Why is a Defender legendary? (+ suggestion)

[Specter]

So I'm choosing legendary items for my players, and the Paladin mentioned his interest in a Defender sword.

But looking at it, it seems like the weakest legendary item in the book, perhaps even falling to very rare.

- +3 on attacks is coo; I'd expect no less.
- Trading off your attack bonus for a defense bonus? Not cool. It requires attacking with the sword (not just holding it), and every increase in AC means less to attack with, with is always a devil's choice.

I thought of changing it to this:

DEFENDER SWORD
Weapon (any sword), legendary (requires attunement)
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. Whenever this sword is in your possession, you are under the effects of an invisible Shield of Faith spell.

Simpler language, a better effect (+3 and +2 to AC), no need to attack with it, and no need to forgo any attack bonus.
What do you think?

[Lolzyking]

If you are already good at attacking I could see taking a negative hit bonus with defender for +5 ac

[DarkKnightJin]

I'm immediately wondering why the Paladin isn't asking for a Holy Avenger. That's THE Paladin weapon. Literally. Nobody else, except a 13+ level Thief, can even use the damned blessed thing.

[Waterdeep Merch]

It's actually really great.

...On characters that use swords but rarely hit with them. So bladesingers and certain pact blade users. Maybe elvish casters in general.

But yeah, it's generally not up to snuff with other legendary weapons. I'd also like to throw my hat in with Dark Knight, the Holy Avenger is both more iconic and way more awesome for a paladin. I'd argue it's even better at defense than a Defender.

[GlenSmash!]

I like Defenders on a Sword and Board Barbarian since Reckless Attack makes the Attack bonus less of an issue and that AC bonus really nice.

It wouldn't surprise me if WotC had a rule that any weapon that was +3 and had some other effect should be legendary, even if there is a lot of disparity between those effects.

[Specter]

We've talked about the Holy Avenger, but he seems more interested in being the ubertank with Sentinel than that.

[Aett_Thorn]

While it might be a bit weak for a Legendary, it's basically magical armor and a magical weapon combined. So if your DM doesn't give out a lot of magical items, it can serve two purposes.

It also gives a decent amount of flexibility, depending on the circumstance that you're in. Low AC/High HP enemy that deals a ton of damage on a hit? Put most of the bonus to AC. High AC enemy that isn't highly damaging? Put the +3 on offense.


However, if you wanted to add a feature to it to bring it up to par, why not allow it to have a feature allowing you to cast the Shield spell 1/SR when the sword's bonus is +3 to hit and damage. Sort of a 'burnout' feature when the sword is otherwise being used for offense.

[Specter]

While it might be a bit weak for a Legendary, it's basically magical armor and a magical weapon combined. So if your DM doesn't give out a lot of magical items, it can serve two purposes.

It also gives a decent amount of flexibility, depending on the circumstance that you're in. Low AC/High HP enemy that deals a ton of damage on a hit? Put most of the bonus to AC. High AC enemy that isn't highly damaging? Put the +3 on offense.

However, if you wanted to add a feature to it to bring it up to par, why not allow it to have a feature allowing you to cast the Shield spell 1/SR when the sword's bonus is +3 to hit and damage. Sort of a 'burnout' feature when the sword is otherwise being used for offense.

Well, the glaring difference is that it's only armor if you have the sword drawn, attack with it and choose not to attack at your fullest. I wouldn't compare it to any always-on AC boost.

[JBPuffin]

It wouldn't surprise me if WotC had a rule that any weapon that was +3 and had some other effect should be legendary, even if there is a lot of disparity between those effects.

This is probably the most accurate. After all, legendary is the highest rarity something can be, so anything beyond very rare, regardless of how many degrees, is a legendary item.

I think constant Shield of Faith is a cool idea, Specter. Takes care of things nice and easy. I was going to suggest something to do with Protection Style, but it conflicts with Sentinel for the reaction slot...maybe the sword could allow the paladin to do that once per turn without spending a slot? Sentinel's good for keeping enemies focused on you, but when you can't dissuade them, getting that disad applied is better than not (especially since it gives no save!).

[Waterdeep Merch]

Fiddling with an idea here, since it's meant to interact with Sentinel-

What if it granted AC equal to the number of allies and enemies next to the wielder, up to +3 (familiars and other non-combatants do not count)? Then whenever someone is attacked next to the wielder and triggers their Sentinel's retaliatory reaction, the wielder may also intersperse themselves first and become the target of the attack. The attack roll remains the same, potentially missing if it doesn't beat the wielder's AC. Then the wielder makes their retaliation attack as normal.

The idea is that the user should be in the thick of things, either protecting vital allies or holding off foes. It should never be useless in a scenario, hence granting AC when near any friends or foes, essentially always being at least a +1 AC except under very particular circumstances involving ranged attacks. And it can be even better if the party's either in close formation or the paladin's throwing himself at the danger.

I also like the idea of a weapon called Defender being used to, y'know, defend.