My DM is pretty chill. I am playing an Eldritch Knight fighter that plans on multiclassing into Rogue. I brought up the idea of creating a new weapon crafted for my character specifically that would take the Versatile properties of my primary weapon (Longsword) and combine them with the Finesse Properties of a Scimitar that I picked up off a bandit captain a while back and use a magic ore I acquired to bind the effects of the two sword types with whatever properties the Orchalcum (Magic Ore) might have. She had the Black Smith say he would need to think about it. Following day I went back to pick up some custom arrows that she let me have made and the Black Smith said he could give it a shot, but he would need some time to research it first before he could make anything. She then gave me the Green Light to figure out how the stats and effects would work for the new weapon type. I originally gave her an idea on what I had in mind expecting her to make something so that it would be balanced, but she seems to be willing to trust me to handle the weapons crafting.
There are 3 reasons why I want to be able to do this. 1) I would rather be able to keep one weapon and upgrade it to become stronger with me as I improve rather then just ditching my current equipment for the next best thing when it comes around. 2) I want it to be able to multiclass with me, part of its get stronger with me, so that it doesn't just get a bonus to damage sort of thing. This makes the weapon custom and special to me while also aiding in the 3rd reason. 3) I have 2 teamates that would get value out of this weapon should the need arise. One of them uses larger weapons (So the Versatile property would come in handy given he could get the hightened damage dice 1d8->1d10) but we also have a rogue that would get value out of the finesse properties of the weapon (Dex attack + Sneak Attack) and with me being an Eldritch knight, I can literally summon the weapon whenever it is needed and just pass it off should the need arise. Its my weapon, but we are a team.
So I have some ideas, but I wanted to post them to a forum so that the more experienced players and DM's can make sure i'm not breaking the game in some way trying to create a high quality item that I will hold onto for a while.
The swords core damage will be its 1d8 slashing. Using the weapon one handed as is normal for it will give the option to use Dex or Str to deal its damage. Using it two handed switches it out of Finesse and into Versatile of 1d10 Str. Because the weapon is custom made, I'm hoping to get a basic damage boost to it of some sort. Something along the lines of being familiar with the weapon will give a +1 or +2 to Damage. The idea is that one of my companions would have to train with the weapon some to be able to use it right since it is a little strange. On its base, they can pick it up and use it normally. If I teach them on it, they get the bonus damage modifier because they know how it works. Because the item is made for me, it makes sense for this to be higher in some way. Add my Proficiency modifier to the bonus damage as well? The problem I see with that is that it starts getting really really powerful at later levels, but that would let the weapon lvl up with me to some degree.
Finally, I want to add Attunement to the weapon. The weapon is forged with the use of Orchalcum. Because of this it will have some sort of Magical Property that, as I understand Attunement, won't be unlocked until I attune to the item. Idk what the properties are of the ore yet, She hasn't told me and ill leave that up to her.
Is this unbalanced in some way? I get it takes the chance of breaking the game by pushing it a bit to far, but i'm trying to make sure I can keep my team alive. Open to ideas and suggestions.
Since it drops finesse when used two handed I don’t really see any problem there. If you wanted both I would have suggested maybe dropping each a die size. But since it’s “either/or” not “and” it shouldn’t be a problem. And to be honest, as a special, custom, unique, one-of-a-kind item even that wouldn’t have broken anything.
I would let the special ore allow the sword to pick up enchantment easier, so you would still need to get it enchanted for the magic bonuses, but I would make the ore allow the bonus to grow to = 1/2 of the attuned PC’s Proficiency bonus, but others only ever get +1. Either that or it must be enchanted to be something else like a 1-2 point AC bonus, or Crit on 19+, or a free BA attack with it or something along those lines. Then the special ore could add a flat +1 Magic bonus to Attack and Damage rolls would be an additional bonus.
And I would just make everything “magic” require Attunement so your allies could potentially wield it with training, but only you would get the extra benefits. Or maybe the flat +1 works for everyone, but the other enchantment only works for the Attuned PC. Something like that.
