The being that is the source of Mistcutter's sentience was a Human barrister and judge, renown for his impartiality and single-minded pursuit of the truth. One tale is that he condemned himself and his family to death because of this sticking to the truth. Grandfather Favarro was watching from afar, having orchestrated the entire series of lies that eventually led to the grand state execution of the judge and his bloodline.
At the moment of death, Grandfather Favarro snatched the judge's soul through foul magics and channeled that single-minded pursuit of truth into the sword now called Mistcutter.
Whomever grasps Mistcutter by the hilt hears its voice* in his head (speaking with authority and often questioning everything - perhaps it mansplains), and if necessary, aloud with a voice loud enough to force a random encounter roll. This is because Mistcutter has both Telepathy and Speech, with the gift of Tongues, to be certain there is no misunderstanding.
The voice demands, 'do you agree to seek the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?' Answering 'no' results in Mistcutter writhing and twisting in the wielder's grasp, dealing 3d4** psychic damage each round until released. Answering 'yes,' however, begins the attuning process.
Attuning results in Mistcutter purging all existing illusions and shapechanges currently upon its wielder. Furthermore, it then uses its telepathy and Detect Thoughts to interrogate the prospective wielder, asking questions about lies and truth and such. (A wise DM would have such questions ready before the session where Mistcutter is likely to see play). If the prospective wielder passes muster, then Mistcutter attunes completely.
As long as Mistcutter approves of its wielder, the wielder has Truesight.
Truesight - 120'
A monster with truesight can, out to a specific range, see in normal and magical darkness, see invisibile creatures and objects, automatically detect visual illusions and succeed on saving throws against them, and perceive the original form of a shapechanger or a creature that is transformed by magic. Furthermore, the monster can see into the Ethereal Plane within the same range.
Swords are intended for combat, and as such, Mistcutter provides a +3 to hit and +2 to damage. In addition, a successful hit from Mistcutter dispels any Illusions cloaking the target (as per Dispel Magic, but only against Illusions) as well as forcing shapeshifters and polymorphed/wild shaped beings into their natural forms (whatever that may be).
But not everything is immediately beneficial to a wielder. At all times, Mistcutter's wielder is under a Zone of Truth (DC 18). Mistcutter (and sometimes its wielder) can extend the zone up to 120' feet. Another potential drawback is that the attuned wielder cannot shapechange or have an illusion cast upon them. Such things just fail outright, although Mistcutter is aware of the attempt, and woe to the wielder if they are the cause of it!
Like most sentient items, Mistcutter can activate, deactivate, or refuse to activate most of its powers as it sees fit. While not given to whimsy, Mistcutter will pout and go dormant if proven wrong. The only powers it cannot shut off are the +3/+3 to attacks and Dispelling Illusions on a successful hit.
If the wielder knowingly lies, Mistcutter deals 3d4** psychic damage to them. Should lying be a regular occurrence, Mistcutter will attempt to dominate its wielder, forcing the wielder to pass the sword to a more worthy being.
Lastly, Mistcutter will first urge, then attempt to dominate, its wielder to reveal any illusions and lies they come across. As might be imagined, Mistcutter and rogues tend to not get along.
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Mistcutter is a dangerous tool for those that practice deceit, but for the honest adventurers out there, it is a potent tool for combatting all sorts of typical villainy and thwarting DM plans.
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* the voice idea stems from Telecanter's Receding Rules DM Aids, specifically the Voices document. So much goodness among those aids you should consider porting into your games.
**3d4 doesn't seem like much, until one takes into account cascading damage, which is one of my houserules. There is a saying that the truth hurts, but it ain't got nothing when a lie ends up causing 40-50 damage. Now that is a killer migraine!
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