Homebrew/Re-Skinning Magic Weapon Question

[SpectreCatcher]

Hello all! I have a new player joining my game and I would like to give him a magic weapon so that he can keep up with the rest of the party who each have a Rare weapon. He is starting at level 5 (rest of the party is 6) and is a Battlemaster that prefers using the halberd. Since there are no magic halberds in the DMG (and I didn't find anything that jumped out to me in various homebrew/third party content) I figured I'd reskin an existing weapon. The list of weapons I'm considering making a halberd is below.

Weapon of Warning (would probably add a +1 to attack/damage to make it rare)
Vicious Weapon
Sword of Life Stealing
Mace of Terror
Dagger of Venom (would probably change the damage type from poison to something less useless, maybe acid)

So my question is this, are there things that I should consider when taking one of these magic weapons and making it a halberd? None of my other players use reach weapons so I haven't seen how they play in combat. Also, he has the Great Weapon Master feat that he took as a V Human. Any and all advice is appreciated.

[Teaguethebean]

I have little to add when it comes to the homebrew but why does he start out a level behind?

[Dork_Forge]

Can I ask what items the others have? A lot of your choices only have effects triggered on a 20, which might end up feeling like it isn't much of a boon/as fun as something the player either chooses to do or is always on. A +1 weapon of warning sounds like a good option, the Mace really depends on how much he'd like to use a fear effect.

You could always just make a +1 weapon with a bonus 1d4 (maybe d6) of damage of some flavour.

[SpectreCatcher]

I have little to add when it comes to the homebrew but why does he start out a level behind?

Great question. This was actually a decision that the new player and I made together for a couple reasons. The biggest reason is because he is new to D&D (and TTRPG in general, but understands game systems and the like) and is playing a fighter, so he kind of wanted to get a feel for the game, how the character plays, and the group dynamic before that ASI/Feat option at level 6. Also, since the group just leveled up to 6 last game I figured that there wouldn't be a big gap in effectiveness.


Can I ask what items the others have? A lot of your choices only have effects triggered on a 20, which might end up feeling like it isn't much of a boon/as fun as something the player either chooses to do or is always on. A +1 weapon of warning sounds like a good option, the Mace really depends on how much he'd like to use a fear effect.

You could always just make a +1 weapon with a bonus 1d4 (maybe d6) of damage of some flavour.

I had these exact same thoughts about the items triggering on a 20, but wasn't sure how big a deal it would be. The other PCs have a Sun Blade (Cleric), Flame Tongue (Samurai Fighter), Staff of the Woodlands (Druid), and a homebrew short bow that I found (now that I look at it again is Very Rare as opposed to the others that are Rare) that grants a +1 to attack/damage, grants Darkvision, and if hidden does Psychic damage instead of the regular damage (Ranger).

I liked the idea of the +1 Halberd of Warning, but thought that may change the gameplay with me not being able to surprise the party, but of course I may be over-thinking it since surprise hasn't really been something I've used much. I think I just don't like the idea of it being off the table as an option. I was leaning toward the Life Stealing Halberd, but hadn't fully decided yet.

[Dork_Forge]

Great question. This was actually a decision that the new player and I made together for a couple reasons. The biggest reason is because he is new to D&D (and TTRPG in general, but understands game systems and the like) and is playing a fighter, so he kind of wanted to get a feel for the game, how the character plays, and the group dynamic before that ASI/Feat option at level 6. Also, since the group just leveled up to 6 last game I figured that there wouldn't be a big gap in effectiveness.



I had these exact same thoughts about the items triggering on a 20, but wasn't sure how big a deal it would be. The other PCs have a Sun Blade (Cleric), Flame Tongue (Samurai Fighter), Staff of the Woodlands (Druid), and a homebrew short bow that I found (now that I look at it again is Very Rare as opposed to the others that are Rare) that grants a +1 to attack/damage, grants Darkvision, and if hidden does Psychic damage instead of the regular damage (Ranger).

I liked the idea of the +1 Halberd of Warning, but thought that may change the gameplay with me not being able to surprise the party, but of course I may be over-thinking it since surprise hasn't really been something I've used much. I think I just don't like the idea of it being off the table as an option. I was leaning toward the Life Stealing Halberd, but hadn't fully decided yet.

If you're worried about the surprise condition ,then you can always tweak it so that only that player is immune to the surprise condition, like he had the Alert feat. I would just be cautious with the on a 20 items, as the rest of the party have always on items (or in the case of the bow can aim to be hidden if they want the psychic damage). If the player ens up dissatisfied you can always change it later though.

[Corpus]

Any and all advice is appreciated.

A couple ideas straight from the books,

Wounding Halberd
Seems an appropriate property for an Axe type weapon and is kinda nifty to boot.

Halberd of Terror
(Mace of Terror)
A different utility for the Fighter.
- missed that you had this, good idea :)

[SpectreCatcher]

A couple ideas straight from the books,

Wounding Halberd
Seems an appropriate property for an Axe type weapon and is kinda nifty to boot.

Halberd of Terror
(Mace of Terror)
A different utility for the Fighter.
- missed that you had this, good idea :)

I strongly considered the Wounding Halberd as well. But I thought that it may end up being a few too many moving parts for a new player who is also having to manage the Battlemaster Superiority Die as well. I'll keep it in consideration though.

While I did have the Halberd of Terror under initial consideration, I'm not sure that it is mechanic that he would like to use. I certainly see the value in being able to cause multiple creatures to be frightened of you at once, but it is absolutely a play style choice and I don't really want to force him into any one style.


If you're worried about the surprise condition ,then you can always tweak it so that only that player is immune to the surprise condition, like he had the Alert feat. I would just be cautious with the on a 20 items, as the rest of the party have always on items (or in the case of the bow can aim to be hidden if they want the psychic damage). If the player ens up dissatisfied you can always change it later though.

This makes a lot of sense, and I'll have to re-consider some things. But that simple change to the Halberd of Warning definitely makes it more appealing. Plus like you said, I can always change it up if whatever item goes over like a lead balloon.