I made a weapon for my players that I think could be really fun or just be really bad.
My weapon is called the Cull of Cthulhu and it does 4 d8 + 3 d8 lightning dmg the only thing is that with this weapon your intelligence is drained by 1 d12 per hit if you have 0 intelligence well we all know you are not able to do anything to regain your stat you will have to break the weapon strength dc 18.
Let me know what you guys think and if you think this is a good idea or if you think this is just terrible.
If you are a lvl 5 fighter with 13 int, the loss of intelligence would be worth it for that kind of damage. Problem is, I would say a PC with int 5 or less is "mentally challenged" to say the least, having trouble with such things as formulating a simple sentence and tying its own shoestrings. Would that PC be able to figure out that breaking the weapon could restore its faculties?
The players are lvl 9 and I am trying to throw more powerful creatures to them the thing is they don't have a lot of luck with rolling I threw one less powerful creature to them and they almost all died of bad teamwork so I am trying to give them a boost. They will able to figure out how to weapons works if they bring in to the mage in the city they are near or they have to throw an arcana or history check of 25 or higher. which is possible because they have a mage.
This is a good example of what I call an over balanced weapon. It has a way to powerful effect, but and equally unfavorable drawback.
31(7d8) is too much damage. A level 9 fighter could swing that 4 times on the first turn, do an average of 136 damage (with 16 STR) and singlehandedly while out a cr9 creature that was meant to be a medium difficulty encounter.
On the other hand losing a d12 of INT with every swing could (and probably would) ****** [edit: verb, delay or hold back in terms of progress, development, or accomplishment] the character in one swing. At 3 INT, you have the intelligence of an animal. At 1 INT, you would have next to know thoughts at all, act only on instinct, and couldn't even communicate with your party. 0 INT is basically brain dead, aware of your surroundings, but unable to comprehend them
Rant over, time for solutions. Whatever the base weapon is (let's assume mace (1d6 bludgeoning)) make it a +2 magic weapon that deals an extra 1d8 psychic damage (you can change damage type, but I thought this was fitting), requires attunment, and is cursed, lowering INT by 3 once attuned and making the character unwilling to part with it. So that is +2 to hit and 1d6+2+1d8 damage per hit on a cursed weapon, should be about rare rarety, perfect for a level 9 party.
The players are lvl 9 and I am trying to throw more powerful creatures to them the thing is they don't have a lot of luck with rolling I threw one less powerful creature to them and they almost all died of bad teamwork so I am trying to give them a boost. They will able to figure out how to weapons works if they bring in to the mage in the city they are near or they have to throw an arcana or history check of 25 or higher. which is possible because they have a mage.
a) No - this is way too overpowered
b) It is not your responsibility to fix the Party's tactics and teamwork - that is their responsibility.
c) You can't fix their tactics and teamwork by giving them an overpowered relic weapon which removes the need for them to use tactics and teamwork - just send the fighter in, whack, zap, the bad guys are all dead.
If you want to give them a hand in developing tactics and teamwork, give them a nudge: the grizzled old Dwarven veteran NPC who comes along for an adventure ( and then leaves again ), who teaches them basic tactics in a few of the combat encounters. Or talk to your Players outside of the game, about needing to use tactics and coordination in combat.
But let them keep getting their asses kicked when they don't - if there is no incentive, or perceived need, for them to get better at combat, they won't.
Giving them a superweapon which removes that need, just makes the problem worse.
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I agree with the others. Giving overpowered weapons won't solve the key problem. Your players suck at teamplay and tactics. One of my groups was rather gung-ho and irresponsible. After a near party wipe they learned what kind of game it is. That teamplay is needed and they'll find in-game character reasons to work together. That or they would eventually die and need to re-make characters. Giving them OP weapons would reduce the need for them to work together and survive.
Its part of DND charm. As DM you create the situation. The players will decide how they approach and deal with it. That also means any repercussions when they do a less optimal approach and make things harder for themselves. It is their choice to play like that. And not our decision to take that away. If the players want an easier experience then they should investigate, gather information, work together and be more tactical. If not...well then its time to accept the consequences as well. It is called player agency. Their decisions, their type of play and as DM you only facilitate it. Later on when they realize that they can make encounters easy for themselves by being better prepared and such. It'll also function as a reward on itself.
A player who rolls poorly, like a barbarian dwarf in my group, has to rely on his team mates. There are many ways in the game that the team can provide situations in which that character gets Advantage on Attack. That benefit is HUGE in 5e. Use flanking rules, have a rogue that can use a bonus action to aid that player, a clerics Guiding Strike, have a caster use faery fire. If that doesn't help a narrative training session at some barrack to give that character a temporary +2 attack bonus.
A weapon that does more then a fireball with each attack is just insane. I gave my players a 2d10 weapon that does 3d6 lightning damage (dex save is half damage)....and only 5 bullets to minimize the amount of times they can use it. Adding the tactical choice of WHEN to use it most optimally. And even that weapon is pretty powerful as is. Especially in areas where there is water that could be electrocuted. Requiring a Save of anyone in the water or be stunned for 1 round.
