More Holy Swords Than Three?

[Oriande]

... the three swords are Special... They were made to counter the influence of 30 Fallen Angels that are partly free from Hell . If you're looking for "This guy was picked by God to fight evil" there's an entire section of powers in the book dealing with Faith.  It's just that only three of them get Swords.

I'd say rather that Only the Knights of the Cross are chosen to wield those particular swords.  As Bujin said:

The mythology of the Knights of the Cross is specifically tied to the three nails that Jesus was crucified with, pitted against foes representing the Judas' 30 pieces of silver. 

So, while I wouldn't alter anything regarding those swords or their wielders, I do believe that there is room in the Dresdenverse and certianly room in your game if you so desire for other holy or magic swords and their weilders.  Literature is full of examples, St. Joan being only one of them.

In my campaign, the players have recently uncovered information about an unknown branch of the Order of Santiago which was not secularized in the sixteenth century, but instead continues to watch over four Swords of the Saints: Joyeuse, Durandal, Curtana and Almace, and their potential wielders. [Note:  I chose these with reference to the Song of Roland and each contains relics of a specific patron saint.]
Of course, Charlemagne’s sword is said to have been buried with him, and Curtana is currently in Ultima Thule… 

[Becq]

It seems simple to me.  There are only three Swords of the Cross (on made from each nail).  However, the Swords of the Cross are only one example of an Item of Power, and there is by no means a limit of only three Items of Power...

[bobjob]

There's a thread around here somewhere concerning the Legend of the 4th Nail. I'll see if I can dig it up, but I'm introducing the 4th sword in my game as the Sword of Piety.

[Wyrdrune]

There's a thread around here somewhere concerning the Legend of the 4th Nail. I'll see if I can dig it up, but I'm introducing the 4th sword in my game as the Sword of Piety.

for my game i did exactly that. 4th nail, 4th sword. at the moment it's resting in a church, waiting for a new wielder.

[Becq]

There's a thread around here somewhere concerning the Legend of the 4th Nail. I'll see if I can dig it up, but I'm introducing the 4th sword in my game as the Sword of Piety.

Great idea, though you might want to consider 'Sword of Truth' or some alternative, since 'Piety' and 'Faith' are fairly similar.

[Paynesgrey]

General side note:  If my tattered, raggedy ass memory serves, Michael once explained that the Knight's primary mission wasn't to change the world or fight evil in general, but specifically to prevent the Denarians from doing harm while attempting to recue and redeem the mortal who picked them up.  Granted, they fight evil and save the world in general in the meantime, but that's more of an incidental that dovetails with their main purpose.

[Tedronai]

Great idea, though you might want to consider 'Sword of Truth' or some alternative, since 'Piety' and 'Faith' are fairly similar.

I'd recommend 'Humility' as being more in line with the canon Swords than 'Truth'.

[Autra]

Plus, if it was the Sword of Truth, you'd be stuck rescuing some chick named Kahlan in a series of adventures where the quality of the stories declined rather quickly.

/sword of truth angst.

Sorry, back OT

[Ranma1558]

faith and piety are, for the most part very different especially when you look at the original meaning.
"Pietas: "Dutifulness" More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others. "
I always liked Piety as the 4th sword or "Gravitas"

[Wyrdrune]

Great idea, though you might want to consider 'Sword of Truth' or some alternative, since 'Piety' and 'Faith' are fairly similar.

that's why the sword in my campaign is named Veritaccius

[Shecky]

Haven't you folks been keeping up? There IS a fourth "Sword"; the former name has been lost in history, but it was melted down and recast in a more... modern form. It is now called Fullautomacchius, the Holy P-90 of Antioch.

[Tempus Corvus]

Considering the number of saints who were martyred, I thought that there might be holy weapons made from things involving their executions. What about the nails from when Peter was crucified? He was the one who was crucified upside-down, right?

[DFJunkie]

General side note:  If my tattered, raggedy ass memory serves, Michael once explained that the Knight's primary mission wasn't to change the world or fight evil in general, but specifically to prevent the Denarians from doing harm while attempting to recue and redeem the mortal who picked them up.  Granted, they fight evil and save the world in general in the meantime, but that's more of an incidental that dovetails with their main purpose.

I think this has more to do with the way God works in the Dresdenverse than any special status the Denarians hold.  The creation of the Coins "allowed" God to respond by empowering the Swords.  There is a direct antagonism in that the Knights of the Cross are the opposite numbers of the Knights of the Blackened Denarius, but that doesn't mean that either side would hang it up without the other.  Towards the end of SF Sanya points out that even without the Coins in circulation there would still be evil to fight.

[Paynesgrey]

Yeah, I don' think the Knights would quit their slay jobs, just move on to other evil.  Just wanted to point out that redeeming denarians was the primary mission rather than fixing the world.  But they're the specialists for Denarians, where God has countless other "warriors" of varying caliber fighting the rest of the evil.  (And of course it's only happy coincidence that the two missions tend to overlap.     )  It was in reference to the suggestion that God didn't care about fighting evil if he only assigned 3 knights.

[DFJunkie]

It was in reference to the suggestion that God didn't care about fighting evil if he only assigned 3 knights.

Ah!  Okay, that's different.