Animated Weapon (3.5e Template)
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Animated Weapon[edit]
This template turns an ordinary weapon into a menacing foe.
Animated weapons are mundane or magical weapons that have been animated through spells.
Creating an Animated Weapon[edit]
Animated Weapon is unique in that it is a template that must be applied to a melee weapon instead of a creature. The template is acquired through any of various magical effects.
Size and Type[edit]
Base weapon becomes a creature of the Construct type.
An animated weapon gains base attack and base save bonuses as a construct, and has a racial bonus to saving throws equal to its magical enhancement bonus.
Animated weapons have no skill points, unless they are intelligent.
A one-handed weapon is two size categories smaller than any creature it is intended for. For a particular size creature, a light weapon is one size category smaller than a one-handed weapon, and a two-handed weapon is one size category larger than a one-handed weapon. For example, for a Medium creature, a light weapon is Diminutive, a one-handed weapon is Tiny, and a two-handed weapon is Small.
Hit Dice[edit]
An animated weapon has a number of Hit Dice depending on its quality and the magical enhancement bonus it has (if any), as per Table: Animated Weapon Statistics.
Speed[edit]
An animated weapon has a fly speed (in feet) of 40 + ten times its magical enhancement bonus, with perfect maneuverability.
Armor Class[edit]
An animated weapon has a natural armor bonus to AC equal to the hardness of its base material - 5 (minimum +0), as well as a shield bonus and a deflection bonus, both equal to its magical enhancement bonus (if any). It also gains a size bonus or penalty to AC (if any), depending on its effective size.
Attack[edit]
An animated weapon performs attacks like a weapon of its type does in the hands of a creature proficient in its use. The base damage of an attack by an animated weapon is equal to the base damage of the base weapon.
The attacks of an animated weapon are treated as attacks made with a manufactured weapon. Attacks by an animated weapon are considered magical (if the base weapon has an enhancement bonus of at least +1) or epic (if the base weapon has an enhancement bonus of +6). If the base weapon is made out of a material with special properties that bypass specific forms of damage reduction, such as adamantine, alchemical silver or cold iron, the animated weapon is also considered to have that quality.
If the base weapon has any sort of special enhancement that changes the effect of its attacks, the animated weapon has this quality as well. Examples are special enhancements that increase its damage (such as flaming, shock, collision, etc.) and effects that bypass certain types of defenses (such as holy or brilliant energy).
An animated weapon has the same space and reach that an appropriately sized creature would have when wielding the weapon. For example, an animated longsword occupies a 5-foot square, and has a 5-foot reach, even though it is effectively Tiny.
Full Attack[edit]
An animated weapon may make iterative attacks on a full attack action, provided it has a high enough base attack bonus. If the base weapon has a special enhancement that influences its behaviour on a full attack, such as speed, the animated weapon has this quality on a full action as well.
Special Attacks[edit]
An animated weapon has no extraordinary or supernatural abilities, except for those the base weapon has gained from special weapon enhancements or weapon crystalsMIC.
Special Qualities[edit]
An animated weapon has the usual construct traits, and furthermore gains the following:
- Blindsight out to 30 feet, plus an additional 30 feet for every 2 points of magical enhancement bonus the base weapon has.
- Damage reduction/- equal to half the hardness of the weapon.
- Freedom of Movement: As the spell.
- Resistance to all energy types equal to 5 plus 5 times its magical enhancement bonus (5 if mundane or masterwork, 10 at +1, 15 at +2, etc.). Animated weapons with an enhancement bonus of +6 or higher instead have complete immunity to all energy types.
Abilities[edit]
Strength and Dexterity equal to the value in Table: Animated Weapon Statistics, modified by the weapon's effective size. A mithral weapon has an additional +4 Dexterity, and an adamantine weapon has an additional +6 Strength.
Being a construct, an animated weapon has no Constitution or Intelligence score.
An animated weapon has a Wisdom score equal to 10 + twice its magical enhancement bonus, and a Charisma of 1.
Animated weapons that are intelligent items retain the mental ability scores of the base weapon.
Skills[edit]
An animated weapon has a +8 racial bonus to Tumble checks.
Feats[edit]
An animated weapon gains Eiji Weapon Focus in the appropriate weapon type as a bonus feat. Furthermore, it also gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat if light.
An animated weapon does not gain any racial feats unless it is an intelligent item.
Environment[edit]
Any.
Organization[edit]
Any.
Challenge Rating[edit]
1 (mundane), 2 (masterwork), enhancement bonus×3 (magical).
Mithral: ×2 or +2, whichever is lower.
Adamantine: ×3 or +3, whichever is lower.
Special Weapon Quality: + half the cumulative enhancement bonus of all special weapon qualities, rounded up.
Treasure[edit]
The base weapon.
Alignment[edit]
Always neutral.
