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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Concerning Swordmage powers and properties/effects of weapons
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<blockquote data-quote="inati" data-source="post: 4469046" data-attributes="member: 71567"><p>So in one of the modules I was running through, my Swordmage picked up a +1 Lightning Weapon. I was pretty stoked by this, but it did bring a question of how this will work in game with my Swordmage's spells, both weapon powers and implement powers.</p><p></p><p>The rules for swordmages reads as:</p><p>This seems pretty straightforward: You can use weapons as implements and gain bonuses and any extra damage properties from weapons.</p><p></p><p>The rules for something like a lightning weapon states:</p><p>This is also straightforward, you can turn all damage dealt into lightning damage.</p><p></p><p>With these two points in mind, how do these two rules interact with each other? If I were to use Greenflame Blade (FRPG pg27), for example, which has the weapon keyword, would the damage from my attack spell change from Fire to Lightning? Would it instead be a Greenbolt Blade attack instead and the plume of fire that hits all enemies adjacent to the target would also be lightning damage? </p><p></p><p>Since this power has the weapon keyword, I would argue all damage produced by the attack can be converted into lightning damage, as per the rules of the Lightning weapon. What this essentially does for the swordmage is change the attack type from something that is more commonly resisted (fire) to something more damage friendly (lightning). As you can imagine, any weapon which causes a change in damage type would be extremely useful for a Swordmage. Cold, Acid, Radiant, etc etc.</p><p></p><p>Now the more difficult question is, how does this effect swordmage powers that have the implement keyword? Let's say that I use the attack spell Sword Burst (FRPG pg 27), which has the keywords Implement and Force. Since I am channeling the power through the Lightning weapon, which is now acting as an implement according to swordmage rules, could I change the damage type to Lightning? Or, in other words, do spells that use the weapon as an implement gain the properties of the weapon as written in the rules of the weapon? </p><p></p><p>Although I can see the merits for both Yes and No answers, I would lean towards the Yes side. Why? Let's take a look at other weapon properties such as an Assassin's weapon (Adventurer's vault pg 67). For damage, it reads: So, as per the rules, if I use the assassin's weapon as an implement and score a critical, I now attach the poison damage component, even though I never touched the person with the weapon. This is fairly easy to rule, as the rules state "any extra damage." </p><p></p><p>What about a Battlecrazed weapon (Adventurer's Vault pg 64)? The property reads:</p><p>So do the rules of "any extra damage" mean that I would gain the +1d6 when bloodied? By my interpretation, I would take it as Yes.</p><p></p><p>So back to the Lightning weapon, would the weapon properties be transferred to the spell when it is used as an implement? I think it all hinges on the key phrase "any extra damage." I would argue yes, because changing the damage type is a form of extra damage property of the weapon. However, I can see how the answer would be No, because technically it didn't add any extra damage points to the attack. </p><p></p><p>What are people's thoughts on this and how would you rule? <strong><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: Yellow">Should weapons that change damage type dealt also change damage type when it is used as an implement to channel spells? </span></span></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>P.S. - Disclaimer: I am interested in finding a good game balance to the mechanics of weapons used as implements<strong>, </strong>as I am certain that other classes in the future will be using weapons as implements as well. Please do not take this post to mean that I had an argument with my group already and that I am turning to enworld for help; we haven't even discussed nor mentioned the issue yet, and besides, I will abide with my group's consensus in the end anyways! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="inati, post: 4469046, member: 71567"] So in one of the modules I was running through, my Swordmage picked up a +1 Lightning Weapon. I was pretty stoked by this, but it did bring a question of how this will work in game with my Swordmage's spells, both weapon powers and implement powers. The rules for swordmages reads as: This seems pretty straightforward: You can use weapons as implements and gain bonuses and any extra damage properties from weapons. The rules for something like a lightning weapon states: This is also straightforward, you can turn all damage dealt into lightning damage. With these two points in mind, how do these two rules interact with each other? If I were to use Greenflame Blade (FRPG pg27), for example, which has the weapon keyword, would the damage from my attack spell change from Fire to Lightning? Would it instead be a Greenbolt Blade attack instead and the plume of fire that hits all enemies adjacent to the target would also be lightning damage? Since this power has the weapon keyword, I would argue all damage produced by the attack can be converted into lightning damage, as per the rules of the Lightning weapon. What this essentially does for the swordmage is change the attack type from something that is more commonly resisted (fire) to something more damage friendly (lightning). As you can imagine, any weapon which causes a change in damage type would be extremely useful for a Swordmage. Cold, Acid, Radiant, etc etc. Now the more difficult question is, how does this effect swordmage powers that have the implement keyword? Let's say that I use the attack spell Sword Burst (FRPG pg 27), which has the keywords Implement and Force. Since I am channeling the power through the Lightning weapon, which is now acting as an implement according to swordmage rules, could I change the damage type to Lightning? Or, in other words, do spells that use the weapon as an implement gain the properties of the weapon as written in the rules of the weapon? Although I can see the merits for both Yes and No answers, I would lean towards the Yes side. Why? Let's take a look at other weapon properties such as an Assassin's weapon (Adventurer's vault pg 67). For damage, it reads: So, as per the rules, if I use the assassin's weapon as an implement and score a critical, I now attach the poison damage component, even though I never touched the person with the weapon. This is fairly easy to rule, as the rules state "any extra damage." What about a Battlecrazed weapon (Adventurer's Vault pg 64)? The property reads: So do the rules of "any extra damage" mean that I would gain the +1d6 when bloodied? By my interpretation, I would take it as Yes. So back to the Lightning weapon, would the weapon properties be transferred to the spell when it is used as an implement? I think it all hinges on the key phrase "any extra damage." I would argue yes, because changing the damage type is a form of extra damage property of the weapon. However, I can see how the answer would be No, because technically it didn't add any extra damage points to the attack. What are people's thoughts on this and how would you rule? [B][SIZE=3][COLOR=Yellow]Should weapons that change damage type dealt also change damage type when it is used as an implement to channel spells? [/COLOR][/SIZE] [/B] P.S. - Disclaimer: I am interested in finding a good game balance to the mechanics of weapons used as implements[B], [/B]as I am certain that other classes in the future will be using weapons as implements as well. Please do not take this post to mean that I had an argument with my group already and that I am turning to enworld for help; we haven't even discussed nor mentioned the issue yet, and besides, I will abide with my group's consensus in the end anyways! :) [/QUOTE]
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