Ranged Magic Properties
Introduction
Magic weapon properties grant the wearer special abilities while the weapon is wielded. These abilities vary greatly, but often bear a resemblance to spell effects. Note that Spell Effects cannot be applied to weapon.
A magic weapon cannot have any magic weapon properties applied to it unless it has at least a +1 Enhancement bonus also applied to it. For example, you cannot make a longsword with the +2 magic weapon property of Flaming Burst unless it has at least a +1 enhancement bonus (and therefore an Absolute Bonus of +3). No weapon may be enchanted with Epic magic weapon properties unless it has an Enhancement bonus of at least +6.
Magic Weapon Costs
To determine the cost of a magic weapon, three elements must be added together:
- The cost of the weapon.
- The cost of any special materials used to create the weapon (e.g. mithril, adamantine, etc.).
- The cost of the Absolute Bonus (the sum of the magic properties and the enhancement bonus).
Dweomermetals
Dweomermetals, such as mithril, argent and bloodgold, can grant a weapon special qualities. The prices and special qualities of each dweomermetal are described in detail on the Dweomermetals page.
Dweomermetals do not alter the Absolute Bonus of a weapon, though the cost for a weapon made with a dweomermetal is added to the overall cost of the weapon.
Note that special materials cannot be added to an existing weapon. The weapon must be built from the special material before it can be enchanted. If a character already has a +3 longsword, and wants it to be a +3 argent longsword, he would have to sell his old sword and buy an argent one. He cannot simply upgrade it. (This rule can be broken, at GM discretion, in cases where the weapon is a family heirloom, an artifact, or any sort of magic item that is meant to grow with the player, where replacing it with a new weapon would disrupt the story continuity for the character. In these cases, the item may have always been made from the special material, but only exhibits its qualities when the character reaches a high enough level to appreciate it, or perhaps it acquires the special materials qualities after some event transpires (like the character gets splashed with molten mithril).)
Campaign Level
Heroic tier characters (characters from level 1 to level 20) can wield a weapon with an enhancement bonus up to +5, and can have up to +5 pluses worth of magic weapon properties applied to their weapon, though there must always be at least +1 Enhancement bonus on the weapon before any magic weapon properties can be applied. As a result, heroic tier characters can wield a weapon with an absolute bonus of anything from +1 to +10.
Epic tier characters (characters level 21 to level 35) can wield a weapon with an enhancement bonus up to +9, and can have a total of up to +9 pluses-worth of magic weapon properties applied to their weapon (resulting in an Absolute Bonus as high as +18). However, the enhancement bonus of the weapon must be raised to at least +6 before it can have any Epic magic weapon properties applied to it.
Any attempt to wield a weapon more magically enchanted than your level allows results in the character taking a non-proficiency penalty with the weapon (-4 to attack rolls), and the possibility of even more dire consequences (such as insanity, or being controlled by the weapon).
At level 36 and higher (apotheosis) all restrictions on enhancement bonuses and the magic item properties are lifted, at which point the weapon may be enchanted in any way the character can afford.
Upgrading and Changing Magic Weapon Properties
Enhancement bonuses cannot be removed from a magic weapon once applied, but the enhancement bonus can be increased. If the weapon is made from a dweomermetal that offers an alternate way of allocating the enhancement bonus, this can also be changed by a craftsman (or a character with the Creator feat), but performing this work takes one full day of work per change in the Absolute Bonus, with a minimum of 1 full day.
Magic weapon properties can be removed from a magic weapon, replaced with altogether new properties, or upgraded to a higher version of the existing magic weapon property (when applicable). The cost to do so is the difference in cost between the old Absolute Bonus and the new Absolute Bonus. However, if the Absolute Bonus goes down, there is no refund of money unless you can convince the craftsman performing the alterations why he should actually pay you for the privilege of doing that work. Performing magic weapon property swaps and upgrades takes one full day of work per change in the Absolute Bonus, with a minimum of 1 full day. Even if this work isn't performed by a player, the player must wait for the alterations to be performed, and they cannot make use of the weapon while the craftsman is working on it. Some craftsmen might offer to lend or rent out a weapon while their customers wait, though they would expect the loaner weapon to return to them in good condition.
A magic weapon which is altered in such a way as to violate the limitations of the campaign level will inflict a non-proficiency penalty on the wielder, or worse.
Absolute Bonus
The Absolute Bonus is determined by adding together the 'plus' values of the weapon's Enhancement Bonus and any Magic Properties it will be enchanted with. For example, a +2 Advancing Rapier has a +4 Absolute Bonus, which is the sum of the +2 Enhancement bonus and the +2 Advancing property.+1 Ranged Magic Properties
+2 Ranged Magic Properties
+3 Ranged Magic Properties
| Price | Name | Benefit | Aura | CL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed (Magic Property) | Speed | Speed (Magic Property) | Speed (Magic Property) | Speed (Magic Property) |