Seerow
2014-09-28, 05:16 PM
So I've been working on ways to handle magic items for literally years. I've tried a dozen different variations, but never got something that I felt quite right with. For the most part I fiddled around with attunement points similar to Essentia from Incarnum, and generally wound up feeling like the resulting system didn't fit quite right with D&D, thematically or mechanically.
Recently someone on the forums (I forget who, but if you read this, say something and I'll edit your name in here) mentioned the possibility of magic item properties scaling with the +X Enhancement. So you have a +1 Flaming Weapon that deals +1d6, a +5 Flaming weapon does +5d6, to make that +X Enhancement that much more valuable. I've been turning that over in my head, and think I have a new base for a Magic Weapon/Armor system I am happy with, but am curious if others thing it is workable.
The Basics
Major Enhancements-An item may have a very small number of Major Enhancements. A +1, +2, or +3 item may have a single Major Enhancement. A +4 or +5 item may have two Major Enhancements. Major Enhancements provide a defining capability to the item which scales with the Enhancement Bonus.
Some Major Enhancements have a [Tag] which indicates being part of a grouping of Major Enhancements that behave similarly. No item may have two Major Enhancements that share the same [Tag].
Minor Enhancements-A item may have 1 minor enhancement, plus 2 additional minor enhancements for every point of Enhancement bonus beyond +1. Minor Enhancements tend to provide less powerful magical benefits to the item. Some of these Enhancements modify the item's Major Enhancement, in this case the property will have a prerequisite for a Major Enhancement with a specific [Tag].
Sample Properties
This is still a pretty new concept, so I don't have the entire catalogue of Magic Items converted over. Not by a long shot. But I did do a write up of a bunch of properties to give a clearer idea of what I imagine a Major and Minor Enhancement being, and the sorts of interactions I had in mind.
Elemental Enhancement [Energy]
Minimum Bonus: +1
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one element of Fire, Cold, Electric, or Acid. This weapon deals 1d6 damage of the chosen element per +1 of the weapon. So a +2 Elemental weapon deals 2d6 additional damage, a +5 Elemental weapon deals 5d6 additional damage. Once created, the energy type of an elemental weapon may not be changed.
Alignment Enhancement [Energy]
Minimum Bonus: +2
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one alignment (Lawful, Chaotic, Good, Evil). This weapon is of that alignment, and bypasses damage reduction accordingly. Additionally, the weapon deals 1d6 damage of the chosen element per +1 of the weapon. An aligned weapon bestows one negative level per +1 enhancement of the weapon to any creature who tries to wield it who does not match its alignment.
Defending [Defensive]
Minimum Bonus: +1
Effect: You gain a bonus to AC equal to the weapon's enhancement bonus while wielding this weapon. Additionally at the start of each of your turns, you gain 10 temporary hit points per enhancement bonus of the weapon. These temporary hit points do not stack with themselves, or any other source of temporary hit points.
Elemental Burst
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: Your elemental damage is now increased on a crit. When your weapon crits, instead of d6s for your elemental damage, you roll d12s. If the weapon has a x3 crit multiplier, roll 2d8 for every d6 instead. If the weapon has a x4 crit multiplier, roll 2d12 for every d6.
Energy Beam
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: You can use your weapon to channel a beam of pure energy of the type appropriate to the weapon. Choose a target within 120ft. As a standard action, you may make a ranged touch attack against the target, using your normal melee to-hit attack bonus. This attack deals 3 times the normal energy damage your weapon would deal.
Energy Boost
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: Once per day per cha modifier plus the enhancement bonus of the weapon, you can use a swift action to double the energy damage caused by this weapon for one round.
Energy Blast
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: You can spend a swift action to make your next attack with this weapon additionally deal its energy damage to all creatures within 10ft of your target, excluding yourself.
Energy Admixture
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one additional type of energy that is available for your Major Enhancement. Your weapon's energy damage now counts as dealing both types of energy whenever it deals damage, choosing the most effective damage type when applicable. So a Fire Weapon Admixtured with Cold deals either Fire or Cold damage, depending on which is most advantageous.
Instant Riposte
Prerequisite: Any [Defensive] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: When an enemy attacks and misses you, instantly deal 1d6 points of damage to the enemy per point of Enhancement bonus of the weapon. This damage bypasses all damage reduction.
