Altrunchen
2016-03-27, 03:03 PM
Introduction:
I was playing a Mario game a while ago and noticed how the magikoopas had these magical rods that they shot magical blasts out to hurt Mario. Seeing this got me wondering if it might make for a good addition to a D&D weapon for mages. So I statted some out, calling them war-rods (since I couldn't think of a better term) and included them in some games. So far it's been a pretty successful addition and hasn't become game-breaking. With that in mind, I figured that I would post here about them so that maybe someone else could benefit from it.
http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/7/79/Magikoopa_Artwork_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png/220px-Magikoopa_Artwork_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png
Where I got the idea from.
Concept Description:
The core idea here is a magical rod that shoots out magic blasts and deals generic damage. The magic has to be targeted in order to hit and has a limited range, one that is shorter than that of any bow or crossbow. What's more is that only people who are capable of casting magic are able to use it. They need to already be a mage, or to be sensitive to the weave in order to make use of these.
http://www.zeldalegends.net/gallery/categories/A_Link_to_the_Past/Official_Art/Items/b-rods.jpg
Something visually similar to what a war rod looks like.
War-Rod
Simple Light One-Handed Magical Ranged
Critical: N/A
Range: 30 ft.
Range Increment: None
Type: Magical
Size:
Cost:
Damage:
Weight:
Hp:
Fine
Varies
Varies
0.0625 lb.
Varies
Diminutive
Varies
Varies
0.125 lb.
Varies
Tiny
Varies
Varies
0.25 lb.
Varies
Small
Varies
Varies
0.5 lb.
Varies
Medium
Varies
Varies
1 lb.
Varies
Large
Varies
Varies
2 lbs.
Varies
Huge
Varies
Varies
4 lbs.
Varies
Gargantuan
Varies
Varies
8 lbs.
Varies
Colossal
Varies
Varies
16 lbs.
Varies
Physical Description:
War rods are treated as light, one-handed simple weapons. A war rod is usually about 1.5 feet in length, has a cylindrical shaft, and has a stone sphere mounted on one end. The color of the sphere or of the shaft is inconsequential and is purely aesthetic. Smaller or larger War Rods can be crafted but size has no effect on the amount of damage dealt, though it does effect accuracy. This means that the size of the war rod only effects the attack modifiers but does nothing for the damage modifiers. They are most commonly made for medium-sized creatures.
That being said, there is no requirement for a specific length as long as it's at least 1.5 feet (18 inches) in length for a medium sized creature (use this ratio to judge sizes for differently sized creatures). And the object at the end need not be a sphere. In fact the appearance of a war rod is entirely up to the designer's imagination and their crafting ability. It also depends on how much money they're willing to spend on it.
If it is easier for making the calculations of the dimensions of a war rod then once can use the proportion: 25% of the user's height. As needed.
Usage:
To use a war rod the wielder must make a ranged touch-attack against a target within 30 feet of their current position. To activate the weapon they must will the weapon to fire while holding it with their hand (no mage hand allowed) and while pointing the rod (sphere-first) at the target. Upon doing so a magical bolt of energy will leap forth from the sphere on the end, blasting the target (if they hit). This takes a standard action and provokes an attack of opportunity. War rods do not have charges or limited ammunition. The type of damage dealt is generally akin to that of a magic missile for damage reduction purposes. But some war rods are made to be aligned with a particular element.
The skill Use Magical Device does not apply to war rods and bears no impact on their efficacy.
To clarify, the damage type dealt by the war rod is untyped magical damage. The damage dealt by the spell Magic Missile is of the same variety.
Damage, Accuracy, and Cost:
A war rod has a base damage dice based on the power level of the rod. In addition to this base damage dice, there is the ability to grant the war rod bonuses to hit and to damage. Doing so increases the price of the war rod.
Note to DMs: If you want to make these harder to get or want to alter the prices for balance sake, then you need only adjust the base price. The enhancement costs are percentage based to make this easier to accomplish.
Table: Base Damage Dice and Base Cost
Category:
Damage Dice:
Base Cost:
Lesser
1d4
4000 gp
Minor
1d6
6000 gp
Mezzo
1d8
8000 gp
Major
1d10
10000 gp
Greater
1d12
12000 gp
All prices in the above table are for war rods with a +0 to both attack and damage.
Table: Enhancement cost increases
+1 Attack
+2 Attack
+3 Attack
+4 Attack
+5 Attack
+6 Attack
+7 Attack
+8 Attack
+9 Attack
+10 Attack
+1 Damage
+20%
+30%
+40%
+50%
+60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+2 Damage
+30%
+40%
+50%
60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+3 Damage
+40%
+50%
+60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+4 Damage
+50%
60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+5 Damage
+60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+6 Damage
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+7 Damage
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+8 Damage
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+180%
+9 Damage
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+180%
+190%
+10 Damage
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+180%
+190%
+200%
Range:
A war rod always has a maximum range of 30 feet. It has no range increment when fired. However, it can be thrown for 1d2 damage and only as a projectile can it have a range increment of 30 ft.
