Hi there! This is my first time posting on the forums, but I would like some feedback on some "semi-cursed" magical swords I am developing for a campaign. I wanted the swords to be pseudo vorpal blades but elemental based with bonuses and drawbacks. They are all legendary tier magical items.
The skinny on this is that the player will be able to choose one of the swords, using the limited information that they find from beating a boss at the end of a dungeon and solving the riddles to claim one of the swords. When they succeed (Or die trying) in grabbing a sword the other two immediately shatter and are not able to be procured. All of the swords have a check when the player grabs one with some pretty scary effects if they fail. I have a little flavor text for one of the swords, I haven't completed the others yet.
#1: Joyful Cataclysm
Requires attunement by a player who must succeed a DC17 constitution check or take 8d8 fire damage.
While wielding this sword you gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls. The user takes 2 fire damage on each of their turns in combat.
The flames of this blade are volatile and combust when drawn. All creatures except the wielder within a 5-foot sphere must succeed an DC15 constitution saving throw or take 2d6 fire damage, half as much if they succeed. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 2d6 fire damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to cold damage.
If the user rolls a natural 20 on an attack roll the flames flare white in a chaotic explosion dealing 4d6 fire damage in a 5-foot sphere around the wielder. All creatures except the wielder must make a DC15 dexterity check, if they pass the check they take half the damage. (The main target takes 4d6 slashing and 8d6 fire damage. Surrounding creatures take 4d6)
If the user rolls a natural 1 when making an attack roll with this sword, The sword blade explodes in a white flare enveloping the wielder and dealing 8d8 fire damage. The sword's blade and magical properties are extinguished until a long rest is taken.
#2: Sundered Wedding
Flavor text the player can see as a description in front of the blade
Here we stand encased in rime The sundered wedding, lands lost to time A forgotten king, his rival bride Their union, peace would provide This bitter blade would seal their fate Encased in ice they would not escape War continued, never replete Until their kingdoms crumbled beneath the sleet New nations alit upon their corpse Now not remains but myth of course
Requires attunement. Player must succeed a DC17 constitution check or take 8d8 cold damage.
Upon attuning to this sword the user gets a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 1d6 cold damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to fire damage.
When you draw this weapon, you can extinguish all nonmagical flames within 30 feet of you. This property can be used no more than once per hour.
The sheer cold emanating from this blade is volatile when unsheathed. It causes water to instantly freeze around the blade. For instance, If the user is under a waterfall or in heavy rainfall. On the wielder's turn in combat, ice will accumulate on the blade and user causing a -1 to hit. Striking an opponent can shatter the ice. If the player uses the sword while submerged in water they will be encased in ice within 5 rounds of combat and have to be helped to escape.
If the player rolls a natural 20 on an attack roll the sword will do an additional 4d6 cold damage. (4d6 slashing, 6d6 cold damage total) Conversely, if they roll a natural 1, the player will instead take 4d6 cold damage and the sword will lose its magical properties until a long rest has been taken.
#3: Irreverent Flower
Requires attunement. Player must succeed a DC 17 Constitution check or be flung 90 feet in the air taking fall damage.
While wielding this blade you gain a +2 bonus to your armor class.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 1d6 thunder damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to thunder damage. The blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
Once per day as a bonus action, the user can hold the sword to the sky calling down lightning. The lightning strikes the sword cauterizing wounds and healing the wielder for 2d6. This property reset after a long rest.
The Sword holds 3 chargers per day of the spell Thunder Step. One of the charges can be used as an action.
When you roll a natural 20 as an attack roll 1 charge of Thunder Step can be replenished in the sword to a maximum of 3.
If you roll a natural 1 as an attack roll, the sword automatically uses 1 available charge of Thunder Step launching the wielder into the sky to plummet to the ground taking 9d6 Falling damage. If no chargers are available then the sword loses all magical properties until a long rest has been taken.
