[Lyinginbedmon]

Morganth recently discovered a new part of his anatomy: his Arm Blades.

Basically, we've just found out that Morganth definitely isn't human. Put to the point, the Arm Blades deal XD6 points of damage where X is his Character Level (Currently 68). They're a family trait whic has yet to be used on anything yet so suggestions and alterations are welcome to increase their potency.

I've already considered making them Vorpal considering their nature, so any comments on that are welcome

P.S As you can probably guess, I don't quite know the whole story about Morganth yet, as there's still a lot of his history I don't know about and these arm blades just makes things even more complicated

[Rintaran]

Why would the arm blades do much more damage the higher your character level? Do they change shape to become more deadly or something?

As they're growing out of his body, I would suggest that they be poisoned (thus making Morganth poisonous).

[Lyinginbedmon]

Supposedly, they get more deadly as Morganth gets stronger. Kind of like a growing cobra (the poison getting more potent as it ages), yours is still a pretty good explanation though

The poison is a good idea though

[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

Way too overpowering if it is xd6 where x = char level. Just to let you know, your minimum damage is 68 and your maximum damage is something like 408 HP without adding in Str or any other magic. Throws off the entire game balance because now there isn't any creature that can match up to your damage potential, physically, with only one attack

Exactly how do they get stronger as you get stronger? It doesn't make any sense unless the blades are inherently insanely magical in nature. Eventually, even a cobra's poison has a maximum lethality.

[Lyinginbedmon]

To take the bite off of the 'insanely powerful' rant there:

• Morganth is one of a kind (any more would likely threaten the universe, as you so noted)
  
• Morganth is WIZARD! He doesn't pay much attention to his strength (it stands at 10)
  
• There's still the ability to get through the AC (He still gets a little worried when he sees a Mithral Golem)
  
• The blades themselves aren't invincible: They can still be sundered like normal weapons (they just grow back after a while)

Okay, so maybe my comparison to a cobra wasn't entirely useful, but it still serves its purpose. Morganth gets much stronger as he grows, and thusly so do his blades' strength, much akin to his HP total and Hit Die (How can you explain someone suddenly being able to withstand a giant's fists without ever being hurt in their adventuring career?)

[Jimp]

68d6 is still alot of damage to do with a regular attack roll =/ I remeber mention of an epic spell somewhere that done 300d6 but it then done 200d6 to whoever cast it, which seemed to even it out a bit. This however, is just pure unrestricted power =/
But if it's there it's there

[Lyinginbedmon]

If anyone has checked the 'custom prestige classes for custom worlds' topic in ages, you'll notice that I've posted a PrC that (at the same level as Morganth) would pretty much kill him outright.

Bearing in mind that Morganth already has 500 HP, he is still an epic character and epic characters aren't restricted to the kiddy grade things in the Player's Handbook (Yes, I know that there are still tons of powerful things in there anyway so don't yell at me) and as such these blades are effective with him.

At any rate, in the hands of a starting character, it would do diddly squat to most things. And it is still restricted to close combat, which is something most Wizards aren't going to get into much anyway (especially since Morganth disdains close combat as a bloody art).

[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

It doesn't matter whether or not you will use it or whether or not you have a high Str. That does not change the fact that this is still an insanely powerful natural ability. This is nothing like HP or HD. You cannot compare the two. HD is something you get from experience. This you get just because you are. No player race should ever have an ability this powerful.

Lets compare this ability to some other players or player classes. Neither the barbarian (arguably one of the biggest powerhouses of the game) nor the monk (the best unarmed attacker of all, hands down) can possibly measure up to this. Barbarians are limited in damage because they can only do as much damage as the largest weapon they can wield. A monk can not do over 2d10 for its base damage even if it goes into epic levels.

I understand that Morganth is an epic character and should not be limited to what can be found in the DMG and PHB but anything new you add should be within reason. These claws are a natural ability that Morganth has just because he is and can do x amount of damage, again, just because he is?

To refute your argument

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in the hands of a starting character, it would do diddly squat to most things

: Do you have any idea what you were saying when you said this? A monk gets to do 1d6 dmg at 1st level (med size of course). A normal character only gets to do 1d4 with an unarmed strike. This automatically makes the character with this ability superior to any other character of equal level.

At 5th level, the character gets to do 5d6 dmg, which, if I am doing my calculations correctly, is more than a large sized monk at 16th level who does only 4d6 dmg. This is, of course, leaving out the fact that one of the most powerful weapons, the mercurial greatsword, only does 2d8 dmg (as stated in Sword and Fist).

