Magic Weapons in Project Eternity

[TRX850]

Why not list some interesting weapons as inspiration for game content?

They could be unique items found in the game, or crafted by mid-to-high level characters. Maybe something you created from PnP and would like to share.
The examples below are stat-free because the numbers would not be currently meaningful.

"She Wroth"
- Flail crafted from Medusa skull and spinal column.
- Poison/Petrification/Paralysis.  Maybe swap Petrification for Charisma damage.

"Pale Mistress"
- Scythe blade crafted from female Dracolich claw.
- Necrotic bonus damage. Fear.

"Gypsy's Kiss"
- Dagger crafted from huge Viper fang.
- Poison. Improved stealth.

"Trollblight"
- Corrosive Halberd or Greataxe. Acid bonus damage.

"Vampiric Lash"
- Battle Whip with Vampiric Regeneration.
 

Edited February 2, 2013 by TRX850

[TRX850]

"Critical Mass"
- Great Hammer (Maul) with increased critical range and damage.
- Handle contains hollow core of partially-filled liquid mercury that increases momentum when swung. As the mercury travels down the hammer handle into the head, the contact weight/mass is increased.

"Flock of Three"
- Bastard Flail with three attachments, inspired by BG2's Flail of Ages.
- Radiant / Fire / Crushing damage. One for each flail head.
- Holy weapon. Attack bonus vs. undead. One or two handed.
 

[Dwarfare]

Not that I'm making any, but the types of weapons I always very much enjoyed in the old IE games were the non-standard sort.  Examples being Lilarcor, the talking sword, those melee weapons that could be changed to returning throwing weapons at whim, the axe Balance that would allow you to swap damage for attack bonus and vice versa, _______ of ______ slaying with heavy bonuses if not a chance of outright death against certain creatures and less effective against others, ranged weapons with a chance to ricochet and roll an attack against a second opponent (like a Warsling Sniper), pretty much just anything with unique properties apart from the norm of "Wowee, my last sword did 8 damage, and this one does 9!"

Edited February 2, 2013 by Dwarfare

[JFSOCC]

"<Charname>'s last resort"

Pistol, high damage, armour piercing. On hit, %25 chance to stun, 40% chance to slow. extremely slow firing rate (one shot per 40 seconds)

[Lephys]

"Flock of Three"

- Bastard Flail with three attachments, inspired by BG2's Flail of Ages.

- Radiant / Fire / Crushing damage. One for each flail head.

- Holy weapon. Attack bonus vs. undead. One or two handed.

See, I'd kinda like to see really interesting, unique effects attributed to weapon bonuses, in place of the typical "mathematical improvement of something against undead because this is a holy weapon" stuff.

 

Using holy damage as an example, maybe the holiness directly attacks the reanimative "strings" of the undead "puppet," causing a reaction from the inside out. So maybe "Destroy Limbs vs. undead" would be an interesting effect? It doesn't actually take off any more health than normal, but it could have a great chance of disabling/destroying legs and arms (or parts of them). Maybe even heads. Maybe without the head, the thing goes into an attack frenzy (since it no longer has any perceptive senses anymore?), just sort of flailing about. Annnnywho, that's getting into creature behavior and out of magic weapon territory.

 

But, I'd very much like to see magic weapons do DIFFERENT things to certain enemies, rather than improved existing effects to them (or, at least, not ONLY improved existing effects.) For one more example, maybe a water/ice-based weapon, when used against a fire creature, could reduce maximum HP X-per-hit, down to a limit (total of 15 or something?). It would kind of douse their flame, a bit, but fire can burn its way back up. So, maybe if the fiery foe had 100 HP, and you hit it a few times, it's down to 85 (or, I guess, mechanically, the bottom of its health bar would go up to 15 from 0, meaning 15 was, for all practical purposes, dead.) So, if you do 5 damage per hit, you're not going to do 10 damage per hit, BUT, you're sort of reducing the enemy's substance. This would be more situationally effective when multiple people (only one of whom was wielding a water/frost weapon) were attacking the same creature, as it's HP pool would shrink.

 

Of course, things like armor reduction and knockback and blinding and stun could be used, also. The diminishing of total "health" or substance seemed to fit with fire. *shrug*

 

I just like when it feels like your weapon is doing cool stuff against a foe that another weapon isn't doing. It's more immersion-boosting than adding mechanic depth, I suppose. But still a bit of both, usually.

[TRX850]

^^^^ Yes, I imagine most magic weapons with a specialty feature would have associated perks like spell effects, enemy detection, creature type/racial damage bonuses, and possibly be used in more than one way, be it offensive / defensive / melee / thrown and so on.

