overpowered?

alsih2o · Jul 10, 2002

in my campaign i had the p.c.'s find a magic spear and have since wondered if i have overpowered it, first, some background...

all the magic weapons found in the stash were intended to be used by the watchmen at a tower(that was painles, yes?)

this spear can, twice per day, extend to up to 40 ft. its weight stays the same, handling changes none at all, it just allows a good poke from a distance.

i figured this is maybe the type of stuff certain folks would want for their tower gaurds, and it has been mentioned that this might have been a mistake to hand out....any thoughts?

these folks are 9-10 lvl btw...

Crothian · Jul 10, 2002

Is it a plus weapon at all? How long does it take to extend? Is it a free action, a move action, a full round action?

It doesn't sound unbalancing at all for 9-10th level characters.

alsih2o · Jul 10, 2002

+1, free action, instantaneous extension

Nightfall · Jul 10, 2002

Trust me, I've seen much worse. Believe me, extending spear is nice but it's not at all overpowered if say...you gave an epic level holy devastor to a paladin!

nsruf · Jul 10, 2002

That doesn't seem overly powerful to me - not for PC levels 9-10 (unless the spear has some other great properties). I mean, all it saves them is the necessity to switch melee and missile weapons and a 40' spear is not really as effective as a mighty bow. The worst I would expect is some creative use in disarming traps and other non-combat abilities that require a long pole.

Oh, and don't forget that people in between the spearman and target may provide cover, which further limits usefulness.

hong · Jul 10, 2002

So twice per day, you get what amounts to a ranged attack to 40 ft. It doesn't seem overpowered at all for 9th level characters. Have your players been finding all sorts of devious uses for this thing?

alsih2o · Jul 10, 2002

i appreciate the supportitive insight, i just had a local gamer hit me with a ton-of-bricks load of self doubt over the whole disarm traps/explore angle

hong · Jul 10, 2002

alsih2o said:
i appreciate the supportitive insight, i just had a local gamer hit me with a ton-of-bricks load of self doubt over the whole disarm traps/explore angle

What this means is that you should throw at least three traps at your party every day.

Crothian · Jul 10, 2002

hong said:
What this means is that you should throw at least three traps at your party every day.

Isn't that standard? I thought that was the suggested number in the DM sourcebook.

CRG · Jul 10, 2002

Careful with the extending thing. Players will find ways to abuse things you never knew possible.

For instance.

In helping run a FR game years back, I ran a sidetrek for a few months, culminating in the party (APL 13 or so) defeating this fairly significant foe. All of the magic and treasure gained had nifty problems and side affects or were just plain cool. Most of the players were so turned off at the downsides to the items, they just claimed a few things and left the rest to the party thief. Cursed / semi-cursed items.

One of these was a "portable" altar. This was an item similar to a stone horse, only when transformed it wouldn't move (and it obviously looked different).

The thief (and cleric of Mask) wanted to use it as an assassination device. You know, sneak into someone's room, stick the altar on their chest and hit the button. Or use it to block tight corridors. He kept me back pedalling for a good few sessions on that one, until I eventually managed to persuade him to stop.

The super extending spear? How strong is that? Can it brace a door? Can it extend and be used to knock people around as it extends? Is it strong enough to climb? Can I pole-vault with it? How well can I use it to poke ahead for traps instead of my 10' pole? Is it strong enough for the thief to use as a balance beam? When I'm falling off a cliff, how far do I fall during the first round and do I have time to extend the spear up to a companion to catch me? When I'm falling does it slow me down to extend it as I approach the ground? Can I somehow work it into a trap?

Need I continue?

My advice: Be careful! And if the players get out of hand give it termites.