Dr ?

[Hypersmurf]

Other than that, you're stuck with an epic weapon (or a bane weapon for each category )

Isn't there some sort of adaptive magic weapon ability in some book somewhere - if you strike a creature, it takes on the properties necessary to bypass that creature's DR until you hit something else?

(That is, the first time you hit the werewolf, the DR /Silver applies, but after that, the weapon is considered silver for the purpose of bypassing DR... until you hit a different creature.)

I can't recall the details, though, or if it applies to Epic DR.

-Hyp.

 

[green slime]

I wonder if anyone ever considered have certain substances be corrupted by their use?

So a silver weapon used against lycanthropes would become less effective over time. Just a little side thought I had...

And now we return you back on topic:

It aint cheese using +4 bane to penetrate Epic.

 

[Thurbane]

I've got a question - does an Epic weapon overcome DR/- ?

 

[Thurbane]

Isn't there some sort of adaptive magic weapon ability in some book somewhere - if you strike a creature, it takes on the properties necessary to bypass that creature's DR until you hit something else?

(That is, the first time you hit the werewolf, the DR /Silver applies, but after that, the weapon is considered silver for the purpose of bypassing DR... until you hit a different creature.)

I can't recall the details, though, or if it applies to Epic DR.

-Hyp.

There's the Shadow Striking enhancement from ToM (+3) - it changes to any material or alignment needed to damage a creature. No mention of Epic though.

Theres also the Transmuting enhancement in MiC (+2) - it seems more versatile, not limited to materials or alignment. It simply says "the weapon transforms, taking on the properties required to overcome that creature's damage reduction".

 

[Infiniti2000]

I've got a question - does an Epic weapon overcome DR/- ?

No. An epic weapon overcomes DR/epic. Nothing overcomes DR/- (except very few extremely special cases...perhaps).

 

[Bad Paper]

I looked through the seeds and there's indeed no explicit seed to create that. If the DM allows it, you could extrapolate it from other seeds. Fortify could work.

I am the DM in question, and I haven't tinkered with Epic stuff yet. The party is teetering on the edge of 18th level, and I'm starting to advise the spellcasters who want to pursue epic magic on maxing out the appropriate skills.

So I looked at the Fortify seed, and as far as I can tell, you can make a twenty-hour +10 Epic Weapon spell for DC 37, or DC 57 if you want the casting time down to one action. (I assume that's "standard action")

Did I do that right? Fortify is DC 17, +2*10 for +10 bonus. +2*10 to reduce the time. Am I missing anything else?

Isn't there some sort of adaptive magic weapon ability in some book somewhere

yeah, I vaguely recall this, too, can't remember what it is. A quick scan of the Crystal Keep PDF turned up nothing; maybe I'm using the wrong terms.

Nothing overcomes DR/-

An example of something that does is this little minor artifact: ring of elemental command.

 

[Hypersmurf]

There's the Shadow Striking enhancement from ToM (+3) - it changes to any material or alignment needed to damage a creature. No mention of Epic though.

Theres also the Transmuting enhancement in MiC (+2) - it seems more versatile, not limited to materials or alignment. It simply says "the weapon transforms, taking on the properties required to overcome that creature's damage reduction".

I guess one of those might be the one I was thinking of. Is Transmuting actually better-for-cheaper, or are there more limitations on it?

-Hyp.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I guess one of those might be the one I was thinking of. Is Transmuting actually better-for-cheaper, or are there more limitations on it?

It's not instantaneous: If you attack something, the anti-dr-properties will set themselves to overcome that target's DR. At the start of your next round, you now overcome this DR. It stays so for a minute and then resets to the weapon's normal properties.

If you fight several critters with the same DR, you'll just "lose" one round, but if there are different critters, you'll have to give the weapon time to reset itself each time (you can still use it in that time, but it won't overcome the critter's DR).

 

[Hypersmurf]

It's not instantaneous: If you attack something, the anti-dr-properties will set themselves to overcome that target's DR. At the start of your next round, you now overcome this DR. It stays so for a minute and then resets to the weapon's normal properties.

If you fight several critters with the same DR, you'll just "lose" one round, but if there are different critters, you'll have to give the weapon time to reset itself each time (you can still use it in that time, but it won't overcome the critter's DR).

That's definitely the one I was thinking of, then.

And sounds like it would be a good call if you were fighting a lot of Epic DR critters and didn't want to shell out for a +6 weapon or the Complete Set of +4 Banes...

-Hyp.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Your problem come with thinking that an Epic Magic Weapon could possibly overcome Damage Reduction the reguires an Epic Magic weapon.

See.

Doesn't that make sense?

An Epic Weapon doesn't overcome Epic Damge Reduction. In fact, non-Epic wepaon are pretty good at overcoming Damage Reduction that can only be overcome with Epic Weapons.

In summary:

An Epic Weapon is not an Epic Weapon.

Follow.

Me neither.

This seems to be a case of One editor having no Clue what another was thinking, and now we have to live with it.

DR X/Epic, is in fact DR/+6. When 3.5 got rid of all the +1/+2/+3 Etc for Cold Iron/Good/Etc, they decided to change the name of DR/+6 to DR/Epic.

The problem was that the Epic Level Handbook had already spelled out what an Epic Weapon is (+6 or Higher OR total bonuses over +10).

Rather than merge definitions of Epic (or change the name of one of them), they decided to keep both of them.

So I can say "Sorry, this Epic Weapon won't overcome his DR 10/Epic because you don't have an Epic Weapon, but his Non-Epic Bane Weapon easily overcomes the DR that requires Epic Weapons to overcome" and be 100% Correct.

Sort of like saying "I'm sorry, but those Rails just won't fly, but those Rails beneath the Train are about to get crushed" and be 100% Correct (as I'm talking about Rails, the bird & Rails, the things Trains run on).

D&D just came up with 2 different definitions for Epic as it applies to Weapons & Combat.

There are 2 very simple, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY SIMPLE ways of resolving this that seems to complelty baffle the R&D guys at WotC.

1. Change DR/Epic to DR/+6. That fixes it right there. Switch 4 Letters to a Symbol & a Number. If its Epic & under +6 No Confusion. If its not Epic, but +6, No Confusion. No confusion about Weapons of Legacy, Intelligent Items, or Artifacts.

If they are not +6, not gonna work.

This is the fastest, simplest & most in tune with the DR/Epic description in the MM.


2. Define Epic. One Definition. Stick with it. Go with the one from the Craft Epic Items Feats or the MM DR Definition. (as the DR has no guidelines for creation, or Modifiers over +10; the Epic Feats one is the way to go).

An Epic Weapon is one created by the Craft Epic Arms & Armor Feat. Anything Else just won't cut it.


Option 2 is what I go with. It requires some adjudication on your part. (I let the +5 Bane Weapons Sneak in as a Loophole, I also allow some High Level Weapons of Legacy & most Greater Artifacts act 'as if Epic' for overcoming DR/Epic).

All in all, as long as you realize that Epic doesn't mean Epic, you'll be OK.