Hey guys, so I am working on a magical item type thing for a guy playing a Wizard in my campaign, and he wanted to be missing an arm but have a magical arm instead, and so this is what we came up with. The backstory is that he spent some time in the Feywild, and he was given this as a gift/payment for hunting down someone who had offended them. Please let me know what I should add or take away. He wants a glass cannon, so to speak, with high power but strong limitations, so I tried to balance the two sides, but am not sure if I did it right. I was thinking of adding 4 spells you can learn per element, is that too much? Anyway, check it out and let me know.
Your spell book gains the ability to transform into an arm to replace a missing limb and help you cast spells that require movement. You hold it up to where your limb would be and the pages begin to flutter and swirl, curling around themselves to form into an arm that is encased in the hard, rock like cover of the spell book. You must immediately choose an element you have learned to use or the arm fades back into the book. Once the element is chosen, cracks appear in the rock arm, with the element swirling just under the surface and visible in the cracks. You may have your arm summoned for the full length of one hour per day, and it can be split up into different amounts, with it taking one full minute to summon and one full minute to dismiss. For every minute you have the arm summoned past the hour mark, you get one exhaustion point. Once you choose an element to summon it in, that is the only element you can use per short rest. In combat, it takes one action to summon. The arm can help you cast spells, and you can learn and cast one of four spells(per element and as of yet unchosen), that deals with the element you have learned. It takes 20 successful checks of a DC 15 to learn each new spell for an element, and 30 successful checks against a DC 15 to learn a new element. The elemental arm will require focus to prevent it from reacting with the outside world, for example a DC 10 Intelligence check every time you touch anything flammable, and if you fail you set that thing on fire(touch a table, hold a weapon, ex-cetera). The spells from the arm are cast as an action, and you only can cast three elemental arm spells per long rest, though the spell book qualities are not affected. You may also use this arm to make unarmed attacks and add 1D4 of the elemental arm’s current element to your damage, or to do anything a regular arm can do, albiet with the added danger of the element. If you are in possession of this arm, you have disadvantage on any spells that requires somatic movement without the arm. The arm can be destroyed, (AC as of yet undetermined) and you will lose both your spell book, and the elemental arm contained within. To regain the elemental aspects to your new spell book, you have to travel to the feywild and request it of those who gifted it to you in the first place.
It feels a bit over complicated. Here is what I see the effects as being - an extra 3 spell slots per long rest of a specific elemental affinity some extra melee unarmed dmg and a different looking spellbook. Honestly, I would build it as a wondrous item a la the Hand of Vecna or the like. Give it a number of daily charges. a number of random recharges at dawn (1d4+4 or something). a specific list of spells you can cast with it and how many charges they take to cast. Require attunement. Really simplify the elemental damage to lasting a set period of time after the spell of that type is cast like "For one minute after casting a spell, the arm does 1d4 elemental damage to anything it touches or strikes" less rolling and book keeping and such out of combat. And that kind of thing is already trivial for the player to avoid if they can dismiss it. Instead, I would have it be usable as an arm all the time, be obviously of the feywild (for RP impacts) and give it something like "Unpredictability of the Fey" - whenever the character rolls a natural 1 or 20 on any ability check, skill, attack or saving throw some odd slightly good (for 20s) or slightly bad (for 1s) elemental effect occurs from the arm that may or may not impact the activity. Maybe the information you are seeking with an arcana roll appears in icy script along the arm... could be right...could be the fey messing with you. or when picking a lock, the arm heats up and melts your lockpicks. Or just a small cyclone of air whirls around the arm for a second...that was weird.... :)
I would also recommend against rolling it up with the spell book as that would be a big thing to take away (and thus would be very punishing and un-fun) so it wouldn't happen very often. Perhaps make it be able to store a copy of the spellbook to aid in reproducing one if lost. a bunch of rolls to add something to the arm is just not going to be realistic to do and will end up with some handwaiving to just equate to "time" anyhow.
