Samurai Ancestral sword ability bonus stacking [OA]

[Perinon]

Ok, a cuple different questions about this ability. (for those w/o OA, briefly, this allows the samurai to enchant his own weapon for only a GP cost and lots of praying time, level of enchantment based on level of character)

First... What counts for stacking bonuses, *particularly* the various +gp cost abilities. (currently, i've placed the "focus" and "balance" abilities, at +640 and +1280 gp cost, respectivly, and my DM has ruled that since they combine to approx. 2000 gp, the normal cost increase from +1, that they count as +1, together) Does that seem right/correct? Or could i (assuming i'm a huge cheeseball freak) dump *every* +gp cost onto the sword for no + cost on my maximum? (for free? for the cost of the bonus? etc....) That sounds rather obviously broken, but i don't know an exact way to deal with the abilites that sometimes are +gp instead of +bonus.

Second, what restrictions are there on "altering" the + list? Lets say i'm level 8, and currently have +1 and flaming on the sword. I level up to 9, thus allowing 1 greater +. Can i make it now +1 and flaming burst? or +1 and icy burst? or must i keep the +1 and flaming, and only add, say, keen? Can i change this even if i havn't leveled, assuming further GP sacrifice/praying time? (again, my current DM is pretty leniant on this one, and allows me to basically alter on the fly as long as i have time to pray)

Third (this one's minor), must the ancestral sword obey the same rules as other magical weapons and have a +1 before anything else can be done to it? (i'd think so, but it's not specifically stated...heh)

 

[Hypersmurf]

Second, what restrictions are there on "altering" the + list?

I don't have the book, but my understanding is that once you've awoken a power it's fixed.

If you want to add "Vorpal" to your sword, then you need to save up until you have +5 in unused enhancements, and spend them all at once.

But that's just from memory.

-Hyp.

 

[Akunin]

"Rokugan" takes it a bit further by tweaking the rules slightly. you spend exp instead of gp, and you can "erase" abilities from your sword (but you don't get anything in return for doing so).

 

[Perinon]

So on point 2, my DM's being overly polite. Fair nuff, we'll talk about that some more and work out a reasonable solution.

Anybody got any ideas on points 1 and 3? (mostly 1)

 

[Black Omega]

First... What counts for stacking bonuses, *particularly* the various +gp cost abilities. (currently, i've placed the "focus" and "balance" abilities, at +640 and +1280 gp cost, respectivly, and my DM has ruled that since they combine to approx. 2000 gp, the normal cost increase from +1, that they count as +1, together) Does that seem right/correct? Or could i (assuming i'm a huge cheeseball freak) dump *every* +gp cost onto the sword for no + cost on my maximum? (for free? for the cost of the bonus? etc....) That sounds rather obviously broken, but i don't know an exact way to deal with the abilites that sometimes are +gp instead of +bonus.

A really strict GM would note that you are putting in gold or ex and getting a +1 bonus or equivilant, so only special abilities that work on those types of bonuses could be added.

Since you need a +1 before anything else can be added, the system you mention above gets a little awkward since the +2 costs 8,000. What I'd probably rule is that you can add one of the non bonus special abilities like focus each time you level up the sword by paying the gold cost for that special ability in addition to the 2,000 or 8,000 or whatever. So at 4th level it would be 2,640 for a +1 katana with focus. Next time it would be 9,280 for a +2 katana of focus and balance. YMMV, of course, but this seems reasonable.

Third (this one's minor), must the ancestral sword obey the same rules as other magical weapons and have a +1 before anything else can be done to it? (i'd think so, but it's not specifically stated...heh) [/B]

Well, we have rules that apply to all magic or otherwise enhanced swords. Whether blessed by the spirits or enchanted by that wizard who lives down the street. Barring anything that states otherwise, it's safe to say they must have a +1 before any othger special abilities can be added.

 

[Geoff Watson]

I would put the limit on GP spent as half of the 'recommended wealth by level' table in the DMG. This gives the same level limits for normal +bonus weapons, and allows the +gp add-ons.

Geoff.