• NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.

Would this homebrew magic weapon be good/bad for OSE?

Seems fine as far as it goes. In general I dislike flat bonus weapons, they seem like an artifact of a war game. Likewise the "baseline" abilities of all magic swords (glow like a torch and such) make them far more boring then I think they need to be. When all magic swords are the same, with the same bonuses and a few minor abilities (+x vs. dragons/giants/werewolves etc) they don't seem memorable, just something to replace when the PC finds something better. It feels very bland for a MAGIC SWORD!

I want magic swords and items to live up to the wonder that they promise, and one can design unique magic weapons that aren't super powerful. I generally approach them as I would designing an NPC and then make sure they have a bonus and a penalty. For example the adventure I'm currently writing has several magical "tomb blades" in it - ancient bronze age swords that contain the soul of someone - usually a warrior or king. They all have a distinct dead and cranky person within, and require a sacrifice of blood (HP) from the wielder to resheath - while leaving them unsheathed too long lets them take over their wielder. A fairly powerful example:
This is a very solid point. I try never to have simple +x or -x weapons or items in my game. Everything has some extra ability or property and some color.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Into the Woods

Remove ads

Top