This may be a dumb question, but I am double checking something that was said during our session yesterday.
We defeated a boss that was using an enchanted warhammer...not sure exactly what it did, but during the battle, it felt like an add to hit, and an add to damage, nothing too exotic. I picked up the hammer (nobody else wanted it), and said how excited I was to attune with it, and use it. My DM said that it was no longer magical since the boss had attuned with it, then died. That did not seem correct to me, but I did not challenge him at the time.
So, my question is, does an attuned magical item lose its magical properties if the attuned character wielding it dies? I can't find any RAW saying that, and I surely don't think that RAI leans that way.
Now, he's the DM, so he could definitely find a way to prevent me from using it...maybe it only attunes to a specific race, or alignment, etc. But I wanted to double check on the basics before I pushed him too hard about it.
So, my question is, does an attuned magical item lose its magical properties if the attuned character wielding it dies? I can't find any RAW saying that, and I surely don't think that RAI leans that way.
Attunement ends upon death and doesn't normally remove the magic enchantment from a permanent item but the DM might have made this a special feature of this item.
Attunement: A creature’s attunement to an item ends if the creature no longer satisfies the prerequisites for attunement, if the item has been more than 100 feet away for at least 24 hours, if the creature dies, or if another creature attunes to the item. A creature can also voluntarily end attunement by spending another short rest focused on the item, unless the item is cursed.
It sounds like homebrew, because the only mechanical way in the rules for that to happen, would be if that enemy was an Artificer, and the magic in the weapon was from an Infusion, because in that case, the Infusion would end as soon as the Artificer who infused it died, leaving the weapon nonmagical.
You are correct, strictly in the official rules, dying while attuned to a magic item doesn't destroy the magical properties of said magic item.
Technically I think you are right though what the DM is doing could be regarded as just changing the flavor of abilties.
Many monsters make weapon attacks that do more damage than would be expected from the type of weapon they wield this is not because the weapon is magical it is an abilty they have, some PCs have a similar thing for example barabarians adding rage damage. Functionally this is the same as a creature having a magic item that provides the increased damage which ceases to be magic when it dies.
The DM wants to provide a challenge in combat and also wants to control the amount of magic items you get so receiving them provide a moment of joy not an expectation, I wouldn't worry about it.
It is worth noting that it is common for monsters to be equipped with items that are not intended for player use.
For example a Death Knight has a longsword that deals an additional 4d8 necrotic damage per the monsters stat block. Nothing would prevent a player from using the longsword after the death knight is defeated but wether it would be treated as a normal longsword or if it would keep its extra 4d8 necrotic damage is at best unclear.
*Edit* Even this might CR 17 monster is only outfitted with mundane equipment. Everything about the death knight's stat block is as you would expect it to be for mundane equipment other than the longsword's damage.
That was also my initial thought but the way Bigpauly1969 described the situation it wasn't attacks made with a weapon delivering effects but a magic weapon with pluses most likely which the DM didn't want the party to have. My question would be how did the party have come to know that the weapon was magical?
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This may be a dumb question, but I am double checking something that was said during our session yesterday.
We defeated a boss that was using an enchanted warhammer...not sure exactly what it did, but during the battle, it felt like an add to hit, and an add to damage, nothing too exotic. I picked up the hammer (nobody else wanted it), and said how excited I was to attune with it, and use it. My DM said that it was no longer magical since the boss had attuned with it, then died. That did not seem correct to me, but I did not challenge him at the time.
So, my question is, does an attuned magical item lose its magical properties if the attuned character wielding it dies? I can't find any RAW saying that, and I surely don't think that RAI leans that way.
Now, he's the DM, so he could definitely find a way to prevent me from using it...maybe it only attunes to a specific race, or alignment, etc. But I wanted to double check on the basics before I pushed him too hard about it.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Attunement ends upon death and doesn't normally remove the magic enchantment from a permanent item but the DM might have made this a special feature of this item.
It sounds like homebrew, because the only mechanical way in the rules for that to happen, would be if that enemy was an Artificer, and the magic in the weapon was from an Infusion, because in that case, the Infusion would end as soon as the Artificer who infused it died, leaving the weapon nonmagical.
You are correct, strictly in the official rules, dying while attuned to a magic item doesn't destroy the magical properties of said magic item.
Technically I think you are right though what the DM is doing could be regarded as just changing the flavor of abilties.
Many monsters make weapon attacks that do more damage than would be expected from the type of weapon they wield this is not because the weapon is magical it is an abilty they have, some PCs have a similar thing for example barabarians adding rage damage. Functionally this is the same as a creature having a magic item that provides the increased damage which ceases to be magic when it dies.
The DM wants to provide a challenge in combat and also wants to control the amount of magic items you get so receiving them provide a moment of joy not an expectation, I wouldn't worry about it.
It is worth noting that it is common for monsters to be equipped with items that are not intended for player use.
For example a Death Knight has a longsword that deals an additional 4d8 necrotic damage per the monsters stat block. Nothing would prevent a player from using the longsword after the death knight is defeated but wether it would be treated as a normal longsword or if it would keep its extra 4d8 necrotic damage is at best unclear.
*Edit* Even this might CR 17 monster is only outfitted with mundane equipment. Everything about the death knight's stat block is as you would expect it to be for mundane equipment other than the longsword's damage.
That was also my initial thought but the way Bigpauly1969 described the situation it wasn't attacks made with a weapon delivering effects but a magic weapon with pluses most likely which the DM didn't want the party to have. My question would be how did the party have come to know that the weapon was magical?