Just wanted to get your opinion on a magic item that I've been toying with. I wasn't sure if it would be worth using for an extended period of time so I thought I'd put it out there. The idea is that the sword is bent on death, basically wants all things (including its holder) to die. So, here it is.
Death Wish
Long Sword, Rare, Attunement Required
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. Attack rolls against you have advantage. Whenever you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points, you gain an additional +1 to attack and damage rolls up to a maximum total of +5. This lasts until you go 1 minute without making an attack roll against a hostile creature.
Seems like a bit of a "win more" weapon against smaller monsters who are likely easy to hit and kill anyway. Against a boss monster, this may not be worth using unless the wielder has to carve through a few minions first, but with the much lower AC values that 5e uses, there's a good chance that the boss may have a really low AC but a lot of HP, making the sword kind of useless again since you were going to hit them a lot anyway.
The only situation that this might be a useful item is if you were facing off against a boss with abnormally high AC who also has several much weaker monsters as minions that you can cut up on the way to it. Then you still have to balance giving the boss monster advantage over doing a little better to hit them?
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Not considering flavour, the drawback seems quite steep for the possibility of an additional +1 on a kill (especially if the user might not actually be the one placing the killing blow in the party).
Considering the intended flavor, it's lovely, but I would still probably give it a little more from the get-go, like a +1d6 (or 1d4 if you think d6 is too much) psychic or necrotic damage.
It's, imho, a wonderful weapon in the hands of a ruthless enemy, that might even go about killing his own minions in order to "buff" himself, but it would either need tons of HP or a very high AC to still be dangerous for more than a couple of turns. And from a powerplay character standpoint, I can see a Necromancer/Hexblade pact of the blade lock being able so use this very efficiently, virtually always having +5 to hit and damage.
The idea is not bad by any means, it just maybe needs a bit more balancing.
What was the game idea you had in mind when designing it? Also, might be obvious to other but not to me, this is intended to be a cursed item?
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I was worried about the drawback as well. I like the idea of the extra d4 necrotic damage, maybe that could also stack up? That might get overwhelming but its just a thought.
Perhaps it would help if I put in some background info. Basically the sword belongs to a long dead dwarf that lead a cult that worshiped the god of death. They were cursed by the 'good' dwarves and basically spent the rest of their mortal lives under the mountain. When they died their leader bonded his soul to the weapon, wanting everything to suffer death. His soul is loosely connected to the weapon, so he can't talk, but might have minor influence on the PC's choices specifically in sparing someone's life. I'm not quite sure how to incorporate that yet.
Maybe if the wielder managed to get to the +5 (so get 5 deathblows), the additional damage die could become a d8?
The background idea is quite intriguing... Maybe you could make it so that the wielder feels uneasy, and take note of his "passive" WIS save (10+WIS save bonus). The weapon will periodically (each x kills maybe?) to influence the character's actions, with the WIS save DC starting from 10, and going up by 1 each subsequent try. A character would feel maybe a tingle of unease-ness up to his "passive" WIS save value, and after that he would actively perceive something trying to mess with his mind, but not immediately know it's the weapon. The weapon itself could maybe have a cooldown every time it succeeds in influencing the character, like needing x*2 kills before the next try, in a sort of "temporary appeasement" of the soul trapped in the weapon.
Maybe this idea is a bit convoluted, but you could maybe work something along these lines, subtle, disturbing and endless.
My games tend to have a lot of bosses with minions. I think its almost a necessity due to the action economy of 5e (I don't have any experience with other editions, it just seems like the party always has the advantage if there is only one enemy). So in most of my games there will be ample opportunity to take advantage of the upside.
Maybe if the wielder managed to get to the +5 (so get 5 deathblows), the additional damage die could become a d8?
The background idea is quite intriguing... Maybe you could make it so that the wielder feels uneasy, and take note of his "passive" WIS save (10+WIS save bonus). The weapon will periodically (each x kills maybe?) to influence the character's actions, with the WIS save DC starting from 10, and going up by 1 each subsequent try. A character would feel maybe a tingle of unease-ness up to his "passive" WIS save value, and after that he would actively perceive something trying to mess with his mind, but not immediately know it's the weapon. The weapon itself could maybe have a cooldown every time it succeeds in influencing the character, like needing x*2 kills before the next try, in a sort of "temporary appeasement" of the soul trapped in the weapon.
Maybe this idea is a bit convoluted, but you could maybe work something along these lines, subtle, disturbing and endless.
I like this idea, I don't want it to be a really big thing to begin with, but the sword will kind of hint that it wants things dead. Like if the party captures an enemy and its an easy kill, the PC attuned to it will make a Wisdom save to try and resist the urge to just kill the prisoner. I like the idea of the weapon growing stronger as you kill, I'm not sure if stacking d4's is too much though? It might get out of hand even if the limit is 5.
Maybe if the wielder managed to get to the +5 (so get 5 deathblows), the additional damage die could become a d8?
The background idea is quite intriguing... Maybe you could make it so that the wielder feels uneasy, and take note of his "passive" WIS save (10+WIS save bonus). The weapon will periodically (each x kills maybe?) to influence the character's actions, with the WIS save DC starting from 10, and going up by 1 each subsequent try. A character would feel maybe a tingle of unease-ness up to his "passive" WIS save value, and after that he would actively perceive something trying to mess with his mind, but not immediately know it's the weapon. The weapon itself could maybe have a cooldown every time it succeeds in influencing the character, like needing x*2 kills before the next try, in a sort of "temporary appeasement" of the soul trapped in the weapon.
Maybe this idea is a bit convoluted, but you could maybe work something along these lines, subtle, disturbing and endless.