Critical Hits & Failures:
A war rod is incapable of a critical hit since it's only a blast of magic. However, it is possible to have a critical failure with a war rod. Most of the time it involves either dropping it, hitting oneself with the attack, or even breaking it.
Material Stats:
All war rods have a hardness and an hp rating. It is possible to destroy them with non-magical objects. Use the following formulas to determine the material properties of each war rod. If a war rod is broken, then it cannot be repaired and the magical enhancements on the object are lost forever.
Hardness = 10 + Total Enhancement Bonus
HP = 10 + Total Enhancement Bonus
Crafting:
Only people who have received at least 4 years of special training are capable of making war rods. And those people must learn from a master. Texts do exist that detail how to do it, but if one is teaching oneself how to make these then it takes 8 years of learning plus the costs of experimentation and so on. The information below details how to make one of these.
Table: Base Rod Crafting Requirements:
Level:
Gp Cost:
Xp Cost:
Craft DC:
Crafting Time:
Lesser
3000
500
15
2 months
Minor
5000
1000
25
4 months
Mezzo
7000
2000
35
8 months
Major
9000
4000
45
16 months
Greater
11000
8000
55
32 months
Adding enhancement bonuses only increases the costs, crafting DCs, and crafting times of war rods. To calculate this, add up the enhancements together and multiply by 10. The result is the total enhancement bonus and the percentage increase of the base costs and crafting times. An example is if you want to make a +10 attack and a +10 damage war rod, then the enhancement bonus is +20, therefore you must increase the costs and the crafting time by 200%.
Cost Increase Percentage = Total Enhancement Bonus * 10
Elemental Enchantments: If you want a war rod to deal a particular type of damage (like acid, fire, sonic, ice or the like) then it immediately increases the costs and the crafting time by 50%. This also applies to war rods that are purchased instead of crafted.
I may add or subtract to this as time goes on. But for right now I think this will suffice.
Special Thanks:
Libro (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?129163-Libro)
Guigarci (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?63520-Guigarci)
VoodooPaladin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?81849-VoodooPaladin)
I was playing a Mario game a while ago and noticed how the magikoopas had these magical rods that they shot magical blasts out to hurt Mario. Seeing this got me wondering if it might make for a good addition to a D&D weapon for mages. So I statted some out, calling them war-rods (since I couldn't think of a better term) and included them in some games. So far it's been a pretty successful addition and hasn't become game-breaking. With that in mind, I figured that I would post here about them so that maybe someone else could benefit from it.
http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/7/79/Magikoopa_Artwork_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png/220px-Magikoopa_Artwork_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png
Where I got the idea from.
Concept Description:
The core idea here is a magical rod that shoots out magic blasts and deals generic damage. The magic has to be targeted in order to hit and has a limited range, one that is shorter than that of any bow or crossbow. What's more is that only people who are capable of casting magic are able to use it. They need to already be a mage, or to be sensitive to the weave in order to make use of these.
http://www.zeldalegends.net/gallery/categories/A_Link_to_the_Past/Official_Art/Items/b-rods.jpg
Something visually similar to what a war rod looks like.
War-Rod
Simple Light One-Handed Magical Ranged
Critical: N/A
Range: 30 ft.
Range Increment: None
Type: Magical
Size:
Cost:
Damage:
Weight:
Hp:
Fine
Varies
Varies
0.0625 lb.
Varies
Diminutive
Varies
Varies
0.125 lb.
Varies
Tiny
Varies
Varies
0.25 lb.
Varies
Small
Varies
Varies
0.5 lb.
Varies
Medium
Varies
Varies
1 lb.
Varies
Large
Varies
Varies
2 lbs.
Varies
Huge
Varies
Varies
4 lbs.
Varies
Gargantuan
Varies
Varies
8 lbs.
Varies
Colossal
Varies
Varies
16 lbs.
Varies
Physical Description:
War rods are treated as light, one-handed simple weapons. A war rod is usually about 1.5 feet in length, has a cylindrical shaft, and has a stone sphere mounted on one end. The color of the sphere or of the shaft is inconsequential and is purely aesthetic. Smaller or larger War Rods can be crafted but size has no effect on the amount of damage dealt, though it does effect accuracy. This means that the size of the war rod only effects the attack modifiers but does nothing for the damage modifiers. They are most commonly made for medium-sized creatures.
