[DnD] How do characters refer to +1 weapons?

[Xenu's Paradox]

...or +2, +3, etc.

Given that the +X ability is strictly tied to the game rules and not the setting, or in other words, characters don't say "I rolled a natural 20 on my attack roll and dealt 3d6 + 4 points of damage," but "I effortlessly struck the fiend and gave it a nasty gash," how would a +X weapon be described in-game?

[novander]

My magic sword. My enchanted sword. My lucky sword. Depending on how rare magic swords are in the setting, it may even have a name, like Excalibur

[Chocobo]

+1: Good
+2: Excellent
+3: Remarkable
+4: Incredible
+5: Amazing

And of course a regular sword is Typical. :)

[The Formless One]

"Amazing Holy Flaming Dragonsbane Thunderclapping Bastard Sword" .... yep, sufficiently D&D.

[Opsimath]

...or +2, +3, etc.

Given that the +X ability is strictly tied to the game rules and not the setting, or in other words, characters don't say "I rolled a natural 20 on my attack roll and dealt 3d6 + 4 points of damage," but "I effortlessly struck the fiend and gave it a nasty gash," how would a +X weapon be described in-game?

In most games I've run, it's not measured clearly, unless you have an enchanter around to analyze the item. So, if the Duke has a +1 sword, and you have a +3 sword, the Duke may very well have a grand story, history, and description for his (probably named) sword that "proves" his is better than yours. :)

Characters usually end up with access to an enchanter (or one of them might be an enchanter) who will be able to analyze two items and say things like "this sword has the stronger enchantment of the two, but it is all focused on increased accuracy, not cutting power; the lesser sword has equal enchantments for both" for when people are deciding which sword to keep or sell.

[Della]

In a campaign we had the running joke that a "nice" weapon was masterwork, and a "very nice" or "beautiful" weapon was magical. :D

I've also heard of saying "this sword hits 5% more" for a +1, etc.

[Alvin Frewer]

By the name of the sword or some other unique description. This can range from the name bestowed upon it, the name surrounding a legend or story about it, reference to the guy or circumstances that created it, a name given by the character upon finding it, or something evocative of the circumstances in which it was found. A character cannot tell the difference in the quality of two swords that are only +1 or +2 in difference, unless they were constructed differently. The player of course, knows the bonus.

characters don't say "I rolled a natural 20 on my attack roll and dealt 3d6 + 4 points of damage," but "I effortlessly struck the fiend and gave it a nasty gash," how would a +X weapon be described in-game?

Character's generally don't say the second one either, they just swing their sword and mabe shout a battle cry or word of warning to a friend ;)

[Xenu's Paradox]

Character's generally don't say the second one either, they just swing their sword and mabe shout a battle cry or word of warning to a friend ;)

They say it when telling the story later in the tavern.

[mhacdebhandia]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0297.html

Swordsmith: I estimate a 25% increase in attack accuracy, with a corresponding enhancement to damage.

Roy: It's okay, you can just say "+5 sword" here. We do stuff like that all the time.

Swordsmith: Oh. Then yes, a +5 sword.

[Silent Wayfarer]

*holds up greatsword of explosions*

"This is my... boomstick!"

[insomniac]

One game I was in had an expert refer to them by 'degrees of enchantment.'

[WyzardWhately]

Bitchin' Sword.

[B Nakagawa]

a starting point.

[RSC]

My characters tend to not sit around talking about swords. If they're trying to trade/buy something, I expect the player to call it a +X sword and we'll just assume that the characters are speaking in some specialized magical jargon that people willing and able to spend a king's ransom on a sword know but we lowly normal humans don't.

[Redfeild]

You know Tolkien had his swords named already when his characters found them in The Hobbit. If the GM names them beforhand then it could be a good jumping off point to find the origion of the weapon and the players will not refer to there weapons as +this or +that. Not that it ever bothered me. Just saying.

[Old Geezer]

Uh, we called it "a +1 sword".:o


I'll get my coat...:(

[Allandaros]

"I took out my enchanted dagger (a cheap, over-the-counter enchanted dagger, but better than plain steel)..."

