Colmarr
2009-05-20, 06:53 PM
My DM has given me the opportunity of creating an artifact for my 4e battle cleric of Tempus to wield. The artifact will likely be gained at approximately 9th level and is intended to last into late paragon.
Here's what's I've come up with:
Artifact: Stormbringer
This bastard sword is silver-white, with a hilt cap depicting a shield emblazoned with lightning.
Stormbringer is a +3 thundering bastard sword with the following properties and powers.
Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +3d6 thunder damage
Property: Stormbringer may be used as a holy symbol. While using Stormbringer as a holy symbol, you do not gain the weapon’s proficiency bonus to attack rolls.
Property: You gain a +2 item bonus to Insight and Endurance checks.
Power (Daily): As per thundering weapon.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. You grant one ally within 5 squares a power bonus to AC and Reflex equal to the enhancement bonus of this weapon. The bonus lasts until the end of your next turn.
Stormbringer is appropriate for paragon-tier characters.
Goals of Stormbringer -
Roleplaying Stormbringer -
Concordance
Starting score 5
Owner gains a level +1d10
Owner … (+)
Owner … (+)
Owner … (+)
Owner … (-)
Owner … (-)
Transcendent (Over 20)
“None shall fall over whom we stand guard”
Stormbringer is proud to be in the possession of such a faithful guardian.
Stormbringer’s enhancement bonus increases to +4.
Critical: +4d6 thunder damage.
Property: You gain the dwarf “Stand your ground” ability if you do not already have it. If you already have that ability, the ability instead reduces forced movement by a further 1 square.
Pleased (16–20)
“We are an aegis for the weak”
The owner’s faithfulness pleases Stormbringer, and it gives the owner greater power to protect his or her charges.
Property: The item bonus to Insight and Enduarance checks increases to +4.
Power (Encounter): Immediate Interrupt; when an ally is hit by an attack. You and the ally gain resist 10 to untyped damage until the end of your next turn.
Satisfied (12–15)
“Do not give up! We can save them yet!”
The owner has proved himself a defender of the weak. Stormbringer spurs its owner toward greater deeds with greater gifts.
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls against any creature that is adjacent to an ally who has a lower Armour Class than you.
Power (Daily): Standard Action. As the paladin’s (encounter 13) Whirlwind Smite power.
Normal (5–11)
“I am Stormbringer, defender of the meek.”
Stormbringer keeps the owner under constant scrutiny, pushing him or her to defend those less capable of defending themselves.
Unsatisfied (1–4)
“Stormbringer chafes under my antipathy.”
The owner does not show the dedication and selflessness that Stormbringer desires, and Stormbringer resorts to stronger encouragement.
Special: You take a –2 penalty to attack rolls if you are not within 5 squares of an ally.
Angered (Below 1)
“If you will not protect them voluntarily, then I will make you.”
Stormbringer considers its owner unworthy. If the owner does not find redemption soon, Stormbringer exacts punishment upon him or her. Until then, Stormbringer forces the owner to lay down his or her life for the weak.
Special: Once per encounter, when an ally or non-enemy is bloodied, Stormbringer forces its owner to use a healing surge as a free action. The owner regains no hit points. The bloodied ally or non-enemy regains hit points as though it had spent a healing surge.
Moving On
“Others are in need of my protection”
Stormbringer leaves its owner …
If Stormbringer is displeased with its owner…
My thoughts and logic:
Other than the “Owner gains a level + 1d10” (which seems to be on all artifacts) I’ve left all the roleplaying and concordance factors for the DM to decide. My character has seen Stormbringer before (in the hands of his mentor), but has never wielded the weapon and has only a vague notion of what Stormbringer wants.
To give him (and you) some guidance though, I designed the sword by jotting down some keywords that guided my choice of powers. Those keywords were Guardian, Champion, Insight and Perseverance. Concordance and roleplaying based around or related to those keywords will work just fine.
From a mechanical perspective, I designed Stormbringer using the Spear of the Skylord (from Dragon Magazine) as the base for comparison. Both are paragon artifacts.
The base weapon is a +3 thundering bastard sword, which on its own is a level 13 weapon. When you add the various base properties (skill bonus and counting as a holy symbol) and the additional daily power, it’s easily a level 14, maybe even level 15, weapon.
I’m half-inclined to remove the daily power that adds to an ally’s AC and Reflex. I originally had that as an encounter power, before realising it was grossly overpowered.
As it stands, a fully concordant Stormbringer grants 3 daily powers and 1 encounter power. The fact that most of the powers are daily goes some way IMO to balancing the weapon, because it takes at least 2 encounters per day for the user to be able to use all 3 daily powers (remembering that you normally get 2 items powers per day at paragon rather than 1).
I’m a bit cautious about the property granted by the “Satisfied” concordance rating (the +1 to attack rolls). That’s a pretty hefty property, so I tried to limit it (and tie it to the theme of the weapon) by adding the proviso about allies. At the moment, it would only be triggered by the party's wizard, but by early paragon (after I take Scale and Heavy Shield proficiencies) the party druid and possibly the rogue will probably qualify.
I’m also a bit cautious about the “Satisfied” concordance rating’s daily power. It’s a paladin 13 power, and it’s possible that my character might therefore have access to a level 13 encounter power at level 11 or 12 (or even 10 if the DM sets the concordance factors too generously and/or I roll well for my +1d10 on level up). Against that fact, it must be noted that the power can only be used once per day.
