Weapons of legacy...your xp.

I am considering adding weapons of legacy to my game. I'm a little concerned about game balance. Are these a one per party item? Or can everyone in the party have one? Tell me your xp with them. (I am still reading the book).

Everyone in my group has one, but I am currently running a very high power "save the world" kind of game. The players are all between 12th and 13th level, and I never had a problem with them until last night when the group's mindblade realized his could do Suggestion at will. That was a bit of a pain.

We had one in a game a short while after the book was released, meant for one player in particular. I don't think she really used it, or at least, its powers didn't really seem to factor into the evolution of her character.

I had a request for one from Tome of Battle, but given what I've seen of legacy weapons and what I expect of them, I decided against it. I really see them becoming just another item, but one that I have to do a whole lot of planning and bookkeeping for.

Truthfully, I don't like the book at all.

Gundark said:

I am considering adding weapons of legacy to my game. I'm a little concerned about game balance. Are these a one per party item? Or can everyone in the party have one? Tell me your xp with them. (I am still reading the book).

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I am currently about to introduce them into my campaign. The characters are just about to reach 5th level.

I found the Weapons of Legacy book to be very poorly organised on the whole and some parts were very hard. Overall I like the idea of weapons that grow in power with the character but I think that the implementation of it still needs a lot of work. The thing that I dislike the most (and many people have said the same) is that the negatives to BAB, HP, saves, spell slots, etc., suck.

There must be a better way than what WoL uses. What that way is I don't know. As a work-around I am planning on giving everyone a WoL and just ignoring the negatives. Sure the characters will be more powerful but if everyone has one then it shouldn't unbalance the characters relative to each other. I'll just ramp up some of the challenges to compensate for the fact that the PC's are stronger than PC's of their level that don't have WoL.

Olaf the Stout

I don’t have the book. But if you were playing in a setting where “power has a price” (i.e. a Shanara like world where having a magical sword would have repercussions) then I would assume that the penalties to stats wouldn’t have to be bad.

In some ways it’s a bit like the way I used to use artifacts.... sure you have an awesome weapon, but you have to pay a price for it.

Still I don’t have the book so the mechanics could just be as horrible as everyone says.

Personally, I like the system (I think it was in Dragon) where you can pump a percentage of your own XP into your weapon, opening up its powers.



Chris

Frequently, the tradeoffs seem pretty steep IMO. You save a bit of gold, but really, with what you give up, I question whether its a good trade. If you're losing 3 to all saves, taking a -2 to attacks and -4 to all skills, you need a +3 cloak, a +4 str item, and a ton of skill boosters to break even... did you save the price of those on your weapon that also required you to pay ritual costs and do side quests? Doubtful.

I particularly dislike any weapon that imposes an attack penalty, which just seems even more counterproductive. I changed it to where the penalty applies to other weapons, to signify your reliance on the legacy item.

I'm also curious why the designers seem to think the item gaining sentience is a bonus.

The book was a good concept, just executed in a mediocre fashion.

This book is always on my "to buy list" but I keep passing it over for newer, cooler things.

I think I haven't bought it because to me the guidelines for making a legacy weapon are fairly simple and straight forward:

1) when appropriate have the owner make a sacrifice of money or experience to open up it's abilities
2) apply one negative to the character for the benefits they gain

As a DM, I don't have to spend $35 to have a book tell me how to do this. But the ideas of specific weapons and their back stories are pretty cool.

I think it is important that characters who has a WoL take some kind of penalty, as if it's the price for personal sacrifice they must make to fulfill the destiny of owning such a fine weapon.

As for "handing" them out, I personally think its better to take some +1 magical weapon that the character has been carrying around for a few levels to make into a WoL. You know they already use it, they've probably selected a feats or have a favorite tactical move using it. Imagine the player is in Ye Olde Magic Shoppe one day when the owner says "hey - where did you get that fine blade?" and produces a picture of it from a dusty tome!

I've read it and didn't really saw the point of giving rules for that kind of stuff.

Imc if a player wants a evolving item/I want to give them one I simply give out a minor item and have it improve through events and levels according to the wealth by level guideline. I don't need feats and tables for that kind of stuff. I guess the flavor can be salvaged.

The problems I have with Weapons of Legacy, which I own and have read:

1) Legacy backgrounds and rituals: Some of them seem too involved such that they detract from the game (imagine running through Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil and having to spend a week on a ritual) or they are ridiculously easy. Granted, there are a few that are reasonable (defeat a specific type of creature who's CR is equal to or greater than your character level).

2) Players' reference: Players don't have a copy of the book and are unable to reference their items while away from the table so that they can familiarize themselves with the powers. I don't expect them to buy the book just to use one magic item. At the same time, I can't give them a PDF scan of the section with their legacy item (I'm sure that falls under fair use) without divulging the secrets of the legacy item's past.

3) Verisimilitude: How does a DM ensure players like the abilities of the weapon you provide for them without them telling you to give them a specific item?

Overall, it just seems easier for players to pay for enhancing their weapons and creating their own "legacy item."