“Excalibur / Calbfwlch, Translucent” By BrittonLaRoche released to the Public Domain by the original uploader,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3013525

Readers may have noticed that the last couple of posts have been unusually short and to the point, instead of the usual depth that is the hallmark here at Campaign Mastery. There’s a couple of reasons for that.

First, I have a family function coming up in June and won’t be around to write my usual posts. Rather than letting readers down who may have been looking for something new, I’m trying to build up some lead time so that I can leave a couple of posts scheduled for publication in advance.

Second, being (mostly) cut off from the internet limits the amount of research that I can do, so I’ve deliberately chosen articles that don’t need a lot of it.

Third, when it looked like I might need to make my way during business hours to an internet cafe in order to post anything at all, I sat down with a pad, wrote the two articles you’ve already read, and came up with half-a-dozen more ideas that could be knocked out in reasonably short, sharp posts.

I’ve always written with the philosophy that an article should be no longer than it needs to be in order to address the subject of the article. It just so happens that these articles don’t need to be very long.

Today, I’m going to share with you a simple technique for creating interesting and original magical weapons.

As an added bonus, if you can find the right technobabble to explain the properties of the weapons, they can work in a sci-fi or superheroic setting. But the primary focus is fantasy gaming.

The heart of the technique is a simple question:

What can’t the weapon type usually do?

Let’s look at swords by way of example, and see some of the things that you can achieve with this simple conceptual technique.

Range

Swords don’t have any range beyond arm’s length, so a sword whose slashes and thrusts extend beyond the normal reach of the weapon is a wondrous weapon indeed. When you strike in the direction of an opponent at range, a cutting force extends out, traveling to the nearest opponent(s)in that direction. The weapon strikes as though the target were in the adjacent space, but for every 5′ between the wielder and the target, damage done is reduced by 2 to a minimum of zero. A blow can’t affect more targets than a normal sword could affect in adjacent spaces to the wielder.

This example also illustrates a couple of important principles of the technique.

Sounds good? Let’s do another one:

Returns To The Hand

The implication of the simple question are that you are imparting a quality to the weapon that you are “enchanting” that it doesn’t normally posses, but that another type of weapon does. This idea derives from an icon of Australia, the Boomerang.

There are several youTube videos demonstrating Boomerang Throwing; I’ve linked to one (3:05) which also has several more on the page. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to view any of them because the computer with the internet access is so old it doesn’t play youTube videos, so you may have to look at several of them if you’re unfamiliar with the technique.

The problem with applying this to a sword is that swords don’t usually leave the hand of the wielder. But throwing knives do, so why not a sword that has to be thrown like a knife? Make it a curved blade because the shape will add to the credibility and mystique of the weapon’s ‘special ability’.

What you end up with is a sword that you throw; the sword then strikes a single target at range, doing its full damage. Range interval would be about 15′, about half that of a hand crossbow, based on what I’ve seen expert boomerang throwers achieve. The weapon then returns to your hand as part of the same attack action. A Dex roll at DC equal to the attack total is required to catch the hilt; failure means that the wielder has caught the ‘sharp end’ inflicting 1+magical plusses damage. Damage includes the normal Strength bonus.

Of course, you might feel that this is altering the basic nature of the sword too much – in which case, apply this ability to something like a hand axe.

This illustrates another couple of important principles:

One more example:

Entangle

This takes the basic properties of a net and imparts them to a sword. I’ve picked it because there is a reasonable sci-fi variation, which I’ll look at after describing the basic fantasy weapon.

Instead of damaging the target, this weapon severs the planar bonds that hold the plane together around the target, which then curl back, binding the target. The attack roll total is the DC for a reflex save to avoid being entangled; the damage that would normally be inflicted is the damage that must be ‘inflicted’ by straight strength before the entangled character can wrest himself free of the tangling bonds of invisible force. This may take one or more rounds. The character is held immobile, but is still able to attack anyone within arm’s reach as usual (which inflicts no damage on the restraints, it should be noted).

On a critical hit, the severing of planar bonds is sufficient to open a portal into an adjacent Plane. Reality inflicts 1d6 damage per round on the opening, eventually healing the ‘wound’ in reality. The target, if not anchored, is sucked into the other plane, releasing him from his bonds in the process, but exposing him to the environment of that adjacent plane. If multiple planes can be considered adjacent to the Plane on which the target was located, the GM should choose randomly between them. There is a 1-in-20 chance, per round that the ‘portal’ is open, that something native to the adjacent plane will cross into the plane in which the attack took place.

Nets don’t normally inflict damage, so it’s necessary for the sword’s ability to do something else with the damage that a sword normally inflicts. Using it to resemble the behavior of a net in a more exotic way is a neat solution.

Sci-Fi Variant

The sword rips a hole in the space-time continuum around part of the target, binding him in the surface tension. So far as anyone else is concerned, that space ceases to exist; objects and missiles pass through it as though it weren’t there. This includes light – the affected part of the trapped character becomes invisible, as though it were in a blind spot. Mechanics are as described for the fantasy version.

Creativity Unbound – within reason

There are two big advantages to this approach.

The first is that it sparks creativity. The second is that it constrains that creativity to reasonable limits. This combination produces original creations that don’t overpower the game system, enabling them to be dropped directly into a campaign. And it takes only seconds.

On a note completely unrelated to today’s post: J.T. over at Ravenous Role Playing said some very nice things about recent articles in his most recent blog post. I tried leaving a reply at the site but this browser is so inadequate that his authentication routine won’t work with it. Here’s what I tried to say:

Thanks for the Kudos, J.T.! For some strange reason, I didn’t get any pingbacks showing up at Campaign Mastery when you posted your reviews, though, or I’d have said so sooner!

Regarding your problem with factions, having them all pursue their objectives is ‘morally gray’ but it’s also morally bland, which might have an impact on the way your players react to them. Try tossing in a faction who try to do the right thing, but aren’t always sure what it is, and so make mistakes every now and then. Or a faction that is loyal to their friends and allies to a fault – taking what is normally a positive virtue and twisting it to potentially negative ends. Of course, these need to be balanced with the occasional group who fall on the other side of the line – “So I’m kind to my grandmother – I still want to see the establishment BURN”, or “It’s all the Elves fault, we should obliterate the Elvish Pestilence from the face of the Earth!” A full spectrum of options includes the entire palette of choices – good for the right reasons, good for the wrong reasons, bad but honest about it, bad but tries not to look it…

I suppose, if you put his words together with the reply above, this could constitute a bonus tip for everyone else! Which is how I can justify publishing my comment here…