Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vahenir 04-25-05, 03:07 AM	Okay, I've seen a lot of Tolkien-inspired weapons floating around. So I decided to put my own down for your perusing pleasure. I've tried to strike a happy medium between Tolkien's world and how D&D works, so these weapons could be implanted into a D&D setting that is inspired by Tolkien, but not completely revamped to fit the setting as it was written. I'm also going with Tolkien's written works. Not the movies. But if you really liked how a weapon or piece of armour acted in the movies, lemme know and I'll give a shot at writing some stats for that as well. But these weapons are all from the books. I've read pretty much everything published about Middle-earth, so I have a good knowledge base to work from. But as always, there can be different interpretations on some things, so you're free to disagree with certain stats. I imagine some disagreements will be with how these stats are applied to D&D, though, rather than how they are in the books. Like I said before, the key is trying to strike a happy medium. I've also tried to keep everything here on the lower-end of the power spectrum. If you want to use them for higher-level characters, just add some plusses in front of the weapon, that always seems to work. Also, I'm going to list, under each weapon, my rationale for its stats, to support why I chose to write it the way I did. And I'm not listing caster level, or anything of the sort for 'magical' items. I'll let you decide whether the weapons are truly magical, or just so magnificent in craft that they -seem- magical. Here we go: Anduril/Narsil Anduril is a +2 Ghost Touch Keen Holy Longsword Special Abilities: Anduril uses a d10 damage die, rather than a d8. The weapon also inspires those who look upon it, whether to greatness or fear. Those who look upon this weapon when wielded in combat, who are joined against the Shadow gain a +2 morale bonus to all saves and attack rolls for 10 rounds. This ability only functions if the weapon and its wielder can be seen. Likewise, any who are joined with the Shadow suffer a -1 morale penalty to all saves and attack rolls, provided they also can see the weapon and its wielder. This is probably one of the more powerful weapons in Middle-earth, so I bumped the damage up. So Anduril will average a point more damage. Not great, but it gets the point across that it's a mighty weapon. Keen is obvious, as the weapon, in Lord of the Rings, clove a helm in two. I also threw Ghost Touch in because it did seem that the Dead Men of Dunharrow had at least some fear of Anduril (I could be remembering wrong, there). That says to me that it had the ability to damage them. I also made it holy, against my own better judgement, since it was the weapon that struck the deciding blow against Sauron, who was most certainly Evil. Anduril was Dwarf-forged (Telchar), so it may also have increased hardness or hit points, at your discretion. Keep in mind though, it did break as Narsil, so it wasn't totall safe from harm. Aeglos Aeglos is a +2 Aberration-bane Longspear Special Abilities: Aeglos, once per day, can ignore 3 points worth of an enemy's Damage Reduction and/or Armour Class. In addition, twice per day, the wielder may gain the benefits of the Power Attack feat, even if he does not have it or qualify to take it. The only thing that probably needs explaining here is the Aberration-bane property. It looks out of place, huh? My suggestion for someone running a game inspired by Tolkien's Middle-earth (but not set -in- Tolkien's Middle-earth) is to make all creatures "created by the shadow" - aberrations. After all, they're not natural.. they were created by sorcery and evil. And since Aeglos was presumably forged to battle against Morgoth and his creatures - it makes sense that it would be a bane to them. Name Note: Those of who you have only read Lord of the Rings may be more familiar with this weapon as "Aiglos." Both spellings of the name are correct. Tolkien only uses the Aiglos spelling once - in Lord of the Rings. Elsewhere, the spear is Aeglos. I prefer Aeglos, but you can obviously use whatever spelling you prefer. Glamdring/Orcrist Glamdring is a +1 Aberration-bane Longsword Special Abilities: Glamdring's edges glow a clear but faint blue when servants of the Shadow are within 60 feet of it. Any Orc who looks upon Glamdring is affected as if by the spell Cause Fear. The Orc is entitled to a Will save, as per the spell. Any Orc that rolls a natural 1 on this save flees in terror. The aberration-bane feature pops up here again. Same explanation as for Aeglos. In all other