Chaosmatter Weapons - "The Will and the Weapon are One"

[Shayuri]

Those of you who've played the excellent "Planescape: Torment" game probably remember good old Dak'kon, and his sword of "karach." Chaosmatter from limbo. On looking over the new 3.5e DR rules, something clicked in my head when thinking about those special material DR's...and a substance who's existance is defined by the will of its wielder.

This is all in the shakey first stages of conceptualization, so any input is valued.

It would be heinously expensive, of course, using such exotic, extraplanar material. Right now I'm playing with adding up all the base costs for all the special materials that pierce DR (cold iron, adamantine, silver) and basing karach's cost as a multiple of the total.

I'm thinking that karach can't actually be enchanted with magic. It's too unstable. But a sufficient will (Wisdom) could cause it to be able to penetrate magic DR. That's iffy. A karach weapon is automatically chaotic-aligned, and cannot be altered by any means. Karach that somehow DOES get made non-chaotic (Wish, perhaps? Miracle?) is frozen in the form it's in...forevermore.

I'm playing with the following DC's...

DC 10 - Is effectively steel in substance.
DC 12 - Masterwork bonuses apply. Alter Weapon shape.
DC 14 - Can emulate alchemical silver, or mithril.
DC 16 - Can pierce x/magic DR.
DC 18 - Can emulate adamantine
DC 20 - Can emulate cold iron

The weapon can only be one form at a time. You can't have silver/adamantine mixes, for example. The only exception is that an item can stack MW bonus, magic DR, and any special material. Altering shape is generally only cosmetic, but can be used to increase or decrease weapon size by 1 increment.

A Wis check alters the item's form for 1 round, before it fades back to steel-equivalent. The user can take 10, but not 20. Thus, if the user's Wis is high enough to take 10, the weapon can be maintained in that form as long as the user is conscious.

Also considering adding higher DC's to transform the sword into elemental energy forms. Perhaps a monstrous DC to change it into pure force!

Thoughts?

 

[Haganegiri]

Well Karach should NOT, repeat NOT be buyable. Karach Blades are only granted to the great Zerths who prove themselves. I suggest making a PrcClass (something like Eldritch Knight, infact just modify that a little bit, seeing as Zerth are just Wizard/Sorcerer + Fighter combined) where they are granted the Karach Blade at 1st level after they perform some quest. Or if you really want Non-Giths to have a Karach blade, have the person perform a quest for the Githzerai and take some tutilage under them, and i wouldnt recomend giving anyone a Karach Blade untill 10th level, and just give them less magic EQ than everyone else.

Also I dont like how you have it quite set up. heres a rough outline that i like.


Karach Blade

Base Weapon Statistics (when uncontrolled)
Damage (M) Critical Weight
1d6 20/x2 5 lbs. (50 lbs)*
*if the wielder fails a Control roll, or anyone not trained in Control tries to pick up the weapon.

DC	Special
10	Becomes any Simple weapon
13	Becomes any Martial weapon
15	Becomes any Exotic weapon


+1	Masterwork version
+2	Silver Weapon
+3	Mithral
+4	Adamantine
+5	+1 Psionic Weapon
+5	+1 Magic Weapon
+2	Per +1 enhancement given to the blade (must have given either +1 Psionic or Magic first).

 

[The Iron Mark]

I like Haganegiri's method for the blade. The only thing you seem to be missing on that table is Cold Iron.

 

[Shayuri]

Thanks for the input so far. I shall explain my motives a bit more.

I'm thinking that the actual ceremonial Zerth blade would -indeed- have that kind of limitation. However, I am also thinking that there are other factors/factions/entities capable of working chaosmatter into semistable weaponable forms. Thus, I wanted a set of rules that described the process by which they work. Then individual GM's can set any availability requirements they wish to on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

Thus, having a base cost for the procedure is important, I think, even if the GM rules that they are in effect priceless and only available by special means.

I hadn't considered having the weapons be able to actually change into different kinds of weapons. I'll consider that...though I admit right now I am leaning more towards "a sword is a sword is a sword" motif...that the malleability of the chaosmatter has its limits, in other words.

Though it IS an intriguing idea.

I'm also thinking that certain feats...perhaps Iron Will, or the special Anarch feat, might give bonuses on the Wisdom checks to control such a weapon's form/composition.