 

The ones I mentioned have bare bones features listed because we don't yet know what the bestiary will be like, nor what type of bonus stat range would be appropriate. But I do like anything exotic or quirky. I'm a big fan of scythes, spiked chains, and whips because they're so different from the humble longsword.

[Lephys]

^ Me too, 8D.

 

And I didn't mean to act as though you suggested we shouldn't have awesome bonus effects or anything. Just, the mention of the typical "more damage vs." implementation got me thinking is all, heh. I just like it when they gain usefulness rather than sheer "betterness." And I sincerely hope the legendary/magnificent-quality equipment has phenomenally mind-blowingly unique attributes/effects.

 

I want a legendary sword that "stuns" enemies, and each time two-or-more enemies are currently stunned/paralyzed by its effect, magical energy arcs between them like a tether, damaging anything that comes in contact with it (i.e. already is or tries to move between those enemies.) Not "This legendary sword looks cool in your hand, and it does like TEN more damage than other swords!", or "It has like 5 effects on it that are the same as ones you've seen on everything else, but non-legendary weapons can only have 3 effects, u_u."

 

That's just a quickie example off the top of my head, and not a fully hashed-out concept. But, still... 8P. In epic fantasy stories, no one says "Oh, wow, this is the Blade of Barduun! This thing does like... at least THREE times the damage of regular steel! We tested it in a lab and recorded the mathematical results!" Heh. That's not really that impressive. "Ohhh, it's way better! I see.". It's always amazing things like "This can cut ethereal things that no other blade can," or "this blade produces fire when no other blade in the world does." Things that are truly rare or unique.

 

Of course, I want spells and abilities to be that creatively designed as well. But, legendary magical items should definitely surpass all in terms of phenomenal effects and attributes.

[NerdBoner]

I'd like to see fewer to no generic magic weapons (e.g weapons without a history)...

 

I'd like a clear difference between standard Blacksmith trash weaponry and fine weapons made by a master work craftsman...

 

finally, i'd like magic weapons to be few and far between so that when you do finally get one it feels special and makes all the difference in a battle.

 

essentially, I'm a low magic settingfag <_<

[TRX850]

It made me think, we could add "detect scent" as an improvable skill. And maybe certain magical armours or clothing could mask a characters uhh.....natural scent....from an enemy with a detect scent skill.

 

Long time ago, my D&D group were navigating a dark tunnel on the way to slay a dragon, but as we entered the tunnel, we all got crapped on by a goddamn *bat colony*. At the time, we thought our DM was just having a laugh, but it allowed us to sneak up on the dragon undetected, because we stank of bat.

 

A bit off topic, but it made me think that certain weapons could "mask" or counteract various weaknesses the character has.  Be it stealth, vision, hearing and so on.

Edited February 3, 2013 by TRX850

[Lephys]

^ Just your two... scents?

[TRX850]

[TRX850]

I'd like to see fewer to no generic magic weapons (e.g weapons without a history)...

 

I'd like a clear difference between standard Blacksmith trash weaponry and fine weapons made by a master work craftsman...

 

finally, i'd like magic weapons to be few and far between so that when you do finally get one it feels special and makes all the difference in a battle.

 

essentially, I'm a low magic settingfag <_<

 

I wouldn't mind seeing "named" magic weapons created dynamically to suit the party's needs.  If someone has weapon focus/specialization in a particular weapon, but not currently equipped with a magical version, then the engine could tailor the newly found base weapon type to whoever has the appropriate feats/talents or whoever needs an upgrade the most.

 

They did this in NWN:HotU once you bypassed the lever puzzle in Undermountain Level One (South).

 

The description in the walkthrough text is incorrect. It's definitely different loot depending on your class build and feats.

Edited February 3, 2013 by TRX850

[TheTeaMustFlow]

In keeping with the game's theme:

 

`Eternity's End`

 

Sometimes known as the `Soulkiller` this blade, though it appears to be a simple battle-scarred iron sabre, essentially does just that. The soul of any creature who dies in contact with this weapon is irrevocably destroyed, never to be reincarnated in the eternal cycle. Even those who survive a wound are often horribly scarred, physically, psychologically, and metaphysically. Some believe that this sword can kill even the gods themselves. Certainly, even the most depraved deities hate this weapon, and every time it has resurfaced through history, virtually every faith and nation on the same continent have united to kill whoever wields it. This is no easy task - apart from being seemingly invulnerable and preternaturally sharp, Eternity's End imparts great power upon it's wielder for every soul it ends, most notably superhuman faculties of persuasion and charisma. As with all things, however, such might comes at a very dear price: Once one picks up the Soulkiller, it is very hard to put that much power down again, and it destroys the soul of any who die in contact with it - no matter whether they touch the blade or the hilt.