I made a weapon for my players that I think could be really fun or just be really bad.
My weapon is called the Cull of Cthulhu and it does 4 d8 + 3 d8 lightning dmg the only thing is that with this weapon your intelligence is drained by 1 d12 per hit if you have 0 intelligence well we all know you are not able to do anything to regain your stat you will have to break the weapon strength dc 18.
Let me know what you guys think and if you think this is a good idea or if you think this is just terrible.
So you're saying that it does 7d8 damage, really?
If you are a lvl 5 fighter with 13 int, the loss of intelligence would be worth it for that kind of damage. Problem is, I would say a PC with int 5 or less is "mentally challenged" to say the least, having trouble with such things as formulating a simple sentence and tying its own shoestrings. Would that PC be able to figure out that breaking the weapon could restore its faculties?
The players are lvl 9 and I am trying to throw more powerful creatures to them the thing is they don't have a lot of luck with rolling I threw one less powerful creature to them and they almost all died of bad teamwork so I am trying to give them a boost. They will able to figure out how to weapons works if they bring in to the mage in the city they are near or they have to throw an arcana or history check of 25 or higher. which is possible because they have a mage.
This is a good example of what I call an over balanced weapon. It has a way to powerful effect, but and equally unfavorable drawback.
31(7d8) is too much damage. A level 9 fighter could swing that 4 times on the first turn, do an average of 136 damage (with 16 STR) and singlehandedly while out a cr9 creature that was meant to be a medium difficulty encounter.
On the other hand losing a d12 of INT with every swing could (and probably would) ****** [edit: verb, delay or hold back in terms of progress, development, or accomplishment] the character in one swing. At 3 INT, you have the intelligence of an animal. At 1 INT, you would have next to know thoughts at all, act only on instinct, and couldn't even communicate with your party. 0 INT is basically brain dead, aware of your surroundings, but unable to comprehend them
Rant over, time for solutions. Whatever the base weapon is (let's assume mace (1d6 bludgeoning)) make it a +2 magic weapon that deals an extra 1d8 psychic damage (you can change damage type, but I thought this was fitting), requires attunment, and is cursed, lowering INT by 3 once attuned and making the character unwilling to part with it. So that is +2 to hit and 1d6+2+1d8 damage per hit on a cursed weapon, should be about rare rarety, perfect for a level 9 party.
a) No - this is way too overpowered
b) It is not your responsibility to fix the Party's tactics and teamwork - that is their responsibility.
c) You can't fix their tactics and teamwork by giving them an overpowered relic weapon which removes the need for them to use tactics and teamwork - just send the fighter in, whack, zap, the bad guys are all dead.
If you want to give them a hand in developing tactics and teamwork, give them a nudge: the grizzled old Dwarven veteran NPC who comes along for an adventure ( and then leaves again ), who teaches them basic tactics in a few of the combat encounters. Or talk to your Players outside of the game, about needing to use tactics and coordination in combat.
But let them keep getting their asses kicked when they don't - if there is no incentive, or perceived need, for them to get better at combat, they won't.
Giving them a superweapon which removes that need, just makes the problem worse.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I agree with the others. Giving overpowered weapons won't solve the key problem. Your players suck at teamplay and tactics. One of my groups was rather gung-ho and irresponsible. After a near party wipe they learned what kind of game it is. That teamplay is needed and they'll find in-game character reasons to work together. That or they would eventually die and need to re-make characters. Giving them OP weapons would reduce the need for them to work together and survive.
Its part of DND charm. As DM you create the situation. The players will decide how they approach and deal with it. That also means any repercussions when they do a less optimal approach and make things harder for themselves. It is their choice to play like that. And not our decision to take that away. If the players want an easier experience then they should investigate, gather information, work together and be more tactical. If not...well then its time to accept the consequences as well. It is called player agency. Their decisions, their type of play and as DM you only facilitate it. Later on when they realize that they can make encounters easy for themselves by being better prepared and such. It'll also function as a reward on itself.
A player who rolls poorly, like a barbarian dwarf in my group, has to rely on his team mates. There are many ways in the game that the team can provide situations in which that character gets Advantage on Attack. That benefit is HUGE in 5e. Use flanking rules, have a rogue that can use a bonus action to aid that player, a clerics Guiding Strike, have a caster use faery fire. If that doesn't help a narrative training session at some barrack to give that character a temporary +2 attack bonus.
A weapon that does more then a fireball with each attack is just insane. I gave my players a 2d10 weapon that does 3d6 lightning damage (dex save is half damage)....and only 5 bullets to minimize the amount of times they can use it. Adding the tactical choice of WHEN to use it most optimally. And even that weapon is pretty powerful as is. Especially in areas where there is water that could be electrocuted. Requiring a Save of anyone in the water or be stunned for 1 round.