it wouldn't matter since only one of them can be on-line at any given time. notice the "upon command" and "until another command is given"
Shocking burst explicitly says it functions as a shock weapon, so they don't stack. Think about it this way, it gets a plus 1d6 shock enhancement and can't stack another. Bonuses not stacking and all that.
there's nothing to say 2 abilities can;t add 1d6 of elec, however, all the elemental weapon enhancements and what not cannot be on at the same time, they can still be enhanced onto a weapon, but only one at any time can be active.
So for example, if I had a +1 flaming, icy, shock sword; I cannot command all of them to activate at the same time. (Like my character says "I command all my weapon enhancements to activate!")
If they all have the same command word to activate, you definitely can. The caster sets the command word.
The part about staying active "until another command is given" might not necessarily mean what Bandw2 thinks it does. It is usually interpreted to mean "until another command to deactivate the item is given".
it wouldn't matter since only one of them can be on-line at any given time. notice the "upon command" and "until another command is given"So for example, if I had a +1 flaming, icy, shock sword; I cannot command all of them to activate at the same time. (Like my character says "I command all my weapon enhancements to activate!")
You absolutely can have all of them on. Each power is still activated separately.
In practice all of the elemental powers are permanently on, it is just that you have the option of turning them off if the situation dictates. Should you face a Clay Golem you do not want the acid power on because that heals the thing, so you can turn it off as a standard action. After the fight (when actions do not matter) you can turn it back on and it stays on until switched off again. That could be years, if ever.
A friend of mine wants to have a bow with the following qualities:
+1
Shock (+1)
Shocking Burst (+2)Is this allowed? I would think that shocking burst would overwrite shock or it was one or the other.
Shocking Burst is an upgrade for Shock, so you would have (for pricing purposes) a +3 weapon. One command word shuts off the Shock and Shocking Burst properties.
I think the closest thing we have to an answer to multiple energy types activated at once is this quote.
While it's a command word to activate or deactivate a weapon like a flaming or a frost weapon... once activated it stays on. Sheathing it suppresses the energy automatically, and when you draw the weapon later it's ready to go. You'd only want to turn off the energy effect, as a previous poster said, when you're facing something that using that type of energy against is a bad idea.
Once you command it on, it is on. It doesn't shut off until you actually command it to do so.
If any command at all shut it off, you would have your flaming weapon shut off when you activate any other command-word item in your inventory. I seriously doubt the intention is to have your flaming sword shut off when you activate your Ring of Blinking or your Rope of Climbing.
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Shocking Burst is an upgrade for Shock, so you would have (for pricing purposes) a +3 weapon. One command word shuts off the Shock and Shocking Burst properties.A friend of mine wants to have a bow with the following qualities:
+1
Shock (+1)
Shocking Burst (+2)Is this allowed? I would think that shocking burst would overwrite shock or it was one or the other.
Wrong. A shocking burst weapon is a shock weapon, functions as a shock weapon, and does not have a prerequisite of being a shock weapon.
as far as i'm aware this would be the only time you can tell a magic item to do two/three things at once, and are not listed to be done at the same time.
I feel if the only reason for the "until another command is given" is to turn the weapon off, that could have been said much better with the about the same number of words. "until it is commanded to turn off".
I think putting multiple items on the same command word can break action economy too if you had all your stuff proc off the same word. one standard to activate everything at once.
IT specifically says "upon command" and specifically says "until another command is given". I don't think this is very misleading or unclear.
I think the closest thing we have to an answer to multiple energy types activated at once is this quote.
While it's a command word to activate or deactivate a weapon like a flaming or a frost weapon... once activated it stays on. Sheathing it suppresses the energy automatically, and when you draw the weapon later it's ready to go. You'd only want to turn off the energy effect, as a previous poster said, when you're facing something that using that type of energy against is a bad idea.Once you command it on, it is on. It doesn't shut off until you actually command it to do so.
If any command at all shut it off, you would have your flaming weapon shut off when you activate any other command-word item in your inventory. I seriously doubt the intention is to have your flaming sword shut off when you activate your Ring of Blinking or your Rope of Climbing.
it simply says until another command is given, this can be to make your flame weapon to longer flaming or it can be to activate icy. In his quote he says a flaming or frost, not flaming and frost. I don't feel this actually is relevant to the specific instance of activating another quality, and was actually about whether or not you had to activate it each day, which I agree you do not.
Another developer quote from Sean Reynolds
1. Activating an item's command word is a standard action. If your command word is "fire," and you're in initiative, you have to spend your standard action saying the word AT the sword with the proper inflection, you can't activate it for free (without spending an action).
2. You can give several actions the same command word, but that doesn't get around the standard-action-to-activate-each. It just means you only have to remember one word, not multiple words (which means your allies have an easier time using those items to save your life if you're bleeding to death).
3. Activating flaming doesn't deactivate any other abilities on the weapon. If your sword has three different command words, you can spend three standard actions activating each to have them all active at the same time. If the sword has the same command word for all three special abilities, you can spend three standard actions speaking that command word to activate the three special abilities, and have them activated at the same time.
"Until another command is given" means "... specifically to turn off that weapon special ability with the 'off' command." It doesn't mean "any command directed at the weapon turns off this ability" or "any command you speak turns off this ability" or "any command anyone in the world speaks at any time turns off this ability."
Note that there's no particular game balance reason to disallow a +1 shocking shocking-burst weapon, except maybe in a campaign where every enemy is vulnerable to electricity - it's usually going to be weaker than a +3 shocking weapon or a +1 shocking holy weapon. (The 'burst' properties are pretty weak.)
Wrong. A shocking burst weapon is a shock weapon, functions as a shock weapon, and does not have a prerequisite of being a shock weapon.Shocking Burst is an upgrade for Shock, so you would have (for pricing purposes) a +3 weapon. One command word shuts off the Shock and Shocking Burst properties.A friend of mine wants to have a bow with the following qualities:
+1
Shock (+1)
Shocking Burst (+2)Is this allowed? I would think that shocking burst would overwrite shock or it was one or the other.
Sure, you do not have to do things incrementally. But you cannot have a +1 Shock, Shocking Burst weapon as the OP asked. Shock is subsumed in Shocking Burst. For all practical purposes Shocking Burst is an upgrade of Shock as you cannot make a Shocking Burst weapon without the Shock property.
No you can not have the same ability on a weapon twice.
Some magic weapons have special abilities. Special abilities count as additional bonuses for determining the market value of the item, but do not modify attack or damage bonuses (except where specifically noted). A single weapon cannot have a modified bonus (enhancement bonus plus special ability bonus equivalents, including those from character abilities and spells) higher than +10. A weapon with a special ability must also have at least a +1 enhancement bonus. Weapons cannot possess the same special ability more than once.