-Steven Brust, Jhereg

[Eric Tolle]

...or +2, +3, etc.
+1 "Ahh..."
+2 "Oooh...."
+3 "Oh god..."
+4 "Yes! Yes! YES!"
+5 "AAAAAH! OH! OH! OH! YEEEEES!"

[DirkGently]

Put me in the "we always called it a +1 weapon" camp (but that was before I got into artsy-fartsy indie games. Now I would definitely name it... )

...alternately, for most D&D campaigns that I have been involved in:

"So, what do you call a +1 weapon?"
"Give up?"

*...wait for it...*

"Junk."
*rimshot*

"G'night Folks!"

[Iceberg3k]

+1 "Ahh..."
+2 "Oooh...."
+3 "Oh god..."
+4 "Yes! Yes! YES!"
+5 "AAAAAH! OH! OH! OH! YEEEEES!"
Was it good for you?

[Beri]

M.C. Shankenstein.

[braincraft]

+1 "Ahh..."
+2 "Oooh...."
+3 "Oh god..."
+4 "Yes! Yes! YES!"
+5 "AAAAAH! OH! OH! OH! YEEEEES!"

... I'll have what she's having.

[Xenu's Paradox]

+1 "Ahh..."
+2 "Oooh...."
+3 "Oh god..."
+4 "Yes! Yes! YES!"
+5 "AAAAAH! OH! OH! OH! YEEEEES!"

I'm afraid to ask what you'd call a +5 vorpal sword.

[Yak of Darkness]

Uh, we called it "a +1 sword".:o


I'll get my coat...:(
Honestly, that sounds like goodrightfun to me. ^_^

I mean, it's not like a standard D&D setting is going to be fuzzy on what exactly an enchanted sword's relative power is. There is an exact worth of magical materials needed to make a +1 sword that holds true across pretty much every enchanter in the world (barring specialized, and maybe campaign-specific training, in the form of feats/class abilities). There are similar exact numbers for +2, +3, etc., and any intelligent person with a studious bent (what's that? wizards have Int as their primary stat and read books all day?) with a reason to be interested in magic item creation (wizards get IC feats as bonus feats?) can figure out the price scale relative to the plus bonus.

And with a little more study, they can even find the plus-equivalent bonus for effects like Keen or Vorpal.

So there's no reason for a setting with any amount of intelligent wizards who can craft items to not at least have the knowledge of "plusses" out there. It might not be (and unless you're in a world like Eberron, probably isn't) common knowledge, but anyone who plans on being a part of the magic weapon "market," however it goes in your world (read: the PCs), will find it out.

Besides, identify isn't exactly a rare spell.

So what do you call the plusses, then? I've seen all the flowery descriptive ways to put it--"this sword carries an enchantment of the fifth circle," "three level's worth of magic enhancement are invested in it," etc. And then there's the "+5% chance" one, which sucks IMO both by being an even more metagamey-sounding term than "+1" as well as not having any connection to how the players think.

So why not go the simple "it's a +1 sword" route? The players don't have to think of two different ways to talk about their gear, one in-character and one out of it, and it can operate either as player shorthand for [insert flowery descriptive term that the people of the world would know] or as character shorthand that would naturally develop from living in a world where magical weapons are created, priced, and operate at distinct mathematical levels.



Note that this is completely separate from "naming" or other ways that weapons might be considered important or notable in the world. The Royal Sword of the House of the Blue Rose is still going to be that, even if someone comes to town with a higher-powered weapon--fantasy worlds have plenty of space for tradition, reputation, and legend to superscede bean-counting (the man who carries the +3 sword into battle will kill orcs better; the man who carries the Blade of Light will inspire the nation to rally around him).

A high-level cleric in a game I DM recently found an artifact-level weapon, placed as a gift from his deity in a secure area to reward him for service to the church, and to help him conquer a swath of undead foes. So, while he carries a "+1 holy undead bane shortsword" in one hand (although, for brevity's sake, it's usually just "My holy sword." ;) ), in his other hand, he wields "Pelor's mace."

There's room for both in D&D--using one for clarity does not negate using the other for flavor.

