Creating a Really Cool Dwarven Urgrosh [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating a Really Cool Dwarven Urgrosh [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
The Mighty Rex
02-11-05, 01:14 PM I trying to create a really cool weapon for one of my players. He has worked his dwarf up to fifth level, specializing in the urgrosh. Everyone else in the party has picked some pretty nifty magic items, but nothing they've found seemed to suit his character (he role-plays significantly more than my other players). I have a plot hook for him to find the long lost tomb of a dwarven king, and plan on giving him some type of magical weapon.

So, I'd like to give him something more than just +1 or whatever. What kind of cool abilities would the dwarves impart to their weapons?

Thanks in advance,

Rex
tarkin
02-11-05, 02:06 PM Urgrosh: Double weapon, dwarven

Double weapons count as two weapons for enchantments.
I think it is both powerfull and interesting to enchant both heads opposingly.

I.E. make one head Flaming, the other Frost. (16,000 gp)
Or (if you are nuetral) one head Axiomatic (Lawfull), the other Anarchic (Chaotic). (36,000)
Or one head Brilliant Energy and the other head +3 Bane (Construct), Bane (Undead), (100,000 gp)

Another idea is to make both heads Spell Storing. Now you got TWO charges instead of one, in a single weapon, just by changing heads.

Along the same lines, you can enchant one or both heads with a Defensive ability such as SpellBlade.

Dwarven: Culturally, I think of the following as Dwarven type enchantments:

Being made of Adamantine
Mighty Cleaving
Vorpal
Earthbound (Eberron)
KnockBack (CW)
Roaring (BoED)

P.S. Remember that to use any ability, you must be using that head to attack - you can't make one head Defeneder, use it's AC unless, and attack with the other head unless you are taking the TWF penalties.
Jaxen723
02-11-05, 02:37 PM I would make it like this.
Axe head +2 Giant bane
Spear +1 frost or spell storing
Adamantine
Tony Vargas
02-11-05, 03:46 PM As Tarkin pointed out, one of the advantages of a double weapon is being able to make the heads different. That includes materials. For instance:

Axe blade: Adamantine, straight enhancement bonus and
Spear Blade: Cold Iron & a bane enchantment.
(that and a vial of silversheen and you're ready for anything)

You could also go for a theme - have the blade be thundering and the point shocking, for instance (not very dwarven, though, come to think of it - hey, make it out of mithral & darkwood to make it even less dwarven, and give it an odd history - was made for a dwarven king by an elven wizard to cement a temporary and uneasy aliance, maybe).

You could also make up new unique enchanments - you could get wierd and have a short spear (with the returning enchantment) and a battle axe that merge together to form an urgosh - you could throw the spear part of the urgosh, and it automatically returns to the battle axe part the next round and becomes an urgosh again. Or you can have it enchanted with make whole - when it's sundered, instead of being destroyed and disenchanted, it just breaks into a shortspear and a battleaxe, and can 'heal' back together after the battle, if neither of the two are destroyed.

Obviously, 'useable only by a dwarf' on the more exotic effects is a possibility, as with the Dwarven Thrower.
tafkamhokie
02-13-05, 08:15 PM For dwarven flavor:

Axe: adamantine, +1 keen giant bane
Spear: cold iron, +2 orc bane

But I really like TV's idea on the split weapon joined together. Maybe even take it a step farther and allow the spear end to be fired from the axe, then return and rejoin the axe on the next round.

If you are searching for cool and flavorful in addition to effective, definitely take TV's idea and run with it.
GreyGriffin
02-14-05, 12:31 AM First of all: Kudos. A DM going out on a limb for one of his players is a really good thing that I would like to see more of, especially in my group.

Second, I don't think it's really necessary to create an uber-special weapon. A minor (but useful!) spell-like ability or special feature can really bring out the unique qualities of a weapon. Making it too squishy, too complex, or too cumbersome to keep track of can have just as poor effect as making it not distinctive enough.