The idea behind these swords is to be a risk/reward alternative with fun effects for a straightforward marshal class like a fighter/barbarian. They obviously have tiers of offensive to defensive. I would like some feedback if they are too powerful or too detrimental. Something like a vorpal sword would be a much more safe option to use and would be an upgrade later that doesn't blow up the players. Although, it is slightly boring! Thanks for any feedback given!
I like them and I really think they suit a particular type of player. One that likes the risk of something bad happening. Personally I don't really know how strong these items are. The positive effects are really really strong but the negatives are also really bad. I think these items make the game more swingy for whatever player is using them. Natural 20s hit like a truck but natural 1's are devastating. Except the ice blade which seems to be the strongest one for not having a natural 1 and having a really situational downside.
Very good items, overall I would say having them will significantly boost your party's power even more so than a vorpal sword.
Also well written. I could concisely understand what each item did.
Edit: I also think the fire blade is the weakest even though it does the most damage, because of the 2 damage every turn. That doesn't sound like a lot but it really adds up. If you are having 1-2 combats per adventuring day, thats about 10-20 damage. but If you are having 6 combats that's a lot more.
Thanks for the insight. These are being designed for a totem barbarian who has resistance to the damage types. My intention with the fire sword was to be dangerous for the group. Eventually, I think these "semi-cursed" items can be made to be less volatile. My personal favorite is the Ice sword.
Sorry I realize now that the ice sword does have a natural 1 downside I just skipped over reading it for some reason. I also noticed some additional things. The fire blade is still essentially the worst one because the nat 20's hit your party. It also does the most damage on a nat 1. The Ice blade does the least damage on a nat 1 so it's still the best. I was also sleeping on how powerful the thunder one is. Free thundersteps are not to be underestimated, but the healing as a bonus action seems really limited especially at high levels. I would let the heal use a charge instead of being once per day. The thunder blade gets the second worst natural 1 but also gets some extremely powerful abilities
I agree about the charges on the thunder sword and will rework that. I have noted your distain for the fire sword, but once the sword is cleansed it will be the most offensive.
a rough example of a cleansed fire sword:
Requires attunement by a player.
While wielding this sword you gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls.
When drawn the sword produces bright flames. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 2d6 fire damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to cold damage.
If the user rolls a natural 20 on an attack roll the flames flare white in a explosion dealing 2d6 fire damage in a 5-foot sphere around the wielder attacking all hostile targets. The dice do not double on this additional fire damage. There is no save against this attack. (Main target 4d6 slashing 6d6 fire damage, 2d6 to surround enemies.)
I guess you could say it’s an upgraded flametounge with more accuracy, but it has a little pepper for a Nat 20, and a resistance
No I like the fire sword a lot I just think it's weaker than the others. Don't mistake me, I'm not saying that having one option be weaker than the others is bad. Especially in a magic item. I don't distain the fire sword at all, in fact I like it quite a bit, but I just think it is more punishing than the other options.
I think your changes make it more strong for sure. It is more damaging so it should probably have more of a drawback. Is it possible to have the crits do 1d6 or some smaller amount of damage to friendlies?
I don't get the feedback that the fire sword is the weakest because it has a drawback of dealing more damage in an AoE. It seems fairly trivial to me to not be right next to an ally when you draw / swing your sword. I think the fire sword is clearly the best option.
Let's look at a series of two rounds of combat. On turn one, you draw your weapon, dealing 2d6 fire to all creatures within 5 feet (again, just don't do this when you're next to an ally). Then you hit, and deal weapon damage + 2d6, and if you crit you do an additional AoE 4d6. On turn two, you hit for weapon damage + 2d6 with the AoE crit rider, then you sheathe your weapon. Turn 3 is the same as turn 1, rinse and repeat. You just basically gave your player a FREE extra 2d6 AoE damage every other turn, and the only real downside is the critical fail causing damage to themselves and a measly 1 fire damage per turn average (if you're sheathing it every other turn, depending on how that is ruled, I suppose).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi there! This is my first time posting on the forums, but I would like some feedback on some "semi-cursed" magical swords I am developing for a campaign. I wanted the swords to be pseudo vorpal blades but elemental based with bonuses and drawbacks. They are all legendary tier magical items.