That being said, there is no requirement for a specific length as long as it's at least 1.5 feet (18 inches) in length for a medium sized creature (use this ratio to judge sizes for differently sized creatures). And the object at the end need not be a sphere. In fact the appearance of a war rod is entirely up to the designer's imagination and their crafting ability. It also depends on how much money they're willing to spend on it.
If it is easier for making the calculations of the dimensions of a war rod then once can use the proportion: 25% of the user's height. As needed.
Usage:
To use a war rod the wielder must make a ranged touch-attack against a target within 30 feet of their current position. To activate the weapon they must will the weapon to fire while holding it with their hand (no mage hand allowed) and while pointing the rod (sphere-first) at the target. Upon doing so a magical bolt of energy will leap forth from the sphere on the end, blasting the target (if they hit). This takes a standard action and provokes an attack of opportunity. War rods do not have charges or limited ammunition. The type of damage dealt is generally akin to that of a magic missile for damage reduction purposes. But some war rods are made to be aligned with a particular element.
The skill Use Magical Device does not apply to war rods and bears no impact on their efficacy.
To clarify, the damage type dealt by the war rod is untyped magical damage. The damage dealt by the spell Magic Missile is of the same variety.
Damage, Accuracy, and Cost:
A war rod has a base damage dice based on the power level of the rod. In addition to this base damage dice, there is the ability to grant the war rod bonuses to hit and to damage. Doing so increases the price of the war rod.
Note to DMs: If you want to make these harder to get or want to alter the prices for balance sake, then you need only adjust the base price. The enhancement costs are percentage based to make this easier to accomplish.
Table: Base Damage Dice and Base Cost
Category:
Damage Dice:
Base Cost:
Lesser
1d4
4000 gp
Minor
1d6
6000 gp
Mezzo
1d8
8000 gp
Major
1d10
10000 gp
Greater
1d12
12000 gp
All prices in the above table are for war rods with a +0 to both attack and damage.
Table: Enhancement cost increases
+1 Attack
+2 Attack
+3 Attack
+4 Attack
+5 Attack
+6 Attack
+7 Attack
+8 Attack
+9 Attack
+10 Attack
+1 Damage
+20%
+30%
+40%
+50%
+60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+2 Damage
+30%
+40%
+50%
60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+3 Damage
+40%
+50%
+60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+4 Damage
+50%
60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+5 Damage
+60%
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+6 Damage
+70%
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+7 Damage
+80%
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+8 Damage
+90%
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+180%
+9 Damage
+100%
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+180%
+190%
+10 Damage
+110%
+120%
+130%
+140%
+150%
+160%
+170%
+180%
+190%
+200%
Range:
A war rod always has a maximum range of 30 feet. It has no range increment when fired. However, it can be thrown for 1d2 damage and only as a projectile can it have a range increment of 30 ft.
Critical Hits & Failures:
A war rod is incapable of a critical hit since it's only a blast of magic. However, it is possible to have a critical failure with a war rod. Most of the time it involves either dropping it, hitting oneself with the attack, or even breaking it.
Material Stats:
All war rods have a hardness and an hp rating. It is possible to destroy them with non-magical objects. Use the following formulas to determine the material properties of each war rod. If a war rod is broken, then it cannot be repaired and the magical enhancements on the object are lost forever.
Hardness = 10 + Total Enhancement Bonus
HP = 10 + Total Enhancement Bonus
Crafting:
Only people who have received at least 4 years of special training are capable of making war rods. And those people must learn from a master. Texts do exist that detail how to do it, but if one is teaching oneself how to make these then it takes 8 years of learning plus the costs of experimentation and so on. The information below details how to make one of these.
Table: Base Rod Crafting Requirements:
Level:
Gp Cost:
Xp Cost:
Craft DC:
Crafting Time:
Lesser
3000
500
15
2 months
Minor
5000
1000
25
4 months
Mezzo
7000
2000
35
8 months
Major
9000
4000
45
16 months
Greater
11000
8000
55
32 months
Adding enhancement bonuses only increases the costs, crafting DCs, and crafting times of war rods. To calculate this, add up the enhancements together and multiply by 10. The result is the total enhancement bonus and the percentage increase of the base costs and crafting times. An example is if you want to make a +10 attack and a +10 damage war rod, then the enhancement bonus is +20, therefore you must increase the costs and the crafting time by 200%.
Cost Increase Percentage = Total Enhancement Bonus * 10
Elemental Enchantments: If you want a war rod to deal a particular type of damage (like acid, fire, sonic, ice or the like) then it immediately increases the costs and the crafting time by 50%. This also applies to war rods that are purchased instead of crafted.
I may add or subtract to this as time goes on. But for right now I think this will suffice.
Special Thanks:
Libro (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?129163-Libro)
Guigarci (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?63520-Guigarci)
VoodooPaladin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?81849-VoodooPaladin)