Older Members of the Board help me !

[Voadam]

Phoenix

I think it was either errata or a sage advice but you can make piercing weapons keen. Of course a scimitar is a better choice for vorpal nastiness.


Rashak

If you are a guest referee for a one-shot noncampaign duel, then let the better munchkin win with his +4 Keen, Vorpal, scimitar and improved critical and improved initiative feats. It could be a quick duel. I'm betting they max out initiative abilities to try to get the drop for their one shot autokills. It sounds like they are making 20th level smacks to hurl at each other. For a one shot it can be very fun.

 

[Feliath]

Keenification (?) and so forth

I didn't think you could make a rapier keen because it's a piercing weapon instead of a slashing weapon!? Unless I missed some errata somewhere. Please enlighten me(and sorry for the slight detour in this thread. You'll be returned to your regularly scheduled thread right away folks!).

Yep, it's in the DMG errata. Actually, if you have a 1st printing PHB, it's correct in the survival kit part in back, as well...

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

What is annoying is the image of a halfling decapitating a giant with a vorpal kukri.

What is also annoying is the fact that weapons with a larger critical range benefit more from the vorpal effect than another weapon. The keen effect is balanced; a keen axe and a keen longsword do the same average damage. But vorpal override the critical multiplier and favors weapon with large threat range. I guess the English were just silly to use an axe for execution during the middle age.

Personnaly I modified the vorpal effect; It increases the critical multiplier instead.

X2 becomes X3
X3 becomes X5
X4 becomes X7

19-20 X3 is equivalent to 20 X5
18-20 X3 is equivalent to 20 X7

This isn't worth a +5 enhancement anymore, though.

 

[skunian]

I really don't see the big deal, my 12th lvl fighter got killed by a Scimitar weilding dwarf just last Sunday (+3 Scimitar Keen/Vorpal) with the Imp crit feat. No biggy I died then my team mate nuked his ass with a harm, and the monk killed him. So now I can weild that pretty little blade. But if it bugs you that bad jsut give the bad guys heavy fortification on their armor.

 

[ruleslawyer]

Just to answer these in order:

1) Keen vorpal weapons (a +6 bonus equivalent) are legal. There is no errata, Sage Advice clarification, or D&D FAQ clarification stating that a vorpal effect is limited to the weapon's natural crit range; limiting the vorpal effect thusly is a HOUSE RULE, not official. So according to the rules as written, someone with the Improved Critical feat and a keen vorpal scimitar will slice off his opponent's head on a successful attack roll of 12-20 and a successful confirmation roll. Worse still, someone with the Power Critical feat (MotW) and a vorpal weapon will automatically slice off his opponent's head with a successful attack roll and successful confirmation. Fun, huh?

2) Prismatic spells and teleportation: What gfunk said. IMHO, the "stops all spells" language (as opposed to hong's suggested "stops line of effect" wording) is NOT an artifact of 1e/2e language, but is an ability appropriate to the spells' level. Otherwise, prismatic wall is just too easy to bypass.

3) What hong said.

You take all the damage (and other effects) in 1 round. The "one at a time" clause means that you save against each effect individually, in the order given.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Older members?

I see not a single older member of the board has replied. Neither is Caliban an older member.

But I digress.

If you want to stop PCs from making magic items, only campaign solutions can suffice. Regardless of the rules, it is your decision how the game will progress, and you should incorporate that into the story through which your players experience.