Akirababe
2014-07-02, 05:14 AM
Hey, question for you guys. I've been ninja-stalking the forum for a long time and finally have a question I couldn't find an answer for.
My hubby is wanting to create an Assassin type character (loads of cross-classing and prestige classes; whole other story, gong show of calculations xP) and he was really interested in the material named in Complete Warrior - Thinaun. (pg 136)... I will take verbatim what the page says on it for the purposes of discussion;
"Thinaun: This dark, glittering steel alloy holds an attraction to souls recently released from their bodies. Obviously, this has application for melee weapons. If a thinaun melee weapon is touching a creature when it dies, that creature’s soul is sucked into the weapon rather than passing on to its final reward. [...]"
Now the question is; does this mean the blade has to be inserted into the victim, or the hammer crushing it's skull? Does the entire weapon HAVE to be made from this material to be of any use in sucking the soul in?
From the description, I take away that the weapon merely has to be making contact with the victim to pull it's soul, not that it has to be performing the act of slicing/poking/smacking away the last hit points. The reason we ask about this is because he wants to be able to do kill contracts and offer the soul in Thinaun for an extra charge (thus denying the target a resurrection to point a finger, or return to whatever they were doing when someone decided they needed to die). We were discussing the option of having a spot in the hilt where a crafted stone of Thinaun could be swapped out to absorb a new soul; similar in practice to augment crystals. That way he can hold onto the souls separately for each contract, and even potentially kill three in one battle without any silly ritual to pull it from the blade. Rather than have him carry around fifty daggers (or katanas, as he seems to be aiming for... even worse, right?)
We also had a debate pop up about the time of "death" according to game rules. Would it be considered as that final hit point ticking off, then BAM, dead? Or would there be a short limbo period where the assassin five feet away could swing his weapon and touch the victim, thus taking its soul?
Personally, as a DM, I would rule in favour of a stone in the hilt being substantially close enough to absorb the soul, as it's part of the weapon (the book doesn't say the material has to be touching, just "the weapon", which should include the hilt in the case of a dagger- or sword-blade made of it), and that so long as he could close the distance within a round and touch his weapon to the victim, he could absorb the soul into the stone. I base that off of the rules for Psionic Revivify, which states: "The power must be manifested within 1 round of the victim’s death. Before the psyche of the deceased has completely left the body, this power halts its journey while repairing somewhat the damage to the body." To me it sounds like you have a short period of limbo before the soul is actually drifted out of the body. Even though they use the word "psyche".
Any thoughts, ideas, opinions, or rules I missed?
My hubby is wanting to create an Assassin type character (loads of cross-classing and prestige classes; whole other story, gong show of calculations xP) and he was really interested in the material named in Complete Warrior - Thinaun. (pg 136)... I will take verbatim what the page says on it for the purposes of discussion;
"Thinaun: This dark, glittering steel alloy holds an attraction to souls recently released from their bodies. Obviously, this has application for melee weapons. If a thinaun melee weapon is touching a creature when it dies, that creature’s soul is sucked into the weapon rather than passing on to its final reward. [...]"
Now the question is; does this mean the blade has to be inserted into the victim, or the hammer crushing it's skull? Does the entire weapon HAVE to be made from this material to be of any use in sucking the soul in?
From the description, I take away that the weapon merely has to be making contact with the victim to pull it's soul, not that it has to be performing the act of slicing/poking/smacking away the last hit points. The reason we ask about this is because he wants to be able to do kill contracts and offer the soul in Thinaun for an extra charge (thus denying the target a resurrection to point a finger, or return to whatever they were doing when someone decided they needed to die). We were discussing the option of having a spot in the hilt where a crafted stone of Thinaun could be swapped out to absorb a new soul; similar in practice to augment crystals. That way he can hold onto the souls separately for each contract, and even potentially kill three in one battle without any silly ritual to pull it from the blade. Rather than have him carry around fifty daggers (or katanas, as he seems to be aiming for... even worse, right?)
We also had a debate pop up about the time of "death" according to game rules. Would it be considered as that final hit point ticking off, then BAM, dead? Or would there be a short limbo period where the assassin five feet away could swing his weapon and touch the victim, thus taking its soul?
Personally, as a DM, I would rule in favour of a stone in the hilt being substantially close enough to absorb the soul, as it's part of the weapon (the book doesn't say the material has to be touching, just "the weapon", which should include the hilt in the case of a dagger- or sword-blade made of it), and that so long as he could close the distance within a round and touch his weapon to the victim, he could absorb the soul into the stone. I base that off of the rules for Psionic Revivify, which states: "The power must be manifested within 1 round of the victim’s death. Before the psyche of the deceased has completely left the body, this power halts its journey while repairing somewhat the damage to the body." To me it sounds like you have a short period of limbo before the soul is actually drifted out of the body. Even though they use the word "psyche".
Any thoughts, ideas, opinions, or rules I missed?