So what do the playgrounders think? I'm particularly interested on comments as to whether this is balanced against other paragon artifacts or not.
Here's what's I've come up with:
Artifact: Stormbringer
This bastard sword is silver-white, with a hilt cap depicting a shield emblazoned with lightning.
Stormbringer is a +3 thundering bastard sword with the following properties and powers.
Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +3d6 thunder damage
Property: Stormbringer may be used as a holy symbol. While using Stormbringer as a holy symbol, you do not gain the weapon’s proficiency bonus to attack rolls.
Property: You gain a +2 item bonus to Insight and Endurance checks.
Power (Daily): As per thundering weapon.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. You grant one ally within 5 squares a power bonus to AC and Reflex equal to the enhancement bonus of this weapon. The bonus lasts until the end of your next turn.
Stormbringer is appropriate for paragon-tier characters.
Goals of Stormbringer -
Roleplaying Stormbringer -
Concordance
Starting score 5
Owner gains a level +1d10
Owner … (+)
Owner … (+)
Owner … (+)
Owner … (-)
Owner … (-)
Transcendent (Over 20)
“None shall fall over whom we stand guard”
Stormbringer is proud to be in the possession of such a faithful guardian.
Stormbringer’s enhancement bonus increases to +4.
Critical: +4d6 thunder damage.
Property: You gain the dwarf “Stand your ground” ability if you do not already have it. If you already have that ability, the ability instead reduces forced movement by a further 1 square.
Pleased (16–20)
“We are an aegis for the weak”
The owner’s faithfulness pleases Stormbringer, and it gives the owner greater power to protect his or her charges.
Property: The item bonus to Insight and Enduarance checks increases to +4.
Power (Encounter): Immediate Interrupt; when an ally is hit by an attack. You and the ally gain resist 10 to untyped damage until the end of your next turn.
Satisfied (12–15)
“Do not give up! We can save them yet!”
The owner has proved himself a defender of the weak. Stormbringer spurs its owner toward greater deeds with greater gifts.
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls against any creature that is adjacent to an ally who has a lower Armour Class than you.
Power (Daily): Standard Action. As the paladin’s (encounter 13) Whirlwind Smite power.
Normal (5–11)
“I am Stormbringer, defender of the meek.”
Stormbringer keeps the owner under constant scrutiny, pushing him or her to defend those less capable of defending themselves.
Unsatisfied (1–4)
“Stormbringer chafes under my antipathy.”
The owner does not show the dedication and selflessness that Stormbringer desires, and Stormbringer resorts to stronger encouragement.
Special: You take a –2 penalty to attack rolls if you are not within 5 squares of an ally.
Angered (Below 1)
“If you will not protect them voluntarily, then I will make you.”
Stormbringer considers its owner unworthy. If the owner does not find redemption soon, Stormbringer exacts punishment upon him or her. Until then, Stormbringer forces the owner to lay down his or her life for the weak.
Special: Once per encounter, when an ally or non-enemy is bloodied, Stormbringer forces its owner to use a healing surge as a free action. The owner regains no hit points. The bloodied ally or non-enemy regains hit points as though it had spent a healing surge.
Moving On
“Others are in need of my protection”
Stormbringer leaves its owner …
If Stormbringer is displeased with its owner…
My thoughts and logic:
Other than the “Owner gains a level + 1d10” (which seems to be on all artifacts) I’ve left all the roleplaying and concordance factors for the DM to decide. My character has seen Stormbringer before (in the hands of his mentor), but has never wielded the weapon and has only a vague notion of what Stormbringer wants.
To give him (and you) some guidance though, I designed the sword by jotting down some keywords that guided my choice of powers. Those keywords were Guardian, Champion, Insight and Perseverance. Concordance and roleplaying based around or related to those keywords will work just fine.
From a mechanical perspective, I designed Stormbringer using the Spear of the Skylord (from Dragon Magazine) as the base for comparison. Both are paragon artifacts.
The base weapon is a +3 thundering bastard sword, which on its own is a level 13 weapon. When you add the various base properties (skill bonus and counting as a holy symbol) and the additional daily power, it’s easily a level 14, maybe even level 15, weapon.
I’m half-inclined to remove the daily power that adds to an ally’s AC and Reflex. I originally had that as an encounter power, before realising it was grossly overpowered.
As it stands, a fully concordant Stormbringer grants 3 daily powers and 1 encounter power. The fact that most of the powers are daily goes some way IMO to balancing the weapon, because it takes at least 2 encounters per day for the user to be able to use all 3 daily powers (remembering that you normally get 2 items powers per day at paragon rather than 1).
I’m a bit cautious about the property granted by the “Satisfied” concordance rating (the +1 to attack rolls). That’s a pretty hefty property, so I tried to limit it (and tie it to the theme of the weapon) by adding the proviso about allies. At the moment, it would only be triggered by the party's wizard, but by early paragon (after I take Scale and Heavy Shield proficiencies) the party druid and possibly the rogue will probably qualify.
I’m also a bit cautious about the “Satisfied” concordance rating’s daily power. It’s a paladin 13 power, and it’s possible that my character might therefore have access to a level 13 encounter power at level 11 or 12 (or even 10 if the DM sets the concordance factors too generously and/or I roll well for my +1d10 on level up). Against that fact, it must be noted that the power can only be used once per day.
So what do the playgrounders think? I'm particularly interested on comments as to whether this is balanced against other paragon artifacts or not.