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Old 03-05-2018, 12:01 PM   #1
Kesendeja
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Default Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

Okay, I'm making an artifact based on the Spear of Twilight for Warhammer 40K.

For the base it looks to be a Naginata, but with added powers, such as increased damage, massive amounts of armor penetration, life stealing, and a pretty nasty curse (it steals the wielders HP and FP as well, but at low level and resistible), but in the end grants a rank of extra life as it returns the stolen energy.

I'm kind of new at this, and need some help in building it. What would be easier in the long term, creating enchantments for a magical weapon, or building it as an advantage?
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Old 03-05-2018, 03:38 PM   #2
Gnomasz
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

Well, the really easiest way is to call it an artifact, give it stats without assigning any costs and treat it as a priceless thing.

If you really need a cost though, both solutions pose some problems, so I'd choose the system that just better suits the rest of the game.
  • Advangages don't mesh armor pen. and ST-based damage well. If you want to have a set value indifferent to user's ST, use Modifying ST-Based Damage, p. P146 and calculate it for ST 27, which is the maximum usable ST for naginatas (see ST (Strength) on p. B270. You can only add lifesteal atop of ST-based damage, really
  • Spells don't have a set price for granting an extra life (not that I know of). That's something you'd have to evaluate yourself, comparing it to Blessing and Wish, for example
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Old 03-05-2018, 04:46 PM   #3
a humble lich
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

In general, I find it easier to build an artifact like this as an advantage, because there aren't always enchantments from the Magic system that does exactly what you might want.

For the Spear of Twilight, looking it up online it seems to be an ultra-powerful Singing Spear with the afore mentioned curse. I might start as follows:

First the spear itself
Innate Attack 5d Cut (Armor Piercing (10) +200%, Melee attack (reach 1,2) -20%, Can be Stolen -30%, Unique -25%; Total: +125%) 79 points

Innate Attack 4d Imp (Armor Piercing (10) +200%, Melee attack (reach 1,2) -20%, Can be Stolen -30%, Unique -25%; Total: +125%) Alternate Attack -- 15 points

Innate Attack 4d Imp (Armor Piercing (10) +200%, Reduced Max range (Max Range divided by 5) -10%, Limited Use (Once, then "reload for 3s) -20%, Can be Stolen -30%, Unique -25%; Total: +115%) Alternate Attack -- 14 points

Next the life draining
Innate Attack 8d toxic (Follow up -20%, Resistible (with Will -2) -20%, Costs FP (1 FP, resist with a Will roll) -3%, Costs HP (1 HP, resist with a Will roll) -7%, Can be Stolen -30%, Unique -25%; Total: -105%) (This applies to all attack modes, but the second two are alternate attacks) 11 points

The Extra Life
Extra Life(Can be Stolen -30%, Unique -25%) 12 points

Finally the rest of the Curse (some of the curse was built into the life draining power)
HP -1; -2 points
FP -1; -3 points
Terminal Disease (quirk level, will kill the wielder in the far future) -1 point

Total Cost: 132 points

Description: The spear can be used to cut, stab, or be thrown with a reach of 1,2 and a half damage range of ST and max range of 1.5*ST. On a hit the target must make a Will -2 or take an extra 8d damage from life drain, but the wielder also must make a Will roll or take 1HP and 1 FP. In addition, the Spear slowly drains the bearer's life, which permanently reduced the bearer's FP and HT by one and will eventually kill him.


Technical notes: I treated the different attack modes (i.e. cut/stab/throw) as alternate attacks. The spear's damage is not based on the bearer's ST---if that is desired it gets more complicated. Each different attack mode has its own follow up attack, with all but the first purchased as alternate attacks.

The range for a thrown spear is (ST/1.5*ST). The range was purchased as 10/20, which for normal strength should be close to the range for a spear so I rounded. If the character is very strong than they should get less levels of reduced range.

I took the limitation of resistible on the limitation Costs HP and Costs FP. This is not really legal; however, because the advantage already has more that -80% worth of limitations, it doesn't actually matter.

I would like the follow up attack to be resisted with a Contest of Will, but I don't know of any official pricing on that. If I were GM I would rule it as a contest of Will at the given cost because again, the advantage already has more than -80% in limitations already so it doesn't really matter.

Finally, I personally feel the Unique limitation is not good in actual play. It gives the player a big boost in points but often GM's are reluctant to take unique equipment away as it would cripple the character and that would not be fun for the player. But that is just my own philosophy based on my playing style.


Edit: I forgot to mention that the damage of the innate attacks can be modified to what ever you want, or (more likely) whatever you can afford.

Last edited by a humble lich; 03-05-2018 at 04:49 PM.
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Old 03-06-2018, 01:01 AM   #4
Bengt
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

Note that it was only a Singing Spear that could be thrown in 4th edition. In the 6th to 8th editions it has been strictly melee.

Where does the life drain come from? It has never had any ability like that in 40k. The curse could damage Yriel directly in 4th and makes him easier to damage in the later editions. It has never been all that powerful either, capable of killing mooks but pretty mediocre for killing characters/monsters.
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Old 03-06-2018, 05:16 AM   #5
Sam Baughn
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bengt View Post
Where does the life drain come from? It has never had any ability like that in 40k.
It did have Fleshbane (wounding on 2+), like other singing spears and witchblades, although I think that is a combination of the weapon itself and a psychic power which is directed through it, like Imperial force weapons, which makes it even harder to write up using enchantments.
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Old 03-06-2018, 07:40 AM   #6
Bengt
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

I don't think it has ever supposed to be an actual Singing Spear, it just used the rules for them early on, Yriel is not a psyker after all. It was recently "revealed" to be one of the Croneswords (five swords forged by a god from the fingers of another god).

Also, it's bonded to Yriel so I don't think you can steal it.

I guess it will have pretty different stats if you want to emulate the 40k rules, where it's not that powerful by named weapon standards, or the fluff where it's a massively powerful god weapon.
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Old 03-06-2018, 09:02 AM   #7
Kesendeja
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

Truthfully, I was going more with fluff, where it's a massively powerful artifact, made by the gods to defeat chaos.

After the big reveal it no longer sucked the life from Yriel. And reverted back to the spear form, since it was his preference.

I'd kind of like to work in a bonding cost/contest of wills. At least for the initial use. (Since, at least in my game, Yriel has passed on the spear to his successor)

Also would you just say that it's ability to take another form is just fluff? or would you need to retool the blade for each user points wise?
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Old 03-06-2018, 09:22 AM   #8
Jareth Valar
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

True, in current game stats it is a melee only singing spear with AP (unlike a singing spear).

Fluff, Yriel only grabbed it because it was the only thing that could pierce the armor of a powerful Tyranid attacking Iyanen. It slowly siphoned off his life force every time he use it (hence the life drain).

Recently in the fluff book "The Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel Tan" Yriel died an was brought back by having the spear plunge into his chest, the spear giving back all of the life force stole over the centuries (hence extra life). At that time it reverted to its original sword form. After being handed back to Yriel it took the spear form again.
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Old 03-06-2018, 07:17 PM   #9
a humble lich
 
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Default Re: Help with an artifact (40k Spear of Twilight)

The thing with 40k is that it is rarely consistent with itself. Between all the different editions of the table top game (often with differences between the game stats and the fluff), the novels, and the various RPGs (i.e. Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, etc.) there are so many different versions. The version which I wrote up was based on the description of the OP, the descriptions in the Lexicanum and wikia, and the Diresword in Dark Heresy (as that is the closest they have to a Singing Spear that I know of).
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