Extraordinay Weapon Skill Bonus (Official Ruling Needed)

[E221b]

The chart dealing with "weapons of extraordinary make" seems ambiguous. It is clear that a non-weapon item receives a relevant skill bonus ranging from 5% to 25% depending on its quality of make. Weapons, however have additional abilities (example: baleful) that are tied to their quality of make. Do they (weapons) also receive the so-called "skill item" bonus? And if so, does this not make them inordinately powerful? Any official ruling would be appreciated.

 

[soltakss]

The bonus to skill for non-weapon items is a cop-out so that the designers don't need to come up with fancy abilities for non-weapons.

Weapons get the fancy abilities, non-weapons just get a straight bonus.

I'd have preferred if they came up with a list of sample abilities for non-weapons in the same way as for weapons.

 

[E221b]

Ah, but here's the thing: in the new issue of Signs & Portents Roleplayer, the descriptions of all of the extraordinary weapons include both the skill bonuses and the fancy abilities.

Example #1: "A weapon of Heroic Quality craftsmanship, Excalibur provides its wielder with a +25% skill modifier. In addition, it carries the Baleful (double damage), Parrying (+1 AP) and Swift (-10% penalty on attempts to Parry Excalibur) weapon effects."

Example #2: "A Marvellous Quality scimitar, Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar bestows a +15% Skill Modifier when wielded in combat. It also benefits from the Keen (+1 damage) and Swift (-10% penalty on attempts to Dodge attacks made with this weapon) Weapon effects."

From Signs & Portents Roleplayer - Issue 51

They're all like that. I just need to make sure that it's official (that weapons get both the skill bonuses and the weapon effects).

 

[weasel_fierce]

Keep in mind that those weapons are weapons of legend. They get to cheat.

The companion is clear that the bonus is not for weapons.

 

[E221b]

Is that official? I say it's still ambiguous, not clear at all. The language is not perfectly clear in the rulebook.

 

[Rurik]

Looking at the SRD it is not clear, but I am pretty sure in the full companion it is more clear that the skill item bonus only applies to skill items while the weapon and armor effects apply to weapons and armor. The skill item bonus is for skill items (lockpicks for example) and the weapon and armor effects are for weapons and armor.

Also, the Warrior's weapon effect specifically gives +5% to skill per level, stackable up to 4 times. I doubt this weapon effect would have been included if you were supposed to apply the skill item bonus to weapons.

 

[weasel_fierce]

The Companion text mentions examples of what constitutes a "skill item" (tools, lock picks etc)