[riotgearepsilon]

In most games I've run, it's not measured clearly, unless you have an enchanter around to analyze the item. So, if the Duke has a +1 sword, and you have a +3 sword, the Duke may very well have a grand story, history, and description for his (probably named) sword that "proves" his is better than yours. :)

Duke: "...And so you can see, Sir Roland, my sword has the superior pedigree."

Roland: *cuts the Duke's sword in half at the tang* "And mine, the superior edge."

A +1 sword can't be damaged by +0 weapons, and so on. So it's fairly straightforward what 'tier' a weapon is. It's testable and quantized. If spells can have valencies, so can weapons.

[Yak of Darkness]

A +1 sword can't be damaged by +0 weapons, and so on.
Pretty sure that's changed in 3.5. Greater plusses now just give additional hardness and HP to a weapon, making it harder (but not impossible) to sunder.

You're right about there being obvious and testable differences between weapons of varying plusses, though. It's just not quite as simple anymore as "What smashes what?" ;)

[Q99]

One option is to give it an in-universe classification.

Each represents a significant difference in magic energy, right? So the mages dub it a "First-circle enchantment, second circle enchantment, etc." for +1, +2, etc..

"Did you hear about the legendary Excaliber recovered from a dungeon? It's one of the 12 famous fifth-circle swords!"

[Beri]

I suppose it depends on the game. Do you refer to spells as 'first-level, 2nd-level' and so on? If so, calling it a '+1 sword' kinda works. Although I'd actually go the full route, and call it 'A sword with a plus one enhancement bonus.' That's almost IC enough to make sense.

[Christopher V. Brady]

a starting point.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

+1 "Ahh..."
+2 "Oooh...."
+3 "Oh god..."
+4 "Yes! Yes! YES!"
+5 "AAAAAH! OH! OH! OH! YEEEEES!"

He'll be in his bunk.

[Lolth]

Let's see...

In real life, I'm a hardware server geek. I differentiate tools of my trade with descriptors like "DDR 333 512 MB PC 2100 RAM" and "AMD Duron 700 MHz" and "RAID 0+1" and "SDRAM 133 1024 MB" and "Intel Celeron 300 MHz".

I can, with one glance tell what is what: I can definitely tell that the RAID controller does both striping and mirroring, I would pick Duron over Celeron if I'm given any choice and possibly the DDR RAM over SDRAM, depending on MB where I'm gonna plug it in. And I converse with this number-laden jargon with my colleagues, and I know that IT is not the only place where similar business happens.

I see no reason why other professionals wouldn't develop their own jargon for such enchantments, or, heaven forbid, even ranks, gradings, and levels mixed with colorful slang. "Yeah, this sword is so totally grade five when it comes to whacking creatures, I was thinking about making it a dragonslayer on top of everything, except it costs a load of gold I don't have at the moment. And that armor? Bitchin' grade two; try to get it sold to some noob and get at least grade three or four plate, otherwise you'll get gacked by the dragon we're gonna try to slay. By the way, ask Bob to show his new bow, it does fire bursts and is a nice grade two on top of it."

I mean, even gun freaks have their own classifications for their tools of trade; caliber, ammo and so on, although I'm only dimly aware of differences there.

Remember: jargon exists for two reasons: one, to show that you're a pro and DIFFERENT from those "others" and two, to converse with people who are "with you" and speed up communication.

[Ratoslov]

Besides, if the characters can't understand how much cooler the new weapon is than their own weapon, they won't upgrade, and how D&D is it to not upgrade your stuff when you get better stuff?

[AbernathyDuck]

I've always had a roleplay + metagame way of dealing with it. When they talk to a shopkeeper or the mage casts identify or whatnot, I usually describe a feint magical aura and that it is a "mildly enchanted weapon"... then break from roleplaying mode and tell him the detail out-of-game. It is "+1 long sword."

AbernathyDuck

[Fallen Seraph]

Since I like having non-magical weapons, +# weapons are usually described to have something uniquely built into it. So things like; being extra keen, serrated, etc.

[Imban]

I tend to use "well-made" as a phrase to describe anything worth looting, but a +1 sword is just a +1 sword unless someone named it. Then it's "the +1 longsword 'Orcsbane'" or whatnot.

[Gloombunny]

Let's see...

