I'm a fairly new DM running my first campaign. The party is made of three players (a bard, a DEX fighter, and a druid) who started at level 1, and are soon going to be reaching level 3. I would like to hear other's thoughts on my homebrew weapon in terms of balancing. The concept is a cursed, sentient +1 shortsword with a personality somewhat similar to that of the Sword of Kas, but with life-stealing properties.
Information that will be given to the party:
If unowned, the sword immediately attunes to the first person to grasp its handle who then becomes its chosen wielder. The sword feels like a powerful extension of the user, filling them with courage. While holding the sword, the wielder has advantage against being frightened. When striking a bloodied creature (less than half its max HP), the sword deals an additional 1d4 necrotic damage. If a creature is brought down to 0 HP by this sword, the creature dies, and the wielder gains temporary hit points equal to half the damage of the finishing strike. This effect does not work on constructs or the undead.
Information that will be learned by the party through experience:
The sword itself has an innate bloodlust. When the sword's handle is grabbed, it becomes magically bound to the wielder and cannot be sheathed, dropped, or thrown. The sword must draw blood within 1 minute of being removed from its sheathe, otherwise it enters a state of frenzy. In this frenzied state, the sword will demand the blood of the creature in closest proximity to the wielder that is within eyesight and is not a construct or undead. The wielder must then make a DC 11 WIS saving throw or else lose control to the sword and attack that creature. The wielder has advantage if this creature is an ally, and disadvantage if this creature was hostile towards the wielder at any point in the past. On a success, the user instead draws their own blood to satiate the sword, taking 2d6 necrotic damage. Either way, blood is drawn and the frenzy is ended. If there is no creature within eyesight that can satisfy its demands, the sword will turn on its wielder to satiate itself, dealing 2d6 necrotic damage and ending its frenzy.
The sword cannot be wielded by anyone other than the one it is bound to. If another creature tries to wield it, that creature takes 2d6 necrotic damage and the sword appears in the hand of its chosen wielder in a frenzied state, demanding the blood of the one who tried to wield it. If the sword and its wielder are ever separated by more than 60 feet, it becomes outraged, magically appearing in the wielder's hand in a frenzied state.
I plan to have the party encounter the sword in the hands of a cultist enforcer who serves the land's god of greed and bloodlust, functioning as the encounter that takes the party to level 3. If things become dire for the enforcer, he will kill one of his subordinates, demonstrating the sword's life-stealing capabilities. After the enforcer is slain, the sword will bond with whichever party member is first to grab its handle. The sword will be amiable to the wielder at first, until it eventually becomes bloodthirsty. I plan for there to be an adventure to a sacred pool at some point in the future in order to cleanse the sword of its cursed soul.
I would appreciate any constructive feedback or suggestions!
This actually sounds really fun as-is; my only comment regarding the rules is that 2d6 necrotic for succeeding on the frenzy save might be a little high, as a shortsword only normally does d6 damage and at level 3 suddenly losing 12 HP because you managed to talk down an enemy rather than have to fight it or whatever, could be dangerous. Grog Strongjaw in Critical Role didn't encounter the Sword of Kas until he was quite a high level (15 or so? Higher?), so the 3d6 psychic damage it could do was chump-change to a Goliath Barbarian by then. I'd maybe just drop that to d6, and if you feel that's too low force the player to test again if they keep the sword unseathed for too long? I mean it shouldn't be able to kill a level 3 player, and isn't super likely to knock them out, so maybe it's not a big deal, that's just my first thought anyway.
Otherwise I'm curious who the cultists will be; there are quite a few abyssal daemon lords that would suit this very well, like Baphomet or Yeenoghu if you're looking for ideas on that.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I think I may remove the property where a creature brought down to 0 hit points by the sword instantly dies. My original thought behind that property was that the sword's spirit is so bloodthirsty that it would not allow itself to be used nonlethally, but I can see how the specific wording I used may create problems if used on other PCs.
