New weapon: Maharet, the Dark Gift

[Charlie]

I think a +5 two handed sword usable by a good aligned character is a good idea. I don't understand all the "to hit" blah blah, but I'm sure a +5 is better than a +3 or a +4. Is there a +4 2H sword available in the game?
I was pig sick when I couldn't use Carsomyr which is +5...only usable by tight fisted Paladins...bang out of order.
As for the extra attack, hmmm, big heavy weapon and I'm not too sure about that. Extra attacks are ok for light/ish weapons imo but otherwise I think you should only really gain that advantage with proficiency which is where you need to make your judgement calls. My blokes already got 5 stars in 2h swords and with improved haste gets 9 attacks (per round?)

I didn't know you guys made new items for the game. Nice of you to spend the time....appreciated.

the only thing i see wrong is the weapons are evil in make and the game is driven on the road of goodness how about some "good" long swords or katanas.just a thought

in Ravenloft stuff is EVIL! Read some info on it and you will see.

I suggest making weapons for those classes of weapons that have been duds in the game:
Bastard swords,
Maces,
Scimitars/ninja-to's,
Clubs,
Short swords,
Long bows,
Crossbows (heavy crossbow of speed in Icewind Dale)
and to a lesser degree Long swords,

Besides the bows and maybe short swords, none of these classes have a +4 weapon, and only a marginal +3 weapon.

ignorance is bliss ,i didn't realize that you had planed to do this in Ravenloft [ my hero Lord Soth ]visited there,but anyways now the fog has been lifted from my mind i seem to recall that's where you had planed this exspansion to be held , then by all means make them as strong as possiable we are talking about a place where nightmares are born but would it make sense that the good alignment type weapons would work better ?? kinda like the theory of fight evil with good clash

[Memnoch]

OK everyone, I put this 2H sword together, I want to know if people think it's too powerful and will unbalance the game. If everyone is OK with it, I'll submit it to Jon for his add-on.

Also, what do you think of the history?? I had to look up a couple of Ravenloft online modules to get the background.

Dark Gift:Maharet

This ghastly two-handed sword radiates foul evil and will burn the flesh of any of pure heart who try to wield it. It is a weapon from the shadowy realm of Ravenloft.

Dark legends abound that the blade is imbued with the essence of the ancient vampire Maharet, the former Darklord of Barovia. Maharet was destroyed in an epic battle with the new Lord of Ravenloft, Count Strahd von Zarovich. It is rumored that Strahd, through dark, blood-tainted rites, was able to imbue his blade with Maharet's essence.

Maharet is a vampiric blade which drains the life and strength from opponents. When wielded in combat the obsidian blade glows a malevolent blood-red, causing all who view it to flee in panic. It moves with unnatural speed for a weapon of its size, allowing its wielder an extra attack each round.

STATISTICS

Combat Abilities: Each hit has a 50% chance of draining 2 levels from an opponent.
Gives +1 extra attack per round.
Each round target must save vs. spells or flee in horror

THAC0: +5 bonus
Damage: 1D10 +5
Damage type: slashing
Weight: 10
Speed Factor: 1
Proficiency Type: Two handed sword
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 13 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage
Thief
Good characters

[Drake]

It's only too strong if you are playing on an easy setting. If you was playing it on insane it would be good.

[Memnoch]

Hmm, keep in mind he's supposedly putting in some pretty tough monsters in it, like dracoliches etc.

[Drake]

Dracoliches aye, I think strong weapons will be needed.

It seems a bit too powerful. This is significantly more powerful than the black razor and a grandmaster in katanas would toss away the celestial fury to wield it if they were only barely proficient in two-handed swords. Perhaps if you had something that discouraged it from being used all the time, like if it reduced strength or constitution by a few points, or had a chance on a hit the wielder would become diseased, or blinded. Then players would only use it on the tougher encounters. If indeed it eminates evil then even an evil wielder would tremble holding it in his hands.

I also note the speed factor of 1 is another thing to reconsider. Someone with just one point on two-handed weapon style will get an additional attack. While one handed weapons can have their speeds reduced by 1 at the most through weapon mastery, two handed wielders can reduce speeds by up to 5. When a weapon skill drops to 0 and each point below you get either an additional 1/2 or 1 attack. This might add an extra 2 (or 4, not sure exactly) attacks on top of the extra attack, or at least 5 attacks per round--far too many for anyone wielding a two hander. The speed should be 5 or higher.