strawberryman
2010-09-22, 10:02 PM
Ok, so having read through Weapons of Legacy as a point of interest for my own Eberron campaign, I can agree with the seeming consensus that it definitely could have been done better, and many facets of it are confusing or just not built up to snuff for the very interesting (by my standards) fluff. So, time for some rambling.
Legacy Weapons
The Old: To gain the benefits of a legacy weapon, one needs to be at least level 5, and must also perform a ritual tied to the weapon's backstory. There are three such rituals, ranked least (character level 5), lesser (character level 11), and greater (character level 17), and finishing them grants you the feat that allows the use of the abilities at that level and above as bonus feats. During the levels of building up your legacy weapon, you also end up investing hit points or skill points permanently, taking an attack, save, skill check, caster/manifester level penalty, or even losing spell slots or power points.
Issues: Where to start. The abilities aren't staggered, making it feel choppy and half-arsed. Making investitures such as hit points makes some people wary of it. The rituals are cool, but they kind of make the existence of the Least/Lesser/Greater Legacy feats superfluous.
The New: First off, getting rid of the Personal Costs as written. Whew. Now you don't have to worry about having your favorite weapon sundered or stolen and still suffering from those lowered hit points or attack or skill checks. However, there is some personal cost. First, the Least, Lesser, and Greater Legacy feats are no more, instead condensed into a single feat that you have to take out of pocket (unless your DM is nice). Said feat will also allow the expenditure of skill points into the Legacy "skill", which represent the bond with your weapon at the expense of other facets of your ability. Without further ado:
Item of Legacy [Legacy]
You awaken an item of legacy, drawing upon its powers.
Benefit: You add the Legacy skill (details below) to your list of class skills for any class levels you possess or gain.
At character level 5, you may perform the Least Legacy ritual (see Weapons of Legacy). Successful completion allows use of your Legacy Item's least abilities (see below).
At level 11, you may perform the Lesser Legacy ritual. Successful completion allows use of your Legacy Item's lesser abilities.
At level 17, you may perform the Greater legacy ritual. Successful completion allows use of your Legacy Item's greater abilities.
You may only choose one legacy item which this feat (and the acquisition of least/lesser/greater legacy abilities) applies, even though the Legacy skill applies to any legacy item you possess.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times, each time applying it to a different legacy item you possess. However, you must still perform the legacy rituals to gain the abilities of a legacy item.
Legacy (None; Trained Only)
Your innate connection with legacy items allows you greater control over their abilities.
Unlike other skills, the maximum amount of skill points you may put into the Legacy skill is equal to your character level.
Check
Learn Legacy Ritual: You may perform a check to receive a hint at the next Legacy Ritual you must perform to gain the abilities of a legacy item you possess. The DC for the check is described in the item's entry (see below).
Glean Position: If you lose possession of a legacy item with which you have the Item of Legacy feat for, you may perform a check to learn the general position of your item as long as you are within 1 mile per character level, at DC15. Every mile between you and your item outside of this distance imposes a +1 modifier to this DC.
Action
Learn Legacy Ritual: This action takes 1 hour of peaceful meditation, successful or not.
Glean Position: This action takes 1 minute of peaceful meditation, successful or not.
Try Again
Yes, but each check takes time.
Synergy
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), you receive a +2 bonus on Legacy checks to learn legacy rituals.
There. Now isn't that a little bit more intuitive, or at least a mite less cluttered? Now, onto the actual items.
Name and Description: Unchanged. This is fluff, after all.
Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Also unchanged. No point in fixing what isn't broken.
History: Same as above... Except, of course, each DC as described also applies to the Legacy skill in learning the Legacy Ritual of a legacy item.
Legacy Rituals: Also unchanged.
Wielder Requirements: Personal Costs are no more. Otherwise unchanged.
Legacy Item Abilities: Ah, here we go. While you need to be at least level 5 and perform the least legacy to benefit from abilities, I have totally reformatted the acquisition of abilities. The abilities you gain are dependent on your ranks in the Legacy skill, but the abilities are split, somewhat like bloodlines (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/bloodlines.htm), except replacing Minor/Intermediate/Major with Least/Lesser/Greater. When you complete the Least Legacy ritual, you gain the Least abilities of your legacy item at Legacy ranks 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. When you complete the Lesser Legacy Ritual, you gain the Least abilities of your legacy item at Legacy ranks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, and gain the Lesser legacy abilities at ranks 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20. When you complete the Greater Legacy Ritual, you gain the Least abilities of your legacy item at Legacy ranks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, the Lesser legacy abilities at ranks 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15, and the Greater legacy abilities at ranks 17, 18, 19, and 20.
