Katana

Didn't know the right prefix to put on this, (thats how new I am). I don't even know what homebrew means.

I am starting a new campaign with some friends. He recommended that I look in the Xanathar's guide to everything. I looked and found some interesting paths I could take. I am sure that this topic has been covered before. But it is my understanding that there are no Katanas in the game; having said that, I would like to play a samurai character.

I read in other forums and they said that if you have questions then ask your DM about an issue. I asked if I could try to make a custom heirloom or a masters sword that has been passed down to my character. In stead of searching the world for a better Katana which doesn't exist. I would make a custom one that gets stronger as I level up.

I can write the lore for the item, but where I need your expertise is generating the Stats vs level and what this Katana is capable of.

I appreciate any help you guys can offer. thanks.

Loren Keely said:

Didn't know the right prefix to put on this, (thats how new I am). I don't even know what homebrew means.

I am starting a new campaign with some friends. He recommended that I look in the Xanathar's guide to everything. I looked and found some interesting paths I could take. I am sure that this topic has been covered before. But it is my understanding that there are no Katanas in the game; having said that, I would like to play a samurai character.

I read in other forums and they said that if you have questions then ask your DM about an issue. I asked if I could try to make a custom heirloom or a masters sword that has been passed down to my character. In stead of searching the world for a better Katana which doesn't exist. I would make a custom one that gets stronger as I level up.

I can write the lore for the item, but where I need your expertise is generating the Stats vs level and what this Katana is capable of.

I appreciate any help you guys can offer. thanks.

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Page 41 of the 5e Dungeon Master's Guide lists the katana - it is provided in the Wuxia weapons table as being the Japanese name for a longsword.

If you are looking for a custom magic item, you'll need to do some work. Nothing currently in the game "levels up" the way you describe. A 3.5 supplement called Weapons of Legacy did much the same thing though.

I'm not trying to blow you off, but you are well outside official guidelines here. What do you want the sword to be able to do? Find other items that do those things and think of a way to combine them. And understand you will have the single most powerful item in the game as a result. That's not necessarily a problem - it may in fact be exactly what you're going for. But especially if you're brand new to RPGs, understand that most stuff you'll make up will be stronger than the stuff that's in the game already.

As mentioned, the Katana is just the longsword with different fluff. You should probably also pick up a shortsword to serve as your wakazashi.

As for having an item that powers up instead of gaining new magic items, that is entirely up to your DM. I would consider doing this myself, as a DM, simply awakening the item when you would normally receive a new magic weapon. The power, however, would not be cumulative, starting with a simple +1, then maybe becoming an uncommon special weapon, then maybe switching to a +2 or different special weapon. Something I would do after there are different properties, is that you must choose after a long rest which power the sword has. That way you wouldn't ever have something like a +1 flaming frost brand sunblade, but would have either a +1 sword, flaming sword, frost brand sword, or sunblade.

Welcome to the message boards, you'll like it here. Most of us give decent advise some of the time. Have some XP as well

The way this is often handled is: whenever you would get a new magic weapon, you instead get a power-up to your existing weapon. Unfortunately, 5e doesn't have useful guidelines on when you "should" get a new magic weapon. But here are some things it does have:

1. Guidelines for magic item gold piece values by rarity (DMG p.135). The DM could power up your weapon in lieu of the appropriate amount of gold. For example, a weapon +1 is Uncommon (DMG p.213) which is 500 gp, so when you slay a fearsome beast, maybe its treasure hoard is 500 gp less than it should be, but your katana goes up to +1.

2. Blessings (DMG p.227-228) are a really interesting approach to this issue. Maybe when you accomplish a great task, your ancestors bestow a blessing upon you. The blessing of weapon enchantment seems particularly apt.

3. Another cool approach might be a sentient magic item (DMG p.214-216), because it can suppress its magical properties if it wants. So the katana literally tells you what you need to do in order to be "worthy" of its full power. This lets the DM make it up as you go, and also gives you a clear idea of when you can get new powers. Plus it's always cool to have an NPC in the party.


In each case, it's really up to the DM what kind of powers your sword can get. If you are looking for suggestions, I'd go with a +1 bonus at around 5th level, +2 at around 11th, and +3 at around 17th (those are the tier boundaries). At 1st level I'd tack on some minor bonuses, like it can shed light or detect fiends or something. That's still pretty good at 1st level because it counts as magic for overcoming resistances, but considering the cheap magic weapons in Xanathar's, that's not such a big deal. Finally, a really easy way to add flavor to a magic weapon is an appropriate spell 1/day, especially if it's a spell that's more flavorful than deadly (like gust of wind or plant growth even something super useful like misty step).

By default, there is no functional difference between a katana and a longsword. You can simply play a Fighter (Samurai) or Monk (Kensai) with a longsword and describe it as a katana. If you want a weapon that actually functions differently than a longsword, you’ll have to ask your DM if that’s something they would be willing to accommodate. If what you’re interested in is a magic weapon or weapon with some bonus representing superior craftsmanship, you will likewise have to talk to the DM.

Personally, if one of my players requested a special family heirloom weapon, I might work with them to design a magic item with some minor, mostly cosmetic property, and then have it improve as the character leveled up.

Katana = Longsword (And that equation is to the detriment of the Longsword

A Katana is just a longsword that stays bent when you flex it but gives you Advantage on Charisma checks against teenage video gamers.

On a somewhat related note, I've been trying to stat up an Ulfberht sword. What do you guys think:
- +5
- 1d20 damage
- Vorpal, but not from magic. It's just that bad@$$.

Loren Keely said:

I would make a custom one that gets stronger as I level up.

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Be aware that 5E D&D is unlike a lot of other RPGs you may have played, in that you do not need to be getting stronger and stronger equipment as you level up. The game is balanced under the assumption that characters have normal weapons and armor; your power comes from your class and abilities, not your stuff.

That said, you may find a magic weapon in your travels, and it's kind of a bummer when some random loot is better than your ancestral sword but you want to keep using your ancestral sword. The way 3E handled this with its samurai was to allow you to sacrifice a magic weapon in a special ritual and transfer its enchantment to your daisho. I'd recommend doing something like that in lieu of trying to figure out the rate at which your weapon "should" get stronger.

Critical Role, the podcast D&D game, has a take on this concept. The weapon in question - the patron weapon of a Hexblade Warlock -makes the Warlock 'eat' other magic weapons to steal their magic. I'd ask the DM to give you a longsword/katana that starts out effectively non-magical, but it can absorb the powers of other weapons, but when it absorbs a new weapon, it loses the power of any it previously ate.