I'm writing an outline for a campaign and I want to add a powerful yet balanced weapon for use as a plot device but also as a good weapon for the players to use. The below outline is what I have come up with so far. Does anyone have advice on ways to make it interesting yet still balanced? Not sure about the damage additions if they are too much or not enough.
My hope is that by the time they have the weapon and all 3 rings to improve it they would be level 15+.
Lost Magic Artifact - Blade of Fate (Dagger - Variable, Arcane, Aberration Slayer)
A slender blade made from a single piece of black metal, tinged with dark red. Strips of leather are wrapped around the handle, concealing a sharp edge underneath. Once attuned symbols appear on the blade - "Dread Salvation".
Human. The item was created during the heyday of a fallen human kingdom, or it is tied to a human of legend. It might hold writing in a forgotten tongue or symbols whose significance is lost to the ages.
Arcane. This item was created for an ancient order of spellcasters and bears the order’s symbol.
Sentinel. Choose a kind of creature that is an enemy of the item’s creator. This item glows faintly when such creatures are within 120 feet of it.
Metamorphic. The item periodically and randomly alters its appearance in slight ways. The bearer has no control over these minor alterations, which have no effect on the item’s use. This would allow the item to change form and could be found as a dagger but change into a great-sword. This could balance against which player was using it and hopefully lead to interesting choices of who would wield it.
The item can speak, read, and understand one or more languages. In addition, the item can communicate telepathically with any character that carries or wields it.
Senses - Hearing and normal vision out to 120 feet.
Alignment - Chaotic Neutral
Destiny Seeker: The item is convinced that it and its wielder have key roles to play in future events.
While attuned to the artifact, you can use an action to cast one 1st-level spell (chosen by the DM) from it. After you cast the spell, roll a d6. On a roll of 1–5, you can’t cast it again until the next dawn.
While attuned to the artifact, you can use an action to cast one 5th-level spell (chosen by the DM) from it. After you cast the spell, roll a d6. On a roll of 1–5, you can’t cast it again until the next dawn.
While attuned to the artifact, all holy water within 10 feet of you is destroyed.
You take 4d10 psychic damage when you become attuned to the artifact.
If combined with the Three Rings of The Reaper, the weapon gains damage against Aberrations
If these rings are used by the weapon holder they do not count against the Attunement total, if used by someone else they do count and act only as their base magic item. This gives the party the option to just use the rings as normal magic items, or to stack the power onto one person
Reaper's Ring of Evasion
Reaper's Ring of Protection
Reaper's Ring of Resistance
Each ring provides increasing damage per ring against Aberrations. This would then provide normal weapon damage + 6d4 + modifier. My worry with this is if 6d4 is too much or not enough.
Allowing the rings to attune without occupying an attunement slot is very OP if you also provide your players with enough magic items for their normal attunement slots to matter.
I have no idea which spells you want to embed in the weapon, but random recharges are lame. Put the L1 spell on a short rest cooldown and the L5 on a long rest cooldown, no randomness. Or, even better, remove them and give the item interesting, unique effects. I suggest the following instead, alao replacing the bonus damage:
Tiered effects are 1 (baseline) +1 per ring up to 4 (all 3 rings). You get up to 4 by attuning the three rings and then attempting to attune the dagger; this works, with the dagger not counting against attunement total so long as all 3 rings are attuned, but the wielder by definition has 3 slots occupied.
Save DCs are 8+attuner's pb+highest mental modifier of attuner.
1: Aberrations have disadvantage on attack rolls against the attuner. The attuner also can’t be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them. If the attuner is already charmed, frightened, or possessed by an aberration, the target has advantage on any new saving throw against the relevant effect.
1+: Tier/short rest, as an action, present the artifact; each aberration within 30 feet of you must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage.
A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly end its move in a space within 30 feet of you. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can take the Dodge action.
When a creature fails its saving throw, the creature is banished for 1 minute (as in banishment, no concentration required) if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as follows: 1: 1/2, 2: 1, 3: 2, 4:3.
2: Attuner has advantage on attack rolls against Aberrations and on saving throws they inflict on the attuner.
3: Attuner is resistant to psychic damage. When they injure an Aberration with the attuned weapon, if that Aberration is at Exhaustion 0, it goes to Exhaustion 1.
4: Attuner is immune to psychic damage. When they injure an Aberration with the attuned weapon, they may choose to apply 1 tick of exhaustion to both the target and the attuner (this happens after the potential tick from Tier 3). If this kills the attuner due to reaching exhaustion 6, spells that have the sole effect of restoring the attuner to life from this death (but not undeath) don't need material components when cast on the attuner - they can use the artifact as an unconsumed focus instead.
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I'm writing an outline for a campaign and I want to add a powerful yet balanced weapon for use as a plot device but also as a good weapon for the players to use. The below outline is what I have come up with so far. Does anyone have advice on ways to make it interesting yet still balanced? Not sure about the damage additions if they are too much or not enough.
My hope is that by the time they have the weapon and all 3 rings to improve it they would be level 15+.
Lost Magic Artifact - Blade of Fate (Dagger - Variable, Arcane, Aberration Slayer)
Allowing the rings to attune without occupying an attunement slot is very OP if you also provide your players with enough magic items for their normal attunement slots to matter.
I have no idea which spells you want to embed in the weapon, but random recharges are lame. Put the L1 spell on a short rest cooldown and the L5 on a long rest cooldown, no randomness. Or, even better, remove them and give the item interesting, unique effects. I suggest the following instead, alao replacing the bonus damage:
Tiered effects are 1 (baseline) +1 per ring up to 4 (all 3 rings). You get up to 4 by attuning the three rings and then attempting to attune the dagger; this works, with the dagger not counting against attunement total so long as all 3 rings are attuned, but the wielder by definition has 3 slots occupied.
Save DCs are 8+attuner's pb+highest mental modifier of attuner.
1: Aberrations have disadvantage on attack rolls against the attuner. The attuner also can’t be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them. If the attuner is already charmed, frightened, or possessed by an aberration, the target has advantage on any new saving throw against the relevant effect.
1+: Tier/short rest, as an action, present the artifact; each aberration within 30 feet of you must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage.
A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly end its move in a space within 30 feet of you. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can take the Dodge action.
When a creature fails its saving throw, the creature is banished for 1 minute (as in banishment, no concentration required) if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as follows: 1: 1/2, 2: 1, 3: 2, 4:3.
2: Attuner has advantage on attack rolls against Aberrations and on saving throws they inflict on the attuner.
3: Attuner is resistant to psychic damage. When they injure an Aberration with the attuned weapon, if that Aberration is at Exhaustion 0, it goes to Exhaustion 1.
4: Attuner is immune to psychic damage. When they injure an Aberration with the attuned weapon, they may choose to apply 1 tick of exhaustion to both the target and the attuner (this happens after the potential tick from Tier 3). If this kills the attuner due to reaching exhaustion 6, spells that have the sole effect of restoring the attuner to life from this death (but not undeath) don't need material components when cast on the attuner - they can use the artifact as an unconsumed focus instead.