Sentient Cleric Weapon

[grymm]

Recently, for my players I organized a Salsa Cook Off. I do things like this to help get them engaged in the social aspect of the game and to get free munchies during the game. :smallsmile:

So, they were going to vote on who they thought had the best salsa and to get full participation, the winner was to get an in-game item that I have designed specifically for their character. The Cleric won.

I seemed to have developed some sort of creative block and can't seem to put together a cohesive thought on it. I was thinking of a warhammer of some sort named Hope's End. It would be sentient communicating through emotions and possessive, not allowing the wielder to attune to any other items. The Cleric worships Torm and has been in the Abbey most of his life. He has the War Domain so any martial weapon could work. I was also thinking of a defensive ability on the weapon since he keeps throwing himself on the front lines.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Much appreciated.

[ZenBear]

That would work fine. Perhaps a Defender Warhammer?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Torm's symbol is a gauntlet, right? So you could make the weapon a magic fist that provides both defensive and attacking bonuses.

If it (effectively) takes three attunement slots, you should make sure its benefits are worth it. This is a reward, after all. There's a guide to creating sentient/legendary weapons in the DMG that should help guide you balance-wise.

[Slipperychicken]

For a weapon called Hope's End, I'd imagine there would be some kind of fear effect. Perhaps it could make enemies within 30ft save against the frightened condition once per short rest?

For being possessive, what if you had it forbid the cleric from using other weapons instead?

[BoutsofInsanity]

When making a sentient weapon you need to consider the history behind it. What caused this weapon to come into existence? Why is it's name "Hope's End"? What is it's purpose?

To me, a holy weapon named Hope's End signifies darkness. That this is the delete button put into place by some deity. That when Hope has died, when it has ended, that evil has won and good no longer exists, you start over. This weapon is one of the weapons of the apocalypse. That the being inside the weapon is fury, judgement, and vengence rolled into one. Evil has triumphed, there are no more options, no last second save, no extra life, no Calvary, the demonic portal is open and is spewing hate and filth out into the world. It's down to you and this weapon. And you hit the delete button.

As Such.

+1 Warhammer
Thrown property
Returning Property
+1d8 Radiant Damage

The entity trapped within the hammer is an Archangel. Solemn with purpose, and saddened by it's fate. It never wants to be used. As such gives advice on how it believes as a lawful good entity on how to handle situations. Grants advantage on Religion and History Checks. It also gives advantage on diplomacy checks with divine entities.

However, after becoming attuned...

+3 Warhammer
Thrown Property
Returning Property
+1d10 Radiant Damage
Advantage on mind affecting spells due to the Archangels influence
When the attuned character, OR when a character with the attuned Character's blessing wields this weapon and is dropped to 25% hp the following happens.

Immediately cleansed of all debuffs upon his person. Gains Temporary Hit Point Shield that lasts till destroyed. Equal to 3*character lvl
Gains DR 4/- and his hammer gains knockback of 15 feet. He may chain a melee attack into a thrown one.

Or, at conversely, may take it another route.

As a universal mute button put on the field of battle by the gods, the Hammer has this ability instead.

Relying on the strength of those put on this world to defend it, the hammer Hope's End may extend an antimagic field for 4 miles in radius. This field removes all protections, resistances, and defensive abilities from everyone involved. To even the playing field. It comes down to the physical abilities of the combatants and their strength of will. Thus, a balor loses all resistances and only retains his hp, to hit bonus, and AC. Becoming a contest of strength rather then magic. A fighter would have a field day with this ability. So would a dragon. But a creature with magical defenses would be sunk. DM interpretation would be important in this instant, and communication for players.

Just some ideas. Think on the narrative, why this item exists, and what does it do. An Item like "Hope's End", with a name like that, should have abilities that fit the name.

[KorvinStarmast]

Hope's End: should be a weapon/warhammer crafted to resemble the rounded/shapely derrier of a famous saintly woman who was named Hope.

It's features include the effects like:
- +1 /+3 versus undead
- An Umber Hulk's Confuse ability usable 3x per day or once per short rest. (Did you see that sweet, round, awesome ...)
- When wielded by a cleric of the proper deity, it illuminates a 60' radius as with moonlight.
- Empathy Communication with wielder provide Advantage for Perception/Insight/Lore/Knowledge ... this reflects "a woman's intuition" since Hope wasn't just a gal with a nice walk.
- One per day/long rest/week Flame Strike (Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned) versus enemies of wielders who don't accept the message of cleric's deity.

Hope's End ... an inscription in old Dwarvish script says
"You can't look away!"

[Joe the Rat]

Wordplay and deeper meaning can open up options.

Hope's End is not the end of hope - as in a bringer of despair. It's the reason for having hope, the goal behind hope - to keep trying when all signs point to failure, to give you the drive to last another day, to rise up in defiance, or to be the salvation so badly needed. Hope is the means, the weapon provides the end.

It should be sustaining, or inspiring, or really good at getting the hammer (and by consequence the wielder) to where it needs to be in the nick of time. Maybe it's a blue power ring. Play with that a bit.

[grymm]

Thank you all for the great ideas and input. :smallsmile:

[saeval]

I really like boutsofinsanity's first suggestion, even if it can be a bit difficult to balance out. I tend to agree with the name settled, it takes a sort of despair oriented build.

I think some sort of fear affect wouldn't be out of the question, maybe activated when an opponent becomes bloodied. I generally love items that are directed towards being a ____ slayer. +1/+3vs... also helps balance it a bit, cause then you know "oh i can put that in, the war cleric will wreck it" while still working with relatively normal CR's for other fights. If its a warhammer, the throwing-returning is just rad, but might bore a player in a "i dont want to be a bowman" sense. The knockback suggested sounds awesome, including the follow up hammer toss, but maybe only a 5 ft shove since most fights rely heavily on positioning, it could make fights really frustrating for you to present a challenge. With a 5ft shove its not so dramatic, and give him the option of stepping into the gap made. If the cleric can just slam everything into a corner and form a meatwall, kinda takes away your wiggle room.

I really like the idea of something activating either when the player gets low, or the enemy gets low, with a weapon with that title. I think that should be played with, and would cause some crazy awesome hype with the players. I mean hell, if its when the cleric gets bloodied, (or lower if you choose) he practically has a "you won't like me when I'm angry" ability. Thats just silly fun.