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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silveras" data-source="post: 2422984" data-attributes="member: 6271">I can see why the Weapons of Legacy are different from previous systems for item growth. The Scions of Unearthed Arcana (originally in the Game Mechanics' release "Artifacts of the Ages: Swords and Staves of Power") are a class-based attempt to balance the growth of power. You give up pure progression as whatever regular PC class you had to take a custom Prestige Class whose advancement gives you a little less than a regular class + access to more abilities within the artifact-type item. The Leveled Items approach and the Ancestral Relic exalted feat  (inspired by the Ancestral Daisho of OA) strive for balance by slowing your advancement through expenditure of XP. Not as much as if you were making the item, but a chunk nonetheless. As mentioned previously, because 3.5 has a compensation mechanism built into the XP rules (so that when you fall behind, you start earning more XP to catch up), this is not the balancing factor it was in 3.0 (when OA was written; Ancestral Relic is an Exalted feat, requiring the DM's permission to be taken, so it is more balanced that way). Bonded items, as presented in the DMG II, are a way for non-spellcasters to make their own magic equipment, which has the added benefit of working only for them. Of course, that "benefit" may be of dubious value when you try to pass off your flaming sword to someone else, and the flame goes out. This system is really just an expansion of the standard rules to non-spellcasters under some limitations. Standard rules allow for the addition of new magical features as the character's level rises; this just makes that somewhat less ugly by making it unnecessary for the spellcasters to sacrifice their XP for the party Fighter to get a better magic weapon. Weapons of Legacy, though, are different. The approach here is more strongly geared toward story-based campaigns. The example items that inspired the book are the One Ring of Lord of the Rings, Excalibur of Arthurian legend, and Stormbringer of the Elric Saga. These are decidedly *not* the stereotypical D&D disposable "+1 swords". Weapons of Legacy offer multiple powers, many of which are *not* standard abilities that could be added under the other systems. Some are, and some are "merely" spell-like abilities; but quite a few are just unique to the item, based on its backstory. Weapons of Legacy, in many cases (but not all), offer 1 or 2 new abilities every level from 5-20. They are divided into 3 tiers, and require up to 3 rituals (and feats) to unlock them. Once the "tier" is unlocked, the PC gains the abilities immediately upon reaching the required level and pays any other associated costs (skill points, etc.). Some only have 1 "tier" of abilities, others have 2, but most of the examples had all 3. The DM is cautioned not to reduce the treasure for the encounters where the PCs obtain the Weapon of Legacy. The idea is to make it seem quite "ordinary", until the PCs do some research and learn of its history. When they choose to activate the powers, it becomes more valuable, and so gold is spent to "return" the excess treasure value. The other penalties only apply as long as the PC keeps the Weapon. Spending some gold and XP again to renounce the bond negates the To Hit, Save, Skill, etc., penalties.</blockquote>

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