Parrying
Prerequisite: Any [Defensive] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: When Fighting Defensively or using Combat Expertise, the benefit of your Major Enhancement is doubled.
Bane
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one creature subtype. When fighting enemies of that subtype, this weapon is treated as though it is +2 higher, and deals an additional 2d6 untyped damage to the creature.
Ghost Touch
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: A ghost touch weapon deals damage normally against incorporeal creatures.
Superior Weaponry
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: This weapon is unusual for one of its type. It gains 1 bonus upgrade slot* which must be spent when the weapon is forged.
Special: This ability may be taken multiple times. Its effects stack.
Morphing Weapon
Prerequisite: Superior Weaponry x2
Cost: +X
Effect: You gain an additional bonus upgrade slot, as though you had taken Superior Weaponry again. However, all bonus upgrade slots gained from this property and superior weaponry may be modified as a swift action, with the weapon magically changing shape to fit the new form.
Ki Focus
Prerequisite: Base weapon must be a monk special weapon
Effect: This weapon counts as a Monk Unarmed strike for the purposes of all monk special abilities, such as Stunning Fist and Quivering Palm.
Twin Weapon
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: This weapon magically splits into two, with both weapons having all major and minor enhancements. Separating and recombining the weapons takes a swift action. If the magical duplicate leaves your hands, it automatically vanishes. You cannot split the weapon into more than two.
*See the Weapons, Upgrades, and More in my signature.
Considerations
So obviously it's still fairly rough. I have no costs listed at all. As far as GP value goes, I feel like the +X Enhancement Bonus should be the bulk of the cost, so while a plain +5 Weapon costs 50k gp, a +5 weapon with maxed out properties probably shouldn't exceed much more than 100k GP. Which pushes me towards wanting most of the properties to be a flat cost gp wise. This also helps make weapon properties more competitive with stand alone magic items, while still keeping the exponential cost curve in acquiring more powerful weapons and armor more or less in tact.
I am also wondering if some minor enhancements should cost multiple slots, or if anything strong enough multiple slots is something that should be considered as a major enhancement.
Other things:
-Names. Major Enhancement, Minor Enhancement, [Tag], etc, are all pretty clunky nomenclature. Should come up with something that flows better
-How many Major Enhancements should there be? Which Enhancements, core and non should be qualified as Major? Speed seems like a good candidate, but not one that scales easily with the +X bonus without getting out of control. Wounding similarly seems good, but could very easily get overpowered.
-Should all Major Enhancements get minor enhancements that modify them? Right now I lean towards yes. Major Enhancements define what the weapon is about, minor enhancements help flesh that out and make it interesting. Being able to have two different flaming swords that act completely differently is a very cool part of this system. It can also be used to balance out the Major Enhancements. A Weak Major Enhancement might be able to get more powerful minor enhancements to support it. All while making the equipment more flavorful and interesting.
Possible Adaptation to Other Items
So this part I'm less sure on, but thought I'd throw it out there: I was considering making other magic items work similarly to the weapons/armor. I was thinking associate every magical item to one of the 6 stats, and those properties come as add-ons to your attribute enhancement items. Something like a +2 item can have 1 property, a +4 can have 2, and a +6 can have 3. (Or 2/4/6, but I don't think 36 magic item properties by level 20 is really desirable or necessary). Stuff like Resistance Bonus to saves or Natural Armor/Deflection to AC would be add-ons to those items that use their bonus (so a +2 Con item with natural armor also gets +2 natural armor).
It would effectively limit characters to 8-9 relatively potent/interesting magic items, which is still more than enough to feel like the 3.5 christmas tree, but each individual item becomes more meaningful, and due to the restrictions of what properties you can use together help to highlight the flavor of the item, much like what is being intended with the weapons and armor.
Conclusion
The intent of these changes is to rework the Magical Weapons and Armor system to make magic items more interesting and distinctive, encouraging customization and magical properties that fit a coherent theme, all the while making the +X Enhancement Bonus of the item much more powerful and meaningful to the weapon owner. A +5 Weapon has a huge amount more potential than a +1 weapon, and casting Greater Magic Weapon on the +1 weapon won't close that gap.
So what do you think? Is the core of this system coherent enough to try to build on and flesh out? What sorts of properties would you like to see? What do you feel the best candidates for major enhancements are? Do you absolutely hate the idea? Why? Looking for any and all feedback on this.