And for the downside issue if you want, Hand of Vecna gets removed/destroy you die... so that seems harsh, but I would say "losing a spellbook" doesn't mean you can't have a backup one or steal someone else's... So that is no real penalty. I would say "You cannot cast any spells requiring a Somatic Component until the arm is restored/repaired." not totally debilitating but definitely something you'd want to address :)
Hey guys, so I am working on a magical item type thing for a guy playing a Wizard in my campaign, and he wanted to be missing an arm but have a magical arm instead, and so this is what we came up with. The backstory is that he spent some time in the Feywild, and he was given this as a gift/payment for hunting down someone who had offended them. Please let me know what I should add or take away. He wants a glass cannon, so to speak, with high power but strong limitations, so I tried to balance the two sides, but am not sure if I did it right. I was thinking of adding 4 spells you can learn per element, is that too much? Anyway, check it out and let me know.
Your spell book gains the ability to transform into an arm to replace a missing limb and help you cast spells that require movement. You hold it up to where your limb would be and the pages begin to flutter and swirl, curling around themselves to form into an arm that is encased in the hard, rock like cover of the spell book. You must immediately choose an element you have learned to use or the arm fades back into the book. Once the element is chosen, cracks appear in the rock arm, with the element swirling just under the surface and visible in the cracks. You may have your arm summoned for the full length of one hour per day, and it can be split up into different amounts, with it taking one full minute to summon and one full minute to dismiss. For every minute you have the arm summoned past the hour mark, you get one exhaustion point. Once you choose an element to summon it in, that is the only element you can use per short rest.
In combat, it takes one action to summon. The arm can help you cast spells, and you can learn and cast one of four spells(per element and as of yet unchosen), that deals with the element you have learned. It takes 20 successful checks of a DC 15 to learn each new spell for an element, and 30 successful checks against a DC 15 to learn a new element. The elemental arm will require focus to prevent it from reacting with the outside world, for example a DC 10 Intelligence check every time you touch anything flammable, and if you fail you set that thing on fire(touch a table, hold a weapon, ex-cetera). The spells from the arm are cast as an action, and you only can cast three elemental arm spells per long rest, though the spell book qualities are not affected. You may also use this arm to make unarmed attacks and add 1D4 of the elemental arm’s current element to your damage, or to do anything a regular arm can do, albiet with the added danger of the element.
If you are in possession of this arm, you have disadvantage on any spells that requires somatic movement without the arm. The arm can be destroyed, (AC as of yet undetermined) and you will lose both your spell book, and the elemental arm contained within. To regain the elemental aspects to your new spell book, you have to travel to the feywild and request it of those who gifted it to you in the first place.
It feels a bit over complicated. Here is what I see the effects as being - an extra 3 spell slots per long rest of a specific elemental affinity some extra melee unarmed dmg and a different looking spellbook. Honestly, I would build it as a wondrous item a la the Hand of Vecna or the like.
Give it a number of daily charges. a number of random recharges at dawn (1d4+4 or something). a specific list of spells you can cast with it and how many charges they take to cast. Require attunement. Really simplify the elemental damage to lasting a set period of time after the spell of that type is cast like "For one minute after casting a spell, the arm does 1d4 elemental damage to anything it touches or strikes" less rolling and book keeping and such out of combat. And that kind of thing is already trivial for the player to avoid if they can dismiss it.
Instead, I would have it be usable as an arm all the time, be obviously of the feywild (for RP impacts) and give it something like "Unpredictability of the Fey" - whenever the character rolls a natural 1 or 20 on any ability check, skill, attack or saving throw some odd slightly good (for 20s) or slightly bad (for 1s) elemental effect occurs from the arm that may or may not impact the activity. Maybe the information you are seeking with an arcana roll appears in icy script along the arm... could be right...could be the fey messing with you. or when picking a lock, the arm heats up and melts your lockpicks. Or just a small cyclone of air whirls around the arm for a second...that was weird.... :)
I would also recommend against rolling it up with the spell book as that would be a big thing to take away (and thus would be very punishing and un-fun) so it wouldn't happen very often. Perhaps make it be able to store a copy of the spellbook to aid in reproducing one if lost. a bunch of rolls to add something to the arm is just not going to be realistic to do and will end up with some handwaiving to just equate to "time" anyhow.
And for the downside issue if you want, Hand of Vecna gets removed/destroy you die... so that seems harsh, but I would say "losing a spellbook" doesn't mean you can't have a backup one or steal someone else's... So that is no real penalty. I would say "You cannot cast any spells requiring a Somatic Component until the arm is restored/repaired." not totally debilitating but definitely something you'd want to address :)
Thanks! I'm still working with him on it, but these suggestions are really helpful!