Hey! Like the title says, I'm trying to figure out how to properly balance a greataxe for my level 3 (***very*** soon to be level 4) Barbarian pc, specifically its extra damage and the movement required to "activate" said extra damage. Here's the idea that I have at the moment:
Grindaxe: +1* Greataxe, (unsure of rarity, I think I'm shooting for uncommon)
Rev up: When you grind the mechanism attached to the axe's head on the ground or solid surface within reach of you, and move 20* feet in a straight line up to a target, the mechanism quickly heats the axe's blade, causing 1d4* extra fire damage on a hit.
Now, what I'm wondering is if this is just flat out too powerful to handout right now, or if it can be tweaked to make it more suitable to their level. Some context that may be helpful for it's power is that it is being given to the pc as a reward for personally going out of their way to rescue the reward giver's sister/leader of their tribe, so I'd want it to be a nicer reward than just "uhhhh here's a +1 axe I guess". First, is +1 too much combined with its other abilities? I know I'm going to have to hand out a +1 weapon sooner or later, so this aspect I'd rather keep just so I don't have to just replace it later. Second, what should the extra fire damage to required movement be? For some more context, while not raging he has the standard 30ft movement speed, but while raging he has a movement speed of 45ft (using a modified version of the Baldur's Gate 3 Elk Wildheart subclass), so he'd have more potential to use it during those 6 turns. I feel like the 20ft for 1d4 is just right, but I do want it to always feel like a worthwhile option or at least an interesting tactic to try and take advantage of. Should I bump it up to 25ft for 1d6? 15ft for 1d4? Also thinking about how that'd factor into extra attack later, and critical hits in general, but crits are crits so they'll hit hard anyways. Just kind of stuck with the other stuff.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this and help me out, I appreciate it!
No, that’s not too powerful IMO. For reference, a normal +1 greataxe is a typical uncommon magic item. It is fairly common for PCs to start acquiring a decent magic item somewhere around the general ballpark of 5thish or 6thish level or so (give or take). When I say a “decent” item I mean something that will stay relevant and carry them through until close to 11thish level or so, maybe further depending on when exactly they get it. Usually the first ones to get cool stuff like that are the ones who need an upgrade sooner and the ones who don’t get their first cool 455 item until later usually can still use it further into Tier-3. Tier-3 is play during g 11th-16th levels, so maybe closer to 16th than to 11th if they don’t get their first item until 7th level as an example.
So, if this 4th level PC is one of the early ones to get something special, and it’s gonna happen when they’re 4th level (or close enough to it that it’s essentially a distinction sans difference), then they should be getting something that will last them until somewhere about the ballpark of 9th or 10th level more or less. So ask yourself this: "Is that item just a teensy wee bit OP for a 4th level PC, and also just a li’l bit lackluster for a 10th level PC?” If the answer is “yes” then you’re in the Goldilocks zone. If the answer is “no,” then you need to tweak something. Is that +1 to attack and damage plus an additional 1d4 damage a li’l strong for 4th level? ✅ Is it almost strong enough for 10th level? I’m afraid the only person who can answer that is you since you’re the DM.
For one of my campaigns I would say heck no, that’s nowhere near strong enough to last that long for a martial PC’s primary weapon. I would probably put it up to a d6 myself, and I would make it so that when they rev it up like that the extra d4 lasts until the start of their next turn just to make it easier for them to use more often. But if you’re game is less lethal than I typically run, then an extra 1d4 for 1 hit might be spot on, and if you run a more lethal game than me then even a d6 that lasts a whole round might not be enough. Make sense?
I will say that it’s almost always universally better to err on the side of caution in these matters since you can always upgrade them sooner than that 9th-11th level zone if you need to, but you can’t take it back if it’s way too strong for 5th level without really upsetting your players. Right?
