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Zenzirad comes off as being a truly awesome weapon initially. The greatest creation of a master azer wizard-smith. It sounds like the kind of thing he would describe as the culmination of his life's work. A sword forged in ebon flame, fire that can burn the unburnable, specifically made to fight Jhavul. Yet....when we get to the actual stats of the weapon, a +1 outsider (fire) bane, frost falchion (or whatever weapon your party might like, greatsword fo me), it just felt kind of a let down.
Now I'm not one to define what makes a weapon awesome. I firmly believe that even a +1 weapon can be badass given proper fluff and circumstances, but this just seems kinda.....meh (though after reviewing "The Impossible Eye", I see plenty of opportunities where it will rock).
I want my party to like this sword, it seems like the perfect fit for our cleric. It just seems like it's a little below the power curve for magic items, especially at later levels during The Final Wish where even Tempest will be a (total) +5 weapon (+2 outsider fire bane, icy burst, i think) and will apparently exhibit more abilites when used against Jhavul and his followers. Will Zenzirad do the same, seeing as it was made specifically for the battle vs. Jhavul? I have my own ideas on what to do there, but I was just hoping to see if something like that had already been added to the adventure.
Does anyone think that making it fire subtype bane instead of outsider fire bane is too much?
I would think that it all depends on presentation. If you hand them a note saying 'this is Zenzirad, it's effectively a +blah blah weapon', players will look upon it as something to be sold and/or traded in for something more powerful. My suggestion: Make it a Really. Cool. Handout. One page, with a pretty picture on it, and write up a few paragraphs describing the weapon and the process of its forging. Then, at the very bottom, put the sword's stats. My bet is, your player(s) will be a lot more reluctant to sell such an 'important' item ...
Creative Director
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Zenzirad comes off as being a truly awesome weapon initially. The greatest creation of a master azer wizard-smith. It sounds like the kind of thing he would describe as the culmination of his life's work. A sword forged in ebon flame, fire that can burn the unburnable, specifically made to fight Jhavul. Yet....when we get to the actual stats of the weapon, a +1 outsider (fire) bane, frost falchion (or whatever weapon your party might like, greatsword fo me), it just felt kind of a let down.
You can, of coruse, change the weapon in your own game. It's worth noting that unlike Tempest, Zenzirad doesn't level up, so it's a bit unfair to compare it to what Tempest will be at the end of the adventure when Zenzirad is found at just over the halfway point.
In any event, it's still going to be a VERY useful weapon against efreet, since it'll be doing an extra 2d6 + 1d6 x1.5 anyway...
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Thanks for the answers! My group has a habit of looking at a magic item based on its monetary awesomeness. The guy with Tempest is already chomping at the bit for a new dagger and probably would have thrown Tempest away if it hadn't suddenly leveled up in his hands at 5th level and given them the little clues its suppose too in the House of the Beast. Now that we're in Katapesh, their all over the place looking for new and exciting ways to spend their money and I'm just worried that by the time we get to the Azer, their going to go "meh". I look at the Zenzirad and I'm immediately comparing it to other great weapons like Excalibur and Anduril. It just screams of awesomeness. Hopefully I can instill that feeling into my PCs as well.
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Creative Director
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Thanks for the answers! My group has a habit of looking at a magic item based on its monetary awesomeness. The guy with Tempest is already chomping at the bit for a new dagger and probably would have thrown Tempest away if it hadn't suddenly leveled up in his hands at 5th level and given them the little clues its suppose too in the House of the Beast. Now that we're in Katapesh, their all over the place looking for new and exciting ways to spend their money and I'm just worried that by the time we get to the Azer, their going to go "meh". I look at the Zenzirad and I'm immediately comparing it to other great weapons like Excalibur and Anduril. It just screams of awesomeness. Hopefully I can instill that feeling into my PCs as well.
Honestly, the best answer might be to make Zenzirad more potent in your game. You know your players better than I do, after all, and if makign Zenzirad a +4 weapon does the trick, do it. Of course... if the group is more interested in buying gear than finding it, then maybe the best bet is to simply replace Zenzirad with a bag of gold and let the PCs spend it... but THAT said... once PCs enter Kakishon in the fourth adventure, they won't be getting a chance to go shopping until the start of the sixth and final adventure, so maybe it's not as big a problem as you think.