Weapons of Legacy: Balancing levelled items

[MerricB]

FWIW, I think WoL is actually pretty well-balanced - the exceptions are generally weaker than they should be, rather than the other way around, which is a *good* place to be.

I'll do some more analysis of the book once I actually own a copy (two days time) rather than borrowing one off a friend.

Cheers!

 

[Ghostwind]

A thought:

Weapons of legacy automatically grant your character the feats needed to gain access to higher-level abilities of the items. What if you actually needed to take those three feats rather than have them granted to you automatically? How much would three feats "cost" a player?

Take a look at the section on legendary weapons in Arms & Armor v3.5 (not the section on scions, but before it). I think that will answer your question. I've been using the rules for over two years and so far there haven't been any real issues during play.

 

[Nightfall]

Or Item familiars, they work pretty decently too IMHO.

But I'd probably take Steve idea since I REALLY want to put a sync enhancement on my weapon. (Syncs rock. )

Merric,

It isn't BAB? Huh thought it was...

I guess I'm used to DMs that use more than just spot and listen checks in a game. In any case it is a valid point Merric. This isn't something that can be fixed overnight. But at least we DO have ideas. And that's better than no plan at all.

 

[MerricB]

I guess I'm used to DMs that use more than just spot and listen checks in a game. In any case it is a valid point Merric. This isn't something that can be fixed overnight. But at least we DO have ideas. And that's better than no plan at all.

The players in my games are well aware of the existence of other skills. However, D&D is about specialising in something, so hitting someone in an area they aren't specialised in will either (a) be dealt with by another PC (most common) or (b) cause the death of the PC. The second option isn't fun.

IMC, the eldritch knight made his own magic bow. Last time I looked, it was a +1 shock and awe... sorry, a +1 shock and frost composite longbow. It has gradually been building up from a +1 comp. longbow, and would have been a +1 shock, flaming and frost composite longbow if not for a 100 on a recent teleport mishap roll. (That was an amusing session.)

The first session after he bought WoL, we recreated the bow as a WoL. Interesting process. I think that, for his 13th level PC, it ended up as a +1 shock & frost longbow with +4 Dex and +2 Int, but a -1 attack, loss of 1st through 4th spell slots, and a few hp lost. The cost was pretty much the same as his original bow.

He likes the new bow better.

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

It isn't BAB? Huh thought it was...

I'm really hoping it isn't at this point. Every so often I'll get something drastically wrong, and this might be it.

Cheers!

 

[Nightfall]

Well at least you get the stats for minis right Merric!

(Happens to like the second option. PC deaths should and often are a common occurence when you're in the Scarred Lands.)

As I said, different strokes for different folks.

 

[MerricB]

(Happens to like the second option. PC deaths should and often are a common occurence when you're in the Scarred Lands.)

I don't really need to do anything different to kill PCs. Last 8 sessions have seen about... ooh... 8 PC deaths.

Cheers!

 

[JoeGKushner]

How do the penalties stack when using the PrC in the book that focuses on unleashing even more power from a weapon of legacy?

 

[MerricB]

How do the penalties stack when using the PrC in the book that focuses on unleashing even more power from a weapon of legacy?

IIRC, that class gives up two regular progressions of class abilities over its ten levels (so 8/10 caster progression, more limited skill points, lower hp for a fighter-type, etc.)

In exchange, the ritual costs are reduced further, and you get a greater ability to customise the weapon by exchanging legacy powers.

The actual WoL penalties don't change.

Cheers!

 

[JoeGKushner]

IIRC, that class gives up two regular progressions of class abilities over its ten levels (so 8/10 caster progression, more limited skill points, lower hp for a fighter-type, etc.)

In exchange, the ritual costs are reduced further, and you get a greater ability to customise the weapon by exchanging legacy powers.

The actual WoL penalties don't change.

Cheers!

But do you feel that the reduced ritual costs help make the items more appealing? I know that almost any class, like say a wizard, will lose some caster progression, but the d8 hit dice is sweet and the ability to use more customization on legacy items also looks tempting.

I'll be putting the sword in the game for the soul knife soon so will have some playtest feedback in a few weeks or so.