How do I price a sword that absorbs other weapon's abilities?

[PureGoldx58]

Maybe I'm not being explicit enough, then. I've always been a big fan of giving PCs in my games non-standard equipment, and I consider that "more items = more fun". There are a lot of items, and a lot are difficult to price. I'm not saying that you lack brainpower or anything like that, just that it's easier said than done in my current status.

Also, if it's worth anything, I will allow my characters to trash anything they don't want anymore, so they don't have to pay for them if they won't have it.

I am a huge fan of giving non-standard equipment out, so much so that 99% of my planning before a session, dungeon, or anything really is me creating balanced items that I have a pre-planned price for and everything.

The other 1% is story and characters, but being a writer and knowing the rules in general as well as I do that takes 6 minutes at most.

There are odd times when I spend time drawing out a map for cities and continents, and making plans for dungeons but that isn't even worth mentioning since I really only do that when I feel like it.

Can we make a non-standard item without incredibly open ended abilities that complicate pricing? I think that would be an excellent middle ground.

Open ended abilities is why the Wizard makes everyone cry.

 

[Greenfield]

Unfortunately for what he/she wants to do, the pricing is a necessary evil.

Players can't always get what they want.

 

[sirgarberto]

The reason I am replying to this more than I typically do any thread, is because I recently came across all of these problems in games I am either DMing or playing in currently. The potential for jealous players ruining the unique abilities of a PC or having a player feel ganged up on are vast. There is another side of the spectrum, if you give everyone an artifact (like I did) make sure to give it to them as a reward or something special. For me it was part of the entire story line from that point forward.

Let's put it this way. They want to treat this as a new beginning, to even out all players to allow for better party dynamics.
I gave them a starting gold of 1,800,000 gp.
So, does it look like a new beginning to you if I gave them all 1.8kk and two of them ALSO have an artifact each? No, it doesn't.
It doesn't also make any sense, from a history standpoint, to have them discard the artifacts (especially the one that, y'know, has merged his mind with one).

So, how would you go at balancing their equipment?

 

[PureGoldx58]

Let's put it this way. They want to treat this as a new beginning, to even out all players to allow for better party dynamics.
I gave them a starting gold of 1,800,000 gp.
So, does it look like a new beginning to you if I gave them all 1.8kk and two of them ALSO have an artifact each? No, it doesn't.
It doesn't also make any sense, from a history standpoint, to have them discard the artifacts (especially the one that, y'know, has merged his mind with one).

So, how would you go at balancing their equipment?

Context matters, are they all martial PCs that could benefit from the weapon? or are some wizards/clerics/druids/spellcasters who are going to have more power than that sword can ever have?

 

[PureGoldx58]

Players can't always get what they want.

This person is the DM...

 

[sirgarberto]

Context matters, are they all martial PCs that could benefit from the weapon? or are some wizards/clerics/druids/spellcasters who are going to have more power than that sword can ever have?

since they'll all be level 24 gestalts, they're all at least half-caster already. The other artifact is more caster-friendly, though.

 

[PureGoldx58]

Is everything on them home-brew? Or is it mostly basic items?

 

[sirgarberto]

Is everything on them home-brew? Or is it mostly basic items?

let's say half-and-half, though it depends on the PC

 

[Greenfield]

I just realized something: To absorb the power of another weapon, this one has to be used to successfully sunder (destroy) that other weapon.

There's a detail of the rules that may have been overlooked in this aspect: You can't Sunder a weapon that has a higher plus than the one you're wielding. That puts an inherent cap on what this weapon can absorb or use, based on its original pluses.

Let's say that it begins as a +1 weapon, the minimum needed to add any enhancements to. Since the bonus you're adding is pretty huge, potentially, there's reason to keep the actual plus low.

In that form, it can't ever absorb the powers of any sword with a total bonus higher than +1. You can Power Attack all day, it can't Sunder a +2 weapon. Ever.

Now, Greater Magic Weapon can add temporary pluses, up to +5, to a weapon, but can't take it over the +10 limit (the spell being non-epic), so in all likelyhood it really can't add anything. I mean, let's be realistic, an "Omni-sword" potential is pretty much a +9 ability or higher.

So you may end up with the most tricked out +1 sword out there, but you'll never be able to take anything from the really big guys. You can't Sunder them to steal their power.

Or did I miss something?

 

[sirgarberto]

I just realized something: To absorb the power of another weapon, this one has to be used to successfully sunder (destroy) that other weapon.

There's a detail of the rules that may have been overlooked in this aspect: You can't Sunder a weapon that has a higher plus than the one you're wielding. That puts an inherent cap on what this weapon can absorb or use, based on its original pluses.

Let's say that it begins as a +1 weapon, the minimum needed to add any enhancements to. Since the bonus you're adding is pretty huge, potentially, there's reason to keep the actual plus low.

In that form, it can't ever absorb the powers of any sword with a total bonus higher than +1. You can Power Attack all day, it can't Sunder a +2 weapon. Ever.

Now, Greater Magic Weapon can add temporary pluses, up to +5, to a weapon, but can't take it over the +10 limit (the spell being non-epic), so in all likelyhood it really can't add anything. I mean, let's be realistic, an "Omni-sword" potential is pretty much a +9 ability or higher.

So you may end up with the most tricked out +1 sword out there, but you'll never be able to take anything from the really big guys. You can't Sunder them to steal their power.

Or did I miss something?

You did. One of the weapons inside it.

Axe of the Breaker -> +1 Shatterer Greataxe
(Shatterer: when used to break equipment treat this weapon as if it had a +5 enhancement bonus, applying the corresponding bonus to attack and damage)

With this, you can break any sword up to +5, which is the maximum enhancement bonus you can have in a weapon. You can have a weapon with a market price equivalent to +6 if you have, say, a +1 vorpal sword, but that's still a +1 weapon in terms of Sundering.