Do energy weapons stay "on" when not held?

Bullgrit

Adventurer
Say I have a flaming longsword. Command word turns it on, another command turns it off, per the RAW.

What if I turn it on, and then sheath it? What if I'm stunned and drop the weapon? Does the weapon stay turned on? What if I turn it on and hand it to someone else? What if I'm killed and my enemies take the weapon? Is it "left on" in these scenarios?

Such a weapon in the hands of a sword and board spell caster (cleric, paladin, ranger, etc.), I'd have to sheath my sword to cast a spell (1 round), draw the sword and reactivate it (2 round), and then could use it on the third round. Ouch. That kind of sucks.

Bullgrit
 

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Say I have a flaming longsword. Command word turns it on, another command turns it off, per the RAW.

What if I turn it on, and then sheath it? What if I'm stunned and drop the weapon? Does the weapon stay turned on? What if I turn it on and hand it to someone else? What if I'm killed and my enemies take the weapon? Is it "left on" in these scenarios?

Such a weapon in the hands of a sword and board spell caster (cleric, paladin, ranger, etc.), I'd have to sheath my sword to cast a spell (1 round), draw the sword and reactivate it (2 round), and then could use it on the third round. Ouch. That kind of sucks.

Bullgrit

They stay on till turned off with correct command word (depending on creation might be same command word).
 

Chucking the extra d6's of energy with a weapon takes a little extra logistics. If it seems sucky, stow the shield instead of the energy weapon. There are also other options for magic besides energy. Good ol' +1's add to hit and damage, merciful and vicious don't need to be turned on and keen is a very useful enhancement.
 

From SRD,

Flaming: Upon command, a flaming weapon is sheathed in fire. The fire does not harm the wielder. The effect remains until another command is given. A flaming weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of fire damage on a successful hit. Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow the fire energy upon their ammunition.

It deals extra damage "on a successful hit". That is all the RAW says. So it is up to each DM to decide if it inflicts damages onto anything it touches (sheath, etc.).

Even if it does,

From SRD,

Energy Attacks: Acid and sonic attacks deal damage to most objects just as they do to creatures; roll damage and apply it normally after a successful hit. Electricity and fire attacks deal half damage to most objects; divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the hardness. Cold attacks deal one-quarter damage to most objects; divide the damage dealt by 4 before applying the hardness.

So, ask your DM against which material fire damages are halved. Make a sheath with something resistant against fire and with 3+ hardness, or something with 6+ hardness.
 



We're going to house rule that a free action turns them on and off, and they turn off automatically after every encounter.

If players complain, they'll be held to the command word (standard action) activation. Which is a pain.
 

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