"Interesting" Magic weapons?

[SangoProduction]

So, we all know that D&D weapons are incredibly...bland. To say the least. "Oh wow, you add +# to hit. So cool."

So I wanted to go around the forums and see what ideas everyone had for some, not necessarily powerful, but interesting and potentially unique weaponry (and perhaps armor).

For my list so far:

Blitzkrieg: This pistol's grip wraps around your hand, and vibrates, eager for the terror of battle. This deals half Lightning and half Sonic damage instead of normal damage. The user may always charge (with a fly speed equal to your move speed) while attacking an enemy creature with this, so long as you end your movement directly adjacent to said creature. This weapon will not fire if you do not charge a creature.

Sticky Shield: This buckler has several microvials of tanglefoot material along its boss. If a melee weapon attack misses you, you may attempt a free disarm check to entangle the weapon, rendering it useless and impossible to pull away from you until either you are disarmed of the shield, or until thoroughly washed off with water. You lose the shield bonus while a weapon is so entangled.

Elemental Scorn Bastard Sword: The blade of the sword is made of solidified [element], and hums with an angry energy. Instead of normal damage, it deals [elemental] damage, and anyone harmed by the weapon must make a fortitude save DC 10+1/2 damage, or else have disadvantage against [elemental] effects for the next day. You also suffer the same disadvantage for as long as you have the weapon on your person, and one hour there after.

Foe Opener Stiletto (dagger): The point almost acts on its own, as though possessed by a master duelist. When an opponent misses you in melee, you may use an Attack of Opportunity to cause said opponent to provoke an attack from a target ally.

[Pinkie Pyro]

Usually my go to is something with charges per day and multiple flavored abilities, as well as a passive based off how many charges you still have.

IE: flametounge reforged:
this sword has 5 charges per day. it counts as a +1 weapon.
passive: for each charge remaining in the blade, deal an extra d6 of fire damage on a successful hit.

1 charge: as a swift action, you gain fire resistance 20 for one round. Each time you would take 20 or less fire damage from an enemy source this turn, you regain 1 charge.

3 charges: as a standard action, make one melee attack. a foe struck by this must make a fortitude save, DC 20, or die. on a successful save, they instead take 10d6 fire damage and are stunned for one round.

5 charges: as a standard action, Cast scorching ray at CL 11th. for each successful hit with that spell, create a 10d6 damage fireball centered on the target.






Admittedly the power level on that one is maybe too high, but there you go. flavorful, effective at what it wants, and novaing on your first turn leaves you with reduced effectiveness the rest of the day.

[Spiderswims]

I often like to go with magic added to weapons that is not just magic that does more damage or only has a single use. I have found players love magic weapons with even just small useful magics over the 'just do more damage'.

Examples:

1.Weapons that can become invisible
2.Weapons that can polymorph into an object or creature
3.Weapons that can create a small amount of something, fire, water, gold, or such
4.Weapons that fly back to the hand of their owner or teleport back
5.Weapons that warn of danger
6.Weapons that grant the use of a skill, feat, or ability
7.Weapons that can change size
8.Weapons that can cast illusions on themselves
9.Weapons that can store small items inside of them
10.Intelligent weapons

I use intelligent weapons a lot. Not just the made as a weapon type though. I often like the idea of a spirit or such trapped in the weapon. Often someone that can help the PC, like an archwizard trapped in a dagger the wizard has. It's a great way to give the PC information. Though very often I also have the spirit not be on the PCs side.

And for 11. One of the best is an weapon that can summon creatures. Sure it's easy to have a sword that summons a war dog or a hawk, but there are so many more options. To summon a small spy animal, like a mouse or a bird. Summon a mount. Summon an aquatic animal. Summon a small elemental. Summon a small outsider. Summon a small undead. The bone staff +1, that can summon a spy skull 3/day will be a great weapon for many PCs. And a great many players can find a use for a dagger that summons a monkey.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

I've always been a fan of using existing abilities in out-of-the-box ways to make games more fun. My favorite weapon is the riverine +1 aptitude/skillful/morphing/sizing/metalline/spell storing poison ring. So many uses it's not even funny, and the riverine is basically free, since rings don't weigh a measurable amount, and riverine cost is based on weight. I can use all sorts of unusual feats on it, it'll overcome most DR and hardness with no issues, and I'm always proficient with it no matter what.

