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View Full Version : [4E] creating weapons of legacy (sort of)



Kol Korran
2009-04-14, 05:10 AM
hello all. inspired by the 3.5 "weapons of legacy", i'm trying to create similar items for my party. for those unfamiliar with the concept, it's basically this: (not exactly like in the book, but as i want to see it)
the party gets a unique magical item, that binds to it. the item begin as fairly low in power, but as the character adventures and goes through experiences, the item gains powers, and at time, might even develop sentience, and a simple personality.

now, this poses quite a problem balance wise and desigining wise. my questions:
1- how do you think i should handle the increasing power? i don't want the item to just replace it's qualities to that of a stronger item (with the exception of a +1 changing to a +2 and so on). i want the items to accumulate powers, and be sort of "uber items". but how much are partial powers worth? how do i calculate the item's power level?

2- i have a few ideas about how powers chould be added:
a) the powers stem from the characters experiences (for example, after fighting a green dragon it may gain resistence to poison, bonus to save against charm effects, or maybe bonus damage against dragons)
b) the powers stem from the character's personality (if s/he is aggresive, most of the powers would be offensive. a skill focused character might gain a bonues to skills, and so on). a & b could work together.
c) a bit of adifferent option: i plan the item's progression ahead of time. to achieve a power the party must succeed in an impressive deed (single handedly defeat a sauhagin baron, withstand the critical breath of a red dragon for example). the character knows what it must do in advance, but it must seek a way to do achieve it. some of the possibilities are allready in the current adventure path, but for some the character must go on mini quests.
also- the item might be developed in several ways (power junction), in which the character knows of two possible progressions, and must choose.

so what do you think ofthese possibilities?

3) item intelligence: i liked intelligent items in 3.5, and this is lacking in 4E. do you think it should exist at all, or is it just distracting? i thought to have the items as mostly empoathic and not talking, sending impressions and sensations to the party's mind, though exceptional items might ultimatly evolve the ability to communicate more clearly. do you think that will add to the game, or just be an annoyance?
also, any ideas as to what the core personalities should be? indpendent from influence? partially as that of their owner? or perhaps shaped by the joined experiences?

3 fairly different questions, but i would appreciate any help you could give.
thanks in advance,
Kol.

kieza
2009-04-14, 12:55 PM
If I recall, intelligent items are covered in the back of the Adventurer's Vault. You might want to look there first to see what else they have to say.

What you're talking about is creating Artifacts, which in 4th edition are less "super-powerful item" and more "legendary item," with many artifacts being based on normal magic items that have been given rudimentary intelligence; there's a coat of mail in the DMG that was worn by a legendary hero, for instance, which likes characters who seek fame; as they become more renowned, it starts to grant them more powers.

You could do something similar with your legacy items: initially base them on normal items, but set conditions for what will convince them to impart new powers; it could be as simple as "attain paragon tier" or as complex as avenging the former owner, who was killed by an assassin fifty years ago.

Shevarash's_Son
2009-05-19, 10:23 PM
The weapons could require feats like a multiclass and a monetary sacrifice as well.

The idea of gaining magic abilites from actual experince would work but it would probably replace a magic item to balance the scales.

theMycon
2009-05-19, 10:37 PM
I only have an opinion on #2-

From a power/fun perspective, I like B- gaining powers based on the character's personality. That makes them stand out more at what they like to do, and (might) give one sizable tactical advantage in whatever fields they're most experienced in. Also ties in well with the sentience.

However, from a story perspective, A-"power from experiences" makes more sense. Not sure how useful it'd be (unless your campaign has "theme foes", what does getting better at dealing with them help?), though.

I'd go with B, for my own preference.

Colmarr
2009-05-19, 11:08 PM
What you're talking about is creating Artifacts

QFT.

4e artifacts are incredibly similar to Weapons of Legacy from 3e. The only real difference is that the PC doesn't take penalties to use them, and they generally have an expected level range. After that level range is exceeded, the artifact moves on to a new owner.

Shevarash's_Son
2009-05-20, 05:34 PM
QFT.

4e artifacts are incredibly similar to Weapons of Legacy from 3e. The only real difference is that the PC doesn't take penalties to use them, and they generally have an expected level range. After that level range is exceeded, the artifact moves on to a new owner.

more differences are that the artifacts have a more needy preference and therefore only characters of certain backrounds

also to get power form experience you would have to really focus your adventure on that specific idea.

it might be interesting for a fighter to use one weapon and be really good at it like a kensei with weapon focus and such

RTGoodman
2009-05-20, 06:15 PM
I think you could create an artifact like others suggested, but I think you could also do something cool by using a Legacy Weapon multiclass feat (like the Spiked Chain one or whatever), and maybe even a Legacy Champion Paragon Path or something. All the powers of the item and the PC stuff could be custom made to fit your PCs and campaign, too, without much fuss. Take a look at all the pre-published Artifacts for ideas. (You can find them all in the Character Builder and probably the Compendium if you've got access to that.)