GMing advice needed: exotic weapons


Advice

Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

(Players in my Impact at Woodhaven campaign, stay out!)

So I'm running a homebrew campaign for a party of four. The two frontliners use exotic weapons: one a katana, the other a two-bladed sword. I want to drop my players some cool loot, but somehow, finding the specific exotic weapon you specialize in as loot feels a bit... contrived compared to finding, say, a +3 longsword or a ring of protection.

Any suggestions on how to work in cool exotic weapons as loot without it straining credulity?

Silver Crusade

Anduril was reforged for Aragorn. Ice was melted down into 2 smaller swords in Game of Thrones. Luke was given his father's lightsaber. Arthur and Excalibur, etc...

Honorale Mention...Sandal from Dragon Age (Enchantment!!??)

Scarab Sages

If it's something that strains your suspension of disbelief, maybe add a houserule that with a bit of crafting, one sort of blade can be transformed into another. I.e. a master craftsman can reforge large blades into katanas, or short swords into wakizashis, or two short swords get forged into a two-bladed sword.

That might be metallurgically invalid, but we're already talking about magic here, so I'm thinking in the context of Game of Thrones, where sometimes Valyrian steel blades get reforged into different sorts of swords.

Don't make it trivially inexpensive, but shouldn't be backbreaking either. Maybe have it be doable with Craft Wondrous Item if someone has that feat.


Whenever one of my players takes an unusual weapon choice, I always caution that it will likely be hard for them to find upgrades because of it. However, as we don't do dungeon crawls as the bulk of an adventure, but tend to do more exploration focused games, I often have locales set up to effectively trade in one weapon for another. Additionally, I occasionally set up an NPC villain with one of the weapons the player uses. Usually, if possible, using it in a different style than the player.


Jiggy wrote:

(Players in my Impact at Woodhaven campaign, stay out!)

So I'm running a homebrew campaign for a party of four. The two frontliners use exotic weapons: one a katana, the other a two-bladed sword. I want to drop my players some cool loot, but somehow, finding the specific exotic weapon you specialize in as loot feels a bit... contrived compared to finding, say, a +3 longsword or a ring of protection.

Any suggestions on how to work in cool exotic weapons as loot without it straining credulity?

Give them access to crafting NPCs

*Edit* go for awhile when them getting expected loot (+3 longsword and a ring of protection as you say). Then after they've waited it out for awhile drop something amazing and tailored to them.

- Torger


I have houseruled a 'lost art' or 'dying art' used only by spellcasters of a specific ancient race (elves, giants, whatever works) where the magic and enchantment may be pulled from one item and transferred to another.

There were always rare reagents to acquire or specific tasks before the very rare, and easily offended, master craftsperson would agree to perform the necessary rites.

Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Torger Miltenberger wrote:
Jiggy wrote:

(Players in my Impact at Woodhaven campaign, stay out!)

So I'm running a homebrew campaign for a party of four. The two frontliners use exotic weapons: one a katana, the other a two-bladed sword. I want to drop my players some cool loot, but somehow, finding the specific exotic weapon you specialize in as loot feels a bit... contrived compared to finding, say, a +3 longsword or a ring of protection.

Any suggestions on how to work in cool exotic weapons as loot without it straining credulity?

Give the access to crafting NPCs

- Torger

I should note that I allow anyone to pay an NPC to upgrade an existing item. It's just that crafting takes time, which can kind of interrupt the story unless I really work around it.


You could drop some bauble that can be attached to a weapon's pommel, that provides it with a special ability (keen or whatever else you like.)

Or if you don't want them switching enhancements around between weapons, drop some "runes of power" that can be burned into the blade of an existing weapon permanently, enhancing its power.


One option is the transformative weapon enchantment. And for the second player you could insert some mastersmith who found a way to reforge two longswords into one double sword and who would do this as a favour for rendered services.
Or you have them find a weapon that keeps changing form until someone uses it in combat when it gets fixed in the form this person feels most familiar with. (a homebrew solution).
Or a "choose a weapon from my armory" type reward.

Or have them fight themselves/their own shadows in some magical realm. If they win their shadows drop the weapons they used. If the shadows have the same stats + new weapons but always attack their real self and ignore the other real guy they should have a good chance at winning even if outgunned. (focus fire ftw)


Transforming weaponry being the norm could work, and be a neat little quirk of your setting.

Or, do away with magic weapons altogether and make inherent bonuses that they get with any weapon they wield.

That way they can keep using the same actual weapons, or something different if they wanna swap.


I fixed this issue by changing magic weapons. I use Augment crystals, so the weapon itself carries no magic but can be attuned to a crystal and the crystal can be +1, or keen, or whatever.

Regular weapons can hold 1 crystal and masterwork can hold 3 of them.

Removing one is a move action that provokes and placing one is a full round action that provokes. Clearly, the more powerful weapons may have associated wards to make this process more difficult.

This has really opened up weapon flexibility in my game.

Sovereign Court

For one thing - it may vary how exotic an exotic weapon is. Perhaps the common soldiers use more basic soliders use common martial weapons, but the world's blademasters (or whatever elite soldiery your world has), and following their lead, the bulk of the nobility, take great pride in using unusual weaponry as a sort of trademark. If so - guess what most of the more powerful magic weapons in your world will be?


The Transformative weapon enchantment is an option, but it's quite expensive since it has a very useful in-combat application - switching damage type as a standard action is handy. You could instead design a weapon enchantment that does essentially the same thing as Transformative, but has a longer delay between the shift and so wouldn't be useful in combat. A price of 1k or so seems reasonable.

Alternately a low level spell that allows you to change a weapon into another weapon might be an option - While not identical, Masterwork Transformation sets a bit of a precedent.

Finally, this could be an interesting theme for a subdomain under artifice - Transmogrification?

Scarab Sages

For the Two bladed sword user, you could create a rod of weapon joining.

Have it be a short staff with two slots the size of a sword hilt on each end. If you insert a longsword into each slot, it functions as a two-bladed sword. You can then just swap out a blade with the shiny new magic longsword you just found.


I do belive that the difference between some longswords and katanas may not be much. Couldn't it just be a sword? And he also happen to be able to use it as a katana?


perhaps introduce a blacksmith NPC or a magical crafting NPC, either could be an eccentric who could draw up schematics/plans for a more exotic weapon

this NPC could wind up owing the PCs a favor or may take a liking to them

treasure could include raw materials for crafting various weaponry

Grand Lodge

Weapon transforming magic item, like an oil, or something.

There is already a magic item that changes any weapon to meet your size, so it sort has a precedent.


blackbloodtroll wrote:


There is already a magic item that changes any weapon to meet your size, so it sort has a precedent.

Which is this and where can I find it?

Grand Lodge

Umbranus wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:


There is already a magic item that changes any weapon to meet your size, so it sort has a precedent.

Which is this and where can I find it?

Iron Lord's Transforming Slivers: Inner Sea Gods.

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