Weapons of Legacy (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) [Hardcover]

Bruce R. Cordell (Author), Kolja Raven Liquette (Author), Travis Stout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005

The ultimate guide to magic items–especially weapons–of rich heritage.

Weapons of Legacy™ provides a wealth of information on magical weapons with
rich histories. The book includes many pre-defined weapons, outlining their
names, history, powers, stats, necessary rituals for unlocking their powers, and
adventure hooks. How the weapons can gain power is discussed, as well as the
feats with which they might be used. Also included are discussions of other
magic items such as magic armor, rings, and staves.

AUTHOR BIO: BRUCE R. CORDELL, an Originsaward-winning author, has designed over 30 game titles, including the Expanded Psionics Handbook™. He also co-authored Sandstorm™, Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead™, Planar Handbook™, Epic Level Handbook™, and Underdark™.

KOLJA RAVEN LIQUETTE is best known for authoring The Waking Lands
web site. He has also published articles in Dragon® Magazine.

TRAVIS STOUT is a freelance designer who has written several articles for
Dragon® Magazine and whose previous design credits include Lost Empires
of Faerûn™ and the Player’s Guide to Faerûn™.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

BRUCE R. CORDELL, an Origins award- winning author, has designed over 30 game titles, including the Expanded Psionics Handbook™. He also co-authored Sandstorm™, Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead™, Planar Handbook™, Epic Level Handbook™, and Underdark™.

KOLJA RAVEN LIQUETTE is best known for authoring The Waking Lands web site. He has also published articles in Dragon® Magazine.

TRAVIS STOUT is a freelance designer who has written several articles for Dragon® Magazine and whose previous design credits include Lost Empires of Faerûn™ and the Player's Guide to Faerûn™.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786936886
• ISBN-13: 978-0786936885
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BRUCE R. CORDELL is the author of several FORGOTTEN REALMS novels, including Darkvision, Plague of Spells, City of Torment, Key of Stars, and Sword of the Gods.

Bruce is also an Origins and ENnie award-winning game designer whose long list of professional credits include the new Gamma World game, Player's Handbook 3 for 4th Edition, and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.

Bruce summarizes himself as so: Author, science groupie, martial artist dilettante, stumbler through life's thorny briars.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DIY magical artifacts, August 30, 2005

By 

Michael D. Briggs "Dark_Psion" (El Reno, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Weapons of Legacy (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (Hardcover)

In many fantasy stories, there are powerful items of magic. The One Ring, Excalibur or Stormbringer. One of the dangers of D&D is giving a player a magic item that is too powerful and upseting the balance of the game.

Weapons of Legacy introduces new rules that allows a magic item to grow with the PC, allowing them to unlock new powers as they adventure. This way a simple +1 longsword can become your own personal Excalibur in time.

There are many sample items, a section of creating new items, on how to create creatures of legacy (a far too small section here) and how to convert some existing magic items into legacy items.

The one complaint would be that the focus is primarily on just weapons and only a few examples of armor, rings and no examples of a wizard's wand or staff of legacy.

Overall, this book does introduce some very good new rules to the game and open the door for some good role playing.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great concept to add depth and interest to any D&D campaign, August 6, 2005

By 

B. Conway (Chatfield, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Weapons of Legacy (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (Hardcover)

The concept of unlocking dormant powers within weapons of deep history is fresh and new for a D&D supplement. I love the concept of singular weapons that can advance in power alongside a character. The material is a great springboard for Dungeon Masters to develop inspired weapon concepts and histories on their own. There are also useable adventure hooks to tie each weapon into an ongoing campaign.

The actual game mechanics presented for weapon legacies are rather weak. I would recommend any DM to take this book, read it over, and then tailor the rules to fit his own gaming style.

This book is alive with flavor and great ideas to help revive any flat and routine campaign.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good idea. Thin on Content., January 3, 2006

By 

Anglobotomy (Las Vegas, Nv United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weapons of Legacy (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (Hardcover)

One of the things that I liked most about Earthdawn was the way items were treated. Apparently someone at Wizards felt the same and decided to steal a similar system. I believe Monte Cook put out a similar idea in one of his Books of Eldritch Might. I actually like this one better than Monte's version. I think Weapons of Legacy is a great tool for any DnD campaign and adds a lot to the story. This system certainly allows a character to do a little more with that magic weapon he found. What I don't like about this book is that its mostly examples. Certainly, a few examples are fine, but this book's a little thin on content. Give me rules and cool stuff, not fluff. I can figure out how to make an item of legacy with a little instruction. Give me organizations who deal with such items. Maybe a few more prestige classes who work with legacy things, not just item after item. But again, I'm glad I have the book.