Functional Weapons of Legacy (3.5e Variant Rule)

Let's be honest, weapons of legacy from the book of the same name suck. They suck long and hard. They are special magic items which you can enhance through special fluffy rituals, gold, and xp cost, and up to that point things were ok. It was much like being able to craft your own magic items without the feat, and limited to this one item. And the rituals to unlock more powers can be epic and engaging.

And then come... the drawbacks.

Intended as some bizarre concept of balance, the drawbacks are not only bad, but purposefully designed to cripple the type of user of the weapon. Are you a strong two-handed power attacking warrior? Here's a nice sword, by the way it's -2 to hit, permanently lowers your hp by 10, and reduces your AC too, and drops your speed. But hey, at least you got to spend your own gold and xp to make it Flaming!

While technically possible through much optimization to make custom weapons of legacy decent (all the ones in the book are so crappy an otyugh wouldn't eat it), it's difficult, it's time consuming, it involves dumpster diving, and it shouldn't work like that. The concept of weapons of legacy is close enough to feats like Ancestrial WeaponBoED, without the drawbacks. For the drawbacks given, the benefits are pathetic. So, if you ever want to see a viable use of weapons of legacy beyond the highly optimized attempt at making them simply ok, try this...

Functional Weapons of Legacy
Remove the drawbacks.

That's it. They don't exist. The gold, the xp, and the time spent on rituals is cost enough. Enjoy your shiny sword, have a nice day.