GURPS Magic - Weapons Enchanted With On-Hit Effects

Zan Lynx · 10-03-2013, 11:47 AM

I ran this past a GM a while ago and he vetoed the idea. So it is out for any of his games.

But it still seems like an awesome idea! And I am not sure if the rules allow it or not.

The idea is a wizard's staff enchanted with Power, Link and Shatter. The Link is set to cast Shatter on every strike.

This would of course be excellent for combat as with every hit the enemy's armor would take damage, eventually falling apart. It would also be great for intimidation, as the wizard would shatter paving stones each time he slammed his staff down while walking.

The game balance problem is that the weapon gets a "free" extra attack that the user doesn't have to spend a turn casting. And if this was allowed more spells could be enchanted into the staff making it even worse. A Paralyze Limb, Deathtouch, Shatter staff anyone?

But, in terms of the Magic rules, is a weapon strike a valid Link effect for an item's automatic spell casting? It seems that it should be.

10-03-2013, 11:47 AM	#1
Zan Lynx Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Boulder, CO, USA, Sol III	GURPS Magic - Weapons Enchanted With On-Hit Effects I ran this past a GM a while ago and he vetoed the idea. So it is out for any of his games. But it still seems like an awesome idea! And I am not sure if the rules allow it or not. The idea is a wizard's staff enchanted with Power, Link and Shatter. The Link is set to cast Shatter on every strike. This would of course be excellent for combat as with every hit the enemy's armor would take damage, eventually falling apart. It would also be great for intimidation, as the wizard would shatter paving stones each time he slammed his staff down while walking. The game balance problem is that the weapon gets a "free" extra attack that the user doesn't have to spend a turn casting. And if this was allowed more spells could be enchanted into the staff making it even worse. A Paralyze Limb, Deathtouch, Shatter staff anyone? But, in terms of the Magic rules, is a weapon strike a valid Link effect for an item's automatic spell casting? It seems that it should be.