So one thing that's always bothered me is the combination of the golf bag of weapons that 3.x/Pathfinder encourages (different metals, different damage types, ranged) along with the crazy price of a magic weapon, which increases quadratically.
The main goal of that price tag is to lock out characters from using weapons too good for them. We can do that another way.
Let's say you need to be a certain power level before you can draw on all of the magical strength a magic weapon could have locked inside.
Table 1-1 (Whipped this up in half a minute, balance tweaks would be needed)
Level Enh usable
1-3 +1
4-6 +2
7-10 +3
11-14 +4
15-20 +5
So let's say you find a +1 Keen Longsword at lvl 3. For now it's a +1 Longsword to you, but once you hit lvl 4, you can use it at full power.
In exchange for this, the price of the weapon increases linearly (2k for +1, 4k for +2, etc) and the minimum CL to craft a weapon of that enh is the same as the min to use it at full power (thus CL 7 to be able to make a +3 weapon).
Special: Temporary increases to enh such as by a Magus spending a pool point, a Paladin using Divine Bond (Weapon), or whoever casting Magic Weapon do not count against the level capped enh useable.
To some degree I feel like I'm treating a symptom by enabling the cause (I'd much rather get rid of the necessity for a golf bag of weapons), but this way seems a little simpler.
Another method I considered would be using not the character level as a prerequisite for unlocking magic weapon potential, but BAB.
Thoughts?
Switching spells is easy as eating pie, switching weapons is a very pricey endeavor.
I do believe things have gotten more annoying from 1-2nd edition. Back in MY DAY! there was the '+x' to damage. You needed a weapon of the right level or no damage done(silver for werewolves of course) while this ment that you were stuffed if nobody had the right weapon, it was very simple to work around once you had the right weapon.
3.x/Pathfinder gave DR that could be powered through but once you got up to 10-15 you really needed the right weapon and then you needed blunt,silver,magic,cold iron and so on which got more expensive than you could handle.
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I've always thought the Golf Bag was a good, flavourful thing. Like the way an experienced monster hunter would use a different weapon to hunt vampires than he would use against werewolves.
If anything needs to change, it's the feats that encourage you to try to put all your specialization into one weapon only.
The attached concern is also cost.
Let's say I've got my wonderful +3 keen greatsword, at 32,350 gp. That's about 1/3 of WBL for level 12. Which means that if I want other types of weapons as well, I either have to sacrifice heavily on other things, or they're far weaker. Maybe my adamantine maul is only masterwork. Then I'm losing all my feats, all my weapon groups (if a Fighter), and a lot of magical bonuses as well.
I currently have two weapon users running; one has no backup weapons at all, and the other has a wide array... except that while his main weapon is suitable to a level 19 character, his backups are a +1 ghost touch, a masterwork adamantine, and a few mundane, non-masterwork weapons leftover from character creation. And that's the character with the most even semi-viable secondary weapons I've ever played or played alongside.
I've always thought the Golf Bag was a good, flavourful thing. Like the way an experienced monster hunter would use a different weapon to hunt vampires than he would use against werewolves.
If anything needs to change, it's the feats that encourage you to try to put all your specialization into one weapon only.
A fair point about the feats. When casters take Spell Focus, they choose Evocation, not Fireball.
However, what would you change it to? Weapon Focus (Axes)? You still won't be able to apply it to your golf bag. Weapon Focus (Two-Handed)? I wouldn't mind that, but I bet it would sound a little broad to some people.
I kind of like how Frank and K's "Tomes" handled it. There was no "+2 sword." There was just a magic sword, and the enhancement bonus automatically scaled with your level/BAB.
I kind of like how Frank and K's "Tomes" handled it. There was no "+2 sword." There was just a magic sword, and the enhancement bonus automatically scaled with your level/BAB.
I prefer the idea that you get the abilities you pay for with one set of "power points", not having separate advancement tracks for class abilities and gear abilities. So if you have +5 to attacks and damage with your sword, maybe that's because your sword is awesome and maybe that's because you're awesome.
Isn't that kind of how your own house rules work?
along with the crazy price of a magic weapon, which increases quadratically.Wealth By Level increases quadratically as well.
Are you going to reduce WBL after you decrease the cost of magic items?
I'm talking about magic weapons, not all magic gear.
Other classes don't have to pour as much money into their offense as the weapon-user. Casters don't even need anything, they can spend their gold on superior stat items and metamagic rods.
Meleers want those stat items just as much (if not more, they want for a bonus to at least two if not all 3 physical stats, while the caster needs just one ability score).
And characters that want to focus on thrown weapons are pretty much just screwed.
I prefer the idea that you get the abilities you pay for with one set of "power points", not having separate advancement tracks for class abilities and gear abilities. So if you have +5 to attacks and damage with your sword, maybe that's because your sword is awesome and maybe that's because you're awesome. Isn't that kind of how your own house rules work?
More or less. I provide a quasi-WBL-equivalent in the form of "personal mojo" or numen and encourage the players to allocate it as they see fit, either "discovering" mystical properties in whatever souvenirs they've picked up in adventures, or on other stuff. Becuse this is tied directly to character level and is separate from material wealth, I don't have to worry about a dragon having a huge hoard of gold, and the players don't have to worry about "wasting" gold on things like castles, food, and massive reveling. Also, it lets them get the magic they really envision their characters as having, vs. needing to go on shopping trips or rely on DM largesse for that kind of stuff.
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I've always thought the Golf Bag was a good, flavourful thing. Like the way an experienced monster hunter would use a different weapon to hunt vampires than he would use against werewolves.
If anything needs to change, it's the feats that encourage you to try to put all your specialization into one weapon only.
A fair point about the feats. When casters take Spell Focus, they choose Evocation, not Fireball.
However, what would you change it to? Weapon Focus (Axes)? You still won't be able to apply it to your golf bag. Weapon Focus (Two-Handed)? I wouldn't mind that, but I bet it would sound a little broad to some people.
An idea I've picked up from someone on this forum, is to link it to Weapon Training. When you gain Weapon Training, all weapon-specific feats you possess that apply to one weapon in that group, now apply to all weapons in that group.
Doesn't really solve the problem for rangers, barbarians and paladins, but on the other hand, they already have class abilities they can apply to all weapons (favored enemy, rage, smite) while the fighter tends to specialize in feats; and those feats should be just a little broader. I'm thinking this house rule might be just enough for that.