The skinny on this is that the player will be able to choose one of the swords, using the limited information that they find from beating a boss at the end of a dungeon and solving the riddles to claim one of the swords. When they succeed (Or die trying) in grabbing a sword the other two immediately shatter and are not able to be procured. All of the swords have a check when the player grabs one with some pretty scary effects if they fail. I have a little flavor text for one of the swords, I haven't completed the others yet.
#1: Joyful Cataclysm
Requires attunement by a player who must succeed a DC17 constitution check or take 8d8 fire damage.
While wielding this sword you gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls. The user takes 2 fire damage on each of their turns in combat.
The flames of this blade are volatile and combust when drawn. All creatures except the wielder within a 5-foot sphere must succeed an DC15 constitution saving throw or take 2d6 fire damage, half as much if they succeed. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 2d6 fire damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to cold damage.
If the user rolls a natural 20 on an attack roll the flames flare white in a chaotic explosion dealing 4d6 fire damage in a 5-foot sphere around the wielder. All creatures except the wielder must make a DC15 dexterity check, if they pass the check they take half the damage. (The main target takes 4d6 slashing and 8d6 fire damage. Surrounding creatures take 4d6)
If the user rolls a natural 1 when making an attack roll with this sword, The sword blade explodes in a white flare enveloping the wielder and dealing 8d8 fire damage. The sword's blade and magical properties are extinguished until a long rest is taken.
#2: Sundered Wedding
Flavor text the player can see as a description in front of the blade
Here we stand encased in rime
The sundered wedding, lands lost to time
A forgotten king, his rival bride
Their union, peace would provide
This bitter blade would seal their fate
Encased in ice they would not escape
War continued, never replete
Until their kingdoms crumbled beneath the sleet
New nations alit upon their corpse
Now not remains but myth of course
Requires attunement. Player must succeed a DC17 constitution check or take 8d8 cold damage.
Upon attuning to this sword the user gets a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 1d6 cold damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to fire damage.
When you draw this weapon, you can extinguish all nonmagical flames within 30 feet of you. This property can be used no more than once per hour.
The sheer cold emanating from this blade is volatile when unsheathed. It causes water to instantly freeze around the blade. For instance, If the user is under a waterfall or in heavy rainfall. On the wielder's turn in combat, ice will accumulate on the blade and user causing a -1 to hit. Striking an opponent can shatter the ice. If the player uses the sword while submerged in water they will be encased in ice within 5 rounds of combat and have to be helped to escape.
If the player rolls a natural 20 on an attack roll the sword will do an additional 4d6 cold damage. (4d6 slashing, 6d6 cold damage total) Conversely, if they roll a natural 1, the player will instead take 4d6 cold damage and the sword will lose its magical properties until a long rest has been taken.
#3: Irreverent Flower
Requires attunement. Player must succeed a DC 17 Constitution check or be flung 90 feet in the air taking fall damage.
While wielding this blade you gain a +2 bonus to your armor class.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 1d6 thunder damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to thunder damage.
The blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
Once per day as a bonus action, the user can hold the sword to the sky calling down lightning. The lightning strikes the sword cauterizing wounds and healing the wielder for 2d6. This property reset after a long rest.
The Sword holds 3 chargers per day of the spell Thunder Step. One of the charges can be used as an action.
When you roll a natural 20 as an attack roll 1 charge of Thunder Step can be replenished in the sword to a maximum of 3.
If you roll a natural 1 as an attack roll, the sword automatically uses 1 available charge of Thunder Step launching the wielder into the sky to plummet to the ground taking 9d6 Falling damage. If no chargers are available then the sword loses all magical properties until a long rest has been taken.
