Talk:Illandian Blade (3.5e Equipment)

Problems

As I was reading this I came to wondering how can one soul bind to a blade and what this does. It might be nice if you explained this better, and madea way for a player to do this. Other than this is is a very good item. --Green Dragon 22:40, 4 January 2007 (MST)

Soul binding is a ritual that the Illandian tribe guards viciously. It is only granted to members of the tribe, or those who the tribe has taken in. I believe the Dagger of Fallen Ash has a soul binding ritual as well, and it works similarly, only with less dismemberment. I'll be including the descript when I post the setting Illandian Desert (Which I am scribing down now).

The idea is that the tribesman, when using the Soul bind ability, rolls a 1d20 and adds their wisdom modifier to the roll. They need to get a 17 or higher, and if they do, the weapon appears in their hands.

A player Could recieve the ritual, but it wouldn't come with the blade. I'll include it elsewhere.

Also, Point of Intrest, I think I actually got the price right this time! *Blows some kind of air horn*--Cypresslyshra 22:53, 4 January 2007 (MST)

The price is not bad *pats Cypresslyshra on back*, and thanks for clarifying the soul binding ritual. --Green Dragon 22:56, 4 January 2007 (MST)

Added to Weapon Descriptions

This weapon needs to be added to Weapon Descriptions. Thanks. --Green Dragon 22:40, 4 January 2007 (MST)

Damage Type

Is this weapon "Slashing and piercing" or "Slashing or piercing"? Also, you should avoid having modifiers in the weapon's base damage, because 1d4+1 for a small weapon translates into 1d6+1d2 as a medium weapon. —Sledged 21:42, 17 January 2007 (MST)

I MoI'ed Cypresslyshra, he should respond soon. --Green Dragon 22:43, 17 January 2007 (MST)

I'm alive, don't give up on me yet. Ok, first question, it's slashing Or piercing. And how would I state it that there is a +1 bonus to damage across the board?--Cypresslyshra 23:35, 17 January 2007 (MST)

A better question is why does it have a +1 bonus damage across the board? Weapons typically don't have modifiers as part of their base damage. If you want it to do more damage than 1d6 bump it up to the next die size, because 1d6+1 averages out to be the same thing as 1d8. Essentially this is a martial weapon that does longsword damage, has a rapier's threat range, and does either slashing or piercing damage (very similar to the elven thinblade in the Complete Warrior). And what is it about this blade that only Illandian's can make them? In a world were these weapons exist, you'd be less likely to find a magical longsword over a magical Illandian blade, because when you get into magic weapons the cost difference between the two is negligible. —Sledged 13:50, 18 January 2007 (MST)

I'd say ditch the +1, have the base damage 1d8, and make it an exotic one-hander. —Sledged 13:50, 18 January 2007 (MST)

Well, I'm going to ditch the +1 and keep it at 1d6, since the illandian blade is more closely related to a masterwork short sword, with the sundering resistance.

As to why this blade is special, it's not really all that special. An Illandian blade is just any blade made in the style of the Illandian tribe. They're simple, with zero metal waste, and are made to last for a long time in the wilds. Any smith Could make a blade in this style, if they could find a person to teach them, but it was originally created by this tribe, which is why it bears their name.

The only thing that really makes these weapons uniquely part of the tribe has less to do with the blade and more to do with the ritual the tribe performs on them, a ritual that Illandians will refuse to perform for outsiders.

And...I hope that answers all your questions --Cypresslyshra 19:47, 18 January 2007 (MST)

If that is the case, is this really needed, or could the tribe just enchant a masterwork short sword? I am saying this because if something is on D&D Wiki it should be unique in some way. If nothing were unique this site would have no point. I would either say go for the extraordinary, or get rid of this altogether and replace references to this with the masterwork short sword. --Green Dragon 21:14, 18 January 2007 (MST)

I suppose the most unique part of the weapon is it's resistance to sundering, although at the moment I think it's a bit understated compared to the weapons I use in champaign, which were supposed to be hard enough to mithral, and on occasion adamantine, now that I find some more documentation. Maybe I should factor that into the price. Their durability is what really sets them apart. Their enchantment can be nulled from this discussion because no character would be able to get the enchantment without their own side quest.

The other half of this weapon is more of a flavor thing, I suppose. The weapon is looks different, and behaves differently than a masterwork short sword, and the tribesmen hold it with a far higher reverence. So while it could be considered a short sword, it really isn't, so it would make less sense to just call them enchanted shortswords. --Cypresslyshra 21:44, 18 January 2007 (MST)

Hm.. . I see. However, you may want to make this more interesting even, such as give it a special blade side (because of how different it is) that could be made as a separate attack. This side would be serrated, and if it hit it would continue to inflict damage for a couple more rounds (less and less each round). Just an idea to bring this farther away from the masterwork short sword and more into its own niche. --Green Dragon 22:43, 18 January 2007 (MST)

Well, I think I may do something like that, but I just found something (I need to get these papers more organized) about the blades. The way they're shaped, along with the design of the sheath, makes them extremely quick to draw. It had an appreciable effect last time I used these, but would there be a way to represent that in 3E? Also, how would one represent the hardness factor (Rivaling mithral, at this point)--Cypresslyshra 22:51, 18 January 2007 (MST)

With drawing weapons faster you may want to take a look at Quick Draw, Snap draw, or something like Quick Sheath except change the things for drawing a weapon and not sheathing one. For a better hardness factor Adamantine is a bit harder. --Green Dragon 23:06, 18 January 2007 (MST)

So, if I were to say that the Illandian blade could be drawn as though the character had the quick draw feat, how much would that add to the price? Also, how would I factor cost for a greater hardness factor (5? 10?)--Cypresslyshra 23:10, 18 January 2007 (MST)

See also Creating Magic Items (SRD Rules). However, I do not want to give an estimate because I am not entirely sure of the price... I say wait for someone else to verify the price. --Green Dragon 23:19, 18 January 2007 (MST)

The hardness only changes if the material changes. Unless there's a special alchemical/magical/psionic process used that changes the properties of the steel (which would make it no longer steel) the hardness is 10. If you want to make it tougher without changing the material, increase its hit points instead. Adding Quick Draw to the weapon could become a really nice benefit, because the character can get all his attacks with a full-round action by throwing them as improvised weapons if he has more than one. Add the throwing special ability to the weapon or take the Throw Anything feat from the Complete Warrior, and you've got the best hurled one-handed weapon in the game. Of course without the Quick Draw ability of the weapon, a character can just spend a feat for Quick Draw and get the same effect.

At this point, statistically you've got a scimitar that can do piercing or slashing damage, weighs less, can be drawn as free action, and is more difficult to sunder. This is no longer a martial weapon. —Sledged 09:55, 19 January 2007 (MST)

Alright then, lets try this then. The Illandian blade has 10 hardness (For steel, stat taken from the wiki), and has 20 hp (The forging process creates extremely hard blades). It has the quick draw ability, and counts as a masterwork weapon. How much would it cost with and without the -2 to sundering?--Cypresslyshra 16:14, 19 January 2007 (MST)

Actually, the price you have looks good. 100 gp base price plus 300 gp for a masterwork version. —Sledged 23:20, 19 January 2007 (MST)

O.O Wow...Alright, cool--Cypresslyshra 23:23, 19 January 2007 (MST)

One more question: Is it possible to make a non-masterwork version of this weapon? —Sledged 09:15, 21 January 2007 (MST)

No, since the Illandians won't make them non-masterwork, and if a character got it in his head to create one, he'd end up with a short sword.--Cypresslyshra 11:12, 21 January 2007 (MST)