Baseline D&D assumes you eventually get magic weapons. It’s built right into the system, where you eventually run into monsters that can’t be harmed by mundane means. As you grow in power, you inevitably cycle through lesser items as you upgrade your arsenal in order to take on more powerful foes. It can feel a bit like a video game in that regard — just an endless quest to grind for better gear. The character leveling system requires these gear improvements to balance your power with that of your opponents, but the constant search for newer/better weapons makes you feel more like a Unit Supply Specialist than a budding hero.
Ancestral Weapons by Dungeon Rollers (Matt Vaughan) — a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition PDF product — provides a supplementary system that makes your enchanted weapon grow with you, thus breaking the cycle of gear grinding. Instead of brokering your way through a complex magic item economy, you can instead inherit an heirloom weapon forged by the deeds of your heroic ancestors. As you grow in power, you unlock more of your bloodline’s magic within your weapon.
Ancestral Weapon Mechanics
The premise of this system is that you inherit (or forge) a weapon that unlocks greater powers as you level, from uncommon to legendary rarity. Greater powers align with increasing tiers of play. In other words, the types and magnitude of powers available increase at each tier milestone.
Depending on how the DM would like to implement the ancestral weapon feature, the DM or the PC could upgrade the item. It’s up to the DM how much input the PC will have in the powers that emerge — the DM could predetermine the upgrade path or let the PC choose every power that manifests or anything in-between.
The book also contains options for creating a magic item that adheres to the same system, so a DM could easily create ancestral weapons for NPCs or just throw weapons into the world that have a consistent structure for cost and rarity that aligns with existing D&D protocols, including rules for attunement.
Player characters earn Spirit Points by performing heroic (or nefarious!) acts. These points are used to “purchase” your weapon upgrades. Character level limits the total number of Spirit Points you can have. The number of points you have determines the rarity of the item. New powers become available at each tier (the tiers are not exactly congruent with PHB and DMG tiers of play, but close).
When upgrades occur, options exist for overwriting old upgrades with new ones or completely refocusing your ancestral weapon. As with any other part of leveling your weapon, this process may require quests or special rituals.
133 upgrade options exist in the book. You could easily add your own upgrades based on what tier the power represents, using the existing powers as a guideline.
Various powers become available for purchase at each tier:
- Tier 1 — Uncommon (levels 1+): 36 powers
- Tier 2 — Rare (levels 5+): 45 powers
- Tier 3 — Very Rare (levels 10+): 28 powers
- Tier 4 — Legendary (levels 15+): 24 powers
Some powers are limited, of which an Ancestral Weapon can never have more than two. The limited status, along with very rare and legendary tiers, all indicate that the weapon requires attunement.
Some powers are upgrades of previous powers. For instance, Enhanced Weapon can give you a +1, +2, or +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls depending on which tier of the power you buy. If you already have the +1 power and want to upgrade to +2 at the next tier, you can use the Overwriting mechanic to absorb the Spirit Points of the former to remove them and apply them to the purchase of the latter.
Traits and personalities can also be affixed to your weapon. These are subtle effects to add flavor to your game. The book provides tables to roll or pick from, and these could also be chosen from the Minor Property table in the DMG.
Additional rules help the DM create magic items for NPCs and also detail crafting options for PCs. These rules include level and Spirit Point requirements, cost to craft, and time to craft.
Wielding famed weapons of the past means that each one should have a unique history. PCs will likely be involved in creating the backstory for their own weapons, but the book provides tables to help the DM generate histories for NPC weapons as well.
System Assessment
Ancestral Weapons makes magic weapons truly notable, as they should be. The system allows the weapon to grow in power as the PCs level, so they don’t need to be in the constant wheel of ditching old items as newer/better ones come along. This creates a more meaningful bond between the characters, their pasts, and their future deeds. Also, the mechanics of gaining Spirit Points to unlock powers provides solid motivation and inspiration for performing epic acts of grandeur. Entire plotlines could revolve around ancestral weapons, adding another layer of story to your game.
There are a few powers that need some clarification and the book could use some more proofreading for minor typos. For instance, a few powers have discrepancies between weapon-type requirements (or lack thereof) and the description, which indicates a specific weapon type (blade, staff, etc.) — it is not clear whether the author intended the power to only work for certain weapons or if it should apply to all weapons and they just used the description for flavor. None of this makes it intelligible and any decent DM could easily make an executive decision to rule on any unclear wording. But if this were a more expensive print product I would expect to see some more polish.
Upgrade tiers could have been aligned directly to D&D tiers of play to make a more integrated mechanic, but the difference isn’t a great burden, just a trivial variance that makes for one more thing to remember. Most players don’t spend much time thinking of their character level as it relates to the tiers of play anyways, so it won’t likely matter to them.
Additional Ideas for Play
The default assumption is that one or more powerful ancestors wielded this weapon and the PC is merely unlocking the powers that already exist within. This makes for a great built-in history, either for the PC to develop or for the DM to disclose over the course of the game.