I like this idea, I don't want it to be a really big thing to begin with, but the sword will kind of hint that it wants things dead. Like if the party captures an enemy and its an easy kill, the PC attuned to it will make a Wisdom save to try and resist the urge to just kill the prisoner. I like the idea of the weapon growing stronger as you kill, I'm not sure if stacking d4's is too much though? It might get out of hand even if the limit is 5.
I would avoid the stacking d4, to be honest. Keeping it to 1 dice and transforming it into a d8 when the +5 bonus is met seems to me like a more balanced and rewarding option (I am also not an enormous fan of d4, so thinking of rolling a bunch of them is not exactly appealing to me... so... maybe I am a little biased here :P)
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
(I am also not an enormous fan of d4, so thinking of rolling a bunch of them is not exactly appealing to me... so... maybe I am a little biased here :P)
I find it helps if your players have those new twelve sided d4's that have three of each number on them. They roll better and still get you a 1-4 answer.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
(I am also not an enormous fan of d4, so thinking of rolling a bunch of them is not exactly appealing to me... so... maybe I am a little biased here :P)
I find it helps if your players have those new twelve sided d4's that have three of each number on them. They roll better and still get you a 1-4 answer.
I had no idea such thing existed... I feel a sudden need to have one...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
(I am also not an enormous fan of d4, so thinking of rolling a bunch of them is not exactly appealing to me... so... maybe I am a little biased here :P)
I find it helps if your players have those new twelve sided d4's that have three of each number on them. They roll better and still get you a 1-4 answer.
I had no idea such thing existed... I feel a sudden need to have one...
(I am also not an enormous fan of d4, so thinking of rolling a bunch of them is not exactly appealing to me... so... maybe I am a little biased here :P)
I find it helps if your players have those new twelve sided d4's that have three of each number on them. They roll better and still get you a 1-4 answer.
I had no idea such thing existed... I feel a sudden need to have one...
Hey all,
Just wanted to get your opinion on a magic item that I've been toying with. I wasn't sure if it would be worth using for an extended period of time so I thought I'd put it out there. The idea is that the sword is bent on death, basically wants all things (including its holder) to die. So, here it is.
Death Wish
Long Sword, Rare, Attunement Required
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
Attack rolls against you have advantage.
Whenever you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points, you gain an additional +1 to attack and damage rolls up to a maximum total of +5. This lasts until you go 1 minute without making an attack roll against a hostile creature.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Seems like a bit of a "win more" weapon against smaller monsters who are likely easy to hit and kill anyway. Against a boss monster, this may not be worth using unless the wielder has to carve through a few minions first, but with the much lower AC values that 5e uses, there's a good chance that the boss may have a really low AC but a lot of HP, making the sword kind of useless again since you were going to hit them a lot anyway.
The only situation that this might be a useful item is if you were facing off against a boss with abnormally high AC who also has several much weaker monsters as minions that you can cut up on the way to it. Then you still have to balance giving the boss monster advantage over doing a little better to hit them?
Not considering flavour, the drawback seems quite steep for the possibility of an additional +1 on a kill (especially if the user might not actually be the one placing the killing blow in the party).
Considering the intended flavor, it's lovely, but I would still probably give it a little more from the get-go, like a +1d6 (or 1d4 if you think d6 is too much) psychic or necrotic damage.
It's, imho, a wonderful weapon in the hands of a ruthless enemy, that might even go about killing his own minions in order to "buff" himself, but it would either need tons of HP or a very high AC to still be dangerous for more than a couple of turns. And from a powerplay character standpoint, I can see a Necromancer/Hexblade pact of the blade lock being able so use this very efficiently, virtually always having +5 to hit and damage.
The idea is not bad by any means, it just maybe needs a bit more balancing.
What was the game idea you had in mind when designing it? Also, might be obvious to other but not to me, this is intended to be a cursed item?
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
First off, thanks for the reply!
I was worried about the drawback as well. I like the idea of the extra d4 necrotic damage, maybe that could also stack up? That might get overwhelming but its just a thought.
Perhaps it would help if I put in some background info. Basically the sword belongs to a long dead dwarf that lead a cult that worshiped the god of death. They were cursed by the 'good' dwarves and basically spent the rest of their mortal lives under the mountain. When they died their leader bonded his soul to the weapon, wanting everything to suffer death. His soul is loosely connected to the weapon, so he can't talk, but might have minor influence on the PC's choices specifically in sparing someone's life. I'm not quite sure how to incorporate that yet.
Maybe if the wielder managed to get to the +5 (so get 5 deathblows), the additional damage die could become a d8?
The background idea is quite intriguing... Maybe you could make it so that the wielder feels uneasy, and take note of his "passive" WIS save (10+WIS save bonus). The weapon will periodically (each x kills maybe?) to influence the character's actions, with the WIS save DC starting from 10, and going up by 1 each subsequent try. A character would feel maybe a tingle of unease-ness up to his "passive" WIS save value, and after that he would actively perceive something trying to mess with his mind, but not immediately know it's the weapon. The weapon itself could maybe have a cooldown every time it succeeds in influencing the character, like needing x*2 kills before the next try, in a sort of "temporary appeasement" of the soul trapped in the weapon.
Maybe this idea is a bit convoluted, but you could maybe work something along these lines, subtle, disturbing and endless.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
My games tend to have a lot of bosses with minions. I think its almost a necessity due to the action economy of 5e (I don't have any experience with other editions, it just seems like the party always has the advantage if there is only one enemy). So in most of my games there will be ample opportunity to take advantage of the upside.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Reckless attack on a barbarian works well. Perhaps, if you don't have a barbarian pc, then maybe you could have the blade give a similar advantage?