Help Designing Demon Weapons

[supergoji18]

In my campaign, I plan to introduce 4 demon weapons. These weapons are powerful magic items that have a demon or devil trapped inside of them, and said demon/devil is trying to break out. The weapons I plan to use are as follows:


a greatsword trapping a Pit Fiend
a greataxe trapping a Goristro
a scythe with either an Erinyes or a Succubus trapped inside
a glaive trapping a Balor

I need help coming up with unique abilities for each weapon and some sort of mechanic for the demon/devil inside to be released. So far I have this one:

Klaruu
Weapon, Legendary (requires attunement, greatsword)
You have a bonus of +2 to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. While attuned to this weapon, you gain a shroud of diabolic energy at the start of your turn in combat. This cloak grants temporary hit points equal to 5 + the number of souls collected (see below), and refreshes at the start of each of your turns.
Curse: the greatsword houses the Pit Fiend named Klaruu, who seeks to be freed from the weapon. To this end, he gathers strength from his fallen foes. Each time an enemy is slain with this weapon, Klaruu absorbs their soul. Once he gains 30 souls, he breaks free from the weapon. However, he cannot hold onto these souls forever, losing souls at a rate of 10 per day. He also expends souls when the diabolic shroud is refreshed, losing a number of souls equal to half the amount of damage the shroud took last round (ex: if the shroud has a value of 20 (5 + 15 souls) temporary hit points and the player takes 10 damage, Klaruu will lose 5 souls. When the shroud refreshes at the start of the player's next turn, Klaruu will only be able to replenish the shroud to 15 temporary hit points, 5 + 10 souls).
To attempt to kill enough within a certain amount of time, Klaruu speaks telepathically to its owner, urging them to kill more often. He will often tell tales of immense power or treasure that is guarded by many foes that must be slain to obtain it.

I'm not 100% satisfied with this and I'm also not certain what to use for the other weapons. I want to have each weapon have the following features:
- A unique passive or active ability that is beneficial. Preferably this unique effect ties in with the nature of the being in some way.
- A unique detrimental effect that can cripple or even kill those not strong enough to use the weapon. Again I'd like this to be related to the nature of the demon/devil within.
- A way for the demon/devil within to break free, with each way being unique.

I need some ideas or sources of creative inspiration. Anything you've got helps.

[Aett_Thorn]

Well, with the Blood War (I think that's what it's called), the Pit Fiend and Balor weapons could be released by requiring a Balor to voluntarily release the Pit Fiend, and vice-versa. Since they hate each other, there's no way that they'd normally want to do this, so somehow they'd need to be convinced, but not be magically compelled, to do it.

For the Succubus, she is released if the weapon is held by a virgin when they die.

For the Goristro, the weapon needs to be wielded by a pixie to set off a prank, or something like that (don't know as much about Goristros, other than they are large and brutish).


For special powers:

Balor - does lightning damage, and makes the wielder resistant to lightning damage

Pit Fiend - does fire damage, and makes the wielder resistant to fire damage

Succubus - Allows the wielder to charm opponents, and the wielder has advantage on saves versus illusion and enchantment spells

Goristro - weapon does an extra 1d6 damage, and wielder is resistant to non-magical B/P/S damage

[supergoji18]

Well, with the Blood War (I think that's what it's called), the Pit Fiend and Balor weapons could be released by requiring a Balor to voluntarily release the Pit Fiend, and vice-versa. Since they hate each other, there's no way that they'd normally want to do this, so somehow they'd need to be convinced, but not be magically compelled, to do it.

For the Succubus, she is released if the weapon is held by a virgin when they die.

For the Goristro, the weapon needs to be wielded by a pixie to set off a prank, or something like that (don't know as much about Goristros, other than they are large and brutish).