What's more, if the player is really into roleplaying his character, giving him something that looks or "feels" crunchy, or built especially exploitative might detract from the experience. Flavor is everthing. Just because it's "cool" doesn't mean that it really adds to the flavor of the character. (Detachable weapon parts, case in point.)

Personally, and not knowing the weapon balance among your group, I'd go for +1 keen adamantine (Axe), +1 defending adamantine (spear) Dwarven Urgosh.

Really, at fifth level, that's almost 20,000 gp worth of weapon right there. If you want to go the extra mile, let it cast whirling blade (Complete Arcane) or spiritual weapon (Dwarven Urgosh) 1-3 times a day. Dwarves seem to be into the throwing weapon thing.
ClementWillowbreaker
02-14-05, 10:17 AM Rapid Enlarge Person (making it a full-round action) for about 2400gp per cast per day is fun for dwarves. But Whirling Blade is really awesome, too.
The Mighty Rex
02-14-05, 01:37 PM Some great ideas! Thank folks.

I definitely like the idea of seperating the weapon, although I don't see any real benefit in it. I guess you could throw the spear section, but that's about it. But it is such a cool idea idea that I just gotta use it.

Other than that, I'm thinking a +2 keen blade (adamantine, of course), and +2 giant bane cold iron spear head. I would have liked to make the spear end 'keen', but only slashing weapons can receive that enchantment. Bummer. Maybe I'll do it anyway, and use the 'whirling blade' on the axe end.

I don't have my books here, can someone refresh my memory regarding the 'Whirling Blade' and 'cold iron' enhancements.

Rex
weaponsmith
02-14-05, 04:52 PM My DM gave me a low lvl int. weapon once. It gave did different thing when i increased lvls..

one lvl i got Barkskin, next entangle, next fast healing.... but that was for my druid..
tafkamhokie
02-14-05, 05:33 PM One other idea I had...

If you go with the giantbane concept on the spear end, maybe allow the spear end to elongate to pike-sized (i.e. 15 ft long, maybe even 20 ft) when it is used to receive a charge.

Since most giants are stupid enough to charge and rely heavily on their reach when they do so, a telescoping spear could really put a hurt on a giant.

It just sounds to me like something a dwarf would do to an urgrosh.
The Mighty Rex
02-14-05, 05:57 PM Oh man, that it toooo cool! Definitely in!
DevilKiller
02-14-05, 06:11 PM Axe blade: Adamantine, straight enhancement bonus and
Spear Blade: Cold Iron & a bane enchantment.
(that and a vial of silversheen and you're ready for anything)
As an aside, I'm pretty sure that you can't use silversheen on a weapon made of a special material.

Back to the original topic, if you make the urgosh intelligent you could have both heads be intelligent but independent, kind of like siamese twins. The spear would be defensive minded while the axe would favor reckless charges. They might get to bickering over various things. Depending on just how much roleplaying your group likes this could lead to fun (or extremely tedious) scenes where the character hasto mediate between the two ends of his weapon.

Anyhow, I suggest making one end giantbane and the other orcbane since those are the two great enemies of dwarvenkind. If you're worried about the weapon being too powerful for your 5th level character you can always have powers "unlock" as he levels, keeping the power of the weapon appropriate to his level as you see fit.
Rith'tar d'lil Isto
02-14-05, 06:51 PM I really enjoy all the ideas coming here to help you give a player this item 'cause of his roleplaying. In the one post they were talking about a history for this item. Technichally alot of abilities use command words. Why give the player all of the words when he gets the item immediatly? You can make it a very powerful item (almost as high as you want) but if you let the player actually have to find the words to use it then it has some fun possibilities. (Side quests.) I like the intelligence idea for the urgrosh and the giant killer idea is neat. I actually had a DM give a pretty low level character a sword that could cut holes in space and make planar gateways. Ten levels later and he's beggining to figure out how to use it instead of it use him and all. With the Intelligent weapon idea then if they have high enough ego's then they could push him into certain things. I know railroading isn't a good idea most of the time but here is a good excuse and some oppurtunities for him to roleplay more. Just my thoughts though.....
Rith'tar

