Pimp your weapons

[Shinn]

Hi everyone,
I'm starting a campaign with a legendary spearman as a BBEG. So I started to give him a description, but I felt that was incomplète : Primus, the First Emperor, deserved a real cool spear, not a generic one... And that's the same for every high-level PC or NPC : many important characters have an unique Weapon, such as Gae Bolga, Narsil/Anduril or Kusanagi.
Each of these weapons had an appearance différent from the generic version.

So my question is : What are the weapons modification you know for each type of weapon ? I have a few of them for swords, but I'm really intérested by the polearms customizations.

PS : it's not about bonus-giving modifications, such as Feycraft template, barbed blade or cranked bow : it's purely a cosmetic and roleplaying question.

[LordOfCain]

Maybe Kensai, item familiars, and ancestral weapon could help with one item being legendary?

[Shinn]

Thanks, but that wasn't what I was talking about. It was about the appearance of the spear, not the bonuses. For example, the blade could be an old dinosaur tooth, and the pole is carved on a Giant bone. Mechanically, it gives nothing, but it's définitively more awesome than a basic spear, because it's customized.

[OldTrees1]

Thanks, but that wasn't what I was talking about. It was about the appearance of the spear, not the bonuses. For example, the blade could be an old dinosaur tooth, and the pole is carved on a Giant bone. Mechanically, it gives nothing, but it's définitively more awesome than a basic spear, because it's customized.

Coloration and gems are common. (Think a sword made of pitch black metal with a line of golfball sized rubys trailing up the flat of the blade)

Minor effects also work:
Constantly drips blood (nice minor curse)
Temporarily leaves shimmers in the air that it passes through

[Aldrakan]

Shaped from a single piece of obsidian
Blade of bronze, forged in an ancient style used by a civilization that no longer exists
Sings a song of mourning in a dead language when it kills someone

[Âmesang]

When I heard "spearman" my mind immediately turned to Zhao Yun and Lü Bu (well, his might be closer to a halberd), so I'd suggest looking up artwork from the various Dynasty Warriors and SoulCalibur games to get an idea of how you want your emperor's spear to look… even if it's something as simple as just showing your players a photo of it.

[mabriss lethe]

A lot of it depends on what sort of themes you're exploring with the BBEG.

-Does he have an elemental theme? If so: Earth: The spear point is a leaf shaped point chipped from a rich yellow streaked flint, and despite it's fragile looks, it's as hard and sharp as steel. Air. The entire spear is nothing but a shimmering weapon-shaped aura in his hands. Water: Its rest state is a quicksilver like liquid that flows into the shape of his spear on command. Fire: It was once the weapon of a hero, but now is a charred and twisted wreck, warped by flames, but still unbroken.

If he's supremely evil, maybe it's darkness given physical form, or your prototypical demonic weapon. Alternately, it could be the beautifully crafted weapon of an angel that he keeps as a prize along with a tattered and scorched cloak made from its wings.

[SwordChucks]

I know a player whose gnoll uses a greatclub that looks like a meat tenderizer and cooks and eats their kills.

For a spear, I like the image of a blue dragon's horn on the end of a pole with lightning patterns down the side.

[Afgncaap5]

Might be fun to have a spear called Erinak, shaped from one of the quills of a monstrous, spiny beast like a massive porcupine or hedgehog, dark brown in color but seemingly much lighter than many other spears of its size. The brown and white dapples across its body seem almost tame in comparison to the damage the spear itself is capable of.

I also once had a halfling pyromancer (by going wizard, and then WILLFULLY IGNORING all the generally accepted good options so that I could pursue fire-themed or halfling-themed options). He had a +1 flaming sling that was made from the tongue of a red dragon. Can't remember the name of it. The DM asked if I shouldn't up its cost since it was made out of an exotic material, I asked if that wasn't already covered in the cost of the magic item creation, she pointed out that dragon hide is already a magic material, I pointed out that dragon hide confers no bonus to weapons and that a tongue isn't really hide, and we sort of settled on me not paying more, but to always have a portion of my budget on my character sheet earmarked as if I had. Ultimately, though, it was fine to effectively pay extra just so that I could in story terms describe it as a dragon tongue, and work that in to my wizard's descriptions about what makes different kind of fires better than others for different tasks (empyrean fire, primal fire, elemental fire, dragon fire, even things like dwarfish forge fire, etc.)

-EDIT-

Oh, and it's not mine, but a DM for a 5e game I run has a nation that used a weird technique for making all their weapons that makes it blaze with an arcane spark. Weapons made by this nation are mechanically almost identical, but anyone killed with the weapons immediately turns into ash and scatters around. The only real mechanical boost there is for hiding bodies after a fight, I think.

[Red Fel]

Consider a weapon of one type so oddly-shaped or sized that it can only be used as a weapon of another type.

For example, a long, light, flexible sword, with a sturdy, long handle, and a blade six feet in length... Which, due to its lightness (as opposed to a thicker, heavier blade) can only be really used as a polearm. Mechanically, it simply functions as a polearm, but aesthetically... That's a sword. It's a long blade sticking out of a short stick, it's a sword.

Another example, a massive axe that is almost exclusively blade. The handle is very small and located mostly inside the curve of the axe; as such, and due to its weight, it is almost unusable as an axe, but entirely functional as a small shield. In theory, a character with enough strength could wield it as an axe (see e.g. the Dwarven Buckler-Axe, a buckler with bladed edges), but for most characters, it's simply a shield that looks like an axe.

Another idea is to go with weapons that clearly have their own agenda going on. The slapstick classic is tying an unwilling subject, such as a live tiger, to a sturdy stone or wood beam and using the entire assembly as a surprisingly effective weapon. Another option is to have a weapon that is visibly a weapon, but also visibly alive, and probably planning something. The Soul Edge, from the Soul Calibur series, is one such example.


http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/0/07/Soul_Edge_SC2.jpg
Yes, the eye moves.

