House Rules: Magic Weapons

Potency


A weapon's potency rune adds its value as an enhancement bonus to your attack and damage rolls with that weapon. As this is an enhancement bonus, this overlaps with the enhancement bonus to attack rolls from the weapon's quality bonus.

Table: Weapon Potency

Potency Price Caster Level Min. Item Quality
+1 2,000 gol 3rd Standard
+2 8,000 gol 6th Expert
+3 18,000 gol 9th Master
+4 32,000 gol 12th Legendary
+5 50,000 gol 15th Legendary

Properties


Each property rune has a quality which indicates the minimum weapon quality required in order to be inscribed upon. Property runes do not require the weapon to already possess a potency rune.

Standard Properties

Allying

Price +2,000 gol (+1); Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th

Description
An allying weapon allows the wielder to transfer some or all of the weapon’s enhancement bonus to one weapon being used by an ally of the wielder. The wielder must have line of sight to the intended ally. As a free action, at the start of her turn before using her weapon, the wielder chooses how to allocate her weapon’s enhancement bonus. The bonus to the ally’s weapon lasts until the allying weapon’s wielder’s next turn. The enhancement bonus from the allying weapon does not stack with the enhancement bonus on the ally’s weapon (if any).

Consruction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells magic weapon; Cost +1,000 gol

Bane

Price +3,000 gol (+1); Aura moderate conjuration; CL 8th

Description
A bane weapon excels against certain foes. Against a designated foe, the weapon behaves as if it had a +2 potency rune. If the weapon already has a potency rune, its value increases by 2 against its designated foe.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells summon monster I; Cost +1,500 gol

Benevolent

Price +2,000 gol (+1); Aura faint enchantment; CL 5th

Description
This property can only be placed on a melee weapon. When the wielder of a benevolent weapon uses the aid another action to grant an ally a bonus on attack rolls, he increases the aid another bonus by the enhancement bonus of the weapon (minimum +1).

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells aid; Cost +1,000 gol

Called

Price +2,000 gol (+1); Aura moderate conjuration; CL 9th

Description
A called weapon can be teleported to the wielder’s hand as a simple action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, even if the weapon is in the possession of another creature. This property has a maximum range of 100 feet, and effects that block teleportation prevent the return of a called weapon. A called weapon must be in a creature’s possession for at least 24 hours for this property to function.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells teleport; Cost +1,000 gol

Conductive

Price +2,000 gol (+1); Aura moderate necromancy; CL 8th

Description
A conductive weapon is able to channel the energy of a spell-like or supernatural ability that relies on a melee or ranged touch attack to hit its target (such as from a cleric’s domain granted power, sorcerer’s bloodline power, oracle’s mystery revelation, or wizard’s arcane school power). When the wielder makes a successful attack of the appropriate type, he may choose to expend two uses of his magical ability to channel it through the weapon to the struck opponent, which suffers the effects of both the weapon attack and the special ability. (If the wielder has unlimited uses of a special ability, she may channel through the weapon every round.) For example, a paladin who strikes an undead opponent with her conductive greatsword can expend two uses of her lay on hands ability (a supernatural melee touch attack) to deal both greatsword damage and damage from one use of lay on hands.

A given character can use this weapon special ability only once per round (even if she has several conductive weapons), and the power works only with magical abilities of the same type as the weapon (melee or ranged).

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells spectral hand; Cost +1,000 gol

Corrosive

Price +2,000 gol (+1); Aura moderate evocation; CL 10th

Description
Upon command, a corrosive weapon becomes slick with acid that deals an extra 1d6 points of acid damage on a successful hit. The acid does not harm the wielder. The effect remains until another command is given.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells acid arrow; Cost +1,000 gol

Countering

Price +1,000 gol (+1); Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th

Description
A countering weapon gives its wielder a +2 bonus to his combat maneuver defense against combat maneuvers made to disarm or sunder this weapon. If the attempt fails, the wielder can immediately attempt the same maneuver against the opponent without provoking attacks of opportunity. The wielder never risks dropping his weapon with a failed disarm combat maneuver when counterattacking in this manner. This ability can be used even if the attacker is not within the wielder’s reach. Countering can only be placed on melee weapons.

Construction Requirements
Feats Combat Reflexes, Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells cat’s grace; Cost +500 gol

Courageous

Price +1,000 gol (+1); Aura faint enchantment; CL 3rd

Description
This special ability can only be added to a melee weapon.

A courageous weapon fortifies the wielder’s courage and morale in battle. The wielder gains a morale bonus on saving throws against fear equal to the weapon’s enhancement bonus. In addition, any morale bonus on saves against fearfaq the wielder gains from any other source is increased by half the weapon’s enhancement bonus (minimum 1).

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells heroism, remove fear; Cost +500 gol

Cruel

Price +1,000 gol (+1); Aura faint necromancy; CL 5th

Description
When the wielder strikes a creature that is frightened, shaken, or panicked with a cruel weapon, that creature becomes sickened for 1 round. When the wielder uses the weapon to knock unconscious or kill a creature, he gains 5 temporary hit points that last for 10 minutes.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells cause fear, death knell; Cost +500 gol

Cunning

Price +2,000 gol (+1); Aura moderate divination; CL

Description
This special ability allows a weapon to find chinks in a foe’s defenses using the wielder’s knowledge of the target.

Whenever the weapon’s attack is a critical threat, the wielder gains a +4 bonus on the confirmation roll if she has 5 or more ranks in a Knowledge skill that would be used to identify the target’s creature type (such as Knowledge [planes] for an outsider opponent), or a +6 bonus instead if she has 15 or more ranks.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells true strike; Cost +500 gol

Deadly

Price +1,000 gol (+1); Aura faint necromancy; CL 5th

Description
This special ability can only be placed on melee weapons that normally deal nonlethal damage, such as whips and saps.

All damage a deadly weapon deals is normal (lethal) damage. A whip (or similar weapon that is not normally able to damage creatures with armor or natural armor bonuses) with this special ability deals damage even to creatures with armor or natural armor. On command, the weapon suppresses this ability until the wielder commands it to resume.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Spells inflict light wounds; Cost +500 gol

Expert Properties

Master Properties

Legendary Properties

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License