magic sword

[goipsmeistah]

i want to create a specific sword. how does one go about that?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by goipsmeistah

i want to create a specific sword. how does one go about that?

Learn Armoury (melee weapons)?
For a magic sword the core spells are under the Enchantment college.
For a character who can pull a sword with amazing properties from nowhere when he needs it, start with the Innate Attack advantage.

We need more details to say much.

[Nereidalbel]

I suggest using Metatronic Generators if you want them available to many people. Use Gadget-Limited Innate Attack if you want it to be unique to you, or, just pay the cash value to have a sword with the enchantments you want.

[The Benj]

Do you mean you want to stat up a sword to put into your game, or you want your PC to make a magic sword?

[Not]

Stick to the basics: puissance (increased damage) and accuracy, p. 65 Magic. Also see the chapter on enchantment.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by goipsmeistah

i want to create a specific sword. how does one go about that?

As a player or as a gamemaster?

[jason taylor]

Read up a little to get exotic chrome. For instance Teutonic blades often had holes in the hilt and crossguard to attach rings.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by robkelk

As a player or as a gamemaster?

An important distinction!

—

As a player, your GM will likely limit you to standard weapon enchantments, if PCs are permitted to create magic items at all. The most important of these spells are found on pp. 62-66 of GURPS Magic, although quite a few (Flaming Weapon, Icy Weapon, Lightning Weapon, Shatterproof, Winged Knife . . .) are elsewhere in that book. The enchantment process is very, very slow relative to adventuring activities, and often not worth a PC's (or a player's) time, but that ultimately depends on the campaign. Some of the alternative magic systems in GURPS Thaumatology are faster. A few offer other effects, too, but most stick to the magical properties defined in the spell write-ups in Magic. If you want to create the weapon before you enchant it, you'll find GURPS Low-Tech useful for choosing what you're making (and out of what materials), GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2 helpful for adding custom touches, and GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3 essential for working out crafting times.

As a GM, you could go through all of the above. Some gaming groups have a strict policy of everybody jumping through the same hoops. I think that reduces the sense of epic scale and wonder that can surround magic, however. The more interesting – and quicker! – alternative is simply to look at the baseline, mundane weapon and decide on how the magic makes it better. This might mean relatively low-key stuff like bonuses to skill, damage, or Parry; slightly fancy stuff such as flame and dripping poison; or genuinely extraordinary properties like ignoring armor, indestructibility, and vampirism. The point is, you just make it so, because you're the GM! For inspiration, see GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 6: 40 Artifacts.

[goipsmeistah]

thanks guys. i shudda been more specific. im the gm and i wanted to have one of the characters use the Hyborian sword from the bprd comic. thats the setting of our game (hellboy universe) so i just sort treated the sword like a character itself and the advantages and disadvantages it gives the wielder. we play a really watered down version of gurps. gurps lite fat free lol. my players arent that smart or experienced so i stress game flow and stories over number crunching.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by goipsmeistah

thanks guys. i shudda been more specific. im the gm and i wanted to have one of the characters use the Hyborian sword from the bprd comic. thats the setting of our game (hellboy universe) so i just sort treated the sword like a character itself and the advantages and disadvantages it gives the wielder. we play a really watered down version of gurps. gurps lite fat free lol. my players arent that smart or experienced so i stress game flow and stories over number crunching.

I this case, magic items should probably be one-of-a-kind creations, so you're well within your rights to say, "Okay, the sword gives +1d to cut, +3 to imp, has an Armor Divisor (2), raises effective skill by +2, gives +2 to your Parry score when you use it, is essentially unbreakable, and is in essence priceless." Go ahead and give it a mythic name, too, like Excalibur or Glamdring.