D&D 5E Can YOU Balance this Magic Item??

[Bacon Bits]

Yeah, the immovable thing is weird. It might be better to say, 'cannot be wielded with proficiency' or something. Essentially, it's totally unwieldly without attunement.

I would just say it's too heavy to wield as a weapon. If you want to make it difficult to move, require a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to lift it if you're not attuned.

I don't see how it does lots of damage? There's only one damaging property and that's the 10 foot AoE. Which only does 2d6+5 with no chance of a crit because it's a dex save for half. Which could be a lot of damage if he's totally surrounded, if you add it all up together. Unless you are just talking about wielding a 2d6 weapon in one hand as a lot of damage. Once again, in my estimation, the 'monkey grip' seemed the ability most prone for abuse.

The one other ability just knocks people prone. which is a lesser form of Gust of Wind, I think(if I'm remembering the correct spell).

I'm not saying it does too much damage or that you should tone it down. The only thing I think is actually a problem is the "can't lift it" part, and you changed that.

I'm saying that it deals a lot of damage as it's purpose. That's what it does. It's a big hittin' stick.

That's perfectly fine. But it's still a one-handed weapon with 10' reach that deals base 2d6 damage. That's above par on two degrees and you gotta acknowledge that. It has an ability that you get up to 6 times in one day that deals 2d6+5 (i.e., slightly less than 4d6) damage to 24 squares. That's a lot of AoE damage for a melee weapon. Again, that's fine if it's what you want, but it's still big. If there are 3 or more targets, you're already above par for what martials are normally limited to.

And it has another ability that lets you knock half a dozen people prone. That's not direct damage, but indirectly it certainly is because it's an offensive debuff. It allows your party to get advantage on melee attacks. It prevents escape. If you can find a way to use it against flying creatures (i.e., you activate it while on a flying creature) it's devastating. That's fine, but it's what's going on.

That's perfectly fine if that's what you want. A Flame Tongue Greatsword also deals a lot of damage. 2d6 base plus 2d6 fire. That's fine, but you have to acknowledge that that is what it's doing.

I don't think you need to change anything with the abilities. You just need to know that it's capable of a lot of damage. When you give it out, you just need to know that it's going to be powerful like a Flame Tongue, Rod of Lordly Might, Dwarven Thrower, or Holy Avenger.

It's a powerful item, and I'd be inclined to save it for the last half to last third of a campaign like it were a +2 or +3 sword. I would not expect that I would be giving out any weapons that were clearly better.

Attunement: to attune to this weapon, you must sacrifice a magical weapon which the sword absorbs into itself

I don't think this is necessary. Maybe if you wanted it to be an artifact or a relic, but I don't think it's that necessary. I would only use this if you wanted to prevent PCs from swapping the item around. I don't think that's really a concern. You can do it if you want, but it does nothing to balance the item. It's either worth the cost or it's not.

Here's my flat judgement:

• I think reach is fine. I kind of like the idea that you've got to use it two-handed to benefit from it, but that's not a big deal. Threatening reach is different in 5e so it's not really a balance issue.
• As I said above, I don't like the idea of a one-handed weapon having the Heavy property or benefiting from GWM. That's just weird, but that's also just me. I don't think it's wrong or anything, I just don't like the feel of it, if that makes sense.
• I think 2d6 damage from a one handed weapon is fine. It's like base 1d8+3 damage, which is high but not obscene. It's par with Frost Brand.
• I think call to hand can be free, just like the shrinking and growing. It's cool, but unless there's really something you can do with it it's not necessary to limit it. After all, Bladelocks and Eldritch Knights already get this.
• I think shared charges are a bit much. I prefer fixed uses per day simply because the bookkeeping is much easier.
• I think the AoE is pretty high damage, and it's what you're really attuning the item for. I'd probably set it to 2/day and then adjust later as needed.
• I think the knock prone cone is fine. I'd probably set it to 3/day. It's not too powerful, but it could be obnoxious if they spam it. The PCs should be able to get the most benefit from the first use of the power, and limiting uses encourages more strategic use.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I would just say it's too heavy to wield as a weapon. If you want to make it difficult to move, require a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to lift it if you're not attuned.



I'm not saying it does too much damage or that you should tone it down. The only thing I think is actually a problem is the "can't lift it" part, and you changed that.

I'm saying that it deals a lot of damage as it's purpose. That's what it does. It's a big hittin' stick.

That's perfectly fine. But it's still a one-handed weapon with 10' reach that deals base 2d6 damage. That's above par on two degrees and you gotta acknowledge that. It has an ability that you get up to 6 times in one day that deals 2d6+5 (i.e., slightly less than 4d6) damage to 24 squares. That's a lot of AoE damage for a melee weapon. Again, that's fine if it's what you want, but it's still big. If there are 3 or more targets, you're already above par for what martials are normally limited to.