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The Mighty Rex 02-11-05, 01:14 PM	I trying to create a really cool weapon for one of my players. He has worked his dwarf up to fifth level, specializing in the urgrosh. Everyone else in the party has picked some pretty nifty magic items, but nothing they've found seemed to suit his character (he role-plays significantly more than my other players). I have a plot hook for him to find the long lost tomb of a dwarven king, and plan on giving him some type of magical weapon. So, I'd like to give him something more than just +1 or whatever. What kind of cool abilities would the dwarves impart to their weapons? Thanks in advance, Rex
tarkin 02-11-05, 02:06 PM	Urgrosh: Double weapon, dwarven Double weapons count as two weapons for enchantments. I think it is both powerfull and interesting to enchant both heads opposingly. I.E. make one head Flaming, the other Frost. (16,000 gp) Or (if you are nuetral) one head Axiomatic (Lawfull), the other Anarchic (Chaotic). (36,000) Or one head Brilliant Energy and the other head +3 Bane (Construct), Bane (Undead), (100,000 gp) Another idea is to make both heads Spell Storing. Now you got TWO charges instead of one, in a single weapon, just by changing heads. Along the same lines, you can enchant one or both heads with a Defensive ability such as SpellBlade. Dwarven: Culturally, I think of the following as Dwarven type enchantments: Being made of Adamantine Mighty Cleaving Vorpal Earthbound (Eberron) KnockBack (CW) Roaring (BoED) P.S. Remember that to use any ability, you must be using that head to attack - you can't make one head Defeneder, use it's AC unless, and attack with the other head unless you are taking the TWF penalties.
Jaxen723 02-11-05, 02:37 PM	I would make it like this. Axe head +2 Giant bane Spear +1 frost or spell storing Adamantine
Tony Vargas 02-11-05, 03:46 PM	As Tarkin pointed out, one of the advantages of a double weapon is being able to make the heads different. That includes materials. For instance: Axe blade: Adamantine, straight enhancement bonus and Spear Blade: Cold Iron & a bane enchantment. (that and a vial of silversheen and you're ready for anything) You could also go for a theme - have the blade be thundering and the point shocking, for instance (not very dwarven, though, come to think of it - hey, make it out of mithral & darkwood to make it even less dwarven, and give it an odd history - was made for a dwarven king by an elven wizard to cement a temporary and uneasy aliance, maybe). You could also make up new unique enchanments - you could get wierd and have a short spear (with the returning enchantment) and a battle axe that merge together to form an urgosh - you could throw the spear part of the urgosh, and it automatically returns to the battle axe part the next round and becomes an urgosh again. Or you can have it enchanted with make whole - when it's sundered, instead of being destroyed and disenchanted, it just breaks into a shortspear and a battleaxe, and can 'heal' back together after the battle, if neither of the two are destroyed. Obviously, 'useable only by a dwarf' on the more exotic effects is a possibility, as with the Dwarven Thrower.
tafkamhokie 02-13-05, 08:15 PM	For dwarven flavor: Axe: adamantine, +1 keen giant bane Spear: cold iron, +2 orc bane But I really like TV's idea on the split weapon joined together. Maybe even take it a step farther and allow the spear end to be fired from the axe, then return and rejoin the axe on the next round. If you are searching for cool and flavorful in addition to effective, definitely take TV's idea and run with it.
GreyGriffin 02-14-05, 12:31 AM	First of all: Kudos. A DM going out on a limb for one of his players is a really good thing that I would like to see more of, especially in my group. Second, I don't think it's really necessary to create an uber-special weapon. A minor (but useful!) spell-like ability or special feature can really bring out the unique qualities of a weapon. Making it too squishy, too complex, or too cumbersome to keep track of can have just as poor effect as making it not distinctive enough. What's more, if the player is really into roleplaying his character, giving him something that looks or "feels" crunchy, or built especially exploitative might detract from the experience. Flavor is everthing. Just because it's "cool" doesn't mean that it really adds to the flavor of the character. (Detachable weapon parts, case in point.) Personally, and not knowing the weapon balance among your group, I'd go for +1 keen adamantine (Axe), +1 defending adamantine (spear) Dwarven Urgosh. Really, at fifth level, that's almost 20,000 gp worth of weapon right there. If you want to go the extra mile, let it cast whirling blade (Complete Arcane) or spiritual weapon (Dwarven Urgosh) 1-3 times a day. Dwarves seem to be into the throwing weapon thing.
