Flying sword horde?

[Elves]

ShurikVch's question (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24956369&postcount=409) made me realize...the flying weapon property is +1 and turns a weapon into an indefinitely commandable animated object. So if you buy a colossal 2h weapon, you can get 32HD colossal animated object servants for 8k each. How would you go about optimizing this for a character who buys a lot of them? Granting feats to your swords is one major thing since they get none. Heroics I suppose is the starting point.

[RNightstalker]

ShurikVch's question (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24956369&postcount=409) made me realize...the flying weapon property is +1 and turns a weapon into an indefinitely commandable animated object. So if you buy a colossal 2h weapon, you can get 32HD colossal animated object servants for 8k each. How would you go about optimizing this for a character who buys a lot of them? Granting feats to your swords is one major thing since they get none. Heroics I suppose is the starting point.

One DM threw a wizard at us that would shrink colossal greatswords, use telekinesis to launch a whole rack of them at us in a dead zone, to which they revert back to their original size and basically one-shot all the PC's that got hit.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by RNightstalker
One DM threw a wizard at us that would shrink colossal greatswords, use telekinesis to launch a whole rack of them at us in a dead zone, to which they revert back to their original size and basically one-shot all the PC's that got hit.

So, basically Hela then?

[Yael]

One DM threw a wizard at us that would shrink colossal greatswords, use telekinesis to launch a whole rack of them at us in a dead zone, to which they revert back to their original size and basically one-shot all the PC's that got hit.

So Gilgamesh then. Funny build, imma try it.

[Gruftzwerg]

One DM threw a wizard at us that would shrink colossal greatswords, use telekinesis to launch a whole rack of them at us in a dead zone, to which they revert back to their original size and basically one-shot all the PC's that got hit.

Maybe use the sizing enhancement on the weapons. Since the weapon is treated as Animated Object that wields itself with its own actions, it safes you the action (and spellslot) for the size change.



If we want to rely on Telekinesis, there are two options. Either Ring of Telekinesis or Master of the Unseen Hand.
While Master of the Unseen Hand has some nice gimmicks, only Ring of Telekinesis gives us Telekinesis at-will every turn. Imho the ring is thus better.

[Blue Jay]

ShurikVch's question (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24956369&postcount=409) made me realize...the flying weapon property is +1 and turns a weapon into an indefinitely commandable animated object. So if you buy a colossal 2h weapon, you can get 32HD colossal animated object servants for 8k each. How would you go about optimizing this for a character who buys a lot of them? Granting feats to your swords is one major thing since they get none. Heroics I suppose is the starting point.

Well, If ShurikVch is asking a question (implying that he doesn't know the answer), then it must be something very strange indeed.

First, I want to know whether this is a very good value. The hit points were the first concern I had: the flying property specifies that the weapon has normal hit points for a weapon of its type. According to the rules for object hit points (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/exploration.htm#hitPoints), a Medium two-handed blade has 10 hp. It says to multiply by 2 for every size category increase. So, we need to look at the rules for multiplying.

When you multiply "abstract values," you just multiply the base value, so the values won't compound with each increase. I'm not really sure, but I think hit points would be considered "abstract values"? If so, each multiplication only adds 10 hp. So, a Large blade has 20 hp, a Huge one has 30 hp, a Gargantuan one has 40 hp and a Colossal one has 50 hp. That's kind of low, but it's still a much better monetary value than a golem.

What if we don't treat hit points as an "abstract value," but as a "real-world measurement"? Then, you'd get 10 hp (M) -> 20 hp (L) -> 40 hp (H) -> 80 hp (G) -> 160 hp for a Colossal flying greatsword. That's quite a bit better, but it's still almost 100 hp lower than the standard animated object gets. The standard object includes +80 hp for Colossal size (which is standard for constructs), but by RAW, I don't think the flying weapon would get those bonus hit points, either.

