PDA

View Full Version : Unusual Idea - Magic Item abilities for mundane characters



Nero24200
2009-11-15, 12:06 PM
Recently, I've been watching a few shows/reading a few books where characters with better martial skill and able to use magical weapons and shields better. Not because of magic or any such, but simply because they're better and using weapons, and can use the magic within them better.

This got me thinking...is there anything I can do with magic weapons/armors to make them more appealing to martial characters? Then I thought of this.

MAGICAL EQUIPMENT (FLUFFY PART)
Most magical items are made for a specific purpose. You need only hear about Wings of Flying to know exactly what it is intended for. When mages create such items, they bestow the needed magical energy within them to achieve their goal. Since such items only have single functions, they are able to relay on such a small reserve of magical energy.
Some magical items, however, do not. Some magical items have multiple functions, and thus require more magical energy. Physical items however, magical or not, strain too much whilst storing too much magical energy, and thus they turn to their users.
In each person lies some magical potential. Some find that their energy is naturally awakened (namely, sorcerers), whilst others find they need to study and work hard to siphon their innate energy into the physical realm (namely, wizards). Those that do not use magic in this way aren’t unmagical however. It simply means that they do not use any of their magical potential.
This makes them perfect for such magical items. Magical weapons, shields and armours make use of multiple magical functions, and thus need an additional reserve of energy, for which unmagical warriors have plenty to spare. By siphoning off their inner reserve subtlety, warriors are better able to make use of such enhancements and empower their equipment.

ENHANCMENTS(CRUNCHY PART)
Each enhancement has a series of bonuses which are applied. At first, only the most basic bonuses are in effect, but characters with higher Base-Attack-Bonuses gain more benefits.
Combatants have a number of “Enhancement Points” which enable them to utilise magical weapons/armour/shields in newer ways. The number of points a combatant has is equal to half their base attack bonus (rounding down) plus two. A character can regain any expended Enhancement Points by spending 1 minute resting.
A character with 0 Enhancement Points has expended all reserves of magical energy and thus is fatigued until he/she rests for 1 minute.
Generally, each enhancement has several ability types. There are Innate Abilities which function constantly, even if the character has no enchantment points remaining. And there is also Active Abilities, which require the user to spend actions activating and cost Enhancement Points to use. Each enchantment typically starts with a single Innate and Active ability, with more Active abilities becoming available to characters with higher Base Attack Bonuses.
Unless stated otherwise, any saving throws required due to a magical weapon/armour/shields enchantment has a DC equal to 10 + half the wielders BAB + the wielders constitution modifier. Any effect bestowed by an enhancement is considered a supernatural effect.

COSTS AND MULTIPLE ENHANCMENTS
Typically, enhancements cost 1, 000 gold pieces to begin with, though the cost increases in some cases. Placing an enhancement on a two-handed weapon, for instance, costs double. Placing multiple enchantments on an item also increases the cost as well.
A weapon/shield/suit of armour can have multiple enhancements, but the weilder only gains the benefit of one enhancement per item at any one time (so a wielder with a sword and shield that has a single enhancement on each gains the benefits of both, but a weilder with a sword that has two enhancements on it only gains the benefit of one enhancement at a time). A character that has an item with multiple enhancements on them can switch between enhancements as a move action.
Enhancements can only be placed on weapons/shields/armours that are of masterwork quality only.

{table=head;]Enhancement Number|Cost
1st Enhancement|1,000 Gold
2nd Enchantment|4, 000 Gold
3rd Enhancement|8, 000 Gold
4th Enhancement|16, 000 Gold
5th Enhancement|32, 000 Gold
On a 2-handed weapon|Double Cost[/table]

FLAMMING ENHANCMENT (WEAPON)
A flaming weapon looks like a normal weapon, except that when held it is bathed in bright flames. Fire generated by such a weapon does not burn the weilder (or affect anything in the wielder’s possession).
As well as it’s innate ability a flaming weapon grants the weilder the “Fire Strike” ability. As a character gains a higher base attack bonus, he/she also gains the following benefits.
Enhancing a weapon with the flaming enhancement requires the character to know a single spell/psionic power that has the [Fire] descriptor.

{table=head;width=100%]Wielder’s BAB|Ability Gained
BAB +5|Combust (Bonus Damage +1D8)
BAB +10|Devastating Heat (Bonus Damage +1D10)
BAB +15|Deadly Burns (Bonus Damage +2D6)
BAB +20|Incinerate (Bonus Damage +2D8)[/table]

Innate Ability: Attacks made with a flaming weapon deal +1D6 points of fire damage with every successful attack. This bonus damage increases by one dice increment with every additional ability the character gains via this weapon enhancement (for instance, once the wielder gains access to the “Combust” ability, this bonus damage increases from +1D6 to +1D8), to a maximum of +2D8 at 20th level.
Fire Strike: As a swift action the weilder can turn his/her weapon into pure fire energy. All weapon damage dealt by the weapon is considered fire damage. This ability costs 1 Enchantment point to use and its benefits last until the start of the wielder’s next turn.
Combust: As a standard action the weilder can unleash a wave of heat energy from his/her weapon. All creatures (including allies) within 10ft of the character take XD6 points of fire damage (where X is equal to half the character’s base attack bonus rounding down) and may catch fire. A successful reflex save halves the damage taken and prevents the creature from catching fire. Additionally, flammable objects (such as wood) may catch fire and metals with a low melting point (such as silver) are likely to melt if caught within this ability’s area of effect. This ability costs 2 Enchantment Points to use.
Devastating Heat: The weilder is able to generate heat with an arcane affinity, allowing it to harm creatures normally resistant. This ability allows any fire damage dealt using this weapon to bypass Fire Resistance and Fire Immunity. This ability costs 1 Enhancement Point to use. The weilder can use this ability as an augment to another ability (such as Fire Strike) or on it’s own as a swift action.
Deadly Burns: As a move action the weilder is able to coat his weapon in living flames. These flames travel over foes and continue to burn even after the attack is finished, forcing any foes struck to take 1D4 points of strength damage and are fatigued (though a successful fortitude save negates the fatigue and halves the strength damage). Creatures immune to fire are immune to this effect (unless it is used alongside Devastating Heat). This ability costs 3 Enhancement points to use.
Incinerate: As a standard action the character can strike a foe and coat him/her/it head to toe in flames, burning them alive. The character is able to make a single attack against a foe. If successful, the foe is killed instantly on the spot, leaving only a pile of ash afterwards. A successful fortitude save negates the effect, but the foe still takes 10D6 points of fire damage as well as the damage bestowed by the attack itself. Foes immune to fire damage are immune to this ability (unless it is used alongside Devastating Heat). This ability costs 8 Enhancement points to use.


