So, my Dragonborn Barbarian player cares for nothing except his sword. A couple of bits of background here. Before this none of us had played DnD before, but we're really enjoying it and I think we're all pretty happy with how the game is run. From the start my barbarian player has only cared about 2 things, being beefy and having a huge sword.
For reference the players are level 5 now (likely soon to hit 6), and the first 100 gp my barbarian earned he spent at a blacksmith on a super unrealistic animie style giant sword (I put it at 100 lb which I know is roughly 1/4 what it would be), like I say unrealistic but we don't mind. The stats are essentially a great sword with 10 ft reach and +1 to damage (bludgeoning because its so damn big). The player also had to undergo some training before becoming proficient with the weapon.
All of this I am happy with for sure, but in the future (probably a few levels off) I am looking for ways to have this sword "progress". One thing I am particularly interested in; the player does not care for his dragonborn breath weapon (white). I am thinking of having the weapon reforged by a master smith (perhaps dwarven/elven or even fire giant). This could possibly entail a quest by the smith (fetch or clear or something) and I could insert some sort of forge scene, maybe with a skill challenge, ending with the barb having to quench the blade with his breath weapon. I would have this permantly remove his breath weapon but install something like once per long rest weapon deals extra cold damage = to the damage from the breath weapon, and make it a +1/2/3 weapon dependant on level/effort.
So I know this is super ambiguous, but I just wanted to throw this idea out there and see if anyone has any ideas/advice, anything really, that could be helpful. essentially just a brainstorming thread Thanks in advance
Consider maybe looking in to the Features and Quirks tables for magical items in the DMG. Those are a fun way to add flavor to a magical item without being too overbearing. Also, I know that somewhere in one of the core books there is an elven sword or sorts that has a table of abilities that it gets options from over time. Something like that might be a good model for this weapon. Failing that, think about fun ways to imbue the weapon with interesting effects. Maybe if your player kills a notable monster like a dragon or demon, its soul gets bound to the sword, making it a newly sentient weapon.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I fyou wanted to use basic magic items to turn the sword into you could lose the breath weapon and have the weapon turned into a Frost Tongue weapon, it works like a flame Tongue but deals cold damage. It'll make a nice beefy enchantment without breaking too much, also has the side effect of shedding light which would be helpful to the player as they don't have darkvision naturally, just change the light to a pale blue instad of fire. The flame tongue equivilant would be a rare magic item, if you want to go a bit bigger you could turn it into a Frostbrand weapon which would be a very rare item.
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There are artifacts that progress... I think you have found a way to make the player happy and to keep progressing the sword so that he remains happy with it. I like the thought of infusing the blade with the breath weapon. Maybe he'll need to quench the blade in the blood of a specific foe for the next one. I would stick to the progression of tiers (see Adventure League rules on tiers) where +1 would fall in Tier 2, +2 would be available in Tier 3 and only in Tier 4 would it be able to advance to +3. You could also add in some other minor properties as well. I would also think the Smith could be able to help one more time with the breath weapon, but then you would need to find some enchanters that could help it along more. Some great ideas there... and yes... accidental Sentience would be awesome too...
At level 5 barbs get a huge power spike because they get their second attack.
Barbs are probably a little overpowered as it is at level 5. through 8 They can have better survivability than every other class except maybe a wildform druid and dish out damage better than most at this level.
If you give him even more damage, he's going to outshine the rest of the party for several levels.
Barbs do eventually start falling behind though and eventually get relegated to being the party's tank around level 15 unless the DM makes some special considerations.
My advice is to not give him anything else until the casters start outpacing him. Around level 12 to 15, maybe you can give him some bonus damage that scales with his strength modifier or barbarian level.
Oh 100% currently he's one of the heavy hitters in the party (GWM is a ***** :P ) but I just wanted to brainstorm some ideas as I know that god damn thing is the only thing he gives a shit about :P
I know it's a lot but the party's actually 7. Just about figure out the enemy balance for that now. Barbarian, Druid, Monk, Sorcerer, Bard, Fighter and Paladin...
It’s a homebrew of mine inspired by the original Conan movies. (I set it as a +3 because KROM!!) But it turns out that if you give a Greatsword the Versatile property then it does 2d6 one-handed and 2d8 two-handed. (I also tacked on the +1 AC like the Revenant Blade feat adds to a DBS.)
So maybe some or all of that could be helpful. 🤷♂️
(When I actually did a giant anime-style sword for a player I jus gave it Reach and an additional 1d6 damage. It was cool, but not spectacular.)
Check out the Vestiges of Divergence for inspiration - they are in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. We're also big fans of magic items that scale with the character... it's way more compelling than swapping out the +1 sword from your long lost father that you killed your nemesis with to save the princess of the land for a +2 sword you bought at a shop.
Check out the Vestiges of Divergence for inspiration - they are in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. We're also big fans of magic items that scale with the character... it's way more compelling than swapping out the +1 sword from your long lost father that you killed your nemesis with to save the princess of the land for a +2 sword you bought at a shop.
How do you rule this scaling? I am familiar with the vestiges of divergence (not full rules just from watching crit role), so is it ruled along the lines of this i.e. when you hit what the DM would consider a milestone with the weapon it "evolves"
You could have the sword undergo some kind of enchantment allowing it to consume magical properties from another weapon. That way you can throw out whatever items you like and the barbarian can choose which he wants to use, Just make sure that when it consumes a new enchantment it loses an older one, to make the choice worthwhile.