Thank you for the feedback! I think you're right that the 2d6 may be a bit high. I think I may take your suggestion and make it 1d6 or maybe 2d4 instead. I also like your idea of making the sword enter a frenzy if it hasn't been used in a while. Maybe 30 days, or something similar to that. As for the deity of the cultists, I already have one in mind from my homemade pantheon, but thank you again for the suggestions
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Hey there,
I'm a fairly new DM running my first campaign. The party is made of three players (a bard, a DEX fighter, and a druid) who started at level 1, and are soon going to be reaching level 3. I would like to hear other's thoughts on my homebrew weapon in terms of balancing. The concept is a cursed, sentient +1 shortsword with a personality somewhat similar to that of the Sword of Kas, but with life-stealing properties.
Information that will be given to the party:
If unowned, the sword immediately attunes to the first person to grasp its handle who then becomes its chosen wielder. The sword feels like a powerful extension of the user, filling them with courage. While holding the sword, the wielder has advantage against being frightened. When striking a bloodied creature (less than half its max HP), the sword deals an additional 1d4 necrotic damage. If a creature is brought down to 0 HP by this sword, the creature dies, and the wielder gains temporary hit points equal to half the damage of the finishing strike. This effect does not work on constructs or the undead.
Information that will be learned by the party through experience:
The sword itself has an innate bloodlust. When the sword's handle is grabbed, it becomes magically bound to the wielder and cannot be sheathed, dropped, or thrown. The sword must draw blood within 1 minute of being removed from its sheathe, otherwise it enters a state of frenzy. In this frenzied state, the sword will demand the blood of the creature in closest proximity to the wielder that is within eyesight and is not a construct or undead. The wielder must then make a DC 11 WIS saving throw or else lose control to the sword and attack that creature. The wielder has advantage if this creature is an ally, and disadvantage if this creature was hostile towards the wielder at any point in the past. On a success, the user instead draws their own blood to satiate the sword, taking 2d6 necrotic damage. Either way, blood is drawn and the frenzy is ended. If there is no creature within eyesight that can satisfy its demands, the sword will turn on its wielder to satiate itself, dealing 2d6 necrotic damage and ending its frenzy.
The sword cannot be wielded by anyone other than the one it is bound to. If another creature tries to wield it, that creature takes 2d6 necrotic damage and the sword appears in the hand of its chosen wielder in a frenzied state, demanding the blood of the one who tried to wield it. If the sword and its wielder are ever separated by more than 60 feet, it becomes outraged, magically appearing in the wielder's hand in a frenzied state.
I plan to have the party encounter the sword in the hands of a cultist enforcer who serves the land's god of greed and bloodlust, functioning as the encounter that takes the party to level 3. If things become dire for the enforcer, he will kill one of his subordinates, demonstrating the sword's life-stealing capabilities. After the enforcer is slain, the sword will bond with whichever party member is first to grab its handle. The sword will be amiable to the wielder at first, until it eventually becomes bloodthirsty. I plan for there to be an adventure to a sacred pool at some point in the future in order to cleanse the sword of its cursed soul.
I would appreciate any constructive feedback or suggestions!
This actually sounds really fun as-is; my only comment regarding the rules is that 2d6 necrotic for succeeding on the frenzy save might be a little high, as a shortsword only normally does d6 damage and at level 3 suddenly losing 12 HP because you managed to talk down an enemy rather than have to fight it or whatever, could be dangerous. Grog Strongjaw in Critical Role didn't encounter the Sword of Kas until he was quite a high level (15 or so? Higher?), so the 3d6 psychic damage it could do was chump-change to a Goliath Barbarian by then. I'd maybe just drop that to d6, and if you feel that's too low force the player to test again if they keep the sword unseathed for too long? I mean it shouldn't be able to kill a level 3 player, and isn't super likely to knock them out, so maybe it's not a big deal, that's just my first thought anyway.
Otherwise I'm curious who the cultists will be; there are quite a few abyssal daemon lords that would suit this very well, like Baphomet or Yeenoghu if you're looking for ideas on that.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I think I may remove the property where a creature brought down to 0 hit points by the sword instantly dies. My original thought behind that property was that the sword's spirit is so bloodthirsty that it would not allow itself to be used nonlethally, but I can see how the specific wording I used may create problems if used on other PCs.
Thank you for the feedback! I think you're right that the 2d6 may be a bit high. I think I may take your suggestion and make it 1d6 or maybe 2d4 instead. I also like your idea of making the sword enter a frenzy if it hasn't been used in a while. Maybe 30 days, or something similar to that. As for the deity of the cultists, I already have one in mind from my homemade pantheon, but thank you again for the suggestions