I have no idea what the properties of the ore is. She has left that up in the air so its a sort of to be decided sort of thing right now. On the low end of what it can do, I would like it to cause the weapon to have the Magic Weapon type property. Idea is it deals Magical Slashing Damage. Some creatures have certain resistances, so his would negate some of said resistance. On the high end, I would like to be able to have a spell tacked on as part of the damage. Maybe have some sort of thresh hold that needs to be met in order for it to take effect, but then that takes the chance of causing some serious problem. The spell in choice would be a Smite or Sacred Flame. Originally I wanted to play a Paladin, but past experiences set me for a Priest Fighter instead to figure it out. We are kinda noob players at the moment. At first lvl Sacred Flame only deals 1D8 Radiant Damage, but it has a lvl scaling so idk how that would work. Just keep it as a 1D8? Smite works the same way, but it basically starts at 2D8 instead since its a spell. So it could be a minor Smite that Activates when the hit rolls high enough. But again, that is on the high end. Probably makes the weapon way to powerful, so its something I would consider as the next upgrade sort of thing. Putting Gems in the hilt that hold Charges of Smite and they recharge once a day sort of thing.
The Damage Boost is still the interesting thing. I think having it as a +2 for someone that has fully practiced with it would work, because it would tie into the Proficiency bonus sort of thing. +2 is the lowest the Proficiency goes, so without training its +0, with some its +1, but with a decent amount of training its +2. For me because I'm familiar with it, I get the +2 by default, but if I attune to it it would become +Proficiency instead of just +2 (Which will be a Proficiency Bonus of +3 by the time I actually get the weapon made at its earliest). This bit is why I think adding in a Smite or Magic Spell Mechanic takes the chance of making the weapon way to strong. Giving it Smites that work off a charge system would work, but how that would interact with the rest of the world is the interesting bit. Our world is suffering a problem where the magic in the environment that recharges our magic equipment is fading and causing our gear to not work right. Needing to figure out how to fix that. Doesn't effect our spell casting, just the equipment.
Tiring it directly to Proficiency bonus is not wise IMHO. Proficiency goes to +6 after all. That’s why I suggested half proficiency (rounded down), so the scale stays +1 to +3.
Also, there is no such thing as “magical damage” in 5e, only damage from magic or non-magic sources. Every magic weapon does “damage from a non-magical source.”
Alright, so +1 to anyone trained in using it and I get the +1/2 proficiency damage when I'm attuned to it. You mentioned getting it enchanted. How would that tie in? I'm seeing adding a spell to it but that seems to make it to powerful in a way unless I put a charge counter on it like I mentioned with the use of the Smites. Is there something more common in relation to enchanting weapons and equipment or a resource that goes in depth to it? (I also want to get a good understanding of this for when I run a campaign for the group. I like the idea of them each being able to create custom weapons for themselves so I need to figure out how it works).
Reason I ask is because I see a lot of stuff related to making Custom Items, but not a lot on making Custom Weapons. Or I'm looking in the wrong places. That being said, is it needed for the weapon to have an offensive spell enchanted into it? I know its really weird, but could I have the sword enchanted with a spell I know? Like Shield? So it would be a sword that can block. Or equipping it with a different spell I know as a sort of one cast sort of thing. I still think Charged Smites would work best, but idk.
Also, Thanks for the feedback. It is looking like I was going to enchant the weapon to be way to powerful to begin with, so this really helps.
Technically even a simple +1 requires an enchantment. There are two sets of rules for crafting. One in the DMG, and another in Xanathar’s.
According to the DMG: As an uncommon magic item a basic Longsword, +1 would require an additional 500 gp minimum and 20 days (1day/25gp) to enchant in addition to the weapon itself. A +3 sword would cost 50,000 gp and 2,000 days.
According to XGtE: As an uncommon magic item a basic Longsword, +1 would require an additional 200 gp minimum and 2 weeks to enchant in addition to the weapon itself. A +3 sword would cost 20,000 gp and 25 weeks.
You can enchant a sword with any spell really.
Cantrip & 1st level = common magic item
2nd & 3rd = Uncommon
4th & 5th = Rare
6th & 7th = V Rare
8th & 9th = Legendary
Very few items below Rare carry more than 1 enchantment, so a basic +1 with a 1st-level spell added too and a small handful of charges (1-4) would be Rare.
The "spell on a hit" thing doesn't really happen with 5e weapons. Rather you'd just do a flat +1d8 radiant damage or something. Adding a scaling cantrip to a regular hit would be a massive increase in damage. Alternatively you can give the weapon some daily charges and burn those charges to cast spells. This would be the most appropriate way to cast Shield with a weapon, for example.
It sounds like you're really creeping into Artifact-level power here, which is fine as long as you're not outshining the other party members. It sounds a little unbalanced in this discussion though as you are wielding this amazing weapon and then handing it off to your teammates so they can use it to much lesser effect. The concepts of "this weapon is custom-built for me" and "this item is for the team to share" are inherently contradictory and as it is now kind of comes off feeling like your teammates are just sidekicks or something - that a totally nerfed version of your weapon is better than what they regularly use.
