[3.5] Minor Artifact: Mina the Boomerang

[Crissa]

From one of the less frustrating games I'm in, one of my DMs likes to experiment. So it's not /my/ writing.

Mina is a wooden boomerang, flat on the sides, with a fine beveled edge. Her surface is covered in a brilliant orange lacquer, decorated with bold black geometric images and accented silver arcane glyphs. Her design is the tried and true two wing approach, which allows for effortless return flight, lift while in the air, and a high degree of accuracy.

Mina is a medium +3 light boomerang with the following properties and powers.

Damage: 1d4+3
Range Increment: 30 ft
Critical: x2
Weight: ½ pound

Property: Mina grants the Exotic Weapon: Boomerang proficiency while the weapon remains within the procession of the wielder.
Property: Mina can not be sold or discarded. She will always return.

Concordance

Starting Score: 5

Owner gains a level: +1d10
Owner is interested in learning about Kangaroo's, Dingo's or Kola's: +2
Owner is interested in history, nature, and storytelling: +1
Owner completes a quest suggested by Mina: +1
Owner kills a serpent (maximum 1/day): +1
Owner attacks an alley or innocent bystander or performs an evil deed: -2
Owner disobeys the guidelines of a quest issued by Mina: -2
Owner ignores Mina: -1
Owner attempts to sell or discard Mina: -5

Pleased: (16 or More)

Property: +8 Knowledge History, Local, Nature rolls.

Property: Gain a +5 Jump, +5 Survival, or +5 Climb bonus.

Spell-like Ability: Standard Action 3/Day: Assume the physical shape and characteristics of a Kangaroo, Dingo or Kola with associated abilities. The duration is the spell is limited to your current HD / hour.

Property: Mina gains the magical property of Thundering (1d8 points of sonic damage on a successful critical hit. Subjects dealt a critical hit by a thundering weapon must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or be deafened permanently.)

Satisfied: (12-15)

Property: Gain a +3 Jump, +3 Survival, or +3 Climb bonus.

Normal (5-11)

Mina is sociable, but grants no bonuses.

Unsatisfied (1-4)

Property: You take a -2 penalty to attack rolls and damage rolls against any creature.
Property: You desire to find Mina a new wielder as quickly as possible.

This is an artifact, following the 'relationship' model in 4e. I'm not entirely sure this will work with the mechanics as laid out, and I want to be sure that there's no traps in his math.

-Crissa

[Username17]

None of those animal are worth anything in a fight. The only reaon you'd care is transforming for purpoes of overland movement or hiding. And the weapon is a d4+3 - the same a +1 Longbow. After the first couple of levels, you won't even want to throw the damn thing. It'll just sit in a pocket providing unslotted skill bonuses.

Which means that it' basically a special effect for getting some skill bonuses if you complete some quests or kill some snakes. But because of the non-standard wording, I can't tell how many skill bonuses that actually is. Pretty harmless. It's like getting an Ioun Stone that grants bonuses on Knowledge History and Survival.

Whatever.

-Username17

[The Matthew]

So, if Mina has the property: always returns to you when gotten rid of, how do you ever intend to find a new owner of Mina to get rid of your -2 attack/damage from pissing off your boomerang?

[Username17]

So, if Mina has the property: always returns to you when gotten rid of, how do you ever intend to find a new owner of Mina to get rid of your -2 attack/damage from pissing off your boomerang?

It's a +3 piece of wood, so it has a hardness of 8 and 20 hit point. Once broken, t loses all of its properties until repaired.

-Username17

[Judging__Eagle]

Disobeying the guidelines of a quest is .... what?

Completing a quest should give more imo, you don't want the player to perform dozens of quests before unlocking this trivial power.

Also, killing snakes should have a different cap.

Killing garter snakes in cages at 1/day; is not the same as killing a nest of giant half-fiend anacondas.

[Crissa]

Is 'get rid of' the same as 'given as a gift'?

-Crissa

[Avoraciopoctules]

Probably not. However, given that we have already seen confusion over this, it seems clear that the magic boomerang's description is too vague for some games.

This item looks like the sort of thing you'd pick up with tongs and slip into the backpack of someone you didn't like. Particularly since it is only implied to be intelligent and capable of communication. Many players would probably view it in the same light as a cursed item.