Looks balanced. It might also be fun to tie the increased damage to the distance the character moves. d4 for 5-10 ft, d6 for 15-20 ft, d8 for 25-30 ft, etc. Then they'd have an incentive to move a lot.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hey! Like the title says, I'm trying to figure out how to properly balance a greataxe for my level 3 (***very*** soon to be level 4) Barbarian pc, specifically its extra damage and the movement required to "activate" said extra damage. Here's the idea that I have at the moment:
Grindaxe: +1* Greataxe, (unsure of rarity, I think I'm shooting for uncommon)
Rev up: When you grind the mechanism attached to the axe's head on the ground or solid surface within reach of you, and move 20* feet in a straight line up to a target, the mechanism quickly heats the axe's blade, causing 1d4* extra fire damage on a hit.
Now, what I'm wondering is if this is just flat out too powerful to handout right now, or if it can be tweaked to make it more suitable to their level. Some context that may be helpful for it's power is that it is being given to the pc as a reward for personally going out of their way to rescue the reward giver's sister/leader of their tribe, so I'd want it to be a nicer reward than just "uhhhh here's a +1 axe I guess". First, is +1 too much combined with its other abilities? I know I'm going to have to hand out a +1 weapon sooner or later, so this aspect I'd rather keep just so I don't have to just replace it later. Second, what should the extra fire damage to required movement be? For some more context, while not raging he has the standard 30ft movement speed, but while raging he has a movement speed of 45ft (using a modified version of the Baldur's Gate 3 Elk Wildheart subclass), so he'd have more potential to use it during those 6 turns. I feel like the 20ft for 1d4 is just right, but I do want it to always feel like a worthwhile option or at least an interesting tactic to try and take advantage of. Should I bump it up to 25ft for 1d6? 15ft for 1d4? Also thinking about how that'd factor into extra attack later, and critical hits in general, but crits are crits so they'll hit hard anyways. Just kind of stuck with the other stuff.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this and help me out, I appreciate it!
No, that’s not too powerful IMO. For reference, a normal +1 greataxe is a typical uncommon magic item. It is fairly common for PCs to start acquiring a decent magic item somewhere around the general ballpark of 5thish or 6thish level or so (give or take). When I say a “decent” item I mean something that will stay relevant and carry them through until close to 11thish level or so, maybe further depending on when exactly they get it. Usually the first ones to get cool stuff like that are the ones who need an upgrade sooner and the ones who don’t get their first cool 455 item until later usually can still use it further into Tier-3. Tier-3 is play during g 11th-16th levels, so maybe closer to 16th than to 11th if they don’t get their first item until 7th level as an example.
So, if this 4th level PC is one of the early ones to get something special, and it’s gonna happen when they’re 4th level (or close enough to it that it’s essentially a distinction sans difference), then they should be getting something that will last them until somewhere about the ballpark of 9th or 10th level more or less. So ask yourself this: "Is that item just a teensy wee bit OP for a 4th level PC, and also just a li’l bit lackluster for a 10th level PC?” If the answer is “yes” then you’re in the Goldilocks zone. If the answer is “no,” then you need to tweak something. Is that +1 to attack and damage plus an additional 1d4 damage a li’l strong for 4th level? ✅ Is it almost strong enough for 10th level? I’m afraid the only person who can answer that is you since you’re the DM.
For one of my campaigns I would say heck no, that’s nowhere near strong enough to last that long for a martial PC’s primary weapon. I would probably put it up to a d6 myself, and I would make it so that when they rev it up like that the extra d4 lasts until the start of their next turn just to make it easier for them to use more often. But if you’re game is less lethal than I typically run, then an extra 1d4 for 1 hit might be spot on, and if you run a more lethal game than me then even a d6 that lasts a whole round might not be enough. Make sense?
I will say that it’s almost always universally better to err on the side of caution in these matters since you can always upgrade them sooner than that 9th-11th level zone if you need to, but you can’t take it back if it’s way too strong for 5th level without really upsetting your players. Right?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Looks balanced. It might also be fun to tie the increased damage to the distance the character moves. d4 for 5-10 ft, d6 for 15-20 ft, d8 for 25-30 ft, etc. Then they'd have an incentive to move a lot.