PDA

View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Artifact- Dying Light [PEACH]



WarrentheHero
2016-02-04, 02:38 AM
I'm playing in a stupid-high-power 5e game, and one of my player's ultimate goals is to acquire this sword to kill his Demon-Lord father.
I originally built this to be a less powerful weapon for another campaign that would scale up in power as the wielder got levels, but I've decided to adapt it to this because the character needed a quest and motivation. We're at level 13 right now, but the party power level is more like that of 18 or 19.


Dying Light
Wondrous Item, artifact (requires attunement)
Dying Light, like the other Chromatic Weapons, was created and used in battle by a nearly-forgotten god of war millennia ago. It served to extinguish both the light and the hopes of its enemies, and was one of the god's favored weapons, perhaps used more than all of the others combined. Because of its close attachment to that divine source of power, Dying Light has grown to be among the most powerful weapons on any plane of existence. Despite its power, its connection to such a long-ago god has led to its falling into tales that themselves are rarely heard, making the weapon difficult to track down.
Dying Light is magic longsword that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. It scores a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 and deals an additional 1d8 damage when it damages a celestial or fiend. When drawn, Dying Light immediately extinguishes all nonmagical light within 60 feet it, and dispels all magical light of 1st level or lower.

Random Properties. Dying Light has the following random properties:

2 minor beneficial properties
1 major beneficial property

War God's Favor. A creature attuned to Dying Light is proficient with it.

Dark Devotion. Dying Light seeks out its current owner. While Dying Light is attuned to you, that attunement cannot end unless you wish it. As an action, you can summon Dying Light to your empty hand, regardless of distance or plane.

Dark Aura. As a bonus action, you may cause Dying Light to emit or cease to emit a dark aura, which looks like molten shadow. This Aura does not prevent others from seeing you; from all angles it appears only around your silhouette. This Aura surrounds both Dying Light and you. While the Aura is active, you gain a +2 bonus to AC, resistance to necrotic damage, and any damage you deal with Dying Light ignores necrotic resistance, and treats immunity to necrotic damage as resistance instead. Additionally, while Dark Aura is active, the damage dealt by Dying Light's enhancement bonus is necrotic instead of slashing.

Shadow Slash
While Dark Aura is active, you may, as an action, make a melee weapon attack with Dying Light against a creature you can see within 30 feet of you, by unleashing a vertical-crescent wave of blackness at them. If the attack hits, that creature takes damage as normal, except it is necrotic instead of slashing. Once this ability has been used 6 times, you must complete a long rest before using it again. Completing a short rest restores one use of this ability, to a maximum of 6.

Agent of Darkness You can see in both normal and magical darkness, to a range of 60 feet. You can discern color in this darkness, only shades of grey. You may also cast the Darkness spell at-will.

Shadow Step While in an area of dim light or darkness, you may us a bonus action to teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness.

Shadowed Assault. You can use an action to force the shadow of a creature you can see within 30 feet to engulf them. That creature must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or take 5d8 necrotic damage, or half as much on a successful save. Then, choose restrained or paralyzed. If you chose restrained, the creature must succeed on a DC 22 Strength saving throw or be restrained for 1d6 minimum 2) rounds. If you chose paralyzed, the creature must succeed on a DC 22 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 round. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until 2 days have passed, or until Dying Light has been submerged in utter darkness for 24 consecutive hours.

Dark Nebula. While Dark Aura is active, you may, as an action, raise Dying Light into the air over your head, releasing its Dark Aura in a storm with a 60 foot radius. All creatures other than you in the radius must succeed on a DC 24 Constitution saving throw or take 15d10 necrotic damage and be pulled up to 10 feet (as much as possible) toward you. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw takes half damage and is not pulled. Afterward, the area is covered in magical darkness that cannot be dispelled except by a Wish spell for 1d4 rounds. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until 20 days have passed.

Innate Spellcasting.
Dying Light has 10 charges, regaining 1d6+1 each day at dusk. While attuned to Dying Light and wielding it, you can expend 1 or more charges to cast one the following spells without expending material components (spell attack +10, save DC 18):

Compelled Duel (1 charge)
False Life (1 charge)
Blindness/Deafness (2 charges)
Protection from Energy (Radiant only, 3 charges)
Vampiric Touch (4 charges)
Circle of Death (6 charges)
Disintegrate (6 charges)
Finger of Death (7 charges)
Power Word Kill (10 charges)

Each time that you cast a spell a using Dying Light, it may attempt to steal some of your light. There is a 5% chance that the sword forces you to succeed on DC 18 Constitution saving throw, or take 3d8 necrotic damage that is not Resisted due to Dying Light, and you are enveloped in a thick layer of darkness that you can't see through (effectively blinding you) for 1d6 rounds, as all of your light is drained into the sword.

Destroying Dying Light. Dying Light can be destroyed in one of two ways. If it is completely within the Positive Energy Plane, it is overpowered by the Plane's light and shatters completely and permanently. Alternatively, it is destroyed if it ever pierces the heart of the war god who created it.

If this is a bit stronger than your everyday run-of-the-mill artifact, that's fine. But if it's grossly overpowered to the point that it couldn't even be wielded by a level 20 character or something, let me know where the problem is and we'll see if we can't effect a positive change.

thedanster7000
2016-02-04, 02:47 AM
I'd like to point out that artifacts are only really meant to be used at level 20, and as you said, this is more powerful than other artifacts. But as long as you keep the other players and the difficulty at a similar level it shouldn't be a problem at all.