The idea behind these swords is to be a risk/reward alternative with fun effects for a straightforward marshal class like a fighter/barbarian. They obviously have tiers of offensive to defensive. I would like some feedback if they are too powerful or too detrimental. Something like a vorpal sword would be a much more safe option to use and would be an upgrade later that doesn't blow up the players. Although, it is slightly boring! Thanks for any feedback given!
I like them and I really think they suit a particular type of player. One that likes the risk of something bad happening. Personally I don't really know how strong these items are. The positive effects are really really strong but the negatives are also really bad. I think these items make the game more swingy for whatever player is using them. Natural 20s hit like a truck but natural 1's are devastating. Except the ice blade which seems to be the strongest one for not having a natural 1 and having a really situational downside.
Very good items, overall I would say having them will significantly boost your party's power even more so than a vorpal sword.
Also well written. I could concisely understand what each item did.
Edit: I also think the fire blade is the weakest even though it does the most damage, because of the 2 damage every turn. That doesn't sound like a lot but it really adds up. If you are having 1-2 combats per adventuring day, thats about 10-20 damage. but If you are having 6 combats that's a lot more.
Thanks for the insight. These are being designed for a totem barbarian who has resistance to the damage types. My intention with the fire sword was to be dangerous for the group. Eventually, I think these "semi-cursed" items can be made to be less volatile. My personal favorite is the Ice sword.
Sorry I realize now that the ice sword does have a natural 1 downside I just skipped over reading it for some reason. I also noticed some additional things. The fire blade is still essentially the worst one because the nat 20's hit your party. It also does the most damage on a nat 1. The Ice blade does the least damage on a nat 1 so it's still the best. I was also sleeping on how powerful the thunder one is. Free thundersteps are not to be underestimated, but the healing as a bonus action seems really limited especially at high levels. I would let the heal use a charge instead of being once per day. The thunder blade gets the second worst natural 1 but also gets some extremely powerful abilities
I agree about the charges on the thunder sword and will rework that. I have noted your distain for the fire sword, but once the sword is cleansed it will be the most offensive.
a rough example of a cleansed fire sword:
Requires attunement by a player.
While wielding this sword you gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls.
When drawn the sword produces bright flames. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 2d6 fire damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to cold damage.
If the user rolls a natural 20 on an attack roll the flames flare white in a explosion dealing 2d6 fire damage in a 5-foot sphere around the wielder attacking all hostile targets. The dice do not double on this additional fire damage. There is no save against this attack. (Main target 4d6 slashing 6d6 fire damage, 2d6 to surround enemies.)
I guess you could say it’s an upgraded flametounge with more accuracy, but it has a little pepper for a Nat 20, and a resistance
No I like the fire sword a lot I just think it's weaker than the others. Don't mistake me, I'm not saying that having one option be weaker than the others is bad. Especially in a magic item. I don't distain the fire sword at all, in fact I like it quite a bit, but I just think it is more punishing than the other options.
I think your changes make it more strong for sure. It is more damaging so it should probably have more of a drawback. Is it possible to have the crits do 1d6 or some smaller amount of damage to friendlies?
I don't get the feedback that the fire sword is the weakest because it has a drawback of dealing more damage in an AoE. It seems fairly trivial to me to not be right next to an ally when you draw / swing your sword. I think the fire sword is clearly the best option.
Let's look at a series of two rounds of combat. On turn one, you draw your weapon, dealing 2d6 fire to all creatures within 5 feet (again, just don't do this when you're next to an ally). Then you hit, and deal weapon damage + 2d6, and if you crit you do an additional AoE 4d6. On turn two, you hit for weapon damage + 2d6 with the AoE crit rider, then you sheathe your weapon. Turn 3 is the same as turn 1, rinse and repeat. You just basically gave your player a FREE extra 2d6 AoE damage every other turn, and the only real downside is the critical fail causing damage to themselves and a measly 1 fire damage per turn average (if you're sheathing it every other turn, depending on how that is ruled, I suppose).