CypherShift
2018-10-24, 11:43 PM
If you happen to be playing a campaign with a nearly wendigo druid, please disregard this. Otherwise, here goes what's probably an utter mess:
I have a group of players in a custom campaign setting, one that includes a nation that has been destroyed. This nation however, has relics of the past that show up here and there, and one of these is a dagger. Specifically, this:
Soul bound Dagger
Rare Intelligent Weapon
Lawful Neutral, bound to defend the people of the Old Empire, +1 silver inlayed dagger, requires attunement
Magic ceremonial dagger given its abilities w/the soul of an honor guard of the ancient empire. Forged to allow a devout defender of the empire to continue serving even after death, it allows the spirit to continue to possess it’s original body, or to advise and protect their successor. Each weapon has normal vision and hearing out to 60ft. While the spirit persists, it has the following rules:
-> While in physical contact with the original body, the spirit within has complete control over the body. Otherwise, standard rules for intelligent weapon possession applies.
-> The spirit is capable of talking only to it’s wielder, the wielder hears this as a voice echoing from around them. It can speak Entritch (The language of the old empire, which is interpreted in the bound creature’s birth language). The spirit may also choose to project a hallucination of what it looked like in life, though this is only visible to the wielder.
If the spirit used to animate the weapon is lost, it instead communicates through ghostly sensation (empathy).
To attune this weapon, the wielder must sit holding the weapon over the course of a short rest. At the culmination of this rest, an oath spoken in Entritch is made, one the spirit within the weapon instinctively knows.
While attuned, this artifact functions as a weapon of warning. The wielder is unwilling to part with the dagger, keeping it within reaching distance at all times.
It is (hopefully) a balanced enough weapon, one that allows for an npc for the group to receive a quest line from, while at the end still providing a useful loot item. However, I'm unsure of what penelty would be appropriate if the player is forced to part with the dagger, or if this should be removed. In addition, I'm not sure if the weapons should be +1 or not.
One of the new players is looking to play as an undead, and the two options that were given were playing as a revenant or as one of the possessed forms used by the spirit in the dagger. I tried to model it based on the reventant class, though I feel it probably needs a lot of work. Any recomendations, based on what I have below?
Dragur:
For some soldiers, even death may not hold them. During the height of a losing invasion, the empire took to bringing back ranking officers so that they may continue serving even in death. The soul of the individual was bound to a bloodstone contained within a dagger; once the individual died the spirit would be transferred through the bond. A ritual raised the resulting body as a wright like being, bound to the soul within dagger. Even after the disastrous end of the war, a few still walk the earth, orphaned from the empire.
This subrace may be applied to any race that has a subrace, replacing the existing subrace option.
Ability Score improvement: Constitution increases by 1.
Undead Nature: As a primarily undead being you count as an undead creature for all spells and abilities that affect the undead. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
Separated Soul: Your soul resides in the dagger, not within your host body. You start with a Soul Bound Dagger.
This dagger is magical, and while it is in contact with your host body you have complete control over it.
If you ever loose contact with the body, it is unable to take actions.
If you are reduced to 0 hit points, you do not make saving throws, your body is damaged enough to be unusable. Over the course of a long rest you can bind to a new host body, which becomes undead and is treated as your body. To do so, you must remain in contact with the body for the full duration of the rest. Doing so destroys the bond to a previous body, and your race changes to that of the new body.
While unbonded to a body, you may choose to act as a dagger of warning while carried by another humanoid, but are unable to take any actions.
I tried to include the seperated soul section to provide a risk/reward view on starting with the magic weapon, and have toyed with the idea of having the ritual cause the dagger to become embedded in the host body. Either way, I felt it made an interesting dichotomy considering the focus the race has on lingering after death, though I'm unsure how to properly handle a true death, considering the body is a replacable puppet. Any ideas, hints, or concerns with either section as they stand?
I have a group of players in a custom campaign setting, one that includes a nation that has been destroyed. This nation however, has relics of the past that show up here and there, and one of these is a dagger. Specifically, this:
Soul bound Dagger
Rare Intelligent Weapon
Lawful Neutral, bound to defend the people of the Old Empire, +1 silver inlayed dagger, requires attunement
Magic ceremonial dagger given its abilities w/the soul of an honor guard of the ancient empire. Forged to allow a devout defender of the empire to continue serving even after death, it allows the spirit to continue to possess it’s original body, or to advise and protect their successor. Each weapon has normal vision and hearing out to 60ft. While the spirit persists, it has the following rules:
-> While in physical contact with the original body, the spirit within has complete control over the body. Otherwise, standard rules for intelligent weapon possession applies.
-> The spirit is capable of talking only to it’s wielder, the wielder hears this as a voice echoing from around them. It can speak Entritch (The language of the old empire, which is interpreted in the bound creature’s birth language). The spirit may also choose to project a hallucination of what it looked like in life, though this is only visible to the wielder.
If the spirit used to animate the weapon is lost, it instead communicates through ghostly sensation (empathy).
To attune this weapon, the wielder must sit holding the weapon over the course of a short rest. At the culmination of this rest, an oath spoken in Entritch is made, one the spirit within the weapon instinctively knows.
While attuned, this artifact functions as a weapon of warning. The wielder is unwilling to part with the dagger, keeping it within reaching distance at all times.
It is (hopefully) a balanced enough weapon, one that allows for an npc for the group to receive a quest line from, while at the end still providing a useful loot item. However, I'm unsure of what penelty would be appropriate if the player is forced to part with the dagger, or if this should be removed. In addition, I'm not sure if the weapons should be +1 or not.
One of the new players is looking to play as an undead, and the two options that were given were playing as a revenant or as one of the possessed forms used by the spirit in the dagger. I tried to model it based on the reventant class, though I feel it probably needs a lot of work. Any recomendations, based on what I have below?
Dragur:
For some soldiers, even death may not hold them. During the height of a losing invasion, the empire took to bringing back ranking officers so that they may continue serving even in death. The soul of the individual was bound to a bloodstone contained within a dagger; once the individual died the spirit would be transferred through the bond. A ritual raised the resulting body as a wright like being, bound to the soul within dagger. Even after the disastrous end of the war, a few still walk the earth, orphaned from the empire.
This subrace may be applied to any race that has a subrace, replacing the existing subrace option.
Ability Score improvement: Constitution increases by 1.
Undead Nature: As a primarily undead being you count as an undead creature for all spells and abilities that affect the undead. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
Separated Soul: Your soul resides in the dagger, not within your host body. You start with a Soul Bound Dagger.
This dagger is magical, and while it is in contact with your host body you have complete control over it.
If you ever loose contact with the body, it is unable to take actions.
If you are reduced to 0 hit points, you do not make saving throws, your body is damaged enough to be unusable. Over the course of a long rest you can bind to a new host body, which becomes undead and is treated as your body. To do so, you must remain in contact with the body for the full duration of the rest. Doing so destroys the bond to a previous body, and your race changes to that of the new body.
While unbonded to a body, you may choose to act as a dagger of warning while carried by another humanoid, but are unable to take any actions.
I tried to include the seperated soul section to provide a risk/reward view on starting with the magic weapon, and have toyed with the idea of having the ritual cause the dagger to become embedded in the host body. Either way, I felt it made an interesting dichotomy considering the focus the race has on lingering after death, though I'm unsure how to properly handle a true death, considering the body is a replacable puppet. Any ideas, hints, or concerns with either section as they stand?