Creating an artifact that scales in ability with character level

[Silinthar]

I'm going to try to be brief, while not giving too much actual intellectual specifics. I want to create a weapon that will increase in abilities and "power" as the character goes up in level (ie +1 at 1st level, Eldrich blast at 3rd, +2 at 4th, etc.) Is this possible given the current rules?

 

[Caliban]

I don't think there are any specific rules for it, but you can create anything you like in hombrew. Keep in mind that it's very easy to make an overpowered item this way that will cause you headaches in the long run.

My recommended guidelines:

Magical attack/damage bonus: I'd recommend having it be a magical +0 weapon until level 3, 4 or 5, and thereafter having the attack/damage bonus be limited to 1/2 their proficiency bonus. No greater than a +3 bonus at maximum level (17+).

Limit powers/properties to 1 per tier. (i.e. one power at level 1-4, a 2nd a levels 5-10, a 3rd at levels 11-16, and a 4th at levels 17-20)

I'd seriously consider requiring the character to do something to "unlock" the powers instead of having them automatically granted - either a specific quest to upgrade the weapon, or a sacrifice of some sort on the part of the character. This really depends on the campaign and the group though.

 

[FarBeyondC]

Is it possible? Certainly.

As far as I'm aware, however, there are no real guidelines for doing so.

 

[Voort]

Might want to check out the Vestiges in the Tal’Doriel (Critical Role) setting book. They are magic items each with three sets of improving stats (dormant/awakened/exalted) with character & story milestones for improving to the next level.

 

[Josiah Stoll]

Pathfinder Unchained did something along these lines with “scaling item rules.” Basically, just have the party “buy” another magic item, but add its effects to the original one.
For instance: I gave a player a +1 magic sword.
When they completed the adventure, instead of giving the player another magic sword, I added the magic sword’s effects to the sword he already had.

 

[Tormyr]

Recently there was a D&D Beyond interview where one of the designers said that the way to figure out of a homebrew class feature was overpowered was to find the lowest level spell that did the same thing and see if a full caster of the class level would be able to cast it (i.e. level 5 = 3rd level spells or lower). The weapon could easily follow the same guidelines (i.e. don't give the wielder an ability akin to a 5th-level spell when the wielder is less than 9th level.

 

[ehenning]

Check out Dan Coleman’s Weapons of Legacy. Or the Taldore Campaign setting by Matt Mercer. Good inspiration.

 

[neogod22]

I'm going to try to be brief, while not giving too much actual intellectual specifics. I want to create a weapon that will increase in abilities and "power" as the character goes up in level (ie +1 at 1st level, Eldrich blast at 3rd, +2 at 4th, etc.) Is this possible given the current rules?

You can give the character a legacy magic item. There may be rules in Xanathars for them, but they gave them to DMs who ran Tomb of Annihilation and the AL adventurers that season. Basically, you choose what it is (i.e. a sword) in tier 1 it is an uncommon magic item, tier 2 it turns to a rare, tier 3 very rare, and tier 4 legendary. The player can choose what the sword is as long it's tier appropriate (i.e. starts as a +1 sword, then becomes a sword of wounding, then a frost brand, then vorpal sword).

 

[Quartz]

Something you might consider is to give the weapon powers based on the PC's Proficiency Bonus. So maybe when the PB is 2 you get to cast Lesser Restoration (wielder only) 1/day; when the PB is 6 you get Heal. Offensive abilities should work off a level of PB -1.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Starwalker Studios has created a decent mechanic for handling weapons that scale with PC level:

http://www.starwalkerstudios.com/store/relics