If you have an awesome weapon, they should be getting awesome weapons too at some point. So you shouldn't need to worry about letting them use yours. It should not fall to you, a player, to ensure that your personal weapon covers the adventuring needs of your allies. That duty is the privilege of the DM.
Yeah, a scaling + 1/2 Proficiency (rounded down) Magic Bonus (and +1 for non-attuned people to boot) and 1d3 (1d4 Max) charges / day to cast Shield or maybe (most generous) 1st-level Absorb Elements would already be at least a pretty powerful Very Rare Magic Item. Anything more than that you’re definitely into Legendary category.
So go with everything except the actual magic ability and add that in as the next upgrade and the attunement would get me the Prof bonus. Would let me slowly upgrade the weapon.
In response to Scatterbraind, the idea is not for me to have a weapon that outshines them, but more a custom weapon that lets me hold my own. Our casters would not be able to use it because of the conflict parameters for using a weapon while being a spell caster. Our main weapon user leans towards the side of super weapons (Great sword, ect). Things that have a high damage dice or a lot of damage dice. The other party member is pure Rogue so the bonuses she gets from Sneak Attack out scales any damage that we could dish out. In a worst case scenario where we find our selves cornered and weaponless, I can summon my Sword, pass it off to our great weapon master, summon my Bow, pass it off to our Rogue, and throw spells out on my own in Cantrip form as a support caster. This lets me fully equip my team if it is needed. In comparison, I think this weapon is still weaker then what the rest of the party is capable of dishing out. This is more of me trying to make a weapon that can allow me to actually hold my own without needing to grab something twice my size and because its custom to me it prevents the idea of "I'm going to steal it off him because its better then mine." When it really isn't.
Was a good point though.
-edit-
I think the rest of the party will be getting cool weapons at some point as well. One of our quests had us pick up a lot of this magic ore for the Black Smith making my weapon. As I understand it he is going to make some interesting gear out of it that we can buy. Difference is, I'm jumping the gun a bit with a piece of the ore that I picked up to run my own investigation on on the side. I think she is just going to make cool weapons, but because I'm ahead of the curve and asking for something specific she is letting me work with her on making it unique to my character. It just happens that the properties I am looking for in the weapon take the chance of helping me out significantly while also giving it some value to everyone else based on its individual qualities.
My DM is pretty chill. I am playing an Eldritch Knight fighter that plans on multiclassing into Rogue. I brought up the idea of creating a new weapon crafted for my character specifically that would take the Versatile properties of my primary weapon (Longsword) and combine them with the Finesse Properties of a Scimitar that I picked up off a bandit captain a while back and use a magic ore I acquired to bind the effects of the two sword types with whatever properties the Orchalcum (Magic Ore) might have. She had the Black Smith say he would need to think about it. Following day I went back to pick up some custom arrows that she let me have made and the Black Smith said he could give it a shot, but he would need some time to research it first before he could make anything. She then gave me the Green Light to figure out how the stats and effects would work for the new weapon type. I originally gave her an idea on what I had in mind expecting her to make something so that it would be balanced, but she seems to be willing to trust me to handle the weapons crafting.
There are 3 reasons why I want to be able to do this. 1) I would rather be able to keep one weapon and upgrade it to become stronger with me as I improve rather then just ditching my current equipment for the next best thing when it comes around. 2) I want it to be able to multiclass with me, part of its get stronger with me, so that it doesn't just get a bonus to damage sort of thing. This makes the weapon custom and special to me while also aiding in the 3rd reason. 3) I have 2 teamates that would get value out of this weapon should the need arise. One of them uses larger weapons (So the Versatile property would come in handy given he could get the hightened damage dice 1d8->1d10) but we also have a rogue that would get value out of the finesse properties of the weapon (Dex attack + Sneak Attack) and with me being an Eldritch knight, I can literally summon the weapon whenever it is needed and just pass it off should the need arise. Its my weapon, but we are a team.
So I have some ideas, but I wanted to post them to a forum so that the more experienced players and DM's can make sure i'm not breaking the game in some way trying to create a high quality item that I will hold onto for a while.