 

Every time Eternity's End has appeared, it has resulted in a terrible dark age of warfare and chaos. The persuasive ability of the artifacts wielder has always resulted in armies flocking to his or her banner, as the wielder invariably calls for bloody crusade or revolution. As said above, virtually all religions hate the Soulkiller - the ones which do not are a few of the more insane doomsday cults, who view the sword as the eventual herald of the end of days.

[Inertia]

Something like dakkon or the nwn2 protagonist's silver sword would be cool. A weapon you bond with while it gains power and can change/grow along with you although it presents a problem of you not wanting to change weapons ever

[Nonek]

Wrapped in cloth stained red, there lies a blood stained, chipped and crudely carved flint spearhead. When its swaddling is opened the flint begins to emit a piercing psychic cry that either drives the listener into a rage or fills him with terror. Blood begins to pour from the blade, a steady stream that has no discernible source. The radius of the screaming effect grows with every moment it is revealed, until an entire city can languish under its madness. This truly ancient relic is said to be one of the first weapons made by man, and has known millenia of war and slaughter, others insist it is the soul of a prehistoric Cipher driven mad by his imprisonment in the blade.

 

In truth whatever history it may have is unknown, for the madness infecting it cannot be spoken with by even the strongest Cipher, and no record kept by man can match its antiquity.

[Jarmo]

Weapons of extra damage against a particular enemy type were always infuriating (unless it's "undead" because then you're set every second fight).

Almost every game you find something like that, like "+5 damage against giants", by the time you actually meet a giant the benefit is marginal because all your gear is devastatingly good by then, and it's been tucked away in the bottom of the inventory for so long you don't actually even remember to use it in the one fight it'd be useful in.

[Cryticus]

Not really related to topic, but It would be nice if there were some uniuqe magical/legendary weapons, that  have some impact on the world, not necessary that npc would react to the fact that we have such weapon but for example we could find in-game book about some hero were his sword would be mentioned, someone would said when cursing "on (generic magical item name) " and somewhere later in game we would be able to found this weapon.

[TRX850]

Weapons of extra damage against a particular enemy type were always infuriating (unless it's "undead" because then you're set every second fight).

Almost every game you find something like that, like "+5 damage against giants", by the time you actually meet a giant the benefit is marginal because all your gear is devastatingly good by then, and it's been tucked away in the bottom of the inventory for so long you don't actually even remember to use it in the one fight it'd be useful in.

 

I suppose if you find a "bonus vs creature type" weapon just prior to an encounter with said creature, it's always going to telegraph what type of creature to expect, which is not good game design. On the other hand, if you were to encounter a level of, say, giants, but half way through that level, you found an adventurer's corpse with a weapon vs giants on it, you could grab it and continue the quest that the previous owner failed. Might be a little cliche, but at least you've already had to fight them with regular weapons and suffered possible losses, but now that you've found the new weapon, you get to feel like you have a chance.

 

It's a bit like an adventure film story structure, i.e. the loss followed by empowerment should reinvigorate the party/player.

[Lephys]

Weapons of extra damage against a particular enemy type were always infuriating (unless it's "undead" because then you're set every second fight).

Almost every game you find something like that, like "+5 damage against giants", by the time you actually meet a giant the benefit is marginal because all your gear is devastatingly good by then, and it's been tucked away in the bottom of the inventory for so long you don't actually even remember to use it in the one fight it'd be useful in.

 

 

Yet another reason I think weapons should have effects, and different enemy types should have various reactions to those effects

 

Trolls being incapable of regeneration while burning is a good, simple example. This design gives you a reason to use a fire weapon (as opposed to some other type of weapon) against a Troll, but your weapon isn't a "Blade of TrollHarm" that's just a chunk of metal versus everything else in the world.

 

You make fire damage (if you're going to have common elemental weapon effects) do DIFFERENT things against different enemies, rather than "be good" against some and "be bad" against others, and you've got yourself an awesome system.

[Dwarfare]

HRDC:))ERROR     &nbspcode43!_(.)_*:

 

This powerful mace was forged atop the highest peaks of the Siefenhuld Mountains, and imbued with great and terrible power.  A council of nine mages worked the forbidden magics upon it for seven days, and only two left the peaks alive when all had settled, mad though they were and mad they died not long after.  The weapon passed from hand to hand for centuries.  Kings wielded it in defense of their realms, conquerors left fields of death in their wake with this mighty instrument in their hands, but now, located in the 13th level of the most feared dungeon of the realms, it has finally passed into your hands.  With such awesome power in your hands, will it once more give protection to those deserving, or bring ruin to all that stands before it?