Adventure Seed: Unchanged.
So... Mostly unchanged. But the one thing that was (abilities) is major. Now, what does this mean? Why don't you look at this table.
{table=head]Legacy Rank|Least Ritual|Lesser Ritual|Greater Ritual
1|Least|Least|Least
2|-|Least|Least
3|-|-|Least
4|Least|Least|-
5|-|-|Least
6|-|Least|Least
7|-|-|Least
8|Least|Least|-
9|-|-|Lesser
10|-|Least|Lesser
11|-|Lesser|Lesser
12|Least|Lesser|-
13|-|-|Lesser
14|-|Lesser|Lesser
15|-|-|Lesser
16|Least|Lesser|-
17|-|-|Greater
18|-|Lesser|Greater
19|-|-|Greater
20|Least|Lesser|Greater[/table]
Now, let's say you are character level 8, with maximum ranks in Legacy (8), and you've completed the Least Legacy Ritual for Desert Wind (Tome of Battle). Using the table above, you have the Desert Child ability, Fiery Slash three times per day, and Dance of Flame and Wind to grant a +2 to Dexterity.
Using Desert Wind again, if you got to level 16, with maximum ranks in Legacy, completing the Lesser Legacy Ritual, Desert Wind would transform into a +2 flaming scimitar, and you would have Desert Child, Fiery Slash 3/day, Desert Draw, Fiery Blade, and Dance of Flame and Wind would now grant a +4 to Dexterity.
Simple enough, yes?
Now, what about people who want to make their own legacy item, as chapter 4 of WoL? Well, it would work the same, mostly, with the above changes in mind, as adjusted by the player/DM. Remember rule number 1, after all. There's also still room to keep the personal costs, though skill point expenditures are slightly harsh for also needing to spend points in the skill to use the item to its full potential. Finally, while I haven't accounted for it here, adjusting for epic should be easy enough.
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Cookies?
Legacy Weapons
The Old: To gain the benefits of a legacy weapon, one needs to be at least level 5, and must also perform a ritual tied to the weapon's backstory. There are three such rituals, ranked least (character level 5), lesser (character level 11), and greater (character level 17), and finishing them grants you the feat that allows the use of the abilities at that level and above as bonus feats. During the levels of building up your legacy weapon, you also end up investing hit points or skill points permanently, taking an attack, save, skill check, caster/manifester level penalty, or even losing spell slots or power points.
Issues: Where to start. The abilities aren't staggered, making it feel choppy and half-arsed. Making investitures such as hit points makes some people wary of it. The rituals are cool, but they kind of make the existence of the Least/Lesser/Greater Legacy feats superfluous.
The New: First off, getting rid of the Personal Costs as written. Whew. Now you don't have to worry about having your favorite weapon sundered or stolen and still suffering from those lowered hit points or attack or skill checks. However, there is some personal cost. First, the Least, Lesser, and Greater Legacy feats are no more, instead condensed into a single feat that you have to take out of pocket (unless your DM is nice). Said feat will also allow the expenditure of skill points into the Legacy "skill", which represent the bond with your weapon at the expense of other facets of your ability. Without further ado:
Item of Legacy [Legacy]
You awaken an item of legacy, drawing upon its powers.
Benefit: You add the Legacy skill (details below) to your list of class skills for any class levels you possess or gain.
At character level 5, you may perform the Least Legacy ritual (see Weapons of Legacy). Successful completion allows use of your Legacy Item's least abilities (see below).
At level 11, you may perform the Lesser Legacy ritual. Successful completion allows use of your Legacy Item's lesser abilities.
At level 17, you may perform the Greater legacy ritual. Successful completion allows use of your Legacy Item's greater abilities.
You may only choose one legacy item which this feat (and the acquisition of least/lesser/greater legacy abilities) applies, even though the Legacy skill applies to any legacy item you possess.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times, each time applying it to a different legacy item you possess. However, you must still perform the legacy rituals to gain the abilities of a legacy item.
