The Equalizer "Sword of Neutrality"

Lateralus

http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/The_Equalizer

So it's a +3 long sword, that's a given. And the total COMBINED magical power scales as such:

True neutral: +3 to thaco and +3 to damage
Chaotic & lawful neutral: +4 to hit and +5 to damage.
Neutral good & evil: +5 to hit and +7 to damage
Other four alignments: +6 to hit and +9 damage.

Am I interrupting this correcting?

Glam_Vrock

No. When it says "strikes as a +3 weapon", that just means it'll hit enemies that are immune to +2 weapons or lower. The bonuses are as written. Against a true neutral opponent, it's just a regular long sword.

It's kind of a disappointment.

Lateralus

Glam_Vrock said:

No. When it says "strikes as a +3 weapon", that just means it'll hit enemies that are immune to +2 weapons or lower. The bonuses are as written. Against a true neutral opponent, it's just a regular long sword.

It's kind of a disappointment.

Yes, it's a unique weapon, but when something needs to be assembled in dramatic fashion like that...I expect more. If I had a hand in the game design I simply would have turned the idea of this weapon into a druidic club. There are so few meaningful religious weapons for druids (and not much for fans of the clubs to dance to), and the weapons power has a very "Policing The Balance of the Universe" kind of feel to it.

In it's place, why not the dancing sword? If I remember my dusty old 2nd edition DMG magic item chapter correctly, the Dancing Sword randomly changed it's power each round. Could be +1 to +5!

Thanks for the clarification.

elminster

The only PnP reference of the Equalizer is from the Greyhawk setting (in this case "Greyhawk Adventures")

Equalizer of Gran March: Also known as the Sword of
Neutrality, this silver long sword is a tool for the balancing
powers of the universe. Its creator desired that it be used to
equalize (or, more accurately, to terminate) the extremes of
nature, shifting the universe closer to the true neutral
alignment. Only a character of true neutral alignment can
fully use this sword. In the hands of such a character, the
weapon is treated as a + 3 weapon when determining what
can be hit by it, even though its “to hit” and damage
bonuses are but + 1. In the hand of a true neutral character,
the sword receives special combat modifiers according
to the opponent’s alignment:
Opponent’s Alignment “To Hit” Damage
lawful neutral, chaotic neutral +1 +2
neutral good, neutral evil +2 +4
lawful good, chaotic good,
lawful evil, chaotic evil +3 +6
Each time an opponent of an extreme alignment is struck,
the creature must make a saving throw versus spells or be
disintegrated. Against true neutral opponents the sword
receives only the bonuses of a long sword + 1.
X.P. value: 10,000 x.p. G.P. value: 50,000 g.p.

So uhh...its a bit more interesting

Lateralus

elminster said:

The only PnP reference of the Equalizer is from the Greyhawk setting (in this case "Greyhawk Adventures")

Equalizer of Gran March: Also known as the Sword of
Neutrality, this silver long sword is a tool for the balancing
powers of the universe. Its creator desired that it be used to
equalize (or, more accurately, to terminate) the extremes of
nature, shifting the universe closer to the true neutral
alignment. Only a character of true neutral alignment can
fully use this sword. In the hands of such a character, the
weapon is treated as a + 3 weapon when determining what
can be hit by it, even though its “to hit” and damage
bonuses are but + 1. In the hand of a true neutral character,
the sword receives special combat modifiers according
to the opponent’s alignment:
Opponent’s Alignment “To Hit” Damage
lawful neutral, chaotic neutral +1 +2
neutral good, neutral evil +2 +4
lawful good, chaotic good,
lawful evil, chaotic evil +3 +6
Each time an opponent of an extreme alignment is struck,
the creature must make a saving throw versus spells or be
disintegrated. Against true neutral opponents the sword
receives only the bonuses of a long sword + 1.
X.P. value: 10,000 x.p. G.P. value: 50,000 g.p.

So uhh...its a bit more interesting

lol nice find. The developers borrowed an idea from another campaign setting and then nerfed it.

It bothers me that druids can't/won't use long swords!