The swords core damage will be its 1d8 slashing. Using the weapon one handed as is normal for it will give the option to use Dex or Str to deal its damage. Using it two handed switches it out of Finesse and into Versatile of 1d10 Str. Because the weapon is custom made, I'm hoping to get a basic damage boost to it of some sort. Something along the lines of being familiar with the weapon will give a +1 or +2 to Damage. The idea is that one of my companions would have to train with the weapon some to be able to use it right since it is a little strange. On its base, they can pick it up and use it normally. If I teach them on it, they get the bonus damage modifier because they know how it works. Because the item is made for me, it makes sense for this to be higher in some way. Add my Proficiency modifier to the bonus damage as well? The problem I see with that is that it starts getting really really powerful at later levels, but that would let the weapon lvl up with me to some degree.
Finally, I want to add Attunement to the weapon. The weapon is forged with the use of Orchalcum. Because of this it will have some sort of Magical Property that, as I understand Attunement, won't be unlocked until I attune to the item. Idk what the properties are of the ore yet, She hasn't told me and ill leave that up to her.
Is this unbalanced in some way? I get it takes the chance of breaking the game by pushing it a bit to far, but i'm trying to make sure I can keep my team alive. Open to ideas and suggestions.
Since it drops finesse when used two handed I don’t really see any problem there. If you wanted both I would have suggested maybe dropping each a die size. But since it’s “either/or” not “and” it shouldn’t be a problem. And to be honest, as a special, custom, unique, one-of-a-kind item even that wouldn’t have broken anything.
I would let the special ore allow the sword to pick up enchantment easier, so you would still need to get it enchanted for the magic bonuses, but I would make the ore allow the bonus to grow to = 1/2 of the attuned PC’s Proficiency bonus, but others only ever get +1. Either that or it must be enchanted to be something else like a 1-2 point AC bonus, or Crit on 19+, or a free BA attack with it or something along those lines. Then the special ore could add a flat +1 Magic bonus to Attack and Damage rolls would be an additional bonus.
And I would just make everything “magic” require Attunement so your allies could potentially wield it with training, but only you would get the extra benefits. Or maybe the flat +1 works for everyone, but the other enchantment only works for the Attuned PC. Something like that.
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I have no idea what the properties of the ore is. She has left that up in the air so its a sort of to be decided sort of thing right now. On the low end of what it can do, I would like it to cause the weapon to have the Magic Weapon type property. Idea is it deals Magical Slashing Damage. Some creatures have certain resistances, so his would negate some of said resistance. On the high end, I would like to be able to have a spell tacked on as part of the damage. Maybe have some sort of thresh hold that needs to be met in order for it to take effect, but then that takes the chance of causing some serious problem. The spell in choice would be a Smite or Sacred Flame. Originally I wanted to play a Paladin, but past experiences set me for a Priest Fighter instead to figure it out. We are kinda noob players at the moment. At first lvl Sacred Flame only deals 1D8 Radiant Damage, but it has a lvl scaling so idk how that would work. Just keep it as a 1D8? Smite works the same way, but it basically starts at 2D8 instead since its a spell. So it could be a minor Smite that Activates when the hit rolls high enough. But again, that is on the high end. Probably makes the weapon way to powerful, so its something I would consider as the next upgrade sort of thing. Putting Gems in the hilt that hold Charges of Smite and they recharge once a day sort of thing.
The Damage Boost is still the interesting thing. I think having it as a +2 for someone that has fully practiced with it would work, because it would tie into the Proficiency bonus sort of thing. +2 is the lowest the Proficiency goes, so without training its +0, with some its +1, but with a decent amount of training its +2. For me because I'm familiar with it, I get the +2 by default, but if I attune to it it would become +Proficiency instead of just +2 (Which will be a Proficiency Bonus of +3 by the time I actually get the weapon made at its earliest). This bit is why I think adding in a Smite or Magic Spell Mechanic takes the chance of making the weapon way to strong. Giving it Smites that work off a charge system would work, but how that would interact with the rest of the world is the interesting bit. Our world is suffering a problem where the magic in the environment that recharges our magic equipment is fading and causing our gear to not work right. Needing to figure out how to fix that. Doesn't effect our spell casting, just the equipment.
Tiring it directly to Proficiency bonus is not wise IMHO. Proficiency goes to +6 after all. That’s why I suggested half proficiency (rounded down), so the scale stays +1 to +3.
Also, there is no such thing as “magical damage” in 5e, only damage from magic or non-magic sources. Every magic weapon does “damage from a non-magical source.”
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Alright, so +1 to anyone trained in using it and I get the +1/2 proficiency damage when I'm attuned to it. You mentioned getting it enchanted. How would that tie in? I'm seeing adding a spell to it but that seems to make it to powerful in a way unless I put a charge counter on it like I mentioned with the use of the Smites. Is there something more common in relation to enchanting weapons and equipment or a resource that goes in depth to it? (I also want to get a good understanding of this for when I run a campaign for the group. I like the idea of them each being able to create custom weapons for themselves so I need to figure out how it works).