Animated Weapon Table[edit]
| Quality | Hit Dice1 (hit points2) | Base Str/Dex3 |
|---|---|---|
| Mundane, normal | 1d10 (5 hp) | 10 |
| Mundane, mwk | 3d10 (16 hp) | 12 |
| Magical, +1 | 5d10+5 (32 hp) | 14 |
| Magical, +2 | 8d10+16 (60 hp) | 16 |
| Magical, +3 | 11d10+33 (93 hp) | 18 |
| Magical, +4 | 14d10+56 (133 hp) | 20 |
| Magical, +5 | 17d10+85 (178 hp) | 22 |
| Magical, +6 | 20d10+120 (230 hp) | 24 |
| ||
Example Monster: Animated Longsword[edit]
| +1 Animated Longsword | +2 Animated Longsword | +3 Animated Longsword | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size/Type: | Tiny Construct | Tiny Construct | Tiny Construct |
| Hit Dice: | 5d10+5 (32 hp) | 8d10+16 (60 hp) | 11d10+33 (93 hp) |
| Initiative: | +2 | +3 | +4 |
| Speed: | Fly 50 ft. (perfect) | Fly 60 ft. (perfect) | Fly 70 ft. (perfect) |
| Armor Class: | 21 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +5 natural, +1 shield, +1 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 19 | 24 (+2 size, +3 Dex, +5 natural, +2 shield, +2 deflection), touch 17, flat-footed 21 | 27 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +5 natural, +3 shield, +3 deflection), touch 19, flat-footed 23 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +3/-3 (freedom) | +6/+1 (freedom) | +8/+4 (freedom) |
| Attack: | Longsword +9 melee (1d8+3/19-20) | Longsword +14 melee (1d8+7/19-20) | Longsword +19 melee (1d8+9/19-20) |
| Full Attack: | Longsword +9 melee (1d8+3/19-20) | Longsword +14/+9 melee (1d8+7/19-20) | Longsword +19/+14 melee (1d8+9/19-20) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. | 5 ft./5 ft. | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | — | — | — |
| Special Qualities: | Construct traits, blindsight 30 ft., damage reduction 6/-, freedom of movement, resistance to energy 10 | Construct traits, blindsight 60 ft., damage reduction 7/-, freedom of movement, resistance to energy 15 | Construct traits, blindsight 60 ft., damage reduction 8/-, freedom of movement, resistance to energy 20 |
| Saves: | Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +3 | Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6 | Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +9 |
| Abilities: | Str 14, Dex 14, Con —, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 1 | Str 16, Dex 16, Con —, Int —, Wis 14, Cha 1 | Str 18, Dex 18, Con —, Int —, Wis 16, Cha 1 |
| Skills: | Tumble +10 | Tumble +11 | Tumble +12 |
| Feats: | Eiji Weapon Focus | Eiji Weapon Focus | Eiji Weapon Focus |
| Environment: | Any | Any | Any |
| Organization: | Solitary | Solitary | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Treasure: | One +1 longsword | One +2 longsword | One +3 longsword |
| Alignment: | Always neutral | Always neutral | Always neutral |
| Advancement: | — | — | — |
| Level Adjustment: | — | — | — |
| +4 Animated Longsword | +5 Animated Longsword | +6 Animated Longsword | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size/Type: | Tiny Construct | Tiny Construct | Tiny Construct |
| Hit Dice: | 14d10+56 (133 hp) | 17d10+85 (178 hp) | 20d10+120 (230 hp) |
| Initiative: | +5 | +6 | +7 |
| Speed: | Fly 80 ft. (perfect) | Fly 90 ft. (perfect) | Fly 100 ft. (perfect) |
| Armor Class: | 30 (+2 size, +5 Dex, +5 natural, +4 shield, +4 deflection), touch 21, flat-footed 25 | 33 (+2 size, +6 Dex, +5 natural, +5 shield, +5 deflection), touch 23, flat-footed 27 | 36 (+2 size, +7 Dex, +5 natural, +6 shield, +6 deflection), touch 25, flat-footed 29 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +10/+7 (freedom) | +12/+10 (freedom) | +15/+14 (freedom) |
| Attack: | Longsword +23 melee (1d8+11/19-20) | Longsword +27 melee (1d8+15/19-20) | Longsword +32 melee (1d8+17/19-20) |
| Full Attack: | Longsword +23/+18 melee (1d8+11/19-20) | Longsword +27/+22/+17 melee (1d8+15/19-20) | Longsword +32/+27/+22 melee (1d8+17/19-20) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. | 5 ft./5 ft. | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | — | — | — |
| Special Qualities: | Construct traits, blindsight 90 ft., damage reduction 9/-, freedom of movement, resistance to energy 25 | Construct traits, blindsight 90 ft., damage reduction 10/-, freedom of movement, resistance to energy 30 | Construct traits, blindsight 120 ft., damage reduction 11/-, energy immunity, freedom of movement |
| Saves: | Fort +8, Ref +13, Will +12 | Fort +10, Ref +16, Will +15 | Fort +12, Ref +19, Will +18 |
| Abilities: | Str 20, Dex 20, Con —, Int —, Wis 18, Cha 1 | Str 22, Dex 22, Con —, Int —, Wis 20, Cha 1 | Str 24, Dex 24, Con —, Int —, Wis 22, Cha 1 |
| Skills: | Tumble +13 | Tumble +14 | Tumble +15 |
| Feats: | Eiji Weapon Focus | Eiji Weapon Focus | Eiji Weapon Focus |
| Environment: | Any | Any | Any |
| Organization: | Solitary | Solitary | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Treasure: | One +4 longsword | One +5 longsword | One +6 longsword |
| Alignment: | Always neutral | Always neutral | Always neutral |
| Advancement: | — | — | — |
| Level Adjustment: | — | — | — |
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Monsters → Templates
| Alignment | Always neutral + |
| Author | Sulacu + |
| Challenge Rating | 1 +, 2 +, 3 +, 6 +, 9 +, 12 +, 15 + and 18 + |
| Environment | Any + |
| Identifier | 3.5e Template + |
| Level Adjustment | — + |
| Rating | Unrated + |
| Size | Tiny + |
| Summary | This template turns an ordinary weapon into a menacing foe. + |
| Title | Animated Weapon + |
| Type | Construct + |
