jgsugden
Legend
As with many things, look to Matt Mercer for how to address this issue.
In Campaign 1, Matt introduced an item that interacted with the subclass feature for one of his PCs, although I think Mr. Mercer ended up buffing one of the stronger PCs in the group accidentally due to all of the things that PC had going for it (although being played by Sam Riegel was a heck of an offset as well).
Making it an attuned item in addition to buffing the class features blurs the lines around what the exact balance needs to be as you're using more resources (your subclass selection, an attunement slot) to get the full benefit of the item.
So, I give you, the Champion's Edge (attuned weapon), a Vestige of Divergence:
Dormant State:
This Greataxe is +1 to hit and +d4 to damage. As a bonus action, you can will the axe to change into a hand axe or battle axe. It will remain in this form until you use a bonus action to revert it to a great axe, or you lose attunement.
If the axe is out of your hands, but attuned to you, you may use a bonus action to teleport it to your hand.
If you have the Improved Critical feature, the weapon adds 1d12 on a critical hit.
If you have the Remarkable Athlete class feature, you gain +2 strength (and increase your maximum strength score by 2) while this item is attuned.
Awakened State:
You gain a +2 to Constitution (and increase your maximum constitution by 2) while this item is attuned.
You may cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell on yourself once per short rest as a bonus action.
Exalted State:
You gain +2 strength (and increase your maximum strength score by 2) while this item is attuned.
This weapon deals an additional d8 radiant damage on each attack.
You may cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell on yourself as a bonus action anytime you wish.
In Campaign 1, Matt introduced an item that interacted with the subclass feature for one of his PCs, although I think Mr. Mercer ended up buffing one of the stronger PCs in the group accidentally due to all of the things that PC had going for it (although being played by Sam Riegel was a heck of an offset as well).
Making it an attuned item in addition to buffing the class features blurs the lines around what the exact balance needs to be as you're using more resources (your subclass selection, an attunement slot) to get the full benefit of the item.
So, I give you, the Champion's Edge (attuned weapon), a Vestige of Divergence:
Dormant State:
This Greataxe is +1 to hit and +d4 to damage. As a bonus action, you can will the axe to change into a hand axe or battle axe. It will remain in this form until you use a bonus action to revert it to a great axe, or you lose attunement.
If the axe is out of your hands, but attuned to you, you may use a bonus action to teleport it to your hand.
If you have the Improved Critical feature, the weapon adds 1d12 on a critical hit.
If you have the Remarkable Athlete class feature, you gain +2 strength (and increase your maximum strength score by 2) while this item is attuned.
Awakened State:
You gain a +2 to Constitution (and increase your maximum constitution by 2) while this item is attuned.
You may cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell on yourself once per short rest as a bonus action.
Exalted State:
You gain +2 strength (and increase your maximum strength score by 2) while this item is attuned.
This weapon deals an additional d8 radiant damage on each attack.
You may cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell on yourself as a bonus action anytime you wish.