PF homebrew, a spell of blunting/piercing?

[MalcolmReynolds]

Hey playground

i'm gonna be playing a bladebound kensai magus in a pathfidner campaign coming up, and i am blindingly aware that it will restrict my damage type, especially doing the dervish dance build limiting me to a scimitar (slashing damage)

i'm just wondering, would there be a spell to change damage type to blunt or piercing (i've just got an image of eragon where the guy blunts their blades for training), or if not would this do?

level 1 (name) wizard/magus/sorcerer etc...
casting time 1 standard action
duration 1 min/level
target weapon (touch it)
components V, S and M (lets say a pebble, nail or rasor depending on blunt/piercing/slashing)

A magical layer of force coats the weapon, changing the type of damage done. this can be demonstrated through the appearance of blunting, spikes or a blade depending on whatever etc...

would that be alright?

[Slipperychicken]

You might want to post this on the Homebrew Design board.


Personally, I'd consider raising the level to 2nd. This spell can let you overcome DR, and that's really useful.

[AttilaTheGeek]

This does belong in the Homebrew board. If you specifically say that all it does is manipulate the shape of the blade without letting it overcome DR from being magic, I think it'd be fine at 1st level, and could even be an all-day, 1 hour/level buff.

[Crake]

A layer of force implies that the weapon now deals magical damage and force also implies it has no miss chance vs incorporeal. That seems a little over the top for a 1st level spell and not what it sounds like you were intending. How about instead put the spell in transmutation and have the rule go something like "This spell changes the physical nature of a touched weapon to deal a different type of damage (piercing, bludgeoning or slashing, chosen at the time of casting). The weapon retains all other characteristics, including qualification for specific weapons whenever called (a Longsword remains a Longsword for example, and thus still benefits from feats like Weapon Focus (Longsword)) unless these abilities also call for damage that the target no longer does (A vorpal weapon that no longer deals slashing damage for example loses its ability to decapitate on a natural 20)."

[MalcolmReynolds]

yes... sorry for posting in the wrong place and poor wording.

i did not intend for it to overcome dr regarding magic or force, just to manipulate the physical properties of the weapon to change it from slashing->blunt->piercing or whatever.

with this in mind i dont think it'd be too bad as a level 1 spell

[watchwood]

If all it does is manipulate the damage type then it's a fairly balanced level 1 transmutation, even with a fairly long duration.

You can also look into other damage boosting spells, such as Frostbite.

[TuggyNE]

This does belong in the Homebrew board. If you specifically say that all it does is manipulate the shape of the blade without letting it overcome DR from being magic, I think it'd be fine at 1st level, and could even be an all-day, 1 hour/level buff.

The mention of DR earlier was with respect to DR/bludgeoning, DR/slashing, etc, I believe, which should be at least a bit harder to overcome. (DR/magic is nearly useless anyway.)

[Slipperychicken]

The mention of DR earlier was with respect to DR/bludgeoning, DR/slashing, etc, I believe, which should be at least a bit harder to overcome. (DR/magic is nearly useless anyway.)

That's what I was referring to. Changing the damage type can really improve damage output against the right enemy, such as Skeletons. So be wary. Adding a situational 3 or more damage seems more in the power level of a 2nd level spell to me.

[doko239]

Why not simply give the weapon the Transformative property? Then it can be whatever weapon type you want it to be. You'll lose out on Dervish Dance, but Agile enchantment would serve just as well.

Edit: also, as of level 5, a Bladebound Magus gains Energy Attunement, at which point the damage type of your weapon pretty much becomes irrelevant anyway.

[jmelesky]

Yeah, I'm not convinced this is necessary, either.

First, in the hands of a Dervish Dancer, a scimitar can be a piercing weapon, too (though it's not clear from the wording whether that would apply to DR).

Second, you don't get Dervish Dance or your black blade until 3rd level.

Third, even when you do get it, there's nothing preventing you from carrying say, a light mace and a dagger. That's a mere 5 lbs of extra stuff, less if you go mithril. No need to enchant, either, because of your arcane pool.

Fourth, a magus isn't a core melee class. It doesn't have full BAB, kensai especially doesn't have many weapon proficiencies. It's okay for your character to not be able to handle all situations at peak efficiency.

Fifth, if you do want to handle a wider variety of stuff, don't be a bladebound kensai. The whole point of those archetypes is to limit what you can do in exchange for making what you can do that much more awesome.

Sixth, a magus hits hard. Even with 5 points of DR, when you're sending shocking grasp through an expanded crit-range weapon, you're contributing to the fight pretty significantly.

Finally, I'd make that a 2nd-level spell, too. Bypassing DR is a big deal. And, frankly, I'm hesitant to add arcane spells that give the caster more melee flexibility.