Dungeon Master: Magic Weapon Flavour

Unfortunately, even swords channelling the power of the plane of elemental fire can get dull. It starts off by being a cool new item, and dealing significantly more damage. A few more sessions later, it can become nothing more than a stick that hits +2 harder, or more likely 1D6. Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are many different methods, from complex magic items that simply can’t be forgotten due to their combat options and out of combat personality, to little extra touches. I hope to cover the second option today.

Make It Cool In Use

My players like to have the scene set. It doesn’t matter that it takes longer to run a session. They enjoy the story telling, and part of that for them is the little details of the scene. It’s not enough to roll a critical and see they killed the bandit, they want me to describe it. Or describe it themselves. Amazing magic items greatly change these scenes. The reaction from a vampire to a sun blade is far different than being beaten by a non-magic mace.

Elemental Damage Is Fun

Elemental damage is one of the most common, and also one of the easiest to add flavour to. Flame based weapons can leave scorch marks on armour, and even walls and furniture on misses. +3 weapons can make loud crunch noises and crack armour. Even if the armour holds from a near miss, it might still crack or shave pieces off where before it was piercing through. I’ve even seen a player who would stick their cold damage dagger into their drink to cool it down. And of course, in rainy weather your flaming weapon may create steam.

Electric and force damage is often trickier, but still possible to work with. Your player might get a minor and harmless static shock when trying to look over the body that they shocked. Maybe even make smoke rise from them Star Wars style. Near by items could get shifted and fall for force damage.

Critical hits that result in one hit KOs can be a lot of fun too. You might freeze kobolds solid, or shatter parts of them. Perhaps their water skin is frozen solid from the hit too. Even if their target is still standing, you can freeze some terrain like a shallow nearby puddle, or maybe for a moment the rain turns to hail. Or maybe have the enemy shiver from a near miss. Have fun with it if it’s your thing.

Don’t Overdue It

Like all things, moderation is the key. However, one or two details per combat encounter can really help make players excited about their magic items. Part of that involves having a good memory. If they have a sun blade, don’t forget that they lit up a good portion of the cave and can see who was attacking them in the dark. Even players can forget some of the less obvious combat effects of items, and those “oh yeah, cool” moments go a long way over the course of a campaign.

However, it’s really still about their characters so a couple details to show that their magic sword is still cool is often appreciated. If they are the ones bringing it up, and trying to use their item in a cool way, of course let them. But I’d suggest not making the items the focus more often than a couple of times per combat encounter, and be careful going too far. Turning on your sun blade won’t blind everyone within range, but describing the now revealed bandits covering their eyes for a moment before attacking isn’t too much.

It’s a tool at your disposal and I think it is best used when combined with techniques to make more interesting magic items, and situations that give chances for your characters and magic items to shine.