For special powers:

Balor - does lightning damage, and makes the wielder resistant to lightning damage

Pit Fiend - does fire damage, and makes the wielder resistant to fire damage

Succubus - Allows the wielder to charm opponents, and the wielder has advantage on saves versus illusion and enchantment spells

Goristro - weapon does an extra 1d6 damage, and wielder is resistant to non-magical B/P/S damage

Forgot to mention this, but this is a homebrewed setting I'm using. In my setting, there is no Blood War. Demons and Devils are essentially a part of the same faction, the only real difference between them being the way they operate (devils corrupt, demons destroy).

I was also going for more of a "the devil/demons has to overpower the curse trapping them, and they do this by manipulating or killing their owner in some way" kind of feeling.

I might use the special powers you suggested though.

[Aett_Thorn]

Forgot to mention this, but this is a homebrewed setting I'm using. In my setting, there is no Blood War. Demons and Devils are essentially a part of the same faction, the only real difference between them being the way they operate (devils corrupt, demons destroy).

I was also going for more of a "the devil/demons has to overpower the curse trapping them, and they do this by manipulating or killing their owner in some way" kind of feeling.

I might use the special powers you suggested though.

Ahhh...that helps a bit. Well then, let's see if I can take another stab at this.

Pit Fiend - Deals an extra 1d6 fire damage on a hit, and the wielder is resistant to fire damage. As a bonus action, the wielder case engulf themselves in flame, dealing 1d6 fire damage to any creature within 5' of the wielder at the end of their turn. Lasts one minute (no other way to stop). This damage is not affected by the resistance to fire that the sword provides. The pit fiend trapped in this sword seeks to be released. Any creature that dies within 5' of the wielder of the sword while he is engulfed in the flames granted by this weapon has their soul trapped by the sword. When the sword traps X souls, the pit fiend is released, destroying the weapon in the process.


Balor - Deals an extra 1d6 lightning damage on a hit, and the wielder is resistant to lightning damage. When a creature is killed by an attack with this Glaive, the wielder can choose to take 2d10 fire damage, and the creature's soul is devoured by the Glaive, destroying the soul (could be too powerful against Liches and the like). For 1 minute after this effect, any successful attack by the glaive will do an additional 1d6 fire damage. The balor trapped in this glaive seeks to be released. After devouring X souls with the special ability, the balor is released, destroying the weapon in the process.

[supergoji18]

Ahhh...that helps a bit. Well then, let's see if I can take another stab at this.

Pit Fiend - Deals an extra 1d6 fire damage on a hit, and the wielder is resistant to fire damage. As a bonus action, the wielder case engulf themselves in flame, dealing 1d6 fire damage to any creature within 5' of the wielder at the end of their turn. Lasts one minute (no other way to stop). This damage is not affected by the resistance to fire that the sword provides. The pit fiend trapped in this sword seeks to be released. Any creature that dies within 5' of the wielder of the sword while he is engulfed in the flames granted by this weapon has their soul trapped by the sword. When the sword traps X souls, the pit fiend is released, destroying the weapon in the process.


Balor - Deals an extra 1d6 lightning damage on a hit, and the wielder is resistant to lightning damage. When a creature is killed by an attack with this Glaive, the wielder can choose to take 2d10 fire damage, and the creature's soul is devoured by the Glaive, destroying the soul (could be too powerful against Liches and the like). For 1 minute after this effect, any successful attack by the glaive will do an additional 1d6 fire damage. The balor trapped in this glaive seeks to be released. After devouring X souls with the special ability, the balor is released, destroying the weapon in the process.

I like this. I think what I might do is combine the two and use that for the balor's weapon, as I feel the balor should be all about raw destruction through fire and lightning, and use the current idea I have for the pit fiend weapon as is. I might buff the pit fiend's weapon or nerf the balor's weapon to make it a bit more balanced. I might add to the pit fiend weapon that it drains a bit of HP to restore the temporary HP shield if it runs out of souls to use.

