Help balancing some weapons (trying new mechanic)

[yuriyuyeimi]

Ok so i'm running a 3.5 campaign in a warcraft setting and i had this idea of making some "legacy weapons"
They are magical weapons that "level up" and unlock new properties as pc's do some things, the pc's don't know what triggers them, in each session i'll count and at the end i'll tell them to write the number of "marks" their weappn earned.
What i'm asking (as i'm new to Dming and balancing) is for help about what could trigger these changes and the amount needed, opinions about their ppwer and you can also pitch your own ideas id be glad to read them.
Here are the weapons (did my best to translate from spanish)
-Malorne's blossom (elf cleric)
Lvl1: masterwork warhammer 1d8 20x2
+1 caster lvl if removing a sickness, venom or curse
Lvl 2: mace becomes +1
If the warhammer receives 2h of sunlight onece x day you can cast a healing spell of the highest lvl avaible -1 (if 3rd lvl is your max, the mace gives you a lvl 2) as a swift action and at melee range.
Other lvls will come
For this to lvl up i was thinking that if he removes an illness or venom and if he aids in any way the enviroment (his deity is the god of nature) he gains a mark, dont know how many to evolve maybe 7-10 marks for lvl2
- arrow spitter "thor'anur" (gnome ranger)
Masterwork Longbow(small)
Lvl1: 1d6 20x3
+1 dmg if the target has been already attacked by this bow, only counts base attacks (no rapid shot, etc) (max +2)
lvl2: +1 longbow (small)
at the end of your attack action you can make an additional attack against the same target or someone 5ft away (this atk does not count toward the last bonus and is made only with BAB, no bonus from the weapon and no dex)
the lvl 1 bonus maxes at +4
more lvls to come
how does his weapon lvl up?
- unnamed dagger (human rogue)
lvl1: masterwork dagger 1d4 19-20x2
poison use feat and adds 1 to resist the Dc of any poison used on this blade.
lvl2: +2 dagger 19-20x2
half the dmg made by the dagger is left as a bleed for 1 turn (does not work with sneak attack)
need help with the next lvls.
how does this weapon lvl up?
- bloodmourne (blood version of shadowmourne for people familiar with the lore) (orc barbarian)
lvl1: +1 greataxe 1d12 20x3
no ideas
lvl2: +2 greataxe 1d12 20x3
1/4 of the dmg you make with your first atk becomes a pool of HP from which you can substract damage you receive the next turn (doesn't heal you and dissapears after a turn).
more lvl to come
this weapon lvls up by making killing blows, how many?.
- deathwing's claw/armor buster (2h human fighter)
lvl1: masterwork greatsword 2d6 19-20x2
does crushing/slashing dmg
lvl2: +1 greatsword
after 2 attacks to the same target you reduce his ac by 1.
more to come
(he is taking sunder) lvls up with consecutive sunders.
PC's are lvl 4 and the weapons will appear after various consecutive encounters in their main quest i expect each player to have his weapon by lvl 6 MAX.
Thanks for the read :)

[ExLibrisMortis]

I think those look good. I would just change the second-level bow ability. Don't let them take the extra attack with just bab/no dex, because that's out of line with other abilities of its kind, and negates to-hit optimization. Instead, allow them to make an attack at -5 to hit, like the Snap Kick feat.

The bow could level up by scoring three hits in one round (using Rapid Shot + the first-level ability).
Daggers level up by sneak attacking, of course. Or maybe by killing things with the bleed effect?
For the greataxe, how about making the axe adamantine? That's a nice power boost, without being too complicated. You can also add a weapon modification, such as Serrated (+1 damage).



There are thirteen (and a third) encounters in a DMG-approved level. If the PCs are gaining two levels before the second-level ability unlocks, you should use marks they can gain in about 25 encounters. That might be 15 combats and 10 social encounters, but that can vary a lot by how you play, of course. I can't really tell you what numbers to use.

[yuriyuyeimi]

thanks a lot i was afraid that some of them would be either op/up, those are great ideas for leveling up (i think the greataxe will lvl up by killing blows).