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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Other what to make with supermasterwork items?



King of Nowhere
2018-12-10, 12:33 PM
I have established for my campaign world "supermasterwork" items that give bonuses beyond normal masterwork stuff, even cumulative with magic ones.
I did it for several reasons, the main one is that I don't like that magic is the all-powerful answer to all problems and everything non magical sucks badly. No, magic is a neat tool, and it certainly can do stuff that can't be done otherwise, but it's ultimately just another tool, and sometimes it's not the best tool, and generally magic+mundane beats magic alone. I have other houserules and homebrew in place to keep that balance in place.

Anyway, after establishing those supermasterwork items, I find I don't have that many uses for them, not really.
Ok, I have supermasterwork weapons that giive an additional +1 over the enhancement bonus, but that just means that all +5 swords are actually +6. more rare items (yes, even more rare than a +5 sword) can give some more bonuses; I think the most powerful supermasterwork weapon I made is a supermasterwork scyte that has +3 supermasterwork enhancement, +1 to crit range, +1 to crit multiplier, and damage increased from 2d4 to 2d6. Plus it has powerful magic on top of it, making it one of the most powerful weapons in my campaign.
For armor I have supermasterwork enahncement, and supermasterwork reduced encumbrance. So you can have a supermasterwork full plate that has the encumbrance of a light armor.

However, that's all I can think about. I don't really know what else to do with supermasterwork.
Oh, once I made a statue of a golden dragon that was enchanted to turn into a real dragon for a small duration, and it was so realistic that the spell took to it extra easy and it was cheaper to enchant. but that's it.

So, can you guys suggest new uses for supermasterwork items? something that actually makes sense for a nonmagical bonus - albeit one granted by an incredibly skilled artisan - to grant?

P.S. Mechanical explanation of the requisites spoilered for brevity
Linked in my signature is an homebrewed npc class, the specialized expert. It is the only class that can give supermasterwork bonuses (well, short of a whish spell). the specialized expert devotes itself to a single skill. He gets a bonus to that skill equal to 2+half level, and a few minor stuff. Additionally, leveling up he gets even greater bonuses in ever more specialized fields, and only there can he make something supermasterwork.
A blacksmith at 4th level can take super specialization and become an expert at making weapons. Still that's not enough for supermasterwork - not one stacking with magic, at least.
At 10th level, he become foremost in the field in an even narrower section, say the forging of greatswords. Now this specific blacksmith can make +1 supermasterwork greatswords, and only greatswords. I valued those at about 10000 gp each, because each specific weapon must be made and mantained by a specific expert. As I said, most +4 and +5 weapons are supermasterwork, because that's when they become cost-effective. For that reason many specialized experts work in team with master crafter wizards.
At 17th level, this blacksmith can achieve the work of a lifetime and get even greater supermasterwork bonuses, for a single specific weapon. As 17th level people are the very best in the world, and each specialized expert can only make one specific type of weapon or armor, those are crazy hard to find; for most kinds of weapon or armor, there isn't a single living person with this level of skill in their construction. Possibly only one person with the skill to forge such a weapon ever existed, and nobody has managed to replicate his craft ever since. A powerful supermasterwork powerfully enchanted is practically an artifact, both for power level and for rarity.

Mike Miller
2018-12-16, 02:16 PM
Supermasterwork skill items to go above the +2 of the normal mwk items, such as mwk thieves' tools.

Smwk vehicles (boats, etc) that are more resistant to burning / damage.

Increased HP / hardness of items in general.

Smwk arrows that don't break on hit and can therefore be collected and reused.

You could even create new magical effects that can only be applied to smwk items and not mwk items. Or make a list of magical enhancements that do exist that you feel are so good they should only be on smwk items such as vorpal or greater fortification etc.

Edit: more ideas
Smwk wands with spells above 4th

Smwk potions (silly) with spell effects above 3rd