It can be used for tons of utility purposes, such as by morphing it into a Gargantuan quarterstaff to use as a bridge, as a Huge spiked shield of just the right size and shape to wedge in a hallway to prevent pincer attacks, or as an unbreakable dagger to wedge in a door's hinges (use sizing to increase the size until it's wedged impossibly tight) to keep a door shut. A rounded shield could even be used as a makeshift tent, if it's reasonably large.

The possibilities are myriad and legion.

[King of Nowhere]

slayer of heroes: this is a powerful greatsword, but ultimately nothing special at high level. however, it's been used to slay many great heroes, and it was warped by it. with this weapon, you can utter a challenge to some hero (must be a unique individual and must be badass enough to qualify as hero). now the sword is linked to its target. You cannot change target until you die or the target dies. you will get a crapton of additional bonuses against your chosen target, including a scrying effect to always know where your target is. including some hefty penalties if, when fighting a group of enemies, you do anything but go straight for him.
the blade gleams with a sliding list of names; it's the names of all its notable victims, and it is updated in real time. the sword also projects around the voices of its victims' last words

bloodbath the thirsty: this knife has a hollow tube inside, as if it was a mix with a syringe. when you stab someone with it, the tube sucks out blood, that goes out through the handle and splashes your face liberally (it's magically directed to always hit your face). when this happens, you let out a maniacal laughter and a fear effect is triggered on nearby enemies.
when you unsheate this weapon, you feel a strong urge to utter "my blade thirsts!"

[Xasten]

I'm a big fan of "dice pool" mechanics, and out of the box thinking, so to speak. Here's a few items/artifacts that are currently in my campaign. (Yes, they are extraordinarily powerful.)

REAPER
The wages of sin is death. From whence you came, so shall you return, for you are nothing. This is not the end of existence; it is merely the end of yours.

Weight: 15 lbs.
INT: 12 WIS: 22 CHA: 18 EGO: 26
Alignment: Lawful Good
Uses wearer’s senses to perceive its environment and may speak telepathically to the wearer or aloud in Abyssal, Axios, Celestial, & Infernal.

POWERS & ABILITIES
+1 Large Adamantine Scythe, (2d6 19-20X4)

Death Shroud: REAPER gains a separate instance of the Vampiric weapon enhancement for every 6 BAB you have. On a critical hit, increase the vampiric dice to D12s.
From Whence it Came: Enemy fortification is 40% lower versus REAPER. This affects enemies that are immune to critical hits.

Mercy: 2/day you may cast Slay Living as part of a single, non-maneuver, standard action attack. The DC is equal to 10 + 5 + your CON Modifier.

Reaver: Add +1 to the enhancement bonus of this weapon for every four BAB you possess. REAPER counts as both silver and cold iron for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction and regeneration.

The Time Has Come: (Boost Maneuver, Free Action) You may execute two maneuvers in a single action. The 2nd maneuver must be at least 2 levels lower than the highest level maneuver you know. This ability refreshes when you refresh your maneuvers.

Time & Place: 3/day you may Teleport as a move action up to 100’ so long as you emerge adjacent to a foe that you attempt to attack.

Well of Souls: Add +1d8 to a pool for each foe you kill up to a maximum of your CON Bonus. As a free action, you may expend any number of stored dice to enhance the damage of a single melee attack with REAPER. If the attack does not hit, these dice are not wasted; the dice are vampiric.

ON FIRE
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Body Slot: NO SLOT HOLD FIRE
Weight: ONLY FIRE. NO HEAVY.
INT: 10 WIS: 10 CHA: 20
EGO: 25 NO TELL FIRE WHAT DO
Uses wearer’s senses to perceive its environment and may speak telepathically to the wearer or aloud in Ignan Prime or Celestial

POWERS & ABILITIES (Tiered abilities activate at 50%, 25%, and 10%, and below health respectively. Lower tier abilities immediately “improve” to the new tier when the appropriate health % is reached.)

Grrrr…: Wielder is continually wreathed in a flaming aura whose intensity and color depends on her emotions, stress level, sense of urgency, and damage taken. Despite the appearance, ON FIRE does not burn with heat.

GRRRRAAAHHHHH: May reroll any single roll once per day as per the Luck Sphere power One Last Chance except that it does not work on hitpoint rolls.

HRNGHH: Gain the Diehard feat, +10 hit points, and +10 to your negative hitpoint capacity before death.

nnnnngghhAAAHHHHHHH: Tiered— 50%: May turn up to 90° during a charge, and may fly so long as you start and end your movement on a surface capable of supporting your weight. 25%: Haste 10%: Gain Pounce.

OOOF: Tiered—gain DR 2/-, 3/-, 5/- | Save bonus of +1/+3/+5 | & Fortification 25% / 50% / 75%.

