Would you say this homebrewed magic item fits the shoes of the uncommon rarity?

[Arkhios]

KHUTEF, STAY AWAY, THANK YOU! :smallwink:

Outlaw’s Bane
Hand Crossbow, Uncommon
(Requires attunement by a worshipper of Erathis)

This hand crossbow is adorned with cogs and wheels which turn and twirl whenever it’s fired. This weapon is an old relic of Erathis, the goddess of civilization, inventions, and law, created by her early followers.
Outlaw’s Bane functions as a holy symbol of Erathis.
Unless manually loaded this weapon loads itself, by magically producing its ammunition, negating the need for a free hand. It also doesn’t have the loading property.
The bolts produced by Outlaw's Bane break after use and cannot be collected after battle.
As an action, the wielder can cast Zone of Truth (Save DC 15). The spell can be cast again after 7 days.

Sorry, nothing in here... yet!

[N810]

Hmm... How many arrows Bolts does it hold ?

[Arkhios]

Hmm... How many arrows bolts does it hold ?

FTFY, because crossbows use bolts.... aaaanyway, one at a time, but it creates a new one once the previous has been shot.

[N810]

I don't know infinite ammo might bump it up a rarity...

[Arkhios]

I don't know infinite ammo might bump it up a rarity...

Perhaps so. I'm still wondering whether this weapon should be an artifact which improves gradually, depending on the wielder's individual power.

[N810]

If it had say a cartridge of 6 or so shots, taking an action to reload, It might be borderline uncommon,
due to it requiring attunement and your other restrictions.

[Arkhios]

If it had say a cartridge of 6 or so shots, taking an action to reload, It might be borderline uncommon,
due to it requiring attunement and your other restrictions.

The idea was to have infinite ammo, the rarity isn't set in stone, really. I have no issue with it being rarer than uncommon. I made it for a player who has a good reason to use hand crossbows and since there are very few magical crossbows otherwise (read: none except the boring +1/2/3, Weapon of Warning, or the like), I figured I could make a bit special one for him. :smallsmile:

[Coidzor]

I don't know infinite ammo might bump it up a rarity...

If either A. it never needs to be reloaded or otherwise dealt with so a character could dual wield them without even the most staunch anti-crossbow TWFing people being able to raise an argument or B. it was some kind of more special ammunition or ammunition that had a special effect (like doing force damage like Hank's Energy Bow from the TV show/3.5), maybe.

If it's just regular old bolts, then you can just have them vanish a set amount of time after firing if you're worried about the players giving it to a skeleton to fire 24/7 into bales of hay during downtime in order to collect and sell them or outfit their entire force with free ammunition.

[Arkhios]

If either A. it never needs to be reloaded or otherwise dealt with so a character could dual wield them without even the most staunch anti-crossbow TWFing people being able to raise an argument or B. it was some kind of more special ammunition or ammunition that had a special effect (like doing force damage like Hank's Energy Bow from the TV show/3.5), maybe.

If it's just regular old bolts, then you can just have them vanish a set amount of time after firing if you're worried about the players giving it to a skeleton to fire 24/7 into bales of hay during downtime in order to collect and sell them or outfit their entire force with free ammunition.

Indeed, the intention is to create just regular old bolts, which would vanish after 1 minute or so once they've been shot.

[Ziegander]

With the spell, uncommon feels iffy...
Without the spell, though, it feels like a common item...

[Arkhios]

With the spell, uncommon feels iffy...
Without the spell, though, it feels like a common item...

Although, according to DMG guidelines, an uncommon item could have up to 3rd level spell and Zone of Truth is only 2nd level spell. Plus, if it can be used only 1/week, I thought it could be reasonable enough limitation.

[Lord Ruby34]

I'd say that it's entirely reasonable to be uncommon. If you want it to be unique then make it a relic that improves with the player.

[Demonslayer666]

You can buy 200 bolts and just put them in your backpack and refill your quiver after each combat, so unlimited ammo isn't a bit deal.

A holy symbol is also no big deal since it's common to put it on your shield or breastplate.

A once a week spell is pretty minor.

Since Pearl of Power and Wand of Magic Missiles are uncommon, I don't see a problem with your item being uncommon. I see it as less powerful.

Just out of curiosity, why does the rarity matter?

[Arkhios]

I'd say that it's entirely reasonable to be uncommon. If you want it to be unique then make it a relic that improves with the player.

I suppose it might be unique item, so a relic is within the range of possibilities.

It could probably gain +1 bonus once the PC gets 5th level (tier 2), +2 bonus at 11th level (tier 3) and finally +3 bonus at 17th level (tier 4).

And likely some additional features per tier as well.

For now, as the PC's are at 4th level, the item probably remains as is.

The rarity matters only because the character got changed because of reasons and it had an uncommon item which it cannot use anymore, so I gave the player an option to have an item that could be equal with uncommon rarity, within reason.

[Ziegander]

Arkhios, is it your intention for self-generated ammo to also essentially remove the Loading property from the weapon?

[Arkhios]

Arkhios, is it your intention for self-generated ammo to also essentially remove the Loading property from the weapon?

That, and to not need a free hand to load the weapon. Removing Loading property alone doesn't remove the need for a free hand to put the next bolt in the weapon.

[Demonslayer666]

I like the relic idea, create some kind of special connection with the weapon where you can sense the power locked within that will grow with you.

I'd still say it was fine as uncommon if you did that too.

[Ziegander]

So it's a non-Loading crossbow that frees up the off-hand and is also a holy symbol with a specific, 1/week 2nd-level spell. Yeah, ok, I guess that does seem perfectly fine as an Uncommon magic item.

[Arkhios]

I guess I could use some help with the wording since it seems to be unclear enough to have caused so many questions about its intention.

I think it should be allowed to be loaded manually with specific bolts if you wish, but the self-created bolts would always be of garden variety, although magical as the weapon is.

[Coidzor]

I guess I could use some help with the wording since it seems to be unclear enough to have caused so many questions about its intention.

I think it should be allowed to be loaded manually with specific bolts if you wish, but the self-created bolts would always be of garden variety, although magical as the weapon is.

"Unless first loaded with a specific bolt, when fired Outlaw's Bane produces a crossbow bolt that vanishes 1 minute after being fired."

Something like that?

[Arkhios]

"Unless first loaded with a specific bolt, when fired Outlaw's Bane produces a crossbow bolt that vanishes 1 minute after being fired."

Something like that?

"Unless manually loaded this weapon loads itself, by magically producing its ammunition, negating the need for a free hand. It also doesn’t have the loading property.
The bolts break after use and cannot be collected after battle."

How's that sound?