Next session, my group will likely meet up with Szasmir, and I thought I'd ask others to see how they are treating Anvengen's Edge.
Are PCs actually taking it?
Since it will undoubtedly result in a negative level for whomever is carrying it, are PCs actually taking it?
My group has a Wayfinder that has an Ioun stone that counteracts the effects of one negative level. I haven't decided yet if I'll allow that to work for Intelligent items with incompatible alignments.
Although this negative level never results in actual level loss, it remains as long as the item is in hand and cannot be overcome in any way (including by restoration spells).
It might be too powerful if there is no negative level attached to it, but they may leave it if it does give them a negative level they can't deal with.
Is Szasmir exceptionally strong with it?
Assuming they fight Szasmir, and he uses Divine Favor ability at CL 13, is he too dangerous wielding essentially a +4 keen glaive at that point?
Is it overpowering in the rest of the Knot?
For those that keep it, is the weapon getting a lot of use in the rest of the Knot? I'm a little concerned that access to Divine Favor at CL 13 might be too unbalancing for 4th level characters, with or without the negative level.
I'm dreading the half-orc barbarian raging with power attack, +3 divine favor, cleave and reach mowing down anything in his path.
Are people finding that is happening in their campaigns?
Thanks.
My group just did this last night at teh end of our session.
Ended up the Sorc and the Rogue to, by themselves, to strike a deal, and even though Szasmir was pretty much agreeable to most of their terms, they just couldnt bring themselves to "make a deal with the devil"
Finally, they surrounded the cell, with the Pall-O-Dine at teh door and he smote him some evil as the cleric tagged in, alternating between healing and whacking the devil. Szasmir did not fight with the weapon, being he was delirious and enraged, he just went with Claw, Claw, Beard (if claws hit).
Once that was done, the pally detected evil, and pinged on the glaive. then noone wanted to touch it. Finally the rogue grabbed it, a Halfling, and i slipped him a note that he aquired a negative level, and that he felt a disappointed presence (because the rogue didnt worship asmodeous). there was much discussion still, and they ended up wrapping the blade in a thick cloak and putting it in a bag of holding.
at which point I told the cleric, who has the book on Drowned Jabe, that he felt a tiny bit of a pull toward the weapon, like he felt it was part of something else.
So, long story short (too late), my party looks to be Not weilding the blade, but keeping it for later destruction perhaps. Anyone know how they might go about doing that?
Spoilers for Sixfold Trial (and my campaign):
When I ran Szasmir, I didn't give him the benefit of the glaive's powers. I did, however, allow the glaive to unlock his cell when the PCs started taunting him for too long (since the glaive can "unlock" other areas of the dungeon).
I'll have to go back and look at the CR of the encounter, but I didn't notice that it was higher than the standard bearded devil CR, which to me indicates that while Szasmir has the glaive, it isn't particularly helping him out in the fight.
Then again, I was running Avengen's Edge as having the rudimentary Chelaxian attitude concerning devils, i.e. they are summoned help, and not worthy of using Avengen's Edge, and hence, its looking for an actual Chelaxian wielder as opposed to being used by a devil.
Thanks for relating what happened in your campaigns. More I think about it, the more I'm scared to have Szasmir use the full power of the glaive.
He'd likely take out at least one of the PCs in two rounds of full attacks using the glaive at +15/+10 (1d10+10/19-20x3). If I happen to crit, it would likely kill a PC outright. They are already exceptionally weak from the bout with the shadows, so that seems like piling on at this point.
I don't think they'll even attempt to fight him at this point, but if they do, I'll have a better gameplan ready.
I think I'll keep the negative level as something they can't avoid if they use the weapon, but allow them to store the glaive without the negative level it if they take precautions and put it in the haversack.
My group wasn't the least bit interested in opening the door for any reason. He tried to bargain information for his freedom, but they weren't really having any of it. Left it behind and never looked back.
My group never actually got their hands on Anvengen's Edge.
My group never actually got their hands on Anvengen's Edge.
Very cool.
I may consider having Sian free Szasmir if the PCs don't, and I love the idea of having items falling at terminal velocity in a loop.
At this point, they are probably 25+ points down in strength collectively, including their only significant fighter down 15. I'm real tempted to have Szasmir somehow acquire a scroll of Restoration. That will get their attention, and might prevent them from spending the 3 days resting and casting lesser restoration. :-).
We literally ended the session with the party fleeing the shadows and landing right at his doorstep, and I haven't introduced him yet, so I still have a blank slate.
I'd very much like to see the item used when my party runs across it.
I wonder if the negative level was an originally intended consequence of using it? While it's mentioned in the Core Rulebook, the stat black doesn't make explicit note of it. Obviously by the RAW, it does what it does, but I'm reasonably certain my group won't touch it....they fear negative levels like the plague.
Has anyone tried removing the negative level? DId it balance? Has anyone tried a downgrade?
After the devil was killed the dwarf took the glaive. Has not used it yet.
Nice! Did you keep the negative level for non-LEs, or is your dwarf LE (making the point moot)?
My group has a lawful neutral inquisitor of Asmodeus who picked up the blade after an excellent bit of roleplay with the caged devil. Given that he got the devil to sign a contract with him (A very asmodean act), I decided to let the negative level slide. He's on his way to lawful evil anyway, and Anvengen's edge is all the happier to be in the hands of a devout asmodeus worshiper. If it can shift him fully lawful evil? More's the better.
Now I'm just trying to think of ways to "Unlock" the power of the glaive, to keep it relevant as time passes.
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I had the devil locked up, which they could open the door, but didn't.
They asked him about the passwords on the piece of paper received earlier in the Asomodean Knot. No one had both linguistics/knowledge & the ability to speak infernal. After copying the passwords down, they handed the paper to Szamir.
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Well to be honest I did not know about the level loss and intellegent items.
The level loss is because it is evil, not because it's intelligent. If it was an unholy weapon, a good creature would also get a negative level because it's evil.
Chaotic OR Good PCs will get a negative level, because the item is LE.
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keeping it for later destruction perhaps. Anyone know how they might go about doing that?
To destroy it by hacking, they have to use a magic weapon of equal or greater power to attack it. It has a certain number of hit points, which they can hack down if they can get past the hardness.
They shouldn't have this type of weapon at the level they encounter the glaive. Mine did, but because they encountered it twice.
I *think* mage's disjunction can also get rid of it's qualities, leaving it masterwork
In any case, they don't have access to that type of power yet, and would have to seek help from elsewhere, or keep it around until they can do it themselves.
Depending on what they do with it, it may still be able to cast bleed >:)
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I'm thinking of changing it to Ghost-touch +1 glaive. We have a shelyn's inquisitor, so he will be happy :D
The point is it's an intelligent, evil item. Glaive = awesome for Shelyn. Evil & worships Asmodeous = not so awesome.
If you want to stick a ghost-touch item in there, have it being held by a shadow. :)
Vendor - Fantasiapelit Tampere
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It still involves possibility that he will not take it, 'cause he is very strict about evil people. I think he wants to kill the mayor. And he feeled fine of killing the hellknight-captors of Arael. So, I think that if he knows about the evil-mind, he will cast it away faster than hell. Then, if they took the unholy symbol and the book out of the place, he realizes that the glaive would have also be "cured" of it's evil mind, and then he is gonna be pissed. |:D