respects, it's just a really good sword. A curious note is that Tolkien explicitly states that Orcs were afraid of Glamdring, and would recognize it. At first glance you might say "only Orcs that recognize it are affected by fear." But since Tolkien specifically stated all Orcs were afraid of it, I'm left with one thought - obviously the Orcs, however crude, had some tradition of storytelling. And obviously the tale of the mighty Elf warrior and the sword he wielded was told over and over. This being passed down - all Orcs would recognize Glamdring. Maybe I'm giving Orcs too much credit there, but I think it's possible. A Note on Orcrist: For Orcrist, remove the entire Cause Fear thing. Orcrist was apparently not as renowned as Glamdring, and so should not benefit from this effect. Otherwise, Orcrist and Glamdring were considered 'sister swords' - so I imagine they'd have the same properties. Ringil Ringil is a +2 Keen Holy Mithral Longsword Special Abilities: Ringil has the ability to inspire Elven warriors to greatness. Whenever Ringil is drawn upon the battlefield, all within who can see the weapon's bright blade gain a +2 morale bonus to all saves, attack rolls, and armour class for 10 rounds. This bonus may not be enjoyed more than once during an encounter. The wielder gains the bonus as well, though he must still be able to see the sword. Additionally, any wound inflicted with Ringil against a creature of Shadow does not heal naturally, and cannot be magically healed by a creature of Evil alignment. First of all.. yes, Ringil (Fingolfin's sword) was described as 'glittering like ice.' A lot of people take this way too seriously and think Ringil should be an Icy weapon. I disagree. Tolkien's writing style was often full of analogies (but not allegory!). In this instance, I imagine 'glittered like ice' simply meant it was very bright and well-burnished. So, while Tolkien never stated the sword was made of mithril, I went ahead and said it was - to represent that particular glitter and gleam Ringil would have had. Ringil is also one of only two Holy weapons, you might note. As Narsil was able to inflict grievous wounds to Sauron, so was Ringil able to do the same to Morgoth. So I think it was, in this case, appropriate to make it a Holy weapon. As for the special abilities - I gave the standard "really awesome weapon" inspiration bonus. The other ability is a little more unique, but I think, in D&D terms, it explains rather well why Morgoth's seven wounds never healed. Guthwine/Herugrim Guthwine/Herugrim are masterwork longswords I just thought these weapons were of note. Eomer and Theoden's swords, respectively. ------------------------------ Grond Grond is a +2 Thundering Elf-bane Heavy Mace Special Abilities: Grond is a sized-up heavy mace, a one-hand weapon for a Large-size creature (considering Morgoth was quite large), and deals damage accordingly. No one but Morgoth or a designated Lieutenant of his may even lift Grond. Those who try simply find that they cannot move it front its resting place, and also find their hands are burning as they touch it. Grond ignores up to 10 points of Damage Reduction and up to 5 points of Armour Class. Elf-bane seemed good. After all, Morgoth -really- hated Feanor and all who had followed him. Thundering was more of a stretch, but seemed like something fun and fitting to add in there. And it makes sense, considering the way Grond smote the ground as Morgoth attempted to strike Fingolfin. Fingolfin's Shield Fingolfin's Shield is a +1 Adamantine Light Fortification Heavy Shield Special Abilities: Fingolfin's shield grants a base +3 bonus to AC, rather than a +2. Once per day, the owner of this shield may add his total AC bonus from his shield to any one Reflex save. Not much going on here. I made the shield Adamantine just to give it some punch. Plus, it was blue. I had no idea how to implement that besides just saying it's flavour, but hey - maybe in your game Adamantine can be made blue during the forging process. Who knows. Anyway, that's it. Elf-Blades of Gondolin Elf-blades of Gondolin aren't of any particular -kind- of weapon. This is, instead, a guideline for creating special weapons that were crafted in Gondolin. Firstly, most of these blades should glow, as Glamdring does. Secondly, many should be Aberration-bane weapons. Failing that, more specific bane properties are fine - like Orc-bane or Demon-bane (Balrogs) or even Dragon-bane. Keen is also a fine property - the blades of Gondolin were supposedly some of the finest ever made. ----------------------------------------- Sting Sting is a +1 Aberration-bane dagger Special Abilities: Sting's