Enchanting a rope as a weapon.

[James F.D. Graham]

Yo,

Long story short; A PC has the Equipment Trick (rope) feat and proficiency with spiked chains.

He is using his rope of climbing as his weapon of choice but, now that we've reached 6th lvl, he is starting to feel the lack of weapon enhancements.

He would like to start enchanting his rope as if it were a spiked chain.

What would you do/say? and Why?

Thanks!

[Val'bryn2]

No. Because it is not a spiked chain. It's not a weapon at all. He can use it as one, that doesn't make it one.

[Claxon]

I would instruct him to purchase a spiked chain

[LeMoineNoir]

It's still improvised, even though they can wield it as a normal weapon, so they could grab some Gloves of Improvised Might

[toastedamphibian]

It's not going to cause any kind of game imbalances. If everyone is having fun, I'd say just roll with it. Magic weapons are often made out of odd materials, this one spiked 'chain' being rope is trivial.

[James F.D. Graham]

LeMoineNoir wrote:

It's still improvised, even though they can wield it as a normal weapon, so they could grab some Gloves of Improvised Might

I like the gloves, thanks for the info, but.. is it really an improvised weapon?

[blahpers]

Yep.

If you're the GM and would rather enhance the rope of climbing to serve as a weapon, figure out the cost of a magic weapon with the desired properties and multiply by 1.5 (multiple different abilities). It's up to you whether the result still requires Equipment Trick (rope) to wield.

[toastedamphibian]

It's multiple unrelated abilities on a slotless item. No good reason for the pricing to be more convoluted or particularly exspensive. A +3 weapon that is also a freaking rope is not 1.5x as useful.

Quote:

If the item is one that occupies a specific place on a character’s body, the cost of adding any additional ability to that item increases by 50%

Rope does not. No need to multiply. Especially if it will still take ropetrick to use.

[toastedamphibian]

Quote:

Multiple Similar Abilities: For items with multiple similar abilities that don’t take up space on a character’s body, use the following formula: Calculate the price of the single most costly ability, then add 75% of the value of the next most costly ability, plus 1/2 the value of any other abilities.

Multiple Different Abilities: Abilities such as an attack roll bonus or saving throw bonus and a spell-like function are not similar, and their values are simply added together to determine the cost. For items that take up a space on a character’s body, each additional power not only has no discount but instead has a 50% increase in price.

They are not similar abilities, and it does not take a body slot. Just enchant it as a weapon and add the prices.

[Cantriped]

Strictly speaking, Improvised Weapons cannot be enchanted as weapons because they aren't masterwork weapons, and therefore cannot survive the process of being enchanted as weapons or some bunk like that.

Masterwork Transformation is also a no-go because there aren't masterwork weapon equivalents of any of these items; or in the case of potential improvised weapons, such as rope, any masterwork equivalent at all.

Using the RAW, you can probably design a custom weapon using the weapon creation rules that also acts as a rope, and use that to ascertain the value of a masterwork or magical version of a "Warrope", and thus the value of a +1 Warrope of Climbing. But that object wouldn't actually be an Improvised Weapon anymore...

Alternatively, it is only slightly more of a stretch to simply allow the player get Masterwork Transformation on it in order to turn it into a "Masterwork Improvised Weapon" which can be enchanted like a weapon, but is still treated as an improvised weapon for those few benefits it grants the user.

[toastedamphibian]

Or... you could go to the magic item pricing rules, find the cost of a Rope of Climbing that gives an enhancement bonus (weapon), and use that. Your not making a weapon. It's a rope that happens to give a bonus to attack and damage if you hit something with it.

[blahpers]

toastedamphibian wrote:

It's multiple unrelated abilities on a slotless item. No good reason for the pricing to be more convoluted or particularly exspensive. A +3 weapon that is also a freaking rope is not 1.5x as useful.

Quote:

If the item is one that occupies a specific place on a character’s body, the cost of adding any additional ability to that item increases by 50%

Rope does not. No need to multiply. Especially if it will still take ropetrick to use.

Good enough for me. Add 'em up.

[graystone]

James F.D. Graham wrote:

LeMoineNoir wrote:

It's still improvised, even though they can wield it as a normal weapon, so they could grab some Gloves of Improvised Might

I like the gloves, thanks for the info, but.. is it really an improvised weapon?

From the equipment trick feat: "If the item would normally be considered an improvised weapon, you can treat it as either a normal weapon or an improvised weapon, depending on which is more beneficial for you."

equipment trick