Recently someone on the forums (I forget who, but if you read this, say something and I'll edit your name in here) mentioned the possibility of magic item properties scaling with the +X Enhancement. So you have a +1 Flaming Weapon that deals +1d6, a +5 Flaming weapon does +5d6, to make that +X Enhancement that much more valuable. I've been turning that over in my head, and think I have a new base for a Magic Weapon/Armor system I am happy with, but am curious if others thing it is workable.
The Basics
Major Enhancements-An item may have a very small number of Major Enhancements. A +1, +2, or +3 item may have a single Major Enhancement. A +4 or +5 item may have two Major Enhancements. Major Enhancements provide a defining capability to the item which scales with the Enhancement Bonus.
Some Major Enhancements have a [Tag] which indicates being part of a grouping of Major Enhancements that behave similarly. No item may have two Major Enhancements that share the same [Tag].
Minor Enhancements-A item may have 1 minor enhancement, plus 2 additional minor enhancements for every point of Enhancement bonus beyond +1. Minor Enhancements tend to provide less powerful magical benefits to the item. Some of these Enhancements modify the item's Major Enhancement, in this case the property will have a prerequisite for a Major Enhancement with a specific [Tag].
Sample Properties
This is still a pretty new concept, so I don't have the entire catalogue of Magic Items converted over. Not by a long shot. But I did do a write up of a bunch of properties to give a clearer idea of what I imagine a Major and Minor Enhancement being, and the sorts of interactions I had in mind.
Elemental Enhancement [Energy]
Minimum Bonus: +1
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one element of Fire, Cold, Electric, or Acid. This weapon deals 1d6 damage of the chosen element per +1 of the weapon. So a +2 Elemental weapon deals 2d6 additional damage, a +5 Elemental weapon deals 5d6 additional damage. Once created, the energy type of an elemental weapon may not be changed.
Alignment Enhancement [Energy]
Minimum Bonus: +2
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one alignment (Lawful, Chaotic, Good, Evil). This weapon is of that alignment, and bypasses damage reduction accordingly. Additionally, the weapon deals 1d6 damage of the chosen element per +1 of the weapon. An aligned weapon bestows one negative level per +1 enhancement of the weapon to any creature who tries to wield it who does not match its alignment.
Defending [Defensive]
Minimum Bonus: +1
Effect: You gain a bonus to AC equal to the weapon's enhancement bonus while wielding this weapon. Additionally at the start of each of your turns, you gain 10 temporary hit points per enhancement bonus of the weapon. These temporary hit points do not stack with themselves, or any other source of temporary hit points.
Elemental Burst
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: Your elemental damage is now increased on a crit. When your weapon crits, instead of d6s for your elemental damage, you roll d12s. If the weapon has a x3 crit multiplier, roll 2d8 for every d6 instead. If the weapon has a x4 crit multiplier, roll 2d12 for every d6.
Energy Beam
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: You can use your weapon to channel a beam of pure energy of the type appropriate to the weapon. Choose a target within 120ft. As a standard action, you may make a ranged touch attack against the target, using your normal melee to-hit attack bonus. This attack deals 3 times the normal energy damage your weapon would deal.
Energy Boost
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: Once per day per cha modifier plus the enhancement bonus of the weapon, you can use a swift action to double the energy damage caused by this weapon for one round.
Energy Blast
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: You can spend a swift action to make your next attack with this weapon additionally deal its energy damage to all creatures within 10ft of your target, excluding yourself.
Energy Admixture
Prerequisite: Any [Energy] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one additional type of energy that is available for your Major Enhancement. Your weapon's energy damage now counts as dealing both types of energy whenever it deals damage, choosing the most effective damage type when applicable. So a Fire Weapon Admixtured with Cold deals either Fire or Cold damage, depending on which is most advantageous.
Instant Riposte
Prerequisite: Any [Defensive] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: When an enemy attacks and misses you, instantly deal 1d6 points of damage to the enemy per point of Enhancement bonus of the weapon. This damage bypasses all damage reduction.
Parrying
Prerequisite: Any [Defensive] Major Enhancement
Cost: +X
Effect: When Fighting Defensively or using Combat Expertise, the benefit of your Major Enhancement is doubled.
