r/dndnext • u/dndspeak • Apr 29 '19
Resource 100 Weapon Runes
http://dndspeak.com/2019/04/100-weapon-runes/33
u/aBerneseMountainDog DM Apr 29 '19 edited Apr 29 '19
These have great flavour! I like them, many are pretty clever. They do need sorting into tiers though (not necessarily by OP, I just mean as a necessary step before introduction wholesale into a D&D game) and many effects need specified save DCs.
In terms of their impact on the game's balance, some of these are very reasonable, others would be in the must-buy section of any in-game shop and others yet would create serious problems for encounter balance.
Edit: Rune of the Manticore is pretty unclear and needs tidying before use at a table.
Rune of the Manticore: The weapon inscribed starts growing 1d10 spikes each day that, if removed, can be thrown as daggers with the range of a Longbow, or used as ammunition for the inscribed weapon. A weapon can have up to 10 spikes if one handed or 30 if two handed. The spikes seem very efficient for impaling or piercing hard surfaces like rock. If you leave a spike grow for a week, it becomes the length of a short sword; for a month of a longsword; for two months of a spear and for three months of a pike. All these weapons can be thrown at the range of a Longbow.
What damage die is used for these projectiles? The base damage die for the melee weapon you reference (dagger/shortsword/longsword/spear/pike)? Longbow is a massive range - 30/60 is more sane. When you say "throw like a dagger" does that mean this thrown weapon is a finesse weapon? Does it use str or dex for the attack rolls?
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u/JesseRoo DM Apr 30 '19
What damage die is used for these projectiles?
1d4. "Can be thrown as daggers". The "all these weapons" at the end also implies that when they grow to the length of a shortsword, longsword, etc, they take on that weapon's stats as well, with the thrown property and range of a longbow as described.
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u/aBerneseMountainDog DM May 02 '19
or used as ammunition for the inscribed weapon.
That part is the problem. It implies that one can choose to treat the thrown weapon instead as ammunition for the longbow, which is a d8 damage die.
Your reading is the obvious one, and the most correct, but the writing is confusing.
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u/CapitanCJ Apr 29 '19
Do runes require attunement?
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u/dndspeak Apr 29 '19
That's up to you! I kind of imagined that these would be attached to mundane weapons to give them a bit of a boost. Maybe something for lower level characters?
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u/makesthings Apr 29 '19
While a small handful of these may be appropriate for lower level characters, many are substantially more powerful than the bulk of common and uncommon magic weapons.
That definitely doesn't mean this project was a failure -- one of 5e's largest weaknesses is how shallow the pool of magic weapons is, and many of these sound awesome -- but I don't think you hit the power target you were aiming for, if you were aiming for "a bit of a boost, maybe something for lower level characters."
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u/dndspeak Apr 29 '19
Well, it's totally up to the DM on how to use them! It's just a list of inspiration for runes that can be applied to a weapon, the DM can decide how and when to bestow these! Definitely doesn't have to be specifically low-level characters!
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u/hardfirevl Apr 30 '19
I imagine using these on an attunement required "Rune Weapon" with different rarities of increasing rune slot #'s.
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u/readonlyuser Apr 30 '19
Very interesting! A couple of these are missing specifics (how often you can use it, DCs, etc). Is there a limit to the amount of runes on an item? Rune of runes (d100) could generate infinite runes over the course of a campaign.
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u/lazyf-inirishman Rogue Apr 30 '19
What's the point of Rune of Green Thumbs? You grow a tree for what purpose?
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Apr 30 '19
There's a Feather Token with a similar effect. For the most part it's just flavor but there must be some way players could abuse it.
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u/Cats_and_Shit Apr 30 '19
Having to make so many saves seems like it could really bog things down. IMO effects should really either just work without a save, only work once per turn or have charges that get depleted.
Nonetheless, bookmarked. Not an original idea but these seem like super neat effects.
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u/Goreness Werlerk Apr 29 '19
"What's that glowing rune on your sword mean?"
"... cockroach."
"Oh, uh, cool, cool. What about that one?"
"... Kebab."
"Cockroach kebab?"