ClementWillowbreaker 02-14-05, 10:17 AM	Rapid Enlarge Person (making it a full-round action) for about 2400gp per cast per day is fun for dwarves. But Whirling Blade is really awesome, too.
The Mighty Rex 02-14-05, 01:37 PM	Some great ideas! Thank folks. I definitely like the idea of seperating the weapon, although I don't see any real benefit in it. I guess you could throw the spear section, but that's about it. But it is such a cool idea idea that I just gotta use it. Other than that, I'm thinking a +2 keen blade (adamantine, of course), and +2 giant bane cold iron spear head. I would have liked to make the spear end 'keen', but only slashing weapons can receive that enchantment. Bummer. Maybe I'll do it anyway, and use the 'whirling blade' on the axe end. I don't have my books here, can someone refresh my memory regarding the 'Whirling Blade' and 'cold iron' enhancements. Rex
weaponsmith 02-14-05, 04:52 PM	My DM gave me a low lvl int. weapon once. It gave did different thing when i increased lvls.. one lvl i got Barkskin, next entangle, next fast healing.... but that was for my druid..
tafkamhokie 02-14-05, 05:33 PM	One other idea I had... If you go with the giantbane concept on the spear end, maybe allow the spear end to elongate to pike-sized (i.e. 15 ft long, maybe even 20 ft) when it is used to receive a charge. Since most giants are stupid enough to charge and rely heavily on their reach when they do so, a telescoping spear could really put a hurt on a giant. It just sounds to me like something a dwarf would do to an urgrosh.
The Mighty Rex 02-14-05, 05:57 PM	Oh man, that it toooo cool! Definitely in!
DevilKiller 02-14-05, 06:11 PM	Axe blade: Adamantine, straight enhancement bonus and Spear Blade: Cold Iron & a bane enchantment. (that and a vial of silversheen and you're ready for anything) As an aside, I'm pretty sure that you can't use silversheen on a weapon made of a special material. Back to the original topic, if you make the urgosh intelligent you could have both heads be intelligent but independent, kind of like siamese twins. The spear would be defensive minded while the axe would favor reckless charges. They might get to bickering over various things. Depending on just how much roleplaying your group likes this could lead to fun (or extremely tedious) scenes where the character hasto mediate between the two ends of his weapon. Anyhow, I suggest making one end giantbane and the other orcbane since those are the two great enemies of dwarvenkind. If you're worried about the weapon being too powerful for your 5th level character you can always have powers "unlock" as he levels, keeping the power of the weapon appropriate to his level as you see fit.
Rith'tar d'lil Isto 02-14-05, 06:51 PM	I really enjoy all the ideas coming here to help you give a player this item 'cause of his roleplaying. In the one post they were talking about a history for this item. Technichally alot of abilities use command words. Why give the player all of the words when he gets the item immediatly? You can make it a very powerful item (almost as high as you want) but if you let the player actually have to find the words to use it then it has some fun possibilities. (Side quests.) I like the intelligence idea for the urgrosh and the giant killer idea is neat. I actually had a DM give a pretty low level character a sword that could cut holes in space and make planar gateways. Ten levels later and he's beggining to figure out how to use it instead of it use him and all. With the Intelligent weapon idea then if they have high enough ego's then they could push him into certain things. I know railroading isn't a good idea most of the time but here is a good excuse and some oppurtunities for him to roleplay more. Just my thoughts though..... Rith'tar