Reason I ask is because I see a lot of stuff related to making Custom Items, but not a lot on making Custom Weapons. Or I'm looking in the wrong places. That being said, is it needed for the weapon to have an offensive spell enchanted into it? I know its really weird, but could I have the sword enchanted with a spell I know? Like Shield? So it would be a sword that can block. Or equipping it with a different spell I know as a sort of one cast sort of thing. I still think Charged Smites would work best, but idk.
Also, Thanks for the feedback. It is looking like I was going to enchant the weapon to be way to powerful to begin with, so this really helps.
Technically even a simple +1 requires an enchantment. There are two sets of rules for crafting. One in the DMG, and another in Xanathar’s.
According to the DMG: As an uncommon magic item a basic Longsword, +1 would require an additional 500 gp minimum and 20 days (1day/25gp) to enchant in addition to the weapon itself. A +3 sword would cost 50,000 gp and 2,000 days.
According to XGtE: As an uncommon magic item a basic Longsword, +1 would require an additional 200 gp minimum and 2 weeks to enchant in addition to the weapon itself. A +3 sword would cost 20,000 gp and 25 weeks.
You can enchant a sword with any spell really.
Very few items below Rare carry more than 1 enchantment, so a basic +1 with a 1st-level spell added too and a small handful of charges (1-4) would be Rare.
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The "spell on a hit" thing doesn't really happen with 5e weapons. Rather you'd just do a flat +1d8 radiant damage or something. Adding a scaling cantrip to a regular hit would be a massive increase in damage. Alternatively you can give the weapon some daily charges and burn those charges to cast spells. This would be the most appropriate way to cast Shield with a weapon, for example.
It sounds like you're really creeping into Artifact-level power here, which is fine as long as you're not outshining the other party members. It sounds a little unbalanced in this discussion though as you are wielding this amazing weapon and then handing it off to your teammates so they can use it to much lesser effect. The concepts of "this weapon is custom-built for me" and "this item is for the team to share" are inherently contradictory and as it is now kind of comes off feeling like your teammates are just sidekicks or something - that a totally nerfed version of your weapon is better than what they regularly use.
If you have an awesome weapon, they should be getting awesome weapons too at some point. So you shouldn't need to worry about letting them use yours. It should not fall to you, a player, to ensure that your personal weapon covers the adventuring needs of your allies. That duty is the privilege of the DM.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Yeah, a scaling + 1/2 Proficiency (rounded down) Magic Bonus (and +1 for non-attuned people to boot) and 1d3 (1d4 Max) charges / day to cast Shield or maybe (most generous) 1st-level Absorb Elements would already be at least a pretty powerful Very Rare Magic Item. Anything more than that you’re definitely into Legendary category.
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So go with everything except the actual magic ability and add that in as the next upgrade and the attunement would get me the Prof bonus. Would let me slowly upgrade the weapon.
In response to Scatterbraind, the idea is not for me to have a weapon that outshines them, but more a custom weapon that lets me hold my own. Our casters would not be able to use it because of the conflict parameters for using a weapon while being a spell caster. Our main weapon user leans towards the side of super weapons (Great sword, ect). Things that have a high damage dice or a lot of damage dice. The other party member is pure Rogue so the bonuses she gets from Sneak Attack out scales any damage that we could dish out. In a worst case scenario where we find our selves cornered and weaponless, I can summon my Sword, pass it off to our great weapon master, summon my Bow, pass it off to our Rogue, and throw spells out on my own in Cantrip form as a support caster. This lets me fully equip my team if it is needed. In comparison, I think this weapon is still weaker then what the rest of the party is capable of dishing out. This is more of me trying to make a weapon that can allow me to actually hold my own without needing to grab something twice my size and because its custom to me it prevents the idea of "I'm going to steal it off him because its better then mine." When it really isn't.
Was a good point though.
-edit-
I think the rest of the party will be getting cool weapons at some point as well. One of our quests had us pick up a lot of this magic ore for the Black Smith making my weapon. As I understand it he is going to make some interesting gear out of it that we can buy. Difference is, I'm jumping the gun a bit with a piece of the ore that I picked up to run my own investigation on on the side. I think she is just going to make cool weapons, but because I'm ahead of the curve and asking for something specific she is letting me work with her on making it unique to my character. It just happens that the properties I am looking for in the weapon take the chance of helping me out significantly while also giving it some value to everyone else based on its individual qualities.