Bane
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: Choose one creature subtype. When fighting enemies of that subtype, this weapon is treated as though it is +2 higher, and deals an additional 2d6 untyped damage to the creature.
Ghost Touch
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: A ghost touch weapon deals damage normally against incorporeal creatures.
Superior Weaponry
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: This weapon is unusual for one of its type. It gains 1 bonus upgrade slot* which must be spent when the weapon is forged.
Special: This ability may be taken multiple times. Its effects stack.
Morphing Weapon
Prerequisite: Superior Weaponry x2
Cost: +X
Effect: You gain an additional bonus upgrade slot, as though you had taken Superior Weaponry again. However, all bonus upgrade slots gained from this property and superior weaponry may be modified as a swift action, with the weapon magically changing shape to fit the new form.
Ki Focus
Prerequisite: Base weapon must be a monk special weapon
Effect: This weapon counts as a Monk Unarmed strike for the purposes of all monk special abilities, such as Stunning Fist and Quivering Palm.
Twin Weapon
Prerequisite: None
Cost: +X
Effect: This weapon magically splits into two, with both weapons having all major and minor enhancements. Separating and recombining the weapons takes a swift action. If the magical duplicate leaves your hands, it automatically vanishes. You cannot split the weapon into more than two.
*See the Weapons, Upgrades, and More in my signature.
Considerations
So obviously it's still fairly rough. I have no costs listed at all. As far as GP value goes, I feel like the +X Enhancement Bonus should be the bulk of the cost, so while a plain +5 Weapon costs 50k gp, a +5 weapon with maxed out properties probably shouldn't exceed much more than 100k GP. Which pushes me towards wanting most of the properties to be a flat cost gp wise. This also helps make weapon properties more competitive with stand alone magic items, while still keeping the exponential cost curve in acquiring more powerful weapons and armor more or less in tact.
I am also wondering if some minor enhancements should cost multiple slots, or if anything strong enough multiple slots is something that should be considered as a major enhancement.
Other things:
-Names. Major Enhancement, Minor Enhancement, [Tag], etc, are all pretty clunky nomenclature. Should come up with something that flows better
-How many Major Enhancements should there be? Which Enhancements, core and non should be qualified as Major? Speed seems like a good candidate, but not one that scales easily with the +X bonus without getting out of control. Wounding similarly seems good, but could very easily get overpowered.
-Should all Major Enhancements get minor enhancements that modify them? Right now I lean towards yes. Major Enhancements define what the weapon is about, minor enhancements help flesh that out and make it interesting. Being able to have two different flaming swords that act completely differently is a very cool part of this system. It can also be used to balance out the Major Enhancements. A Weak Major Enhancement might be able to get more powerful minor enhancements to support it. All while making the equipment more flavorful and interesting.
Possible Adaptation to Other Items
So this part I'm less sure on, but thought I'd throw it out there: I was considering making other magic items work similarly to the weapons/armor. I was thinking associate every magical item to one of the 6 stats, and those properties come as add-ons to your attribute enhancement items. Something like a +2 item can have 1 property, a +4 can have 2, and a +6 can have 3. (Or 2/4/6, but I don't think 36 magic item properties by level 20 is really desirable or necessary). Stuff like Resistance Bonus to saves or Natural Armor/Deflection to AC would be add-ons to those items that use their bonus (so a +2 Con item with natural armor also gets +2 natural armor).
It would effectively limit characters to 8-9 relatively potent/interesting magic items, which is still more than enough to feel like the 3.5 christmas tree, but each individual item becomes more meaningful, and due to the restrictions of what properties you can use together help to highlight the flavor of the item, much like what is being intended with the weapons and armor.
Conclusion
The intent of these changes is to rework the Magical Weapons and Armor system to make magic items more interesting and distinctive, encouraging customization and magical properties that fit a coherent theme, all the while making the +X Enhancement Bonus of the item much more powerful and meaningful to the weapon owner. A +5 Weapon has a huge amount more potential than a +1 weapon, and casting Greater Magic Weapon on the +1 weapon won't close that gap.
So what do you think? Is the core of this system coherent enough to try to build on and flesh out? What sorts of properties would you like to see? What do you feel the best candidates for major enhancements are? Do you absolutely hate the idea? Why? Looking for any and all feedback on this.