edges glow a clear but faint blue when servants of the Shadow are within 60 feet of it. Suggested Rule Tweak: In a Lord of the Rings-inspired game, you may want to sometimes ignore the weapon-size rules. A dagger is a shortsword to a Halfling, in that case. It only deals damage and in all ways acts as a dagger, but a Halfling can use it with shortsword proficiency, weapon focus: shortsword, etc - and suffers no penalties for using a weapon not sized accordingly. That'll keep the "Halfling using a dagger as a sword" image going without too many complications. Aberration-bane, you say? I do. This knife was obviously just as useful against the evil Spiders of Mirkwood as it was against Orcs. And as I mentioned before, I definitely suggest making all creatures created by Evil into Aberrations. So Gondolin blades (which Sting is) would be enchanted to fight against any creature of the Shadow - thus, Aberration-bane. Orc-bane or Spider-bane just didn't seem appropriate, as the weapon was as good against one as it was against the other. Bilbo's Mail Shirt Bilbo's mail shirt is a +1 Mithral Moderate Fortification Chain Shirt Special Abilities: None, really. Although it was worth a -lot- of money. It was definitely an impressive corselet, so.. moderate fortification seemed appropriate. I wouldn't want to make it any more powerful, but nor would I want to make it any weaker - else it looses that "cool' factor. Fingolfin's Mail Fingolfin's mail is +2 Mithral Chainmail Special Abilities: Fingolfin's mail has a Max Dex of +6, and a base AC bonus of +6. It also has a Check Penalty of -2. I took some liberties by making it mithral. Obviously, Fingolfin's mail was described as covered in 'silver' and not 'made of mithril.' But these seemed the most appropriate way to translate that. Alternatively, you could make it Adamantine chainmail. And yes, I fudged around with the stats of Chainmail. But the PH chainmail is kind of crappy, but that's definitely what Fingolfin was wearing. So.. he must have had it specially made to provide him with excellent protection, without hindering him - thus the new stats. ------------------------------- Angrist Angrist is a +2 Adamantine Dagger Special Abilities: Angrist ignores Hardness on a Sunder attempt. Yeah, I know. It's not all that great. But really, the only notable thing Angrist did was cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. Quantifying that ability isn't easy - but I think ignoring hardness on a sunder is a good way to do it. Otherwise, I couldn't really think of anything that seemed to "fit" Angrist. Belthronding Belthronding is a +1 Distance Composite Longbow Special Abilities: Belthronding benefits from up to a +4 Strength modifier. It's not much, but I think it fits. It's definitely significantly more powerful than any other bow in Middle-earth. This represents it, without getting out of hand. I'll be writing up some more items soon. Within a day or two, expect to see stats for Anglachel/Gurthang, and Anguirel. If you've got any requests, lemme know. I might throw in a "movie edition" weapon as well, just for kicks.
Carbine 04-25-05, 03:22 AM	Anduril/Narsil Anduril is a +2 Ghost Touch Keen Holy Longsword Special Abilities: Anduril uses a d10 damage die, rather than a d8. The weapon also inspires those who look upon it, whether to greatness or fear. Those who look upon this weapon when wielded in combat, who are joined against the Shadow gain a +2 morale bonus to all saves and attack rolls for 10 rounds. This ability only functions if the weapon and its wielder can be seen. Likewise, any who are joined with the Shadow suffer a -1 morale penalty to all saves and attack rolls, provided they also can see the weapon and its wielder. This is just a movie thing but as far as I could see Narsil was a bastard sword not a longsword, this is mostly jugding it by the length of the blade (meter+) and the way the handle was crafted, it was made to be used either single handed or two handed quite easily as we see in the movie quite well, the extra bonus of this idea is that a Bastard uses 1d10, bump that up one and you have a one handed blade dealing 1d12/2d6 which makes more sense for such an epic blade. Then again this is simply an observation from the movie tossed into D&D terms.
Vahenir 04-25-05, 03:30 AM	Read the beginning of my post. I'm basing all my stats on Tolkien's descriptions in his writings. Not on Peter Jackson's (often poor) interpretations. They're also not meant to be epic weapons. I noted that in the beginning of the post too. But I appreciate the response - just gotta read those opening paragraphs before looking at the actual stats.
