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<blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 5964248" data-attributes="member: 710">That is a a problem for me as well. Though I would say that it may not have been &quot;that bad&quot; in 3E. Of course, whether the abilities those weapon had I have in mind were really flavorful or just mechanically optimized may be a subject to discussion.A +1 of Evil Outsider and Undead Bane can be better than a +3 Longsword in many common situations for high level adventurers.But how flavorful are these weapons really? Name-wise, they're cool, I suppose (well, Evil Outsider bane sounds a bit generic/mechanical, but okay). But the real flavor comes from something like Sting, that glows in the presence of Orcs (or am I confusing swords and creatures? But you know what I mean). Whether it also grants a +2 enhancement bonus and +2d6 damage against Orcs is only secondary.The cool stuff about the magic item rules described by WotC so far is definitely the part of history generation and this possibly even affecting the item's abilities. Too much attention may have been given in 3E and 4E (maybe even before) to combat mechanics of these. I am not saying they are unnecessary or shouldn't exist - but I am saying that the non-combat elements should get some emphasis as well. A Flaming Longsword shouldn't just deal +1d6 fire damage or deal fire damage instead of weapon damage, it could keep you warm, for example.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mustrum_Ridcully, post: 5964248, member: 710"] That is a a problem for me as well. Though I would say that it may not have been "that bad" in 3E. Of course, whether the abilities those weapon had I have in mind were really flavorful or just mechanically optimized may be a subject to discussion. A +1 of Evil Outsider and Undead Bane can be better than a +3 Longsword in many common situations for high level adventurers. But how flavorful are these weapons really? Name-wise, they're cool, I suppose (well, Evil Outsider bane sounds a bit generic/mechanical, but okay). But the real flavor comes from something like Sting, that glows in the presence of Orcs (or am I confusing swords and creatures? But you know what I mean). Whether it also grants a +2 enhancement bonus and +2d6 damage against Orcs is only secondary. The cool stuff about the magic item rules described by WotC so far is definitely the part of history generation and this possibly even affecting the item's abilities. Too much attention may have been given in 3E and 4E (maybe even before) to combat mechanics of these. I am not saying they are unnecessary or shouldn't exist - but I am saying that the non-combat elements should get some emphasis as well. A Flaming Longsword shouldn't just deal +1d6 fire damage or deal fire damage instead of weapon damage, it could keep you warm, for example. [/QUOTE]

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