FLAMMING ENHANCMENT (SHEILD)
A shield with the flaming enhancement may look like a normal shield, but radiates a faint degree of heat to anyone wielding it and seems to glow faintly when surrounded by fire,
As well as it’s innate ability a flaming shield grants the weilder the “Wall of Flames” ability. As a character gains a higher base attack bonus, he/she also gains the following benefits.
Enhancing a shield with the flaming enhancement requires the character to know a single spell/psionic power that has the [Fire] descriptor.

{table=head;width=100%]Wielder’s BAB|Ability Gained
BAB +5| Siphon Heat (Shield Bonus +1)
BAB +10|Hold the Heat (Fire Resistance 8)
BAB +15| Flaming Blacklash (Shield Bonus +2)
BAB +20| Flames of the Phoenix (Fire Resistance 10)[/table]

Innate Ability: As long as the wielder is using the shield and not flat-footed the weilder gains fire resistance 6. This increases to Resistance 8 once the wielder’s base attack bonus reaches +10 and to Resistance 10 once the wielder’s base attack bonus reaches +20. Once the wielder’s base attack bonus reaches +5, this enhancement also increases the wielder’s shield bonus to defence by +1 point and by another +1 point at base attack bonus +15, for a total bonus of +2.
Wall of Flames: As either a swift action or immediate action the wielder can alter the power of his/her enchantment to spread out its powers. The wielder’s fire resistance doubles (so if the weilder has fire resistance 6, it increases to fire resistance 12). Additionally, all allies within 30ft gain half of the wielder’s new resistance value (so a weilder with fire resistance 6 would gain fire resistance 12, but his/her allies would still only gain fire resistance 6). This ability costs 1 Enchantment point to use and its benefits last until the start of the wielder’s next turn.
Siphon Heat: The weilder is able to completely block flaming effects. As an immediate action the weilder can gain both the Mettle and Evasion ability, but only against fire effects. If the weilder already has such abilities, he/she gains the improved version (for instance, a weilder with evasion gains improved evasion using this ability). Additionally, the weilder blocks line of effect for fire abilities. This ability costs 2 Enchantment points to use.
Hold the Heat: As an immediate action the weilder is able to channel innate energy into the shield to increase its protective strength. As long as this ability is active the weilder only takes half damage from fire effects which automatically bypass fire resistance/immunity (such as the Devastating Heat ability). This ability costs 1 Enchantment point to use and its benefits last until the start of the wielder’s next turn.
Flaming Backlash: As an immediate action the weilder is able to counter foes using the power of his/her shield. Whenever a foe strikes the weilder with this ability takes 2D6 points of fire damage and is pushed back 5ft. A successful reflex save halves the damage and prevents the foe from being pushed back. Creatures immune to fire damage or have enough fire resistance to negate the fire damage are immune to being pushed back via this ability. This ability costs 3 Enchantment points to use and its benefits last until the start of the wielder’s next turn.
Flames of the Phoenix: As an immediate action the weilder is able to channel heat into a life force for him/herself. As long as this ability is active the weilder heals hit points equal to the amount of fire damage prevented via this enhancement’s fire resistance (for instance, if the weilder has fire restack 10 and takes 12 points of fire damage, the damage is reduced to 2 points due to the resistance and the weilder then heals 8 points after the damage). This ability costs 5 Enchantment points to use and its benefits last until the start of the wielder’s next turn. This ability can be used alongside Wall of Flames, but the weilder must pay the enhancement point cost of both plus an additional 3 points.

Anything I really seem to be missing with such an idea? A few obvious pros and cons come to mind.

Pros:
1. Gives character's more options, specifically martial characters (which is always a plus, since they need more options).
2. It simplifies enhancments in some ways, since only one enhanment on a weapon/sheid/suit of armor is needed.
3. Since the effects scale, it's easier to complete a campaign with the same weapon you started with it.

Cons:
1. Makes a higher demand for magical equipment for magical characters, since they now have more to loose by not having magical equipment.
2. More book-keeping, since swapping from enhancment X to X closes some options while opening up a list of others. This in itself kinda cancels out Pro No2.
3. Enhancments need to balance now. Before, it was okay that a holy weapon was better than a bane, since one was a +2 and the other was a +1. Under this system they would need to be equal, or at least have a varying points cost which only brings back some of the confusion lost using this system
4. Boosts Sword'n'Broad/TwoWeaponFighters, since both would have increased options if using multiple enhancments.

Any other pros/cons I might be missing with using such a system?

DracoDei
2009-11-17, 12:10 AM
shift key no workie...

boosting sword-and-board and twf is generally considered a good thing.