Carbine 04-25-05, 03:51 AM	I'm also going with Tolkien's written works. Not the movies. But if you really liked how a weapon or piece of armour acted in the movies, lemme know and I'll give a shot at writing some stats for that as well. I took this to mean that you might be open to differing ideas on the stats you've already writen and seeing as how I cannot remember off hand a description of the sword (measurement wise) in the book I'm stuck useing the movie as a visual basis. And as for your statement on epic considering that it's only 2d6/1d12, it still isn't very epic, personaly even though it leaves another arm open to wield a shield (+2 AC) for flavor reasons many of my characters and my group's characters don't use sheilds even when they have a free hand which kinda negates the idea of 1d12/2d6 being overpowered. I do read all of a post, even if I don't retain all of what I've just read. PS: you mind takeing another look at the last post in the Monowire thread, I'd apreciate some more imput.
boredgremlin 04-25-05, 04:40 AM	Hmm an interesting note. In the oriental adventures book they have rules for ancestral weapons and other weapons gaining bonuses through use, especially by epic type heroes. How about gimli's axe and legolas bow? They werent magical in the books but if you use the those rules they could have become that way through thier use in the war, maybe by smiting so many evil foes? Lol could just be that i love the idea behind those rules though. Its an idea anyway.
Vahenir 04-25-05, 06:33 AM	I took this to mean that you might be open to differing ideas on the stats you've already writen Indeed. Perhaps I misunderstood your post. It seemed to me like you were challenging my decision to make it a longsword, based on what was in the -movies-. My post (the part you quoted) was saying that I'd be willing to come up with entirely different stats for a 'movie edition' of any of the items I write up. But that the movie ideas have no bearing on the main write-ups I'm doing, as I'm basing everything on the books, not movies. So if you want me to write up alternate movie-edition stats. that's fine. But you have to be clear about that, rather than making it sound like a book vs. movie challenge (well in the movie it was like this, so that's what your stats -should- be, for example, is a bad way of putting it {not that you put it like that}). And as for your statement on epic considering that it's only 2d6/1d12, it still isn't very epic, personaly even though it leaves another arm open to wield a shield (+2 AC) for flavor reasons many of my characters and my group's characters don't use sheilds even when they have a free hand which kinda negates the idea of 1d12/2d6 being overpowered. I don't think it's overpowered. I was just responding to your statement of the weapon being an "epic blade." It's perhaps epic in scope (Lord of the Rings is epic in scope) but that doesn't necessarily mean "high powered." So I'm trying to keep as low a power level on the items as seems appropriate. Hmm an interesting note. In the oriental adventures book they have rules for ancestral weapons and other weapons gaining bonuses through use, especially by epic type heroes. Yeah, but I don't like them. I ad hoc "Legendary weapon" stats as I think seems appropriate. I've been doing that in games for a long time now. Always small bonuses. I think the primary abilities of a weapon should be generated based on who forged it, where, when, and for what purpose - rather than "who wielded it." Who wielded it and to what end should only come into effect in small, specific amounts. How about gimli's axe and legolas bow? They werent magical in the books Most items weren't magical in the books. But transferred to D&D, they are. Fingolfin's sword, for example (Ringil) was never mentioned as being magical, or anything of the sort. But when transferring legendary items from novels into D&D, it just seems appropriate to make them at least minor magical weapons. I'll put Gimli's Axe and the Bow of Legolas (both Mirkwood and Galadriel's) on my 'to-do' list.
Vahenir 04-25-05, 06:59 AM	I've updated the original post with a couple of new items.
boredgremlin 04-25-05, 08:54 AM	Well its your world. I had a character a few campaigns back. A holy warrior but not a palidan. Anyway he kept the same sword for 6 levels and one day said "hey i killed a bunch of magic monsters with this sword, did it take any of thier powers?" Hard to say no.
DarknessEternal 04-25-05, 11:00 AM	You think a weapon crafted and wielded by a god that rent the earth apart was merely a +4 equivalent weapon? Grond should be cosmically powered, not something you'd find in the hands of any old level 12 character.
Nuntius128 04-25-05, 12:52 PM	Have you seen the Dwarvencraft item description in Races of Stone? Anduril would definitely have that, if it was indeed crafted by Dwarves. For Grond, I think it would be a Balanced Heavy Flail as well as the other additions. Balanced is a +1 ability that makes it, essentially, one size category higher, but can be weilded as though it were regular size. For example, a Medium sized Heavy Flail deals damage as a Large sized Heavy Flail. Also, Gimli's Axe and Legolas's Bow should be simple, aside from enhancements. Dwarvencraft Adamantine Dwarven Waraxe, and an Elvencraft Darkwood Composite Longbow. :D Thaat's what I think, anyhow.
