The Vorpal blade

[Khaim]

D&D should have stats for jabberwocks and bandersnatches.

Fighting a Known Space-style bandersnatch would be terrifying.

On a totally unrelated note, the Tarrasque is going to be the epic monster again, since it looks like a lot of the high-end broken magic is going away.

 

[Generico]

Hmm. I could see it existing, you'd just have to make it sick hard to actually get somebody's head off. You'd have to crit, make a successful follow-up attack roll against a different defense for some spiffy additional effect, then follow that up with an attack at a third defense for the insta-kill. And the bad guy might have to be bloodied in the first place.

What I'm saying is, you could probably make enough hoops to jump through that it's not actually overpowered for what it costs, but that's not the same thing as being balanced. The problem is that it makes combat more unpredictable, which strikes against the whole "expected combat experience" thing. So, it's going to have to be both expensive and usually not actually insta-kill if it's going to match up with WotC's apparent goals for 4E.

The problem with that is, if you make the vorpal sword really expensive, and make it's primary ability occur only on rare occasions, people will just not buy them.

I think that if Vorpal is a weapon property in 4e, it will no longer be an instant kill weapon. This is following the line of thinking that lead them to get rid of all instant kill spells. Why would they get rid of save-or-die spells, even at epic levels, and then introduce a weapon that is basically the same thing?

I imagine that if Vorpal remains, it will simply do way more damage than a normal weapon does on a crit.

 

[Xethreau]

D&D should have stats for jabberwocks and bandersnatches.

Forget them, I want some outgrabing mome raths! >:3

 

[Cake Mage]

oh yeah. It was the balor. Still the question stands. I hope the vorpal blade is in. Even if its an artifact of some sort.

 

[WyzardWhately]

The problem with that is, if you make the vorpal sword really expensive, and make it's primary ability occur only on rare occasions, people will just not buy them.

That's...pretty close to what I was implying, I think. It has to both be expensive and work rarely, which isn't a great combination. And then when it does go off and kack out a solo dragon on the first round, it has rather the opposite problem.

 

[Cake Mage]

I wouldn't mind if they set it as an artifact, instead of an enchantment like they do now. In fact I hope thats what it is.

 

[Darkwolf71]

Vorpal will not exist in 4e. Not as we know it.

Plenty have said it already, they got rid of insta-kill. It is not 'fun'.

'Vorpal' is iconic and will likely be in the game, but in a very different way. Much like the non stat-boosting Gauntlets of Ogre Power.

 

[mmadsen]

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.​

You know, if you read that passage a bit more carefully, it doesn't even look like the vorpal blade decapitates the jabberwocky -- not before it's dead, at any rate. It looks like he slices the jabberwocky a half-dozen times -- One, two! One, two! And through and through -- before killing it.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Fighting a Known Space-style bandersnatch would be terrifying.

Yep.

Though the plural should be bandersnatchi.

 

[zen_hydra]

D&D should have stats for jabberwocks and bandersnatches.

This many posts and still no love for the Jubjub bird. For shame!