Greywander
2020-10-31, 04:55 PM
I recently heard a story about someone who played as a sentient weapon, and this got me thinking about how this could be implemented mechanically. What makes sense for me is to do it as a custom race; it's a bit weird to think about an item having class levels, but honestly I think that sounds like a good way to configure what your "magical properties" are.
For some of the base statistics, I'm wondering if it makes sense to count as both an object and a creature (construct). Size is probably Tiny; a lot of weapons are long, but narrow, and weigh only a few pounds. Speed is 0. I'm also thinking you're initially just a magical weapon with no bonus, but at 5th/11th/17th level you improve to a +1/+2/+3 item. You can also treat yourself as your own spellcasting focus (but should verbal and somatic components still be required?). You can also communicate telepathically (possibly restricted to a range of touch).
There are three ways I can see to make a sentient weapon playable as a PC. These could all be used together, or they could be subraces, or you might have to pick two.
Flying Weapon. Since you can fly, you can move and act on your own. This is probably the easiest and simplest way to do it. You essentially work like an ordinary creature, but with your hands glued to your weapon. This one seems kind of boring to me, but if you were, say, a monk, it would be the only way to leverage your speed increases. Alternatively, taking any class that grants flight as a feature, e.g. sorcerer (Divine Soul or Storm, but not Draconic), you could essentially become this anyway.
Symbiotic Weapon. You're unable to move and act on your own (maybe cast spells without somatic components?). While a friendly creature is wielding you, you essentially share their body, mechanically speaking. You each get your own turns and can act independently from one another (unsure if you'd be able to move your wielder). I could also see somehow sharing your own class features with the person wielding you (perhaps by spending your action to do so?). If an enemy picks you up, you can force them to make a saving throw; if they pass, you can't act on your turn as they suppress you, but if they fail then they can still wield you on their turn but you also get to act on your turn, allowing you to, for example, attack them. Alternatively, maybe both of you would make saves at the start of each of your turns to see if either of you can act.
Parasitic Weapon. Similar to the symbiotic weapon, except that you can't take your own turn while another creature is wielding you. Instead, you can attempt to dominate a creature that is holding you. If they fail the save, they essentially become your PC while the domination lasts. To prevent abuse, this should probably be 1/long rest, or if a target passes their save they become immune for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can raise a zombie or skeleton (must be touching the corpse) and have them wield you. This might be 1/short rest.
Some alternatives to weapons:
Shield/Armor. Your +1/+2/+3 bonus is to AC instead, both for you and your wielder. However, since you can't really use items yourself, you probably don't want to play a martial class (Tavern Brawler can help, though). Caster classes could do pretty well, and I think even a paladin might work well between your auras, Lay on Hands, and support spells.
Spell Focus. Your +1/+2/+3 bonus is to spell attack rolls (and save DC?). Gets you a lot of bang for your buck if you're a caster class yourself, which you probably should be for the same reasons as above. Still, some spell foci can also be weapons, so you might be more viable as a martial or gish class.
Other Item. I'm not really sure. At least with the above items, they're taking up a hand (or being worn as armor), but being something like a magic cloak or an alchemy jug would allow you to stack with other magic weapons/armor (for your wielder, not yourself). Maybe damage reduction (like with HAM)? Could boost saves, but that would be pretty strong, potentially moreso than an AC boost.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? What do you think of the ideas I've presented here? How would you implement this concept? What might be some things to watch out for/be aware of?
For some of the base statistics, I'm wondering if it makes sense to count as both an object and a creature (construct). Size is probably Tiny; a lot of weapons are long, but narrow, and weigh only a few pounds. Speed is 0. I'm also thinking you're initially just a magical weapon with no bonus, but at 5th/11th/17th level you improve to a +1/+2/+3 item. You can also treat yourself as your own spellcasting focus (but should verbal and somatic components still be required?). You can also communicate telepathically (possibly restricted to a range of touch).
There are three ways I can see to make a sentient weapon playable as a PC. These could all be used together, or they could be subraces, or you might have to pick two.
Flying Weapon. Since you can fly, you can move and act on your own. This is probably the easiest and simplest way to do it. You essentially work like an ordinary creature, but with your hands glued to your weapon. This one seems kind of boring to me, but if you were, say, a monk, it would be the only way to leverage your speed increases. Alternatively, taking any class that grants flight as a feature, e.g. sorcerer (Divine Soul or Storm, but not Draconic), you could essentially become this anyway.
Symbiotic Weapon. You're unable to move and act on your own (maybe cast spells without somatic components?). While a friendly creature is wielding you, you essentially share their body, mechanically speaking. You each get your own turns and can act independently from one another (unsure if you'd be able to move your wielder). I could also see somehow sharing your own class features with the person wielding you (perhaps by spending your action to do so?). If an enemy picks you up, you can force them to make a saving throw; if they pass, you can't act on your turn as they suppress you, but if they fail then they can still wield you on their turn but you also get to act on your turn, allowing you to, for example, attack them. Alternatively, maybe both of you would make saves at the start of each of your turns to see if either of you can act.
Parasitic Weapon. Similar to the symbiotic weapon, except that you can't take your own turn while another creature is wielding you. Instead, you can attempt to dominate a creature that is holding you. If they fail the save, they essentially become your PC while the domination lasts. To prevent abuse, this should probably be 1/long rest, or if a target passes their save they become immune for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can raise a zombie or skeleton (must be touching the corpse) and have them wield you. This might be 1/short rest.
Some alternatives to weapons:
Shield/Armor. Your +1/+2/+3 bonus is to AC instead, both for you and your wielder. However, since you can't really use items yourself, you probably don't want to play a martial class (Tavern Brawler can help, though). Caster classes could do pretty well, and I think even a paladin might work well between your auras, Lay on Hands, and support spells.
Spell Focus. Your +1/+2/+3 bonus is to spell attack rolls (and save DC?). Gets you a lot of bang for your buck if you're a caster class yourself, which you probably should be for the same reasons as above. Still, some spell foci can also be weapons, so you might be more viable as a martial or gish class.
Other Item. I'm not really sure. At least with the above items, they're taking up a hand (or being worn as armor), but being something like a magic cloak or an alchemy jug would allow you to stack with other magic weapons/armor (for your wielder, not yourself). Maybe damage reduction (like with HAM)? Could boost saves, but that would be pretty strong, potentially moreso than an AC boost.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? What do you think of the ideas I've presented here? How would you implement this concept? What might be some things to watch out for/be aware of?