Raising Vorpal Weapon's Threat Range

[nick]

Can a vorpal sword be enchanted with keen edge, and will it also be further benifitted by using a scabbard of keen edges? Imp. critical should work, but was wondering about other ways of increasing the threat range.

 

[Archer]

You can increase the threat range but the vorpal power only works on the original threat range of the weapon.

 

[gfunk]

Going strictly by the rules whenever you get a critical hit (regardless of the source) and you verify the threat, then your foe's head comes off.

However, the Sage has heartily endorsed the house rule that vorpal weapons keep their original threat range.

 

[James McMurray]

Also, remember that Vorpal weapons should technically be artifacts, considering that their prerequisites are impossible to achieve without research. They require Death Spell which doesn't exist in the core rules. Many DMs house rule this to mean any spell with the Death descriptor, but that won't be happening in my game.

Heck, my party is 14th-18th level, and they've never even seen a vorpal weapon. there are a few in the Return tot he Tomb of Horrors though, one of them they have a chance of getting.

James

 

[kreynolds]

Going strictly by the rules whenever you get a critical hit (regardless of the source) and you verify the threat, then your foe's head comes off.

Yup.

However, the Sage has heartily endorsed the house rule that vorpal weapons keep their original threat range.

Actually, he endorsed that for all weapon enhancements that function on a critical hit.

Here is his reply to me about this...

Howdy Skip,

I have a question regarding burst enhancements, vorpal enhancements, etc. These enhancements activate when you score a critical hit. My question is this: Will the Improved Critical feat or the Keen weapon enhancement, which both increase the threat range of the weapon, also apply to the burst/vorpal enhancement?

Yes (but if you want to bar that in your game you won't get any grief from me).

There seem to be two sides to this argument.
1) The burst/vorpal enhancements use the end-result threat range of the weapon (i.e. they take into account Improved Critical or Keen).

This one's technically correct.

2) The burst/vorpal enhancements use the original unmodified threat range of the weapon.

This one probably is less problematical in the long run.

Skip Williams
RPG R&D

 

[kreynolds]

Also, remember that Vorpal weapons should technically be artifacts

Technically, no they shouldn't. In fact, not at all.

considering that their prerequisites are impossible to achieve without research. They require Death Spell which doesn't exist in the core rules.

The entry of Death Spell is in error. It should be Circle of Death.

EDIT: I should mention that I use Finger of Death in my games, as I use a custom version of Vorpal that fixes all of it's problems.

Many DMs house rule this to mean any spell with the Death descriptor, but that won't be happening in my game.

You need to take a look at my version of vorpal then.