Thoughts?

 

[Haganegiri]

oops

 

[Haganegiri]

My "official" terminology will be Forming for when the character wants the Karach Blade to change shape and weapon type. unFormed means its in a longsword fashion blade, while unShaped means the chaosmatter has been disrupted (by Sundering, Disarming, or dispell or something).

Karach Blade (unFormed) base weapon statistics.
Exotic - Medium Melee
Damage (M)	Type			Critical	Range	Weight
	1d6	Slashing/Piercing	20/x2	--------	5 lbs.

Chaosmatter
Hardness = wielders Will save x2.
Hp = wielders Fortitude save x 5.
Break DC = Fortitude save x3.
Sundering or Breaking a Karach Blade causes it to become unShaped.
Disarming or otherwise forcing a Karach Blade out of the wielders hands causes it to become unShaped unless the wielder can succed at a reflexive, free action Form roll (DC 15), which the wielder can choose to forgo (important for circumstances that grant Disarming opponents the ability to snatch the weapon from the wielder).

unShaped Chaosmatter
unShaped chasmatter is really well...chaotic. It makes giraffes noises, sings Old Mac Donald had a farm, Has arms/legs/eyes sticking randomly from the chaosmatter turns wood into liquid wood or may do simply nothing at all but shine all pretty like. Anything that touches chaosmatter takes 1d4 damage per round unless the creature touching it makes a succesful Forming roll, or quits touching the dang stuff, and must spend a full-round action wiping the stuff off of whatever it touched, no matter how little/much was covered on the creatures body. actual hit point damage is only done to creatures (including Contructs and Undead), normal objects do not take hit point damage, but are affected in a random way as determined by the DM, but please note this is not supposed to be the destroy the character with the Karach Blade flaw, its the mildly annoying problem that comes from failing to focus ones will, feel free to do drastic things with unShaped chaosmatter, just do not hurt the character in question without compensation (after all you are the one who approved of him using these rules).

Form Roll
1d20 + 1/2 Character Level + Will Save.

Check: You can shape and form the Karach Blade to your will, as a Standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. If the roll succeds, the weapon changes form (but still retains its 5lbs weight, regardless of what new weapon it becomes). A failed roll causes the weapon to revert to its normal, unFomred base weapon stats. A 1 on a roll causes it to become unShaped, and deals 1d4 damage per round untill a successful Forming roll is made, or it is dropped.

DC	Special
5	Unformed (DC listed for purposes of modifing the Unformed Blade).
10	cause unShaped chaosmatter to become unFormed*
10	Becomes any single melee Simple weapon.
13	Becomes any single melee Martial weapon.
15	Becomes any single melee Exotic weapon.
   *this does mean that the first time you try to Form unShaped chaosmatter it turns into an unFormed Blade base stats and cannot add any Qualities, regardless of whatever DC the wielder makes.

DC	Special Qualities added
+1	Masterwork
+2	Crystal
+2	Silver Weapon
+2	Mithral
+3	Cold Iron
+4	Adamantine
+4	+1 Psionic Weapon+
+4	+1 Magic Weapon+
+2	Per +1 enhancement given to the blade (must have given either +1 Psionic or Magic first).
   +Magic and Psionic cannot both be added at the same time, you must choose either one or the other, and you can only add Psionic Special Abilities from the psionics weapons Sepcial Abilites list if you chose +1 Psionic, and Magic Special Abilites to a Magic +1 Karach Blade.

Magic/Psionic Special Abilities cap.
4th	+1
6th	+2
8th	+3
9th	+4
10th	+5
12th	+6*
14th	+7*
16th	+8*
17th	+9*
18th	+10*
*cant actually have bonuses this high, must purchase Special Abilities.

Common Sense, you cannot stack magic Special abilities and Psionic Special abilities, Nor may you have a +1 Magic and Psionic Blade (which only matters if Psionics are diffrent rule is in play). Also you can stack Iron, Silver, Adamantine ETC with magic qualities as long as you succed at the Forming roll And adding Silver, Adamantine ETC does not count against the Special Abilities limits chart. Also,only allow Melee weapons to be Formed.

for now as a quick fix, allow Iron Will and Great Fortitudes bonuses to Will and Fort add to the base for purposes of Hardness and HP. Tommorow night or the next i hope to have the system worked out.