Yet another idea is to have the weapon do something. The whole "dripping blood" thing has been mentioned, but what about the reverse? If drawn in an area where blood has been shed, the blood starts to trickle towards the weapon, even going as far as to float up to it through the air. Or perhaps the weapon, when it draws blood or strikes an opponent for the first time in combat, "wakes up" somehow, such as the edges becoming sharper and more serrated, wrappings around the blade or hilt slowly peeling away, the metal humming like a tuning fork, or inscriptions slowly becoming more visible. Again, merely aesthetic features, but always a fun touch of detail.

[Thurbane]

I was recently inspired by an article I saw in my Facebook feed (this relates to 5E, but still): The Sword of Bone (https://koboldpress.com/milton-magic-mythical-items-from-english-literature/)

...I'm a big fan of the Supernatural TV series, and this weapon featured prominently in one of the more recent seasons (it was call The First Blade). It required the wielder receive a mark that turned him evil/into a demon so he could wield it.

But to the purpose of this thread: a simple thing like the jawbone of a donkey would be pretty cool weapon when properly fluffed.

http://i64.tinypic.com/1zvr2o0.png

[Âmesang]

Soul Edge. Warning, super gross.
You think that's bad? You should see Lizardman/Aeon Calcos. :smallamused: He defends himself with a meat on a stick. (http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Meat_on_the_Bone)

[DrMotives]

I had PCs make a magic glaive, so kinda sorta spear, out of a random encounter with a giant rhinoceros beetle. They mounted the beetle's horn on a pole to form the weapon.

[Seerow]

A great go-to place for custom looking weapons is honestly MMO's. Just WoW alone has a couple hundred different models for any conceivable weapon type, and a lot of them are really out there.


For me personally, the things that make a weapon stand out are designs/engravings and special materials, and usually I want to tie them into the character in some way to make it uniquely theirs. So I want a unique spear for a legendary spearman? I'd probably go for something like a mithril spear with an adamantine spearhead. Around the spear's haft is a golden inlay of an eastern style dragon curling around it, culminating in the tip that looks like it has an open mouth giving way to the spearhead. Then tie in special effects based on its magic properties. Is it a shocking weapon? The gold dragon crackles with lightning as it is being wielded.


Just as an example, this was my weapon/armor description from one of my favorite characters that I've played:


Aa’Maar (Heart of the Mountain) is a massive maul, with its head crafted from purple crystal and a long haft made from a solid piece of jet black stone. The head is set in a finger width ring of alchemical gold with runes carved into it. On command the crystal head of the weapon glows with a bright inner light. The weapon’s haft is carved with an intricate series of runes filled with alchemical gold to make them stand out. Whenever the Hammer scores a critical hit, or stuns a target, the Crystal’s inner light flares briefly turns red, and one of the runes on the haft lights up.

Drothan's Stone Armor is a master craft of dwarven style. The armor is crafted from a brown granite, polished to a sheen which is preserved by magic. The armor covers the entire body as full plate, and while wearing the armor and helm, Drothan looks much like a moving boulder. Carved into the stone of the armor are an ever growing elaborate series of runes. Each rune represents a different spell known, when casting the spell Drothan draws energy from the armor itself to power the spell. As he draws this energy, the rune corresponding to the spell glows brightly, with a color appropriate to the spell school.

[zyggythorn]

I feel the need to point out the Monster Hunter series of games for weapon inspiration.

It's works so nicely that I have given Druids and Rangers the ability to make magic weapons using survival checks, so long as all materials are from monsters that would conceivably impart these abilities.

(Ex: a mudmaw would be able to be broken down and have it'd tongues used as whips, such as a +1 acidic paralyzing whip, Manticores could have there tail turned into a morning star, etc etc)

As far as polearms, it's nice to know what you would be looking for, but I've always been a fan of refluffing rapiers and similar such weapons.

After all, a sufficiently sized rapier is indistinguishable from a lance!

[khadgar567]

I feel the need to point out the Monster Hunter series of games for weapon inspiration.

It's works so nicely that I have given Druids and Rangers the ability to make magic weapons using survival checks, so long as all materials are from monsters that would conceivably impart these abilities.

(Ex: a mudmaw would be able to be broken down and have it'd tongues used as whips, such as a +1 acidic paralyzing whip, Manticores could have there tail turned into a morning star, etc etc)

As far as polearms, it's nice to know what you would be looking for, but I've always been a fan of refluffing rapiers and similar such weapons.

After all, a sufficiently sized rapier is indistinguishable from a lance!
what about odd ones like switch axe or insect glaive

[Reprimand]

Lighter silver colored material for the blade/point ornate metal bronzish or brownish color golden trimming/design and red cloth tassels and a ruby planted in the pommel of the spear and a larger ruby on each side of the base of the blade were in connects to the pole. golden dragon motiff similar to the staff of the monkey king from the forbidden kingdom movie with jackie chan and shia leobuf

[zyggythorn]

what about odd ones like switch axe or insect glaive

The IG is pretty clearly a bo staff, two-handed sword, or similar double weapon.
For a SA, I'd take either the axe forme for inspiration on a battle or great axe, and the sword forme for inspiration on a massive two-handed sword or something. Heck, in a game I'm running right now, I used the Seregios SA for inspiration on a player's axe.

[Calthropstu]

The dispelling dagger I made was pretty hardcore.

But intelligent weapons can be made to do pretty much anything. I would suggest making the weapon intelligent with specific purpose of protecting this emporer and his descendants so long as they live.