Does anyone have any suggestions about using the Vorpal sword in a campaign? I feel like it is too powerful to not allow a DC save once a critical is made.
Well, for starters it doesn't go off on a crit. It only does it's vorpal thingy on a natural 20. Note, though, that it does this even to things that are immune to crits.
It's a tough weapon. . . maybe there could be a Knowledge (Arcane), Craft (Weaponsmithing), or Appraise check to let an opponent know they're dealing with a Vorpal weapon? The same opponent could also get a cumulative +2 for every attack against them, or something.
Once they know what it is, they can adjust their fighting accordingly. . . i.e. running, polymorphing, disarming, etc.
Of course, watching your buddy gettin' his head lopped off is also a pretty good clue.
Does anyone have any suggestions about using the Vorpal sword in a campaign? I feel like it is too powerful to not allow a DC save once a critical is made.
If you as the DM feel like the sword is too powerful for your game, then I would say by all means, allow characters that are about to lose their heads Fortitude saves. However, the item should be powerful, as the vorpal ability counts as a +5 adjustment! Since in the DMG it lists circle of death as a prerequisite spell when creating this item, I would suggest assigning a minimum DC 19 Fortitude save to avoid death, since circle of death is a 6th-level spell and the minimum Intelligence score to cast a 6th-level spell is 16 which is a +3 modifier (begin with a DC of 10 and add the spell level plus the intelligence modifier, in this case the minimum possible, to find your DC).
Hope this helps!
That's a great idea William. Thanks!
Vlondril, there are a ton of monsters to choose from that have no discernible head, can function without one, or have a ton of heads (the hydra, for example) and won't miss one of them too much. Although it doesn't state this anywhere, you as the DM are well within your rights to rule that to lop a head off you need to be able to reach the creature's head. Some creatures are just too big for a normal medium sized creature to reach their neck without magical aid such as a fly spell or other similar effect.
My advice would be to keep a balanced mix of creatures in your campaign and not sweat it. Chances are very good that your player with the problematic sword won't have that many natural rolls of 20 and then confirm the critical, anyway. If he/she does, then you need to check those dice! But don't rob the player of the opportunity to lop a few heads off, either. Nothing wrong with that and it makes the game that much more exciting when it does actually happen.
One of the players in the game I'm running asked me a question that has been bugging me for sometime too. Say you have a Small character (or even as big as Large) rolls a natural 20 when they are attacking something like a Tarrasque or a Great Red Wyrm; have they just slaughtered the monster single handed? Can someone so small defeat something so large with a single blow using this amazingly powerful weapon?
One of the players in the game I'm running asked me a question that has been bugging me for sometime too. Say you have a Small character (or even as big as Large) rolls a natural 20 when they are attacking something like a Tarrasque or a Great Red Wyrm; have they just slaughtered the monster single handed? Can someone so small defeat something so large with a single blow using this amazingly powerful weapon?
Purely by the rules? Maybe. After rolling the 20 they would then have to confirm the critical hit - even if it's a creature that is normally immune to crits.
However... would the loss of it's head actually kill the tarrasque?
Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to the tarrasque. The tarrasque regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If the tarrasque fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10 (or 868 hp). The tarrasque is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability.
Based on that, I'd say a vorpal weapon couldn't kill Big T - but it could kill a super-duper-really-ancient red dragon.
There's always the ole' "that's not in this campaign" solution.