Weapons of Legacy preview

[Nightfall]

Mm well this IS an interesting way to handle "items that grow with you." Certainly bonus feats are a better way. The cost might be a bit high but I can always tweak it IF I think the rules don't work.

Overal I had this as a "buy" now it's a "Must buy."

 

[I'm A Banana]

"Here's basically how it works: Once a character has taken possession of an item of legacy, she must discover the secrets of its past. Each piece in the item's historical puzzle reveals a ritual to be performed by the item's wielder. As each ritual is successfully completed, the character gains a Legacy Feat that unlocks a portion of the item's powers."

As stated above, that legacy feat is a "bonus" feat.

Strikes me as a really good way to pay for a bonus feat, but just wait, I can hear the cries of "POWER CREEP!" right now....

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

I can hear the cries of "POWER CREEP!" right now....

"Noooooo! another power creep! Wayyyyyy!"

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Given that they're bonus feats that power up a character for, if the example is representative, not doing anything terribly difficult or making a mechanical sacrifice, I'm not sure the cries of power creep won't have an element of truth to them.

 

[Nightfall]

Perhaps but there is that other stuff they mentioned in the preview.

Anyway since when has WotC NOT done power creep?

 

[MerricB]

Notice also the cost of the rituals to activate the feats. (Compare to normal costs of a weapon). The feats are an elegant way of representing the effects of the rituals, and of standardising this representation.

Weapons of Legacy looks very, very good.

There are almost 50 items of legacy in the book, according to the preview here:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20050505a

Great Heroes Demand Legendary Weapons

Some heroes find weapons of legacy, while others forge them. Unlike other magic items, a weapon of legacy gains new abilities as its wielder becomes more powerful. In the hands of a true hero, a simple greatsword might achieve fame and power as great as that of the dark blade Exordius, the wizard-hating Hammer of Witches, or the skull-shattering morningstar known as Mindsplinter.

This supplement describes nearly 50 items of legacy. Each item has its own detailed history, special wielder requirements, unique powers, and adventure seeds. Weapons of Legacy provides rules and tools that a player or DM can use to forge new items of legacy, including menus of legacy abilities. In addition, this tome offers new legacy feats, spells, a prestige class, and psionic powers for characters interested in wielding mythic weapons and other renowned items.

Cheers!

 

[TheBadElf]

Given that they're bonus feats that power up a character for, if the example is representative, not doing anything terribly difficult or making a mechanical sacrifice, I'm not sure the cries of power creep won't have an element of truth to them.

Maybe I misunderstood the example, but it looks like the mechanical sacrifice involved would be the penalties associated with the weapon. Seems reasonable to me if that's correct.

 

[Nyeshet]

The thread at the WotC MB regarding this book is coming to view it with . . . caution. Some like it, some think it poorly thought out, most seem in between. The main points, derived from the Desert Wind:

-3 to all attacks (for a weapon?! granted, it does gain +4 enhancement, which makes up for most of this. . . )

-2 to all saves (poor will save just got worse)

-2 to max hp (negligible, admittedly, to most combat classes)

permanent loss of 18 skill points (assuming you find it early and keep it). Note that since skill points cannot be gained retroactively (such as when Int increases at level 4, etc) this loss truly is permanent - even if the weapon is lost. Most combat classes already have poor skill point total.

There were also some other issues, if I recall correctly, but these (minus hp loss) were the main ones of interest on that thread.

 

[I'm A Banana]

-3 to all attacks (for a weapon?! granted, it does gain +4 enhancement, which makes up for most of this. . . )

-2 to all saves (poor will save just got worse)

-2 to max hp (negligible, admittedly, to most combat classes)

permanent loss of 18 skill points (assuming you find it early and keep it). Note that since skill points cannot be gained retroactively (such as when Int increases at level 4, etc) this loss truly is permanent - even if the weapon is lost. Most combat classes already have poor skill point total.

Awww, poor babies, you mean they have to pay a price to be able to cast fireball? I think I hear a violin somewhere.....

 

[Sir Brennen]

Awww, poor babies, you mean they have to pay a price to be able to cast fireball? I think I hear a violin somewhere.....

Well, I think part of the problem is that the price feels very meta-gamey - where saves, stats and skill points are just another resource to be "spent" to gain other abilities. Perhaps for a one -off item of evil origins this makes sense from a story perspective, but I hope this example isn't representative of the mechanic overall. I mean, did King Arthur have to lose knowledge and become less skillful of a warrior because he wielded Excalibur?

I'm interested in this book, as I've flirted with the "items that grow with you" house-rules since 1E. However, the preview kinda put me off a bit, as it seems to put forth the idea that game/story logic might have to take a back seat to mechanical balance.

That said, I'm not going to draw too many conclusions just from this one preview. It sounds like even if I don't agree with this particular mechanic, there'll be plenty of stuff I can plunder from this book for my game.