F*** YOUUUUU: Tiered—Increase crit range and multiplier by +1/+X1, +2/+X2, +3/+X3. This ability stacks universally.

[SangoProduction]

Some really neat suggestions so far.

[Bohandas]

How about switchblade/lightsaber versions of weapons that collapse down to just the hilt (or a section of a spear's shaft or whatever)

EDIT:
Also +4 bane weapons are +6 against the subject of the bane and thus pierce epic damage reduction for such creatures

[BioCharge]

I have one I just gave to my Paladin from a Devil they had been coerced into allying with against a greater foe:

Guiltbrand
This cold iron longsword burns with Hellfire. Its hilt and guard are wrapped in barbed chains.

Guiltbrand is a +1 Flaming Cold Iron Longsword that 3 times per day allows the wearer to deal an extra 3d6 damage to a nonlawful target. The target must also make a reflex save DC 12 + the user's Charisma modifier or be entangled for 5 rounds as it is wrapped in ethereal chains of sin, taking 3d6 damage each round it is entangled. It may make a new Reflex Save each round to escape the effect.

My Paladin hasn't gotten a whole lot of use out of it (having now entered a city run by Devils, thus, mostly Lawful), but I tried to make it an Infernal themed item that was more Lawful oriented than Evil, giving the Devils a bit more depth.

[aglondier]

A cheap weapon I often introduce into games I run is one that requires the weilder to cut himself and smear his blood on the blade, 1 hp gains +1 bonus for a round.
Later I gave them a weapon with substantial bonuses, including Intelligence, but at a cost of 1 Con drain to fuel it for 6 hours...the catch being it had to be the blood of an Innocent. Yes, I stole the idea from Sluggy Freelance...

[Elves]

Usually my go to is something with charges per day and multiple flavored abilities, as well as a passive based off how many charges you still have.
This kind of design is interesting, but the problem is that its effect is to disincentivize spending charges, when most people are already too hesitant to spend their resources.

[unseenmage]

Rods can be used as maces. Lotta weirdness there potentially. That and it's just fun to beat one's enemy to death with a Rod of Lordly Might.

The 3.0 version of the Flying weapon enhancement let's your weapon turn into a flying animated object.
Combine with Intelligent Magic Item and Construct templates for hilarity.
Or worse, the Greater Humanoid Essence spell.

Greater Humanoid Essence on Intelligent Magic Weapons opens up some very weird options. Like Vampire, Werewolf, or maybe even Lich weapons.

Figurine of Wondrous Power abilities added to a magic weapon via the Combining Magic Items rules in MIC can get very strange too since the FoWP turns into a completely normal animal and it's not even tagged as a Polymorph effect. Awakened FoWP magic sword?

Theres a Dragon mag with a whole slew of mundane weapon improvements a lot of which can be put on the same item.

Another Dragon mag has the Oerthblood Alloy special material which IIRC let's you stuff two special materials onto one weapon. Though I could definitely be misremembering.

Shapesand magic sword could be neat too. Especially if made Intelligent so it could, very slowly, transform itself.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Give a necklace of natural weaponry that affects unarmed strikes to the party monk. (Un?)fortunately, it's enhanced as an intelligent magic item with greater humanoid essence and lycanthropy, as mentioned above. The necklace grants its (intelligent) magical weapon properties to the user's unarmed strikes. So...what happens?

[Bohandas]

*magic gauntlets for monks and creatures with slam attacks and stuff

*Magic guns and bombs

*javelins and bolts that expand in flight

*heavy metal rods shrunk with shrink item, and then either dropped on or flung at enemies with the command word to unshrink them being spoken while they're in the air

*A pseudo-far eastern martial arts type setting that uses copper, silver, and gold shurikens for money

* there's a note in my notebook that just says "axe of the apostles"

*headshot in the sense of heads used as cannonballs

[PoeticallyPsyco]

The book Weapons of Legacy pretty much failed at balancing their cool ideas, but the abilities themselves are often pretty cool, as is the idea of a magic item that scales with its user. I used the rules to create Birthright, a longsword that constantly drips ink, gives the user sizeable bonuses to bluff, disguise, and forgery, transforms into a masquerade mask, does better against evil Outsiders and glows in their presence, and lets the user cast whispering wind 3 times a day.

My DM also gave my character a sweet pair of +1 throwing axes that work as a set. As a swift action, you can call one to the location of the other one; returning the other to your hand if you're holding the caller or giving you a +5 bonus to attack the person you've just hit with the caller.