Draco Strang 04-25-05, 01:02 PM	Vahenir, Excellent, as of your work usually is. My congratulations. However, I noticed that you were missing Sting. Was this intentional? I know most people believe it to be a +1 orc-bane shortsword that glows blue when an orc is near. Do you have a different take? And for a few things non-magical: Frodo's Elven hauberk: Was it just a masterwork mithral chain shirt? I was thinking it might be a +1 mithral shirt of mild fortification, as it did save his life from a few nasty wounds that could be considered criticals. Legolas' fighting knives: Am I correct in assuming that these would just be a set of short swords? They looked about the right length in the movie (I know...the movies were wrong on a lot of things) and hardly received any mention in the books. Your thoughts? Alright, back to work! *cracks whip*
Vahenir 04-25-05, 07:20 PM	BoredGremlin: Hard to say no. No it's not. Haha. But really, I just don't like the OA rules in particular, not the actual idea of weapons becoming more powerful, or gaining small special benefits from extended use. Glamdring, for example, has a really nice ability to cause fear in the hearts of Orcs - because of its famous wielder (Turgon) and how it was used. It's an ad hoc style of ancestral weapon-type abilities, rather than concrete rules for how it works. Darkness Eternal: You think a weapon crafted and wielded by a god that rent the earth apart was merely a +4 equivalent weapon? You might have noted that in the opening post of this thread I mentioned I'm not making any of these weapons too powerful. These are Lord of the Rings inspired - a translation of how they might work in a D&D game using the Core Rules. IF you use the Epic Level Handbook and rank Morgoth as a Demi-God, then by all means - up Grond's power until you feel it's appropriate. But if, in your game, Morgoth is a 15th level Half-Demon Fighter with a level or three of Sorcerer.. this Grond will work. It's all about context and what you're going to do with the weapon. I wanted these to fit into a Lord of the Rings -inspired- game using the Core Rules, and maybe a few tweaks to those rules on occasion, but not requiring other books - like the Epic Level Handbook. Also, Lord of the Rings - if you take everything into account, translates very badly to D&D. Much like many books. A simple fate often befalls someone that could stand toe-to-toe with a Demi-God. A man is captured by Demons after killing 70 Trolls single-handed... etc. It simply doesn't translate well. So I do consider the argument "But he was a demi-God!" to be somewhat invalid. We can't translate everything, blow by blow, without absolutely rewriting the way the game works anyway. I mean, if we translate Lord of the Rings into D&D exactly.. ARAGORN cannot even be a RANGER.... Aragorn didn't cast spells. See what I mean? In short: I like the stats as they are, I think they're a good starting point. If you don't - go grab your Epic Level Handbook and make the weapon better. Nuntius128: Have you seen the Dwarvencraft item description in Races of Stone? Anduril would definitely have that, if it was indeed crafted by Dwarves. I've not. I don't own Races of Stone. If, in your games, you think Dwarvencraft makes sense.. by all means - throw it on there. And it wasn't forged by "Dwarves" so much as forged by -A- Dwarf. Telchar of Nogrod. For Grond, I think it would be a Balanced Heavy Flail as well as the other additions. Balanced is a +1 ability that makes it, essentially, one size category higher, but can be weilded as though it were regular size. For example, a Medium sized Heavy Flail deals damage as a Large sized Heavy Flail. Well, it was a mace, not a flail. But I don't see any real need to make it a Balanced weapon. There's no indication, to me, that Grond was technically too big for Morgoth to wield in one hand. And I'd say he was Large size considering Tolkien describes him (in some source I don't now remember) as much greater in size than a man, but not so great, or something like that. Large-size seems to fit. Also, if he were any bigger, he wouldn't have been able to break Fingolfin's neck with his foot - he would have crushed Fingolfin's entire body with his foot. I think a scaled up Heavy Mace fits fine. Are you sure you're not thinking of the Witch-king's flail from the -film- adaption of Return of the King? Also, Gimli's Axe and Legolas's Bow should be simple, aside from enhancements. Dwarvencraft Adamantine Dwarven Waraxe, and an Elvencraft Darkwood Composite Longbow. I don't have Races of Stone.. and I don't remember seeing 'Elvencraft.' I do have Races of