Legacy (None; Trained Only)
Your innate connection with legacy items allows you greater control over their abilities.
Unlike other skills, the maximum amount of skill points you may put into the Legacy skill is equal to your character level.
Check
Learn Legacy Ritual: You may perform a check to receive a hint at the next Legacy Ritual you must perform to gain the abilities of a legacy item you possess. The DC for the check is described in the item's entry (see below).
Glean Position: If you lose possession of a legacy item with which you have the Item of Legacy feat for, you may perform a check to learn the general position of your item as long as you are within 1 mile per character level, at DC15. Every mile between you and your item outside of this distance imposes a +1 modifier to this DC.
Action
Learn Legacy Ritual: This action takes 1 hour of peaceful meditation, successful or not.
Glean Position: This action takes 1 minute of peaceful meditation, successful or not.
Try Again
Yes, but each check takes time.
Synergy
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), you receive a +2 bonus on Legacy checks to learn legacy rituals.
There. Now isn't that a little bit more intuitive, or at least a mite less cluttered? Now, onto the actual items.
Name and Description: Unchanged. This is fluff, after all.
Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Also unchanged. No point in fixing what isn't broken.
History: Same as above... Except, of course, each DC as described also applies to the Legacy skill in learning the Legacy Ritual of a legacy item.
Legacy Rituals: Also unchanged.
Wielder Requirements: Personal Costs are no more. Otherwise unchanged.
Legacy Item Abilities: Ah, here we go. While you need to be at least level 5 and perform the least legacy to benefit from abilities, I have totally reformatted the acquisition of abilities. The abilities you gain are dependent on your ranks in the Legacy skill, but the abilities are split, somewhat like bloodlines (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/bloodlines.htm), except replacing Minor/Intermediate/Major with Least/Lesser/Greater. When you complete the Least Legacy ritual, you gain the Least abilities of your legacy item at Legacy ranks 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. When you complete the Lesser Legacy Ritual, you gain the Least abilities of your legacy item at Legacy ranks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, and gain the Lesser legacy abilities at ranks 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20. When you complete the Greater Legacy Ritual, you gain the Least abilities of your legacy item at Legacy ranks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, the Lesser legacy abilities at ranks 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15, and the Greater legacy abilities at ranks 17, 18, 19, and 20.
Adventure Seed: Unchanged.
So... Mostly unchanged. But the one thing that was (abilities) is major. Now, what does this mean? Why don't you look at this table.
{table=head]Legacy Rank|Least Ritual|Lesser Ritual|Greater Ritual
1|Least|Least|Least
2|-|Least|Least
3|-|-|Least
4|Least|Least|-
5|-|-|Least
6|-|Least|Least
7|-|-|Least
8|Least|Least|-
9|-|-|Lesser
10|-|Least|Lesser
11|-|Lesser|Lesser
12|Least|Lesser|-
13|-|-|Lesser
14|-|Lesser|Lesser
15|-|-|Lesser
16|Least|Lesser|-
17|-|-|Greater
18|-|Lesser|Greater
19|-|-|Greater
20|Least|Lesser|Greater[/table]
Now, let's say you are character level 8, with maximum ranks in Legacy (8), and you've completed the Least Legacy Ritual for Desert Wind (Tome of Battle). Using the table above, you have the Desert Child ability, Fiery Slash three times per day, and Dance of Flame and Wind to grant a +2 to Dexterity.
Using Desert Wind again, if you got to level 16, with maximum ranks in Legacy, completing the Lesser Legacy Ritual, Desert Wind would transform into a +2 flaming scimitar, and you would have Desert Child, Fiery Slash 3/day, Desert Draw, Fiery Blade, and Dance of Flame and Wind would now grant a +4 to Dexterity.
Simple enough, yes?
Now, what about people who want to make their own legacy item, as chapter 4 of WoL? Well, it would work the same, mostly, with the above changes in mind, as adjusted by the player/DM. Remember rule number 1, after all. There's also still room to keep the personal costs, though skill point expenditures are slightly harsh for also needing to spend points in the skill to use the item to its full potential. Finally, while I haven't accounted for it here, adjusting for epic should be easy enough.
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Cookies?