For the Goristro weapon, I'm thinking of giving it a feature similar to siege monster as well as some sort of active effect that lets the user transform into a beastly form. Goristro are basically giant siege monsters so it works out. Not too sure about the specifics of it though.

As for the succubus, I like the charm, but I was also thinking of having a life-steal effect on it. And after draining X amount of health within a certain amount of time, she'll break free. Either that or she has to have her owner seduce several people before the seal weakens. Still need to work out specifics.

[Aett_Thorn]

You could also have the Goristro weapon be useful against structures and objects. Got a castle wall to break down? No problemo, just let me break out this here axe.

[Cap'm Bubbles]

Greatsword - Pit Fiend
+Passive, the weapon damage is not 2d6 slashing, but rather 3d6 fire.
+Once per day, the user may cast both the Fireball spell at 5th level and the Wall of Fire spell at 5th level. The DC is 14 for these spells
-The user receives double damage from all sources of fire damage. This is applied before damage resistance, if any.
=The pit fiend is released when the user is either reduced to zero hitpoints with the final blow containing fire damage, or by taking fire damage when at zero hitpoints.


Greataxe - Goristro
+Passive: the weapon rolls twice the number of damage dice when attacking buildings, structures, objects, and constructs.
+The wielder may add their proficiency bonus to weapon attack rolls so long as they moved at least 10 feet in a straight line towards their target on that turn. The wielder also possesses the Charger feat while attuned.
-Head Trauma: If the wielder receives twice as many damage dice when harmed by bludgeoning damage, including fall damage. The wielder has disadvantage on perception checks and has a -5 on their passive perception score for one hour after the most recent instance of taking bludgeoning damage.
=The adventurers' lockpick: The wielder must make a DC 16 Wisdom save when the wielder perceives that a door must be passed to proceed with any of the wielder's intentions. A failed save compells the wielder immediately to charge at the door and attempt to break it down. On the third failed saving throw, the goristro is released at the impact point of the charge, breaking the door if it is physically possible to do so while shouting OH YEAH!.


Scythe - Erinyes/Succubus
+Once per day, the wielder may cast the Hex spell as a 5th level spell, allowing the user to maintain concentration for 24 hours. The user may concentrate on the spell without selecting a target if none are available.
-The user has disadvantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws (not checks).
=Every time the user regains consciousness (both from zero hitpoints and from sleeping) they must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On the third instance that this saving throw is failed, the Etherealness spell is cast on the user; the weapon travels to the ethereal plane with them, than is destroyed, releasing the succubus.
=If the succubus has not yet been released and the user is in the ethereal plane, the succubus is temporarily free from the weapon for all durations that the user is in the ethereal plane. The user still possesses the weapon, and the succubus can free itself if it can take possession of the weapon while in the plane, be it by killing the user or charming them to hand it over.

Glaive - Balor
+Keen: increase the critical hit range of this weapon by 1 (so 19-20 normally, stack with Champion), and roll one additional damage die on a critical hit.
+As a bonus action on each of the wielder's turns, the wielder may cast the Lightning Lure cantrip scaled to their level.
-Death Throws: When the wielder is reduced to zero hitpoints, an explosion emanates from the weapon. All creatures within 30 feet of it must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw, taking 35 (10d6) fire damage on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one. The explosion ignites flamable objects that aren't worn or carried. The wielder automatically fails the save.
=If the wielder dies and has taken damage from Death Throws from this weapon or any creature within 24 hours prior to death, the Balor is released, destroying the weapon.

[supergoji18]

You could also have the Goristro weapon be useful against structures and objects. Got a castle wall to break down? No problemo, just let me break out this here axe.
i can already see the nonsense this will cause in my campaign.

Me: "the door is bolted and reinforced, you can't break it down."
Player 1: "someone get a battering ram!"
Player 2: "I AM THE BATTERING RAM!" *knocks down door in one swing*

[supergoji18]

Any more help would be appreciated. I like to hear new ideas.