If you allow the PC to choose upgrades, perhaps make them the “ancestor” in question, so each upgrade is tied to a great deed that they actually accomplish in-game. They could start by questing for (or forging) the level 0 uncommon “magic” weapon and then let their deeds guide them into appropriate upgrades.
If they obtain the weapon later in the game, perhaps they are just the second or third generation of family heroes that is shaping the weapon’s history. In this case, the weapon may already contain the first one or two tiers of powers, but the PC must continue the ancestral path of heroic deeds to forge newer, more powerful abilities.
Example Ancestral Weapon: Silmaccar
This bow was crafted by using the rules in Ancestral Weapons. It’s various traits, features, and powers emerged either from random rolls on various tables or from picking them in accordance with the system rules. The only exception to this is the History section and weapon descriptions, which used a combination of random table rolls and a little bit of story-driven embellishment. I present the weapon as it might be upgraded at each tier level, demonstrating its increasing power over time as the PC enacts heroic deeds.
Ancestral Trait
Wilderness: The weapon guides the bearer carefully through the land. You leave no footprints.
Ancestral Personality
Vengeful: Once crossed, the weapon will not forget and will encourage you in situations where you can realize your revenge.
Identifying Feature
The bow appears crudely made until held by the one attuned to it, at which point the details of its exquisite craftsmanship emerge.
History
Six generations ago your ancestor — already a ranger of some renown — sheltered a young LeShay fleeing extraplanar enemies. She hid the child and moved him around the wilderness, evading the pursuers until the child’s noble father and retinue retrieved him. As a reward, the LeShay nobleman gifted your ancestor with a magical longbow crafted from phandar wood by the fey.
Successive generations of your kin wielded Silmaccar, winning heroic battles and exacting vengeance on those who would threaten hearth and home. Now the burden of protection and vengeance has passed down; it is now your turn to unlock the mysteries of Silmaccar, harness the power of your bloodline, and forge a new destiny.
Silmaccar, Tier 1
Weapon (longbow), uncommon, requires attunement
This finely-crafted phandar bow features limbs carved with ancient fey runes.
- You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
Upgrades, 3 spirit points: Enhanced Weapon (Level 1) — 3 spirit points, limited.
Silmaccar, Tier 2
Weapon (longbow), rare, requires attunement, rangers only
The ancient runes carved into this fey bow shimmer ephemerally when in combat.
- You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
- Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.
- You may use your reaction to make an attack of opportunity against a creature moving within 30 feet of you. A creature hit by this attack must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, in addition to any damage caused. On a failed save, its movement is reduced to 0. You must complete a short or long rest before you can use this ability again.
Upgrades, 7 spirit points: Enhanced Weapon (Level 1) — 3 spirit points limited; Unflinching — 1 spirit point; Hunter’s Watch — 3 spirit points, rangers only.
Silmaccar, Tier 3
Weapon (longbow), rare, requires attunement, rangers only
Ephemeral runes etched into this finely-wrought fey bow mirror starlight as its wielder assaults foes in battle.
- You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
- Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.
- You may use your reaction to make an attack of opportunity against a creature moving within 30 feet of you. A creature hit by this attack must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, in addition to any damage caused. On a failed save, its movement is reduced to 0. You must complete a short or long rest before you can use this ability again.
- The first time you hit with an attack on your turn, gain advantage on your next attack with this weapon until the end of your turn.
Upgrades, 11 spirit points: Enhanced Weapon (Level 1) — 3 spirit points limited; Unflinching — 1 spirit point; Hunter’s Watch — 3 spirit points, rangers only; Quickshot — 4 spirit points, ranged weapons only.
Silmaccar, Tier 4
Weapon (longbow), rare, requires attunement, rangers only
Starlight emanates from the ancient runes etched into the limbs of this bow, and foes hear echoing, vengeful fey battle cries as the arrows fly to end them.
- You have a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
- Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.
- You may use your reaction to make an attack of opportunity against a creature moving within 30 feet of you. A creature hit by this attack must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, in addition to any damage caused. On a failed save, its movement is reduced to 0. You must complete a short or long rest before you can use this ability again.
- The first time you hit with an attack on your turn, gain advantage on your next attack with this weapon until the end of your turn.
- You may attack creatures within range even if you cannot draw line of sight. These attacks are made at disadvantage. Any creature targeted this way counts as being in ¾ cover.
Upgrades, 23 spirit points: Enhanced Weapon (Level 3) — 10 spirit points limited; Unflinching — 1 spirit point; Hunter’s Watch — 3 spirit points, rangers only; Quickshot — 4 spirit points, ranged weapons only; Homing — 5 spirit points, ranged weapons only.
Conclusion
Ancestral Weapons creates a useful and inspiring system that nicely slots into the existing 5E ruleset. The upgrade system is easy to understand and allows for flexibility and customization. The mere presence of ancestral weapons in your game will naturally enhance the richness of the setting and provide additional inspiration for quests and storylines that revolve around the PCs and their bloodlines.
For less than $5, this book makes a satisfying supplement to improve your next D&D game, whether using an official or homebrew setting.
Click here to download Ancestral Weapons.