the Wild - is that where it is? In any event, I'm trying to just use Core Rules here, but feel free to tack on non-Core abilities where they'd make sense. And I don't think Legolas's Mirkwood bow was a composite bow. Just a longbow. But I might take some liberty with other bows that are described as Great... you'll see when it comes up. Draco: Excellent, as of your work usually is. My congratulations. However, I noticed that you were missing Sting. Was this intentional? I know most people believe it to be a +1 orc-bane shortsword that glows blue when an orc is near. Do you have a different take? Thanks. Sting is missing for a very simple reason - I'm not finished yet. Angrist, Fingolfin's Mail, Anglachel/Gurthing, Anguirel, Belthronding, Dramborleg, Barrow Blades, Sting, Mirkwood Bow of Legolas, Bow of Galadriel (second bow of Legolas), Gimli's Axe and Aranruth are still on my to-do list. And I believe I might have a different take, yes. We'll see how that goes. Frodo's Elven hauberk: Was it just a masterwork mithral chain shirt? I was thinking it might be a +1 mithral shirt of mild fortification, as it did save his life from a few nasty wounds that could be considered criticals. I'll write this one up too. Although, it was a Dwarven mail shirt, not Elven, I believe. But I pretty much agree. Although I actually might consider it Moderate Fortification. Legolas' fighting knives: Am I correct in assuming that these would just be a set of short swords? They looked about the right length in the movie (I know...the movies were wrong on a lot of things) and hardly received any mention in the books. Your thoughts? I could do the White Knife of Legolas from the books (he only carried one), and his "movie knives" to show how different I think they would be. In either case, I'd just call them both daggers. Or I might go with different stats, like Kukri stats.. that might actually be quite appropriate. All right.. pretty soon I'll be adding up some new stuff.
Vahenir 04-25-05, 07:45 PM	Added new stuff to the first post. Also, I'm compiling a list of special "movie items" to make into game stats. If anyone has any requests or ideas for those, lemme know. But title your post "Movie Stuff" so I know that you're talking about movie ideas and not book ideas. Here's what I have so far to make stats for: Fighting Knives of Legolas Elven Two-hand Swords Uruk-hai Blades
Horrigan666 04-25-05, 07:49 PM	better than i did :w00t: try to post them on my thread even though they kinda aren't homebrew
Nuntius128 04-25-05, 11:12 PM	Nuntius128: I've not. I don't own Races of Stone. If, in your games, you think Dwarvencraft makes sense.. by all means - throw it on there. And it wasn't forged by "Dwarves" so much as forged by -A- Dwarf. Telchar of Nogrod. Somebody missed all of the point there. Why wouldn't it make sense to use for Gimli's(rather, Gloin's, I believe) axe? Its an item that is crafted by Dwarves(or one, captain sassy pants, its the same thing) designed to be stronger than other weapons of the same type. Do you think a Dwarf on a mission of that importance would go on it without the best possible weapon?
DarknessEternal 04-26-05, 01:20 AM	Requests eh? How about Nalagurth.
Vahenir 04-26-05, 01:32 AM	Horrigan: try to post them on my thread even though they kinda Posting the same thing in multiple threads might be considered trolling, so I'd rather not tempt the WizOs like that. I'll just keep them to this thread for the time being. Nuntius128: Somebody missed all of the point there. Why wouldn't it make sense to use for Gimli's(rather, Gloin's, I believe) axe? Its an item that is crafted by Dwarves(or one, captain sassy pants, its the same thing) designed to be stronger than other weapons of the same type. Do you think a Dwarf on a mission of that importance would go on it without the best possible weapon? Whoa, whoa. Calm down. First of all, I'm only tacking on Core Stuff (as I've mentioned once or twice now). If, in your games, it makes sense for certain items to be "Dwarvencraft" - then go ahead and add it. What I meant by "if it makes sense" is that I don't know what "Dwarvencraft" DOES in a mechanical sense. Like I said - I don't have Races of Stone. I can't just say "Yeah.. Dwarvencraft makes perfect sense" just because it's called Dwarvencraft. For all I know, it means it's a weapon made out of stone to smite giants. That -wouldn't- make sense. So I'm not going to indulge you and say "yes, absolutely" when I don't know what it does, mechanically. No need to get all riled up. Darkness Eternal: Requests eh? How about Nalagurth. Don't recall Nalagurth. Which book is it from?