And it has another ability that lets you knock half a dozen people prone. That's not direct damage, but indirectly it certainly is because it's an offensive debuff. It allows your party to get advantage on melee attacks. It prevents escape. If you can find a way to use it against flying creatures (i.e., you activate it while on a flying creature) it's devastating. That's fine, but it's what's going on.

That's perfectly fine if that's what you want. A Flame Tongue Greatsword also deals a lot of damage. 2d6 base plus 2d6 fire. That's fine, but you have to acknowledge that that is what it's doing.

I don't think you need to change anything with the abilities. You just need to know that it's capable of a lot of damage. When you give it out, you just need to know that it's going to be powerful like a Flame Tongue, Rod of Lordly Might, Dwarven Thrower, or Holy Avenger.

It's a powerful item, and I'd be inclined to save it for the last half to last third of a campaign like it were a +2 or +3 sword. I would not expect that I would be giving out any weapons that were clearly better.



I don't think this is necessary. Maybe if you wanted it to be an artifact or a relic, but I don't think it's that necessary. I would only use this if you wanted to prevent PCs from swapping the item around. I don't think that's really a concern. You can do it if you want, but it does nothing to balance the item. It's either worth the cost or it's not.

Here's my flat judgement:

• I think reach is fine. I kind of like the idea that you've got to use it two-handed to benefit from it, but that's not a big deal. Threatening reach is different in 5e so it's not really a balance issue.
• As I said above, I don't like the idea of a one-handed weapon having the Heavy property or benefiting from GWM. That's just weird, but that's also just me. I don't think it's wrong or anything, I just don't like the feel of it, if that makes sense.
• I think 2d6 damage from a one handed weapon is fine. It's like base 1d8+3 damage, which is high but not obscene. It's par with Frost Brand.
• I think call to hand can be free, just like the shrinking and growing. It's cool, but unless there's really something you can do with it it's not necessary to limit it. After all, Bladelocks and Eldritch Knights already get this.
• I think shared charges are a bit much. I prefer fixed uses per day simply because the bookkeeping is much easier.
• I think the AoE is pretty high damage, and it's what you're really attuning the item for. I'd probably set it to 2/day and then adjust later as needed.
• I think the knock prone cone is fine. I'd probably set it to 3/day. It's not too powerful, but it could be obnoxious if they spam it. The PCs should be able to get the most benefit from the first use of the power, and limiting uses encourages more strategic use.

For clarification: We changed to a two handed weapon. It's a Greatsword with reach.

• I wasn't sure how powerful the AoE was. That's why I need other people to evaluate it.
• It's for a 10th level character so, if you would only hand it out in a tier 3 or tier 4, it might be too powerful. That said, we are only playing to 13th level or something....I'm not sure, since I"m not the DM.

 

[NotAYakk]

A 2d6+5 damage aoe is barely worth using at level 11; a low damage cantrip does 3d6+stat at that level. The 10' radius is nice. But it is dumb to add up squares and pretend that is important to balance.

If it costs your entire action, very bad plan for a fighter 11 in 95/100 fights, except the one where your DM gives you a pile of close packed zombies to jump into. It isn't even ally friendly (nor should it be), so you have to disengage from the party to use it.

Doing 12d6+15 (67) at +9 to hit, vs 12 aoe at dc 15 (for none), requires clumsy foes, or like 12 targets (after accounting for secondary target discount of 50%), or low mass low HP mooks. Hence this is worse than a flametongue even if you could do it at will, if it took your action.

Having it replace one swing makes it stronger, and works better with a fighter;s class features, without turning it into a fireball scale attack. Still, I suspect a flametongue is still better that what I wrote above.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

A 2d6+5 damage aoe is barely worth using at level 11; a low damage cantrip does 3d6+stat at that level. The 10' radius is nice. But it is dumb to add up squsres and pretend that is important to balance.

If it costs your entire action, very bad plan for a fighter 11 in 95/100 fights, except the one where your DM gives you a pile of close packed zombies to jump into. It isn't even ally friendly (nor should it be), so you have to disengage from the party to use it.

Doing 12d6+15 (67) at +9 to hit, vs 12 aoe at dc 15 (for none), requires clumsy foes, or like 12 targets (after accounting for secondary target discount of 50%), or low mass low HP mooks. Hence this is worse than a flametongue even if you could do it at will, if it took your action.

Having it replace one swing makes it stronger, and works better with a fighter;s class features, without turning it into a fireball scale attack. Still, I suspect a flametongue is still better that what I wrote above.

This is as kind of my assessment of the AoE. It doesn’t seem that powerful at 10th level. Assuming the barbarian isn’t swarmed by many CR 1/4 enemies, it’s underwhelming.

we did a test combat with the sword and the barbarian was blinded and didn’t know where the enemy (another barbarian riding a mount). He succeeded a perception check to know the enemy was ‘somewhere’ behind him. The AoE guaranteed a hit(15 damage, saved for half and the mount took none). He could have used the cone too but he was afraid that he’d choose the wrong squares.

overall, the weapon was underwhelming but it was a 1v1 so not an especially useful test.