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So, my Dragonborn Barbarian player cares for nothing except his sword. A couple of bits of background here. Before this none of us had played DnD before, but we're really enjoying it and I think we're all pretty happy with how the game is run. From the start my barbarian player has only cared about 2 things, being beefy and having a huge sword.
Thanks in advance
For reference the players are level 5 now (likely soon to hit 6), and the first 100 gp my barbarian earned he spent at a blacksmith on a super unrealistic animie style giant sword (I put it at 100 lb which I know is roughly 1/4 what it would be), like I say unrealistic but we don't mind. The stats are essentially a great sword with 10 ft reach and +1 to damage (bludgeoning because its so damn big). The player also had to undergo some training before becoming proficient with the weapon.
All of this I am happy with for sure, but in the future (probably a few levels off) I am looking for ways to have this sword "progress". One thing I am particularly interested in; the player does not care for his dragonborn breath weapon (white). I am thinking of having the weapon reforged by a master smith (perhaps dwarven/elven or even fire giant). This could possibly entail a quest by the smith (fetch or clear or something) and I could insert some sort of forge scene, maybe with a skill challenge, ending with the barb having to quench the blade with his breath weapon. I would have this permantly remove his breath weapon but install something like once per long rest weapon deals extra cold damage = to the damage from the breath weapon, and make it a +1/2/3 weapon dependant on level/effort.
So I know this is super ambiguous, but I just wanted to throw this idea out there and see if anyone has any ideas/advice, anything really, that could be helpful. essentially just a brainstorming thread
Consider maybe looking in to the Features and Quirks tables for magical items in the DMG. Those are a fun way to add flavor to a magical item without being too overbearing. Also, I know that somewhere in one of the core books there is an elven sword or sorts that has a table of abilities that it gets options from over time. Something like that might be a good model for this weapon. Failing that, think about fun ways to imbue the weapon with interesting effects. Maybe if your player kills a notable monster like a dragon or demon, its soul gets bound to the sword, making it a newly sentient weapon.
I fyou wanted to use basic magic items to turn the sword into you could lose the breath weapon and have the weapon turned into a Frost Tongue weapon, it works like a flame Tongue but deals cold damage. It'll make a nice beefy enchantment without breaking too much, also has the side effect of shedding light which would be helpful to the player as they don't have darkvision naturally, just change the light to a pale blue instad of fire. The flame tongue equivilant would be a rare magic item, if you want to go a bit bigger you could turn it into a Frostbrand weapon which would be a very rare item.
There are artifacts that progress... I think you have found a way to make the player happy and to keep progressing the sword so that he remains happy with it. I like the thought of infusing the blade with the breath weapon. Maybe he'll need to quench the blade in the blood of a specific foe for the next one. I would stick to the progression of tiers (see Adventure League rules on tiers) where +1 would fall in Tier 2, +2 would be available in Tier 3 and only in Tier 4 would it be able to advance to +3. You could also add in some other minor properties as well. I would also think the Smith could be able to help one more time with the breath weapon, but then you would need to find some enchanters that could help it along more. Some great ideas there... and yes... accidental Sentience would be awesome too...
At level 5 barbs get a huge power spike because they get their second attack.
Barbs are probably a little overpowered as it is at level 5. through 8 They can have better survivability than every other class except maybe a wildform druid and dish out damage better than most at this level.
If you give him even more damage, he's going to outshine the rest of the party for several levels.
Barbs do eventually start falling behind though and eventually get relegated to being the party's tank around level 15 unless the DM makes some special considerations.
My advice is to not give him anything else until the casters start outpacing him. Around level 12 to 15, maybe you can give him some bonus damage that scales with his strength modifier or barbarian level.
This is fab, thank you! I definitely like the looks of the features/quirks and will have to find the name of that sword!
Love it, thank you!!!!
Oh 100% currently he's one of the heavy hitters in the party (GWM is a ***** :P ) but I just wanted to brainstorm some ideas as I know that god damn thing is the only thing he gives a shit about :P
I know it's a lot but the party's actually 7. Just about figure out the enemy balance for that now. Barbarian, Druid, Monk, Sorcerer, Bard, Fighter and Paladin...
Maybe you could use elements from this:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/1530877-kroms-sword
It’s a homebrew of mine inspired by the original Conan movies. (I set it as a +3 because KROM!!) But it turns out that if you give a Greatsword the Versatile property then it does 2d6 one-handed and 2d8 two-handed. (I also tacked on the +1 AC like the Revenant Blade feat adds to a DBS.)
So maybe some or all of that could be helpful. 🤷♂️
(When I actually did a giant anime-style sword for a player I jus gave it Reach and an additional 1d6 damage. It was cool, but not spectacular.)
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Check out the Vestiges of Divergence for inspiration - they are in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. We're also big fans of magic items that scale with the character... it's way more compelling than swapping out the +1 sword from your long lost father that you killed your nemesis with to save the princess of the land for a +2 sword you bought at a shop.
How do you rule this scaling? I am familiar with the vestiges of divergence (not full rules just from watching crit role), so is it ruled along the lines of this i.e. when you hit what the DM would consider a milestone with the weapon it "evolves"
Essentially, yes... at our table, we actually added an additional tier (to match the 4 tiers of play).
The rules are pretty flexible as presented in EGTW. Basically, it's a combination of level and story beat. In other words, it's entirely up to the DM.
You could have the sword undergo some kind of enchantment allowing it to consume magical properties from another weapon. That way you can throw out whatever items you like and the barbarian can choose which he wants to use, Just make sure that when it consumes a new enchantment it loses an older one, to make the choice worthwhile.