DarknessEternal 04-26-05, 10:02 AM	Nalagurth is the Witch-King's mace (since we're talking books, it's a mace as his weapon in the movie was clearly a flail).
Circon 04-26-05, 03:13 PM	* +3 Thread of Ownage * Had to say that. Now, slightly on topic... Here's a useful resource. (http://angband.oook.cz/artifacts.php?q=&t=1&w=&v=Angband+3.0.5) List of artifacts in Angband, a Tolkien-based roguelike. Some of them should be fairly easy to convert to D&D, if you feel like using the provided stats. Angband version The Elfstone 'Elessar' (+7,+7) [+10] It increases your strength, wisdom, and charisma by 2. It increases your speed by 2. It provides resistance to fire, poison, and fear. It activates for heal (500) every 200 turns. It cannot be harmed by the elements. My poor attempt at converting it...Wondrous Item The amulet "Elessar" possesses the following powers:[/b] It provides a +2 kingly bonus to your strength, wisdom, charisma, armor class and attack rolls. The wielder takes half damage from fire. It grants a +4 bonus on saving throws vs. fear and poison. It can be actived for Cure Critical Wounds as cast by a 10th level caster 3 times/day. (4d8+10 hp healed) Tell me if it's any use, because I quite like the site, and I think this thread is cool, too.
Nuntius128 04-26-05, 03:17 PM	What I meant by "if it makes sense" is that I don't know what "Dwarvencraft" DOES in a mechanical sense. Like I said - I don't have Races of Stone. I can't just say "Yeah.. Dwarvencraft makes perfect sense" just because it's called Dwarvencraft. For all I know, it means it's a weapon made out of stone to smite giants. That -wouldn't- make sense. So I'm not going to indulge you and say "yes, absolutely" when I don't know what it does, mechanically. No need to get all riled up. You could try looking it up before disregarding any ideas given to you.
Vahenir 04-26-05, 07:21 PM	DarknessEternal: Nalagurth is the Witch-King's mace (since we're talking books, it's a mace as his weapon in the movie was clearly a flail). Interesting. I don't recall ever hearing Witch-king's mace given a name before. Which source is it in? Circon: Your version of The Elfstone is pretty good, actually. Though I'm not sure Cure Critical Wounds and Fire protection really seem to fit. I don't recall the Elfstone having anything to do with Fire. Nor do I recall it healing anyone. Instead of Cure Critical Wounds, I'd consider having it grand Fast Healing. What do you think? As for that website you linked to: I gotta be honest - I'm not over-fond of it. It looks nice and all.. but many of those artifacts are clearly not derived from any published source, which makes me wary of it. Don't get me wrong, fan-created content is cool and all. But if I were to change any non-Tolkien Middle-earth stuff into d20 stats... I'd at least feel the need to point out that it's fan-content. But even so, doing that might be considered ripping off another fan's ideas... And we all know how angry people get when you rip off their ideas. Nuntius128: You could try looking it up before disregarding any ideas given to you. You could stop acting childish and just let it go. I just moved out of the country, thus I do not have a car. And there is certainly no gaming store within walking distance. Furthermore, I already stated that: A) I am not disregarding the idea. B) I'm attempting to make these items with just Core material. Races of Stone is not Core. Since I do not know what Dwarvencraft does, mechanically, I cannot toss my stamp of approval on it just to make you happy. If -YOU- think it fits, use it in your games. I do not know what it does, not do I have access to it anytime in the next week or two in order to gauge whether or not -I- think it would work. It has nothing to do with disregarding your suggestion. I appreciate your suggestion (though not the manner in which you're choosing to lean on it). But how many times do I have to say I don't know what it does before you understand? It's not like I'm saying "yeah, screw that, yer stoopid." I'm saying I have no knowledge of what that mechanic does, and since you either didn't, or cannot, enlighten me.. what am I left to do besides just say "use it if you tihnk it fits?" You really should calm down about this. I'm not trying to slight you or decrease the value of your input in this thread. If you can tell me (without being too specific so as not to violate any copyrights) what Dwarvencraft does - I'll even make non-Core versions of all Dwarven-forged items just for you, if that will make you happy. You also mentioned Elvencraft - is that in Races of the Wild? I -have- that book, though I didn't see any mention of Elvencraft except specifically as the "Elvencraft Bow" - which is an individual item. Everyone: I'll be updating the page sometime today with some new stats.