In real life, I'm a hardware server geek. I differentiate tools of my trade with descriptors like "DDR 333 512 MB PC 2100 RAM" and "AMD Duron 700 MHz" and "RAID 0+1" and "SDRAM 133 1024 MB" and "Intel Celeron 300 MHz".

I can, with one glance tell what is what: I can definitely tell that the RAID controller does both striping and mirroring, I would pick Duron over Celeron if I'm given any choice and possibly the DDR RAM over SDRAM, depending on MB where I'm gonna plug it in. And I converse with this number-laden jargon with my colleagues, and I know that IT is not the only place where similar business happens.

I see no reason why other professionals wouldn't develop their own jargon for such enchantments, or, heaven forbid, even ranks, gradings, and levels mixed with colorful slang. "Yeah, this sword is so totally grade five when it comes to whacking creatures, I was thinking about making it a dragonslayer on top of everything, except it costs a load of gold I don't have at the moment. And that armor? Bitchin' grade two; try to get it sold to some noob and get at least grade three or four plate, otherwise you'll get gacked by the dragon we're gonna try to slay. By the way, ask Bob to show his new bow, it does fire bursts and is a nice grade two on top of it."

I mean, even gun freaks have their own classifications for their tools of trade; caliber, ammo and so on, although I'm only dimly aware of differences there.

Remember: jargon exists for two reasons: one, to show that you're a pro and DIFFERENT from those "others" and two, to converse with people who are "with you" and speed up communication.
This makes me want to play a weapons-geek character and make up a bunch of jargon for subtle distinctions in enchantment types that don't actually show up in the rules. (Because the rules are abstract enough that the differences in performance between a +1.3 high-density striped enchantment and a +1.2 dual-layer enchantment with an expanded mana cache are glossed over in the interest of playability, you see.)

[SuperG]

"enchanted"/"magic".

I don't usually have or like generic +2 weapons, and by the time it gets to +3 in effective enhancements, it deserves a name. (A +2 flaming longsword is, well, different enough to be worth a name)

Oh, and I give out cards with item stats on them when stuf is looted and ID'd, so I don't need to describe them precisely.

[Owesome2]

This makes me want to play a weapons-geek character and make up a bunch of jargon for subtle distinctions in enchantment types that don't actually show up in the rules. (Because the rules are abstract enough that the differences in performance between a +1.3 high-density striped enchantment and a +1.2 dual-layer enchantment with an expanded mana cache are glossed over in the interest of playability, you see.)

"Do you have the Hershebian gravity-feed bow with the 400-pound draw?"

"Hey, only what you see, mister."

[Alvin Frewer]

...or +2, +3, etc.

Given that the +X ability is strictly tied to the game rules and not the setting, or in other words, characters don't say "I rolled a natural 20 on my attack roll and dealt 3d6 + 4 points of damage," but "I effortlessly struck the fiend and gave it a nasty gash," how would a +X weapon be described in-game?

Generally the same as a non-magical weapon, unless there is some magical glow or effect about it. And sometimes special effects like slicing through bone or armor like butter. But there's nothing dramatically different in general. They cut a little (to a lot) deeper, and can cut through defenses.

[Rasmus Wagner]

"Amazing Holy Flaming Dragonsbane Thunderclapping Bastard Sword" .... yep, sufficiently D&D.

No mere Clap for me. I have the THUNDERCLAPS! :D

[Master Of Desaster]

-1 crap (weapons for half price - I use them)
0 typical street ware
MW toy for a noble boy
+1 standard equipement / starting point
+2 good
+3 terrific
+4 horrible
+5 you're joking - right ?

Mixin in
"burns like hell if you cut yourself" (fire)
"salt for your wounds" (acid)
"demon slayer" (holy)

and so on ...

[Booberry]

I try to make all magical items in my campaign seem special, so I give them all ostentatious names, sometimes using nautical naming conventions such as "Vander's Folly"for a cursed Backbiter spear or "Falstagg's Ubiquitous Goblin Hammer" for a +1 battle axe (+2 vs. goblins). The characters call them by these names.

I find that giving magic items high falutin' names provides a sense of history to the campaign world. YMMV.