 

Special Property:  On Hit: Freeze Game, delete contents of owner's hard drive, give priority place on International Terror Watch List.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Dwarfare

[Alexjh]

Why not list some interesting weapons as inspiration for game content?

 

They could be unique items found in the game, or crafted by mid-to-high level characters. Maybe something you created from PnP and would like to share.

The examples below are stat-free because the numbers would not be currently meaningful.

 

"She Wroth"

- Flail crafted from Medusa skull and spinal column.

- Poison/Petrification/Paralysis.  Maybe swap Petrification for Charisma damage.

 

"Pale Mistress"

- Scythe blade crafted from female Dracolich claw.

- Necrotic bonus damage. Fear.

 

"Gypsy's Kiss"

- Dagger crafted from huge Viper fang.

- Poison. Improved stealth.

 

"Trollblight"

- Corrosive Halberd or Greataxe. Acid bonus damage.

 

"Vampiric Lash"

- Battle Whip with Vampiric Regeneration.

 

Personally, I tend to prefer magic weapons which are magic because of their backstory in the world rather than just that they were made of some eccentric component.  Icewind Dale is very good for this, as a lot of the magic weapons have a story about a previous or original owner that makes them badass rather than just 'was made from a part of a badass monster. Not that I'm against that, but they should be in the minority because they can be replicated by another guy with say, a Gorgan head, relative to the backstory of things like a bow used to fire a girl transformed into an arrow to freedom, a weapon wielded by a guy on whose watch prisoners escaped who spent his entire life recapturing them or a throwing axe made by an incompetent weaponsmith enchanted so it hits with the handle (all of which are from Icewind dale)

[TRX850]

^^^^ Yes, I agree. I listed basic properties only to get folks thinking about game content. Weapon lore always adds that extra level of game interest by immersing you in its history. Some good ideas there. Keep them coming.

[JFSOCC]

The last test of a warrior trained in his martial art is to build his own weapon.

Too many unknowing eyes only see the ritual, but none have understood the practical value of forging your own weapon upon completion of your training. Your own weapon is an extension of yourself. A forged katana is curved the way it enters the water, which will be in relation to the length of the arm which puts it in the water. This allows a swing to have the maximum area of the blade coming in contact with the target, making it such an ideal slashing weapon. However, an arm which does not fit the blade will find the arc of his (or her) swings to be ever so slightly off, forcing much more impact on a limited part of the blade, making it less effective and more vulnerable.

 

After apprenticing (and doing quests for) a master weaponsmith and warrior, <playercharacter> has completed his training, he goes out on a quest to gather the materials for his blade and takes three days to forge it in the hottest furnace he can manage.

Near the end it was a delicate moment, it almost failed, but, <charname> knows what blade he wants, what blade he needs, he knows this blade is part of him, an extention of him, of his character. He put his heart and mind and soul in it.

No, I mean, he really put his soul in it.

The blade is soul-linked with the player, and it grows in level as the player does. every second level the player can improve one of the bonuses on the blade. every 5th level, the player can add a bonus or modifier to the blade, making it more "his"(or hers) and more an extension of the way he fights.

The blade is traditionally named after the first foe it defeats. imbuing it with a related (and permanent) bonus vs type.

 

My dagger is called thieflord, after having been used to cut the throat of the leader of the thieves' guild.

it conveys part of the life force it takes back to it's creator, and causes bleeding wounds which won't easily staunch.

[NerdBoner]

what do people think about magical guns?

 

i see no reason for a firearm not to bear enchantments...it is after all just a piece of metal at the end of the day, one which shoots projectiles. If a sword, crosbow or piece of armor can carry enchantments then so should firearms.

 

I only mention this because in Arcanum (the only other RPG ive played with guns) they had no magical enhancements.

 

if it turns out they don't, i hope there is a reasonable explanation as to why one piece of metal can be enchanted and another cannot.

 

same goes for bullets...if arrows or bolts can have special properties why not bullets?

[TRX850]

What about twin melee weapons that "snap-lock" together to make a two-handed exotic type weapon?  So you could dual-wield them for normal damage plus the extra attack, or snap-lock them together for an exotic two-handed weapon that deals extra damage.

- Swords become a two-bladed sword.
- Maces become a dire mace.
- Axes become a double-axe.
- Flails become a dire flail.