Heroics is a neat idea, but some of the wording could easily be interpreted as disqualifying a mindless creature, and being a single-target spell creates some logistical problems for use with a large group. Shenanigans like spell traps might be able to help with that, but that kind of stuff doesn't appeal to me. I'd prefer using a more direct and "upfront" route, like awakening the objects. Granted, the awaken construct spell is suppose to target only humanoid-shaped constructs, but I'd prefer to thumb my nose at that requirement, because it's silly.

I also kind of wish the flying swords could make sword attack: by RAW, they just get a slam attack, like an animated object.

Magic of Faerun also doesn't say what maneuverability rating the weapon gets, which is also annoying.

Also, shameless plug for my own, tangentially-related homebrew: swarm of flying swords (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?622667-Blue-Jay-s-Bestiary&p=24938884#post24938884).

[unseenmage]

A quarterstaff is a melee weapon.

A quartersraff could be a flying weapon.

A flying weapon could be enchanted to be an intelligent magic item.

A quarterstsff could afterwards be enchanted as a magic item with craft staff. Or a custom magic item that has spells.

An intelligent magic item can use its own superpowers.

With the Feats in Magic Items sidebar in Arms and Equipment Guide it could have feats too. Magic item creation feats even. Like Craft Staff or Craft Arms and Armor.


Spell selection then becomes key.
Greater Humanoid Essence makes it a humanoid for the duration. Turn it into an animal afterwards and then hit it with the Minute Form spell.
Or.. the spells needed to make another flying magic weapon staff.

Now its small enough to cram into a small space.

Can one use Simulacrums of a creature crammed alongside a bunch of copies of itself to create a BoVD hivemind?
Or it just makes more staffs the slow way.

If so this is another way to give it feats.
And after one is a part of a hivemind one remains connected regardless whether the spells that allowed one to become connected wear off.


A swarm of self replicating, Hiveminded, animated, flying quarrerstaffs.
Delightful.
Purely TO but delightful all the same.

FYI, I used this in a real game. Once. Slowest grey goo scenario ever. Players had no trouble stopping the swarm before it really even got started.

[Blue Jay]

A quarterstaff is a melee weapon.

A quartersraff could be a flying weapon.

A flying weapon could be enchanted to be an intelligent magic item.

A quarterstsff could afterwards be enchanted as a magic item with craft staff. Or a custom magic item that has spells.

An intelligent magic item can use its own superpowers.

With the Feats in Magic Items sidebar in Arms and Equipment Guide it could have feats too. Magic item creation feats even. Like Craft Staff or Craft Arms and Armor.

Fun.

Rules glitch: since a quarterstaff is a double weapon, would you have to put flying on both ends?

By common sense, I doubt it. But by RAW... I still doubt it, but... maybe?

But, if you did put flying on both ends, could the quarterstaff function like two conjoined animated objects?

Yeah, probably not.

But, it might be kind of entertaining to do it anyway as a DM.

What if each end had its own intelligence and Ego score? That's hilarious as a conceptual curiosity, but probably extremely annoying in play.

And now I'm going to go homebrew an intelligent double weapon with two personalities, because reasons.

[unseenmage]

Fun.

Rules glitch: since a quarterstaff is a double weapon, would you have to put flying on both ends?

By common sense, I doubt it. But by RAW... I still doubt it, but... maybe?

But, if you did put flying on both ends, could the quarterstaff function like two conjoined animated objects?

Yeah, probably not.

But, it might be kind of entertaining to do it anyway as a DM.

What if each end had its own intelligence and Ego score? That's hilarious as a conceptual curiosity, but probably extremely annoying in play.

And now I'm going to go homebrew an intelligent double weapon with two personalities, because reasons.
Last time I looked into this iirc someone found an existing intelligent double weapon in print somewhere.

Apologies but I cannot recall the specifics. I want to say it was a double ax.


If it was me I'd run it the same way one does an ettin.


Another rules glitch. If both ends are enchanted separately and one end gets hit with Greater Humanoid Essence does the other dnd remain a Constuct quarterstaff?