Ebony Blade (Skyrim)

The Ebony Blade Is a Two-handed sword in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Ebony Blade is a Daedric Artifact.

Locations
You can obtain it from the quest "The Whispering Door".

Characteristics
This weapon comes with a 10 point life leech and can be upgraded by slaying your friends (i.e., someone you've completed a favor for, completed a task for, or won over during any type of quest). For every two such characters killed the weapon increases in power, adding two to the strength of the life leech effect up to the maximum of 30.

Contrary to it's classification, this weapon benefits only from one-handed damage item enchantments. Only one-handed perks will affect it's damage value. The mystery of this perk mismatch is only deepened, since a character with a properly filled Two-Handed perk tree and an untouched One-Handed can still perform decapitations with the ebony blade.

Using the Ebony Blade can benefit characters who want to continue leveling up through weapon advancement but have maxed out their one-handed weapon skill. The weapon allows for a character to train the two-handed weapon skill without sacrificing damage or having to change gear. However, for characters that use two-handed weapons normally, this weapon is a poor choice because of its skill/perk mismatch.

In total, the weapon behaves as a two hander with the following exceptions:

1. It benefits from +one-handed damage effects from enchants and potions and does not benefit from +two-handed damage effects from enchants and potions.

2. It benefits from armsman and not from barbarian.

This unique behavior may or may not be a glitch, see commentary below.

It cannot be improved via smithing even if you have the Arcane Blacksmith.

Its life leech enchant is not limited by charges; it has an unlimited charge.

Background
The Ebony blade was rewarded to the Hero of Daggerfall sometime after the War of Betony. The blade was around, since the time of the Eternal Champion. It is also believed that the Eternal Champion himself once wielded the very same blade as the Dragonborn came to wield in Skyrim.

During the Oblivion Crisis, it is often said that the mighty Hero of Kvatch himself wielded this Daedric Artifact of Mephala. Some say that the Hero had to complete an indeed gruesome task given by Mephala, to acquire this demonic blade. If this story is really true, we may never know.

The Ebony Blade is indeed dark. The legend says, "The Ebony Blade, sometimes called the Vampire or the Leech, resembles an ebony katana, and its power is very dark indeed. Every time the Ebony Blade strikes an opponent, part of the damage inflicted flows into the wielder as raw power. The Blade itself may not be any more evil than those who have used it, but at some point in its history, a charm was cast on it so it would not remain with any one bladesman for long. The wizard who cast this charm sought to save the souls of any too infatuated by the Blade, and perhaps he was right to do so."

Upgrading

 * The blade is upgraded when a friend is killed with it. Hiring someone, completing a quest for them, or various other activities can result in 'friendship' making the NPC eligible for improving the blade.
 * Quests for other Daedra often provide opportunities to upgrade the Ebony Blade including Boethiah's Proving, Pieces of the Past, and Ill Met By Moonlight.
 * Stray dogs can also be killed with the ebony blade for a upgrade point.
 * The easiest way to level this weapon with the least bloodshed is to repeatedly kill a friendly NPC, then raise them using Dead Thrall. The body won't disappear, so you're free to repeat the process. (Tested Xbox 360)

Bugs

 * When trying to place the Ebony Blade on a weapon rack or weapon plaque, it "falls off" immediately. After this, the same happens to any other "greatsword," such as a Dwarven Greatsword or a Glass Greatsword. Exiting the area does not seem to fix this either. The only fix appears to be loading a previous save. (As of the latest patch Ebony Blade can be placed on plaques and racks and will remain there until you leave the area. Upon returning it will have fallen off much like the Skull of Corruption. If placed in a large display case, the weapon seems to attempt to escape, and can often be seen sticking halfway out of the case if you leave the area and return later, looking as if someone impaled the case with the blade. (Tested on XBOX 360)
 * The Ebony Blade, though wielded in two hands, has many data values of a one-handed weapon, including damage, weight, sound files, attack speed, perk benefits, impact force, and stamina usage.