Post by donosaur on Dec 28, 2016 18:32:15 GMT
One of my players is a Paladin of Selune, and seeing as how Selune isn't your typical Paladin-type diety I went and homebrewed up a custom Oath for her based around the Swords of the Lady. She's a guiding, diving, magic-disrupting based fighter, and while the Oath probably isn't perfect it's been working well so far.
The thing is, this player is also a big Star Wars fan and wants to play her character like a Jedi*, sort of. So I found this old spell Moon Blade (not to be confused with the magic item) and thought it sounded suitably lightsabery. I used Flame Blade as a template, and added some lunar flavor to it from the old version of the spell. The other option would've been to go with a toned-down Arcane Sword as the template, but I wanted a 3rd level spell.
Concerns: since this is a melee spell attack and not a melee weapon attack, she can't add any smite damage onto it. What would compel her to burn a slot on summoning this weapon that she can't add smite damage onto? I added the disadvantage on concentration checks effect for this reason. If she's fighting a caster who's maintaining some nasty spells, she can start slashing at them with the moon blade, forcing a concentration check with disadvantage on her hit, and every other hit the caster takes until her next turn, when she will presumably start attacking again with the moon blade. Does this seem like a good enough incentive for her to put down her regular weapon and burn a spell slot?
Additional ideas: the original moon blade spell indicates that even while the blade is immaterial, you can still wield it like a sword and use sword-based features. This would mean getting a +2 damage with the Duelist fighting style for instance, or rerolling 1's and 2's if you held the blade with two hands. However, this effect isn't included in the Flame Blade or Arcane Sword spells, and I'm worried that it overlaps the Pact Weapon Warlock feature. However, we don't have a warlock in our game, so I think I'll let the paladin use her great weapon bonus with this.
*Yes, I realize I could just give her a Sun Blade hilt as a magic item and reskin it as a Moon Saber, and well...that option is still on the table. She took great weapon fighting as her style so the finesse weapon wouldn't do her much good.
The thing is, this player is also a big Star Wars fan and wants to play her character like a Jedi*, sort of. So I found this old spell Moon Blade (not to be confused with the magic item) and thought it sounded suitably lightsabery. I used Flame Blade as a template, and added some lunar flavor to it from the old version of the spell. The other option would've been to go with a toned-down Arcane Sword as the template, but I wanted a 3rd level spell.
☾ Moonblade
3rd level evocation
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self (hand)
Components: V, S, M (A small candy made with wintergreen oil)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
A 3-foot-long, blazing beam of moonlight springs forth from your hand. The blade is similar in size and shape to a longsword. You do not need long sword proficiency to wield the spell with proficiency. If you let go of the blade, it disappears, but can be evoked again as a bonus action.
The light blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
You can use your action to make a melee spell attack with the blade. On a hit the target takes 3d6 radiant damage. The blade is immaterial, so you do not add your strength bonus to the damage. A creature hit with the moon blade makes Constitution saving throws to maintain spell concentration with disadvantage until the start of your next turn.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for every two slot levels above 2nd.
3rd level evocation
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self (hand)
Components: V, S, M (A small candy made with wintergreen oil)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
A 3-foot-long, blazing beam of moonlight springs forth from your hand. The blade is similar in size and shape to a longsword. You do not need long sword proficiency to wield the spell with proficiency. If you let go of the blade, it disappears, but can be evoked again as a bonus action.
The light blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
You can use your action to make a melee spell attack with the blade. On a hit the target takes 3d6 radiant damage. The blade is immaterial, so you do not add your strength bonus to the damage. A creature hit with the moon blade makes Constitution saving throws to maintain spell concentration with disadvantage until the start of your next turn.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for every two slot levels above 2nd.
Additional ideas: the original moon blade spell indicates that even while the blade is immaterial, you can still wield it like a sword and use sword-based features. This would mean getting a +2 damage with the Duelist fighting style for instance, or rerolling 1's and 2's if you held the blade with two hands. However, this effect isn't included in the Flame Blade or Arcane Sword spells, and I'm worried that it overlaps the Pact Weapon Warlock feature. However, we don't have a warlock in our game, so I think I'll let the paladin use her great weapon bonus with this.
*Yes, I realize I could just give her a Sun Blade hilt as a magic item and reskin it as a Moon Saber, and well...that option is still on the table. She took great weapon fighting as her style so the finesse weapon wouldn't do her much good.