Stacking fire and ice magical effects for weapons.

[Magic Slim]

Bauglir, I asked myself that same question, but rather with ranged weapon and ammunition. What happens when you fire a flaming arrow from a flaming bow?

I guess I'll start a new thread with this.

edit: to answer your question, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it than with diffrent elemental damage stacking...

Slim

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I have no trouble picturing a double-helix of magical energy surrounding a blade - one strand of fire, one strand of frost, which don't interact with each other, but which both deal damage to an opponent on a successful hit.

This is exactly the kind of thing I meant. You can come up with sensible, interesting flavor text to deal with flaming/frost weapons easily enough, so why alter the rules to prohibit it? I honestly don't see anything silly about it.

 

[Magic Slim]

I could also imagine a blade where flames sprout from one side as the other side is covered in frost. I just don't like the concept. I'd rather not have it in my campaign, and I wouldn't ask for it as a player in another campaign. That's just me. You say tomato, I say tomato...

Slim

 

[Lamoni]

The whole idea really just doesn't make sense. While we are on the topic though, I'd like to list a few other things that just don't make sense. Air walk. How is the air going to support anyone's weight? Fly. Have you ever heard of Newton? You would have to create a force equal to gravity in the opposite direction. Does the person blow air down like a helicopter? And if so, how do they blow air out of their body? That doesn't make sense. Create water. How can anything be created out of nothing? You could use energy to make mass, but using E=mc2, you would need the energy provided from a gigaton H-bomb to create even a little bit of water. I think that I'll disallow all those things in my next campaign because they just don't make sense.

The problem is that you can never use science/nature to explain magic. Using magic to explain science/nature is easy though. "clouds form in the sky by magic... and all that water can sit in the air by itself with no one holding it by magic" Magic should have limits to make the game balance well, but you should never limit magic based on science IMO.

I can't have an object that is hot and cold at the same time because of thermal conductivity. Why couldn't magic just prevent heat transfer within the object? Or why couldn't magic just leave the weapon at room temperature but send out damaging bursts of hot and cold energy when it strikes something? That would even do more damage because the recipient would have its bones and everything frozen and burned at the same time. Have you ever taken a glass out of an oven and dropped ice in it? Here is an experiment for everyone to try... drink a hot cup of something (coffee, hot chocolate, etc.) Then immediately afterwards take some ice cubes and chew on them. (I hope you have dental insurance)

I am not trying to explain the magic with science... just trying to show that magic has to ignore different natural laws to work. If you can't accept that, don't use magic in your campaign.

 

[Magic Slim]

Personally, since doesn't have anything to do with it. I just don't like the idea.

As for explaining magic with science, of course it's silly. Our real-life science doesn't have anything to do with the natural and magical phenomenons of a made-up, fantasy world. There are similarities, because we all need a point in which to anchor our imagination (ie gravity, sun rises sun sets, inertia, reproduction, etc.).

As for your examples, create water is conjured water from the elemental plane of water (for example), that's a reasonable, scientific explanation, since in that world, the elemental plane of water is real, and there are ways to establish conduits between it and our plane. For air walk, maybe our mass is shifted to the astral plane. For fly, same explanation, but the spell also confers you some telekinetic power over your now weightless body. Of course these explanations don't make sense in the real world, but they very could do in the basic D&D world we all know and love.

Slim

 

[Nightingale 7]

I would let them stack too.If you do this you should settle for a lot of other wacky things,like Cone of Cold countering fireballs etc.
For those who have played Warcraft 3 will remember that you could put both enchantments on a weapon and look cool too.I would explain a flaming/icy weapon like strands of fire and cold energy swirling around the blade never touching,but continuously "battling for dominance",so to say.When the weapon stroke somebody the flames would rush out of the blade to "conquer" the new area they could expand to,thereby harming the hit person.

 

[CrimsonTemplar]

I'd let them stack. I'd picture it as being akin to the Hunter's sword in the Coldfire Trilogy.

As a DM I'd also have any reoccurring NPC's aware of it and act appropriately.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't a frostbitten person be seriously damaged if the area is warmed up too fast?

Now just imagine both the frostbiting and the heating happening instentaneously and with magical intensity. You'd be in for a world of hurt.

 

[BSF]

Even if all properties had the same command word, as a DM I'd require each to be activated separately.

Since speaking a word is a free action, but activating a command-word item is a standard action, there's obviously more to it than just saying the word. You have to say the word as part of the Activate Magic Item action, and that action allows you to activate one power.

-Hyp.

I'm curious Hypersmurf, why would you require that they each be activated? Why not have one command word turn the who shebang on?

Back on topic, I have no problem with elemental affects stacking. I once made a +2 Flaming Acid-Burst longsword named Trollsbane for an NPC. I knew the NPC would die and the PC's would likely end up with the weapon. Some corrosives can also be flammable. Why not combine the two if it is made with the express purpose of killing trolls?

EDIT: Yes, ressurecting a thread. Noticed this one in a search for other old threads and became engrossed in the conversation before I realized it was frickin' old.

 

[Darklone]

Hohoho. I'm looking forward to put hordes of aasimars against these flaming shock frost weapon wielding wannabe heros.