Upgrading Weapons
Upgrading weapons follows a branching path system, with available options split into multiple tiers. At first, a weapon can only be upgraded with a limited selection of 1st tier tags depending on its type, each of which “unlocks” one or more options from the next tier. The following additional rules apply when upgrading a weapon with a new tag:
- All prerequisite conditions must be satisfied to apply a new tag, as shown in the Weapon Upgrades table.
- 2nd tier upgrades can only be applied by a trained craftsman, with 3rd tier upgrades requiring the skills of a master artisan.
- Typically, it takes an artisan a full day of work (minimum 8 hours) to upgrade a weapon with a new tag.
- Once added, a tag can’t be removed from a weapon.
Weapon Upgrade Cost Structure
Upgrading a weapon has a base cost associated with each tier, with subsequent upgrades of that tier costing twice the previous amount for that tier. For example, the Fighter decides to pay a visit to a local blacksmith in order to have a customized pommel attached to his dagger—adding the balanced tag—for the tier 1 base cost of 100 gp. Later, he returns to have the blade honed—adding the sharpened tag—this time costing 200 gp, with the next 1st tier upgrade costing 400 gp, and so on.
Upgrades are grouped by tier for the purposes of this cost scaling: continuing with the above example, if the Fighter then wishes to have the blade of his dagger partially serrated in order to improve its effectiveness when slicing and cutting—adding the saw-toothed tag—it would cost 1,000 gp (the 2nd tier base cost) provided that the dagger doesn’t already possess any other 2nd tier tags.
Weapon Upgrades
| Tag | Prerequisite | Properties |
|---|---|---|
| 1st-Tier | (Base Cost: 100 gp) | --- |
| Masterwork | --- | You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls made with this weapon |
| Critical: Sharpened | Melee Weapons that deal Piercing or Slashing damage | Attacks with this weapon score a critical hit on a roll of one lower than normal. |
| Critical: Sight Pin | Bows and Crossbows | Attacks with this weapon score a critical hit on a roll of one lower than normal. |
| Critical: Spiked | Melee weapons that deal bludgeoning damage only | Attacks with this weapon score a critical hit on a roll of one lower than normal. |
| Wounding: Keen | Melee Weapons | You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls made with this weapon. |
| Wounding: Oiled String | Bows and Crossbows | You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls made with this weapon. |
| 2nd-Tier | (base cost: 1,000 gp) | - |
| Ruthless | Sharpened or Spiked tag. | When you attack with this weapon and roll the maximum result for the weapon's damage dice, you can add your strength or dexterity modifier to the damage again, and add it to the total resulting damage of the attack. |
| Flanged | Spiked tag. Maces and Mauls. | When you hit a creature wearing nonmagical medium or heavy armor with this weapon, you sunder its armor, inflicting a noncumulative -1 penalty to its Armor Class until the armor is repaired. |
| Saw-Toothed | Sharpened tag. Daggers only. | Attacks with this weapon deal an extra 1d4 slashing damage. No effect against constructs or undead. |
| Superior | Balanced, Keen, or Oiled String tag. Can only be applied to weapons with one damage die. | The damage die of this weapon is increased by one size (for example, 1d6 becomes 1d8, and 1d10 becomes 1d12) to a maximum of 1d12. |
| 3rd-Tier | (Base Cost: 10,000 gp) | --- |
| Mastercraft | Superior tag. | You gain an additional +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. |