What bonus for weapon special ability: smoking?

[Liquidsabre]

Smoking (Lords of Darkness p.180): Upon command this weapon fills wielder's area with (5ft square) noxious smoke equivalent to stinking cloud spell (wielder not affected but any that venture into his square are). Smoke provides concealment but wielder can see through smoke as normal. Smoke dissipates and reforms when wielder moves into a new square. [+1 bonus]

I was reviewing this ability and it seemed to me that this special ability offered alot for very little cost. Off the top of my head I'd guess this ability should be +2 instead of +1. It's a great ability that I like alot, and I'd like to get as I'm currently creating a rogue/assassin character and the concealment would be nice for both misses and sneak attacks. It's just it doesn't feel balanced to me and wanted some advice on some suggestions for balancing this for my PC use. Thanks!

 

[argo]

Let me see if I understand....

This special ability privides limited, low level protection against grapples. :\

It provides a 20% miss chance (same as an always-on second level spell).

But most importantly of all it gives the user TOTAL IMMUNITY TO SNEAK ATTACK The equavalent of a +5 armor property!

All without any impediment to the user. This is where I'd put the roleyeyes if it still existed.

Personally I wouldn't allow it at all. I sure as heck wouldn't allow it for less than a +3 (maybe more). And I can't believe that whoever wrote it allowed it to make it to the printers at all (or is this from a 3.0 book? That would still make it bad but not quite as bad).

Yeah, let someone have that for a +1 and you'll regret it right up until the point where your Improved Sunder BBEG finally fixes the problem.

 

[Deset Gled]

The biggest downside of this weapon that I see is that it takes a standard to activate, which could be a real pain. However, I can't give an educated oppinion of it without knowing how long the ability lasts. If it's only a round or two, then the weapon is perfectly fine at +1, if it's more like 5-10 rounds, it might be a +2 or +3. If it's an hour, I'd say it's pretty ridiculous.

 

[Liquidsabre]

(or is this from a 3.0 book? That would still make it bad but not quite as bad).

Yup 3.0 book. Doesn't fortified armor also protect from criticals? I agree if the blade creates this smoke that gives concealment it should work both ways, definately a step in the right direction. As for the stinking cloud effect, the only way I could see this special ability as a +1 would be to remove this as well. But it sure looks like making the concealment both ways makes it just about right for a +2 I think...

Deset Gled - Smoking is a continuous effect on the blade once activated. No time limit

 

[Fieari]

I'd only allow this if the user was not automatically immune to its own effects. A player could go out of his way to MAKE himself immue, finding a way to give himself blindisght, some sort of breathing apparatus... but not for free.

 

[argo]

Well, a minor cloak of displacement provides 20% concealment and takes up the body slot and costs 24K

A +2 weapon has a base price of only 8K, a +3 weapon 18K and a +4 weapon 32K. Add in the fact that this is basically a slotless wonderous item we are talking about and you can see that even if you have the concealment cut both ways a +2 bonus is still way too low. I'm still thinking a +3 or +4 even for the toned down version you propose but I'm too tired to try to work up the math to support my gut feeling.

Magical concealment is expensive because it is so powerful. 20% miss chance means that 20% of the attacks that normally make it past your AC still don't hit you. And the sneak attack thing is just icing on the cake. Like I said, personally I wouldn't allow the weapon property at all. <shrug>

 

[Felix]

Fee-fi-foe-felms
I smell the work of Forgotten Realms.