D&D 5E 5E Mastery Magic Longsword Feedback Wanted

[Chris633]

Ok, so I am taking a stab at creating a magic item that gains in power over time. And I was hoping to get some feedback. Does this look overpowered? Underpowered? What improvements do you think I should make? I am following the ideas I got from reading his article: http://ludusludorum.com/2015/03/07/legacy-items-magic-items-that-scale-part-2-mastery-items/

The concept is that my player is a paladin to Dol Dorn in the Eberron setting. As part of his background, he inherited a long sword from his mentor which was told to be able to cut into any enemy.

Silver Longsword of Dol Dorn
Level 1: +1; once per day it will ignore immunities & resistances for 3 rounds.
Level 2 (5th level): attacks add 1d6 radiant damage twice per day
Level 3 (9th level): +2; once per day it will ignore immunities & resistances for 6 rounds.
Level 4 (13th level): attacks add 2d6 radiant damage three times per day
Level 5 (17th level): +3; twice per day it will ignore immunities & resistances for 6 rounds.

 

[Blackwarder]

It's nice, what I would have done would be to add different powers instead of having the existing powers stronger.

Warder

 

[AgroWallace]

Hey Chris633,
Hey, I wrote that article! Thanks so much for referencing it, and I'm glad you liked the idea.
You've pretty much followed the pattern I was thinking of, which is that the power at different proficiency/mastery thresholds should be essentially commensurate with the various levels of item rarity. So, a common or uncommon item is equivalent to the 1st level power of a mastery item. Still, Mastery Items also require attunement, so I think it's fair to give them a little extra something to make them interesting. I really like the ability to bypass immunities and resistances as its situational and also limited in the number of uses. I might have gone for one time a day and scaled it up more slowly, but I was thinking cautiously and trying to maintain balance since I was pitching an idea. I don't think it's necessarily OP.
From there on, the second level of Mastery, achieved at 5th level, should be equivalent to rare items. Items with a +2 bonus are rare, so that's the obvious choice, but I think the 1d6 radiant damage, limited to two uses per day, is quite conservative and wholly appropriate. The next step is tricky since magic item rarity becomes uncoupled from the proficiency thresholds. I'm honestly not sure why they didn't keep to the proficiency thresholds for item powers. Very Rare is the next level, and is appropriate for 11th level or higher characters. That's right in between the 9th and 13th levels where there are proficiency thresholds. My rule of thumb on this was to try to have 3rd stage mastery abilities (gained at 9th level) be a bit weaker than very rare items, or to just give them the +2 bonus at that level, as you have done. I then tended to make up a bit for that with the 4th level of mastery (gained at 13th level). I think giving it 2d6 radiant damage at that point is more than fair. You could certainly have it simply do 1d6 radiant damage on any hit, and it wouldn't be that much more powerful than say a Flame Tongue. That's a rare sword with no pluses, but it does 2d6 fire damage on every hit.
Legendary items are linked to 17th level, which is another proficiency threshold, so Mastery Items should be near equivalents to legendary items at the 5th and final stage of their development. The +3 bonus is a good fit, and the increase in the bypass immunity and resistance power doesn't seem to powerful either. some of those Legendary items are really much more powerful than this sword, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all. This sword has a sense of purpose and character with it's radiant damage and resistance and immunity bypassing. It sounds like a perfect weapon for a paladin or someone with a similar ethos.
That takes me to my last point,in response to Blackwarder's comment. I respectfully disagree, and think it is important to keep the powers thematically linked in a mastery item. One of the best ways to do that is to have powers increase rather than to add whole new powers. That way, the weapon gains a sense of purpose and an identity of its own, which was the whole point of the Legacy Item series - to make items that would scale with the characters as they grew in power and could become signature possessions, part of their character's identity rather than just a collection of interchangeable pluses. It strikes me that your sword does that perfectly.

 

[Chris633]

Thanks AgroWallace!! I really loved your series of articles on magic items, mastery items in particular. And thank you for the feedback. I was hoping to make a balanced sword with a cohesive theme. Next I want to work on its attunement practices. I did tweak its second and fourth levels. The players at my table always get excited when they land a critical and adding more dice to the damage roll is just more exciting I think. I don't think this overpowers it.

Level 1: +1; once per day it will ignore immunities & resistances for 3 rounds.
Level 2 (5th level): attacks add 1d6 radiant damage twice per day. 1d6 additional radiant damage on a critical hit.
Level 3 (9th level): +2; once per day it will ignore immunities & resistances for 6 rounds.
Level 4 (13th level): attacks add 2d6 radiant damage three times per day; 2d6 additional radiant damage on a critical hit.
Level 5 (17th level): +3; twice per day it will ignore immunities & resistances for 6 rounds.


My overall goal is to make a special mastery weapon for all of my players with some kind of interesting story attached to each. Here are some I have been working on today. Any additional feedback is welcomed! Thanks!

For my Monk:

The Chrysanthemum Blade
Beautiful an elaborate wakizashi (smaller version of a katana) with chrysanthemum etchings along its black blade and the bottom of its handle. Mother of pearl shapes adorn the handle. Serves as a monk weapon (mechanically works as a shortsword). It is a weapon that is the embodiment of serenity and order even within battle.

Level 1: +1; the wielder has advantage on saves versus fear.
Level 2 (5th level): attacks add 1d8 damage once per day. 2d6 to those of chaotic alignment.
Level 3 (9th level): +2; wielder has advantage on saves versus being stunned.
Level 4 (13th level): attacks add 2d8 damage twice per day; 3d6 to those of chaotic alignment.
Level 5 (17th level): +3; wielder is immune to fear and being stunned.

For my ranger:

Breath of Frost
A delicate looking shortsword with a bluish blade with swirls of white throughout. Blade looks as if made of ice which continues through the handle. It is cool to the touch. Once attuned, the wielder will notice that the blue and white swirls of the blade move and create the illusion of a dragon in flight. I am running the Scales of War AP and I am going to have this be the sword affiliated with Bahamut. I went with cold to mirror his ice breath.

Level 1: +1; the wielder is resistant to fire damage.
Level 2 (5th level): attacks add 1d8 cold damage twice per day. Add 1d6 cold damage on a critical.
Level 3 (9th level): +2; with a mental command, the sword will reduce the temperature in the surrounding 20ft by 30 degrees.
Level 4 (13th level): attacks add 2d8 cold damage twice per day. Add 2d6 cold damage on a critical.
Level 5 (17th level): +3; wielder is immune to fire damage.

For a rogue:

A vicious looking shortsword with a black blade with swirls of dark green throughout. Blade is serrated with a pearl white handle.

Level 1: +1; the wielder is resistant to poison damage.
Level 2 (5th level): attacks add 1d8 poison damage once per day with an ongoing 1d6 Con save ends (DC?).
Level 3 (9th level): +2; wielder is resistant to necrotic damage. .
Level 4 (13th level): attacks add 2d8 damage twice per day with ongoing 2d6 Con save ends (DC?).
Level 5 (17th level): +3; wielder is immune to poison and necrosis.