+2 Flaming, Shocking, Frezzing Great Axe

[da chicken]

Well, if you're walkin' down the street with an unloaded M60, sure, people might do a double-take and avoid you, but they won't freak out (assuming walking around with an M60 is like walking around with a great axe). If, however, you're walkin' around with the very same M60, but you got a belt of ammo fed into the sucker, which you can't hide at all, people will have a very different reaction, and it probably won't be a good one.

Most towns IMC's don't let you wander around with a Greataxe, flaming or no. They tend to frown on any weapon they see, which is why there are so many dagger +1's floating about. The lethality of a Greataxe to a standard Commoner (2-5 hp vs 1d12+1.5xStr) is such that making it magically lethal doesn't change much. I was referring to any day an adventurer could expect an encounter, not any day an adventurer would be in town.

Besides, an unloaded M60 is a club and a loaded M60 is a Wand of Lightning Bolts. What we're talking about is the difference between having the safety on or off not being loaded or unloaded. In an adventure setting, you never really want the safety on.

Sure Striking weapons only perform as if they were a +5 weapon in regards to damage reduction. As far as I know, this hasn't changed.

True. However, I'd argue that given the context of time the text was published, it would be reasonable to assume it should include 'xx/+6', 'xx/+7', etc. They couldn't say "overcomes all DR" because then it gets by 'xx/-' and would be worth more than +1.

Have you seen the Elemental Aura weapon enhancement? It's a +3 enhancement but it allows you to select any of the 5 elemental energy types as a free action (once per round). I made a burst version of it too.

Haven't seen it. That would still make mine (3 types, standard action) +2. Better than the +1 modifiers, worse than this +3.

 

[Hejdun]

I thought the FAQ said that all weapon properties are activated with one action.

I've heard it was the Sage, when this debate was brought up on a different board, at a different time.

Either way, I think it's silly. This brings up lots of complications, such as...

If a person or monster managed to get multiple arms (I'm not quite sure how, but I'm sure others know) and got a hold of a stack of Wands of Fireball with the same command word...

Big trouble. We're talking 3 fireballs with one standard action for an Athach. Get a pair of them to get 6 fireballs a round... not fun for PCs.

That's why I don't like the Sage's ruling. It brings up silly and unbalancing situations like these.

 

[da chicken]

I've heard it was the Sage, when this debate was brought up on a different board, at a different time.

Either way, I think it's silly. This brings up lots of complications, such as...

If a person or monster managed to get multiple arms (I'm not quite sure how, but I'm sure others know) and got a hold of a stack of Wands of Fireball with the same command word...

Big trouble. We're talking 3 fireballs with one standard action for an Athach. Get a pair of them to get 6 fireballs a round... not fun for PCs.

That's why I don't like the Sage's ruling. It brings up silly and unbalancing situations like these.

Well, Wands are Spell-Trigger items, not Command Word items. So even with this ruling, you still can't do this.

Second, sanity still plays a part in DM'ing any game, and I can't ever see a sane DM finding activating all elemental damage abilities of a weapon as a standard action being too good.

Besides, it isn't as though you couldn't have 50 kobolds each throw a Necklace of Fireballs at the PCs as it is.

Just because the game rules say the sky is going to fall when you press a button doesn't mean the DM will let it. This is the fundamantal reason why humans are better than computers.

 

[kreynolds]

True. However, I'd argue that given the context of time the text was published, it would be reasonable to assume it should include 'xx/+6', 'xx/+7', etc. They couldn't say "overcomes all DR" because then it gets by 'xx/-' and would be worth more than +1.

I wouldn't say that would be reasonable at all. There is a significant difference in how magic items are priced in regards to epic level enhancements, such as +6 weapons. A +5 weapon is only 50,000gp, but a +6 weapon is 720,000gp. Allowing a meager +1 weapon enhancement to negate DR that would require at least an 8,000gp weapon (+1 sure striking weapon) isn't a big deal, but allowing that same weapon to negate DR that would require at least a 720,000gp weapon just doesn't fit.

Haven't seen it.

I think it was in Magic of Faerun.

That would still make mine (3 types, standard action) +2. Better than the +1 modifiers, worse than this +3.

I agree. I just had a feeling that you hadn't seen the enhancement before.

 

[kreynolds]

I've heard it was the Sage, when this debate was brought up on a different board, at a different time.

That would be news to me.

If a person or monster managed to get multiple arms (I'm not quite sure how, but I'm sure others know) and got a hold of a stack of Wands of Fireball with the same command word...

Big trouble. We're talking 3 fireballs with one standard action for an Athach. Get a pair of them to get 6 fireballs a round... not fun for PCs.

This is exactly why the sage never made such a ruling.

That's why I don't like the Sage's ruling.

Don't worry. He didn't rule that.

It brings up silly and unbalancing situations like these.

Had he indeed ruled that way, I would agree.

 

[hong]

I've heard it was the Sage, when this debate was brought up on a different board, at a different time.

Either way, I think it's silly. This brings up lots of complications, such as...

If a person or monster managed to get multiple arms (I'm not quite sure how, but I'm sure others know) and got a hold of a stack of Wands of Fireball with the same command word...

Big trouble. We're talking 3 fireballs with one standard action for an Athach. Get a pair of them to get 6 fireballs a round... not fun for PCs.

That's why I don't like the Sage's ruling. It brings up silly and unbalancing situations like these.

Well, there's a difference between "all powers on one item" and "all powers on all items".