Nuntius128 04-27-05, 02:02 AM	Would you like to know what it does? I personally never once cared about having you put it in. I was helping you make your game closer to what you described it as. Also, when did you mention that you were unable to get a hand on the book? I could've told you days ago what it did, and now you wouldn't be getting so annoyed over -nothing- And the only thing I ever got "riled up" over(if it can be considered that, this is only a game, last I checked) was the nitpicking on the name. Something along the lines of "it isn't so much crafted by dwarves as it is by -A- dwarf." That is to imply the dwarf isn't dwarven. I thought that was a completely petty way of saying it, but ya know, you didn't have to respond. Also, as I said I would tell you, all Dwarvencraft is is a +2 on hardness, +10 HP, and a +2 on all saving throws made by the weapon. Wouldn't you agree that that sounds like Gimli's Axe? Seeing as how it only ever broke on Sauron's Ring, its still pretty tough. Got a bit out of hand, didn't we? And by 'we' I don't mean you, I mean both of us. We both got extremely stupid over that.
Vahenir 04-27-05, 02:35 AM	I personally never once cared about having you put it in. I was helping you make your game closer to what you described it as. It just -seemed- that you got a little riled up over it, that's all. If I was wrong, I apologize. The Internet has a bad way of deleting tone and expression. Also, when did you mention that you were unable to get a hand on the book? This is my fault - I thought it was implied by saying I don't own it, nor have I seen it when you originally brought up the book. It was my own fault for not being more clear - that I had no way of actually going to look at it. Something along the lines of "it isn't so much crafted by dwarves as it is by -A- dwarf." That is to imply the dwarf isn't dwarven. I thought that was a completely petty way of saying it, but ya know, you didn't have to respond. It certainly wasn't meant that way. I was just specifying that it wasn't crafted by just any Dwarves.. but moreso "the greatest Dwarf-smith known." It wasn't meant to be petty or nitpicky. Also, as I said I would tell you, all Dwarvencraft is is a +2 on hardness, +10 HP, and a +2 on all saving throws made by the weapon. Wouldn't you agree that that sounds like Gimli's Axe? Seeing as how it only ever broke on Sauron's Ring, its still pretty tough. Indeed. Actually, I think that fits very well with all Dwarven items (renowned for their strength). Were I making non-Core items (and now knowing what Dwarvencraft does), I'd be tempted to immediately say any item crafted by Dwarves is by default a Dwarvencraft item. Not only Gimli's axe, but Narsil and Angrist as well. By the way, did you say there was an "Elvencraft" somewhere? I think I posted about that already but you may not have seen it - I looked through Races of the Wild (which I do own) and didn't see anything but an "Elvencraft Bow." Got a bit out of hand, didn't we? And by 'we' I don't mean you, I mean both of us. We both got extremely stupid over that. I don't think so. It was just a small misunderstanding. I don't think I ever actually got angry or anything like that. Just wasn't following why (in my eyes) you seemed so hyped up about things. It wasn't stupid - but, like I said, just a small misunderstanding.
Vahenir 04-27-05, 02:57 AM	Added to the original post again. Angrist and Belthronding are now kicking around with the other stuff.
Nuntius128 04-27-05, 03:00 AM	Hmm... the Elvencraft Bow is the only Elvencraft item I know of. Anyhow, yeah, that's why the internet sucks. No way to really get the point across. No worries. Also, let me add that after I bought Races of Stone, I've never had a Dwarf without a Dwarvencraft weapon. They're about as reliable as a +2 bonus to Constitution, really. You should see the nasty Warhammer I made for my Cleric/Battlesmith. Something around 40 Hardness.
Vahenir 04-27-05, 03:10 AM	Nice. Hey.. is Dwarvencraft a one-shot deal, or can you add it multiple times? Like an Uber-Dwarvencraft item? I might have to pick up Races of Stone.. just so I won't feel bad about using Dwarvencraft stuff in my games... haha.