We will see you hat the dm says and I’ll post the final version.

 

[Bacon Bits]

For clarification: We changed to a two handed weapon. It's a Greatsword with reach.

• I wasn't sure how powerful the AoE was. That's why I need other people to evaluate it.
• It's for a 10th level character so, if you would only hand it out in a tier 3 or tier 4, it might be too powerful. That said, we are only playing to 13th level or something....I'm not sure, since I"m not the DM.

When I say the last half to last third of a game I really mean that. It's a term completely relative to your campaign. I'm not afraid to give out a Holy Avenger to a level 6 Paladin if I know the campaign is going to end by level 8 or 9. IMO, powerful magic items don't belong at certain tiers of play so much as certain points in the campaign. Since I wouldn't care about how powerful the PC was over level 10 or care about keeping up player rewards over level 10, why should I limit magic items to those levels? The game will end before there's a problem! It's just taking one-shot logic and expanding it out a bit.

I would have no problem at all giving out this weapon at level 10 if the campaign were ending in a level or two. That's what, 10 to 12 weeks of play? The item won't have much chance to have that much of an impact, and if it does the campaign is ending soon anyways.

However, it's a big difference if you're not the DM. Other than the stuff already covered I don't think you can really balance it because you don't know where the campaign is really going or what the DM's stance on magic items is. Lots of DMs think certain items should only be available at Tier 4, and that kind of DM is going to evaluate things wildly differently.

 

[jgsugden]

Hm...this is good. I like it. The last point is a bit confusing...but I think it's more the wording than the intent...

It was a slightly modified version of the Hexblade/Pact of the Blade abilities.

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

The sword has 12 charges that power the following abilities:
Ability Summon- As your action you can expend 1 of your charges to summon the sword to you from any point in the same plain of existence.

It should be "While wielding this sword, as an action you can expend 1 charge to summon..." or "While wielding this sword, you can use an action to expend 1 charge to summon..."
Also, PLANE of existence
This is pretty minor. The Eldritch Knight can do this at-will. Doesn't seem worth a charge

Ability Sweep- As your attack action you expend 2 charges to spin around attacking everyone within 10-feet range. Anyone caught in the area must make a dex save or take 2d6+ your strength on a failed save, and half on a successful save.

This is a big radius. You could hit 25 creatures if surrounded. It's way bigger than the area for the next ability
I'd keep this at 2 charges but make Ability Smash 1 charge and remove the charge cost from Ability Summon

Could be phrased better.
How bout "While wielding this sword, as an action you can expend 2 charges to spin around, hitting every creature you can see within your reach. Creatures struck by this attack must make a DC __ Dexterity saving throw, taking 2d6 damage plus your Strength modifier on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one."

Ability Smash- As your attack action you expend 2 charges smashing the ground in front of you, everyone must in a 15-foot cone make a dex save or be knocked prone.

"While wielding this sword, as an action you can expend 1 charges to smash the ground. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must succeed on a ___ Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone."

Sword regains 1d4+2 charges every long rest. Toying with a recharge cost - possibly sacrificing a non-magical weapon. The amount of recharge is equal to the rolled amount of the damage dice of the weapon. Eg: a dagger would recharge 1d4 charges. Only 1 weapon can be sacrificed/day.

It'd be "daily at dawn" not a long rest. 1d4 charges would be fine
Sacrificing weapons is cool beanz, but this should be limited to once per day so the character doesn't stack up longswords taken from defeated foes to sacrifice one after the other. Mebbe it could grant a reroll when recharging at dawn. Or increase the die used to determine how many charges regained that dawn, matching the sacrificed weapon. So if you sacrifice a shortsword you regain 1d6 charges instead of 1d4.

 

[jmartkdr2]

It should be "While wielding this sword, as an action you can expend 1 charge to summon..." or "While wielding this sword, you can use an action to expend 1 charge to summon..."
Also, PLANE of existence
This is pretty minor. The Eldritch Knight can do this at-will. Doesn't seem worth a charge

I think you meant "while attunded to this sword," - if you're already wielding the sword, it's already in your hand.

 

[Quartz]

A giant 10-foot long, +1 Great sword

Cool item. How about dropping the +1 and giving it something flashy like Thunder damage? This would tie in with the knockdown property: targets would take damage and fall. And as a super-heavy weapon it should have what I call the Collision property: roll the dice twice and take the better set.

This weapon weighs 600lbs

That's just a wee bit heavy. How about 60 lbs? Then they could move it without attuning to it.

 

[Dragonsbane]

Don't let it automatically recharge after a "short rest". If it has only 12 charges and CANNOT BE RECHARGED then it will be a "cool" magic item that gets used in real emergencies.

This!