Hi All!
I have a new weapon enchantment that i'd like to put before the other DMs that lurk on these boards before I loose it upon my party in a forthcoming adventure in my eberron campaign. Let me know what you think!
Smokebound
Aura moderate conjuration; CL11th
Price +2 bonus
Description
A smokebound weapon has an evil elemental called a Belker bound to it, and appears to be made of coiling smoke. This property can be applied only slashing and piercing weapons.
Any creature wounded by a smokebound weapon must make a DC 14 fortitude save or find his lungs filling with claws of smoke which deal 3d4 points of damage per round. An affected creature can attempt another Fortitude save each subsequent round to cough out the smoke.
In addition, the weapon grants a +2 competence bonus to move silently checks.
Construction
Requirements Bind Elemental, planar binding
Does this take effect with every strike? If so, I wouldn't have the damage linger as an on-going effect (or, if it does, make it a definite and short duration, 3-5 rounds tops, and clearly state that it does not stack with itself). Either way, I'd also consider dropping the damage to 2d4. Perhaps, if you do, you could also have the weapon apply the sickened or nauseated condition to the target, due to near-suffocation from the smoke in their lungs.
As another alternative, I could envision the description of this same blade using a wounding weapon, perhaps with ghost touch to achieve the wispy "smoke" of the blade, but I don't think that's what you're looking for.
I'd happily limit the effect to say 1dx rounds. Although how long x should be im not sure.
the damage and DC derive from the belker bound to the weapon - essentially I used the burning weapon enchantment from the Eberron Campaign Setting as a template.
That binds a small fire elemental to the blade and grants the flaming quality together with requiring a save determined by the elementals DC to avoid suffering from said elementals burn attack it also grants a small bonus to initiative and weighs in as a +2 bonus.
my only concern is that the DC strikes me as kinda low for a +3 weapon and I dont really wanna increase it from that of the belker.
would the extra damage work better if it applied only on a critical hit? the weapon otherwise just renders a creature it wounds sickened on a failed DC14 fort save from smoke? or am i getting too complicated?
For a +2 modifier sickened for 1 round sounds a hell of a lot better. The damage would be fine it was only on a crit. Remember if it's every hit then the enemy probably has to make the save multiple times per round once the fighter gets to decent level. A high level fighter with two weapon fighting can get in a LOT of hits in a round.
You also need to change it to read "living creatures that have lungs wounded by" as just saying any creature means that undead, oozes, plants and constructs would be affected. All of these either have no lungs, no need to breathe or both. Even some kinds of aberations would fall into these categories.
I was a bit unsure about the lungs thing with regard to undead, plants etc.
I can see how it applies to the sickened idea, but the damage derives from the belker's smoky claws shredding it on the inside...
undead are immune anyway i suppose - because of the fort save requirement?