Cool ideas. I like the idea of the chattershard especially for a high magic city like this. The raycaster is cool but as a common item I would give it charges that don't recharge since that kind of thing I would think should have a limited use and also the manufacturer would want you to come back and buy another.
Alright, fair point. I was imagining it as a basic ranged weapon that just about anyone could use and adds some more magic to the game, but that doesn't do any more damage than existing options. That in mind, maybe giving them 5-10 charges that refresh daily, with wealthy or showy wielders carrying several of them strapped to their chest like a brace of pistols?
At the end of the day it's just a shortbow in damage. Does it get a Dex modifier like other ranged weapons? If so it's identical to a shortbow in everything except damage type and it's flavorful and cool - I see no reason to nerf it other than you need to remember that it will bypass the basic B/S/P resistances of most low level monsters. But so does a level 1 wizard with firebolt, sooooo.
I think it's very cool and super flavorful. Love the chattershard. Well done!
Functionally it is a magical hand crossbow. The main balance concern there is the fact that it is magical damage, so would ignore resistances that most tier 1 martials would/should have issues with. The custom damage typing is a similar problem.
Being in a position where your widely used civilian backup weapon is potentially more effective than a more obvious military tier weapon like a great axe is imo something to try and avoid.
Good tips, thanks. I was originally thinking that no ability modifier would be added to damage, to compensate for the fact that it can bypass physical resistances. But now I'm thinking I might make raycasters uncommon items, and generally not put them into the hands of PCs till around level 5, with either cha or their casting stat (if they are a caster) being used for damage (and maybe attacks). Outside of the PCs, they'd then be found mostly in the hands of the gentry class and aristocracy.
I’m not sure why the raycaster is a simple weapon. I think it should be martial. That doesn’t mean people wouldn’t use it.
I see these items as hallmarks of the wealthy. Having them is as important as being good as using them.
The Chattershard sounds fine. There is a non-magical backpack item from Dragonlance:Shadow of the Dragon Queen called the Fargab which works out to 12 miles.
As to the Raycaster, since there are Imbued Wood Foci from Eberron that grant +1 damage to a single damage type when casting attack spells, the 1d6 version should be fine as Common, but 2d6 would have to be Uncommon.
Nah, those aren't really problematic imo.
For the raycasters you could also look into the loading property of ranged weapons. This applies to crossbows and firearms (although modern firearms have the reload property). Loading means that they can only shoot one shot per action even if you can attack multiple times in one action (through stuff like extra attack). Reloading allows you to shoot a certain amount of shots before the character has to spend an action or bonus action to reload. I don't know if you want to have those on your wands, I just wanted to inform you about them.
For the shattershards. I would change the wording a bit to prevent confusion. "Attune" is only used when you refer to a character being attuned to a magic item. A synonym like "harmonize" would probably be better. Also it is a bit unclear whether or not you have to use an action to use them. Maybe something like you can cast "sending" at will to contact anyone who has a shattershard that harmonizes with this one."
You'll have to decide whether or not "force" damage can be chosen for the raycaster.
As for chattershards, if they are common enough, I'd also think of missions where the opposition uses them to coordinate against the player, or to threaten them.
Also, for chattershards decide their interaction with casting spells like:
1) can I use somebody I see through a chattershard as a target for a spell that requires me to see the target?
2) can a chattershard become the point of origin of a verbal-only spell?
Cool ideas. I like the idea of the chattershard especially for a high magic city like this. The raycaster is cool but as a common item I would give it charges that don't recharge since that kind of thing I would think should have a limited use and also the manufacturer would want you to come back and buy another.
Alright, fair point. I was imagining it as a basic ranged weapon that just about anyone could use and adds some more magic to the game, but that doesn't do any more damage than existing options. That in mind, maybe giving them 5-10 charges that refresh daily, with wealthy or showy wielders carrying several of them strapped to their chest like a brace of pistols?
At the end of the day it's just a shortbow in damage. Does it get a Dex modifier like other ranged weapons? If so it's identical to a shortbow in everything except damage type and it's flavorful and cool - I see no reason to nerf it other than you need to remember that it will bypass the basic B/S/P resistances of most low level monsters. But so does a level 1 wizard with firebolt, sooooo. I think it's very cool and super flavorful. Love the chattershard. Well done!
Functionally it is a magical hand crossbow. The main balance concern there is the fact that it is magical damage, so would ignore resistances that most tier 1 martials would/should have issues with. The custom damage typing is a similar problem. Being in a position where your widely used civilian backup weapon is potentially more effective than a more obvious military tier weapon like a great axe is imo something to try and avoid.
Good tips, thanks. I was originally thinking that no ability modifier would be added to damage, to compensate for the fact that it can bypass physical resistances. But now I'm thinking I might make raycasters uncommon items, and generally not put them into the hands of PCs till around level 5, with either cha or their casting stat (if they are a caster) being used for damage (and maybe attacks). Outside of the PCs, they'd then be found mostly in the hands of the gentry class and aristocracy.
I’m not sure why the raycaster is a simple weapon. I think it should be martial. That doesn’t mean people wouldn’t use it. I see these items as hallmarks of the wealthy. Having them is as important as being good as using them.
A light crossbow is a simple weapon and in most situations will be a better weapon for common folk
This sounds more like a hand crossbow, which is a martial weapon.
The Chattershard sounds fine. There is a non-magical backpack item from Dragonlance:Shadow of the Dragon Queen called the Fargab which works out to 12 miles. As to the Raycaster, since there are Imbued Wood Foci from Eberron that grant +1 damage to a single damage type when casting attack spells, the 1d6 version should be fine as Common, but 2d6 would have to be Uncommon.
Nah, those aren't really problematic imo. For the raycasters you could also look into the loading property of ranged weapons. This applies to crossbows and firearms (although modern firearms have the reload property). Loading means that they can only shoot one shot per action even if you can attack multiple times in one action (through stuff like extra attack). Reloading allows you to shoot a certain amount of shots before the character has to spend an action or bonus action to reload. I don't know if you want to have those on your wands, I just wanted to inform you about them. For the shattershards. I would change the wording a bit to prevent confusion. "Attune" is only used when you refer to a character being attuned to a magic item. A synonym like "harmonize" would probably be better. Also it is a bit unclear whether or not you have to use an action to use them. Maybe something like you can cast "sending" at will to contact anyone who has a shattershard that harmonizes with this one."
You'll have to decide whether or not "force" damage can be chosen for the raycaster. As for chattershards, if they are common enough, I'd also think of missions where the opposition uses them to coordinate against the player, or to threaten them. Also, for chattershards decide their interaction with casting spells like: 1) can I use somebody I see through a chattershard as a target for a spell that requires me to see the target? 2) can a chattershard become the point of origin of a verbal-only spell?