[PEACH] Lava Spike, a magic weapon

[Groggen]

Hi

In my campaign I have a twf rogue 6/ranger 3. I might give him this:
Lava Spike
1d6 piercing damage, finesse, light

"This spike has a core of lava that reacts when struck against metal.
This weapon deals an additional 1d6 fire damage when the target is wearing metal armor. Additionally, whenever this fire damage triggers, the target has disadvantage on its next weapon attack."

I have not been shy about giving out magical items, but I prefer the items that can be used in combat to be relatively "balanced". Does this seem ok for a level 9 character?

I should also mention that his other weapon deals an additional 1d6 poison damage to creatures not wearing crafted armor at all, and imposes a movement penalty on the target.

Mention 2: He has an ability that lets him treat 1's and 2's against metal armored opponents as 3's.

Any and all feedback/critique is greatly appreciated :)

[Gastronomie]

As an item to give to a level 9 character, this is perfectly balanced. I really like it.

Depending on how strong the other guys in the party are, it might be a problem how he has two items that deal +1d6 damage. But it's probably not that much of a problem, since TWF itself is normally considered a bit weaker than the other options, and something has to make up for it.

Adding on these "minor benefits" is a wonderful way of distributing magic items without it turning the adventurer into a colossal christmas tree, the ornaments being stronger than the character himself. Many of the magic items presented in the DMG are pretty strong, and can severely alter the strength of a character on its own. These sorts of magic items are a better choice for the game.

[PapaQuackers]

I would check out this table for heating metal. That's what I'm using for a similar effect on my custom class Rune Blade. It's pathfinder but it's still applicable.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/c...heatMetal.html

[Groggen]

it might be a problem how he has two items that deal +1d6 damage.

In regards to the quote, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, I hope, since he will either attack one target, so only one of the additional d6's will "activate", or he has to hit two different targets and therefore spreading the damage out. In addition, the other players have more flashy weapons that might have more impact when used, but this player will hopefully prefer a weapon that is "always" on, albeit in a more subtle way.

And thanks, I'm glad you liked it :)

I try to give my players items that don't have +1 or +2, as I feel that it just becomes a number on the character sheet. I much prefer "active" (and somewhat situational) abilities like these, as they "force" the players to actually remember the item and how to best use it, therefore making the item more memorable in the long run.

[Groggen]

I would check out this table for heating metal. That's what I'm using for a similar effect on my custom class Rune Blade. It's pathfinder but it's still applicable.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/c...heatMetal.html

I actually looked at heat metal from 5e for inspiration, and ended up reducing the damage quite a lot (from 9 in the spell to 4 with this ability). Having them drop their weapon was a bit too much though, so I went with disadvantage on one attack, but since the target can't save against the effect I reckoned it was strong enough.