Quick question about the gauntlets (Many spoilers within)

[Kiniticyst]

So the Runewarded Gauntlets are CL20 and the party get them incredibly early.

One of my players is going for the Shikigami Style feats and will get the Shikigami Manipulation feat at level 5 and I know for a fact that he'll want to use these gloves to slap people. A player having a +5 weapon seems a little crazy at level 5.

If I make Baraket active instead of dormant, thus meaning the gauntlets will be needed to be used, then someone else will have a +5, Spell Storing, Speed weapon.

If I throw something else at them like some other sentient, cursed weapon, then that feels like it would cheapen Baraket and the point of the Gauntlets.

Anyone got any ideas for balancing? This shikigami brawler already almost one-shot KO's every enemy when he hits, now he'll practically never miss and be able to tackle things waay above his CR from level 5 all the way up to 20. (Or whatever point the gauntlets actually become useful)

[James Jacobs]

Kiniticyst wrote:

So the Runewarded Gauntlets are CL20 and the party get them incredibly early.

One of my players is going for the Shikigami Style feats and will get the Shikigami Manipulation feat at level 5 and I know for a fact that he'll want to use these gloves to slap people. A player having a +5 weapon seems a little crazy at level 5.

If I make Baraket active instead of dormant, thus meaning the gauntlets will be needed to be used, then someone else will have a +5, Spell Storing, Speed weapon.

If I throw something else at them like some other sentient, cursed weapon, then that feels like it would cheapen Baraket and the point of the Gauntlets.

Anyone got any ideas for balancing? This shikigami brawler already almost one-shot KO's every enemy when he hits, now he'll practically never miss and be able to tackle things waay above his CR from level 5 all the way up to 20. (Or whatever point the gauntlets actually become useful)

Runewarded gauntlets are artifacts, and artifacts don't play by the rules. Furthermore, they're not intended to be a weapon, so a monk using them to gain bonuses on attack rolls is not the intent of the item.

My suggestion is that the gauntlets (and any artifact) won't work with a feat like Shikigami Manipulation. If you want to let them work, then the effective CL of an artifact should cap out at the player character's level, so that at 5th level, they'd use the gauntlets as if they were caster level 5 (their level) and NOT the gauntlet's level (20th).

And frankly, if a shikigami brawler is already one-shotting eveyr enemy, maybe the balance needed is to adjust the feat, rather than the rest of the game.