You cannot say that this ability is not unbalancing and you get this ability just because you are a wizard. Any DM that would allow something like this is just doing some bad DMing.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Firstly, I never said that Morganth got these blades because he's a Wizard, I said he got them because he's not human!

Secondly, I know that it gives him unfathomable power, in close combat, when dealing damage.

Thirdly, there are still much more powerful things and ways to kill things than Morganth, however rare (and Morganth is still unique)

Finally, they are the Arm Blades of Grimdolf , you can't say that you expect something from him to be weak

[Rintaran]

Ok. So that brings up a question. If they're called Arm Blades of Grimdolf, doesn't that mean one of three things a) they're a magic item created by Grimdolf, they're a magic spell of Grimdolf's, or c) Morganth's race is called Grimdolf?

I also agree that it's still an insanely powerful feature for the character. Secondly, as it's a part of the creature and not some spell or item (according to your description), then it should not get more powerful by character level, but by age (as per a dragon's breath weapon). Perhaps it would be more reasonable to say that for every 25 years of age, these Arm Blades do an additional 1d6 damage. Seeing as Morganth's lvl 68, he must be quite aged, so these would still be formidible weapons especially when compared to ANY mortal equivalents.

I still think poison would be a reasonable touch, even though it's already a stupidly powerful weapon.

[Jimp]

It's still a HUGE balance issue no matter how special these people are

[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

Well I apologize there. I meant to say that him getting this ability just because he is unique not because he was a wizard. I mistyped that there. Now to defunk your argument.

First, elves are not human and they have nothing even remotely similar to this. Balors are not humans and they have nothing even remotely similar to this. The [darned] tarrasque is definately not human and it has nothing like this. Do you have any idea how much of a LA you would need in order to keep an ability like this balanced with other characters? If you don't know what LA is then I suggest you go to the level adjustment topic and read that little bit there.

Secondly, you understand it is a unfathomable power and yet you still think that this is justified because Morganth is an epic level character and unique?

Thirdly, I honestly don't think you understand the implications of having this ability. I know that there are many other things that can kill you but that is not what matters. What matters is your ability to kill other things. Do you know that you could kill yourself in just 3 hits doing only average damage, which is something like 230 points of damage?

Let us now compare your average damage to the average damage of one of the scarriest creatures in the DnD Epic Level Handbook. You can do 230 points of damage on average with only one attack. The Hecatoncheires, aka the 100 armed beast, does about 700 points of damage with 100 attacks. Doing a little math, you can do about 1/3 as much damage with one attack as this thing can with 100 attacks.

Finally, who is this Grimdorf fellow? I have never heard of him so I can expect something from him to be weak. It doesn't matter who they are named after because, again, it is TOO powerful.

It doesn't matter whether or not you are going to use the ability or how often you will use the ability. The fact is you still have it and have the ability to use it. That is all that matters.

What I would suggest is you add on an INSANE stipulation to the ability, such as the blades cannot be used unless you are down to 1% of your HP. Or, even better, because you are a caster, you can turn this into a shield. You say in your profile that you watch anime? Well then go Garra style from Naruto. Make this ability like the shield of sand. It can absorb up to (1/4 level)d6 damage but there is still a way to bypass this ability entirely such as by becoming incorporeal or something along those lines.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Though I must admit that your effort to destroy this topic entirely is becoming tiresome, you do have a good point on adding a stipulation.

Gaara's sand abilities aren't a good start though, since then they would have to be magical (and their naturally occuring)

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Ok. So that brings up a question. If they're called Arm Blades of Grimdolf, doesn't that mean one of three things a) they're a magic item created by Grimdolf,  they're a magic spell of Grimdolf's, or c) Morganth's race is called Grimdolf?

Grimdolf is Morganth's father, he pretty much decimated the planet a couple hundred years ago

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Perhaps it would be more reasonable to say that for every 25 years of age, these Arm Blades do an additional 1d6 damage. Seeing as Morganth's lvl 68, he must be quite aged, so these would still be formidible weapons especially when compared to ANY mortal equivalents.

Morganth is 451 years old (18D6), and showing no signs of old age besides his appearance (ie. still as spry as a 22 year old)

[Rintaran]

You asked for comments on the Arm Blades... That's what we're giving you. No one's made a single attempt to destroy the topic. If you're going to ask for opinions, I'd suggest not getting offended when they're honestly and helpfully given.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I asked for comments on making them vorpal, I asked for suggestions on improving them