Frostheart (Ranged Weapon Magic Property)

Frostheart (Ranged Weapon Magic Property)

Enchant Cost: +8 (epic)

You must be level 21 or higher to equip, wield or wear an item with this property.

The wielder of this weapon may activate this property with a swift action, causing the weapon to become rimed in crackling, icy crystals, dealing 3d6+30 points of bonus Cold (energy, common) damage on a successful hit. The cold does not harm the wielder. The property's effect remains active until another swift action is expended to turn it off, the weapon is sheathed, or until the wielder takes a full night's rest, whichever occurs first.

As an additional swift action, if the wielder wishes, they may declare that all of the weapon's damage is dealt as cold damage. This effect persists for as long as the cold effect is active, or until another swift action is spent to return the weapon's damage back to normal.

The cold damage granted by this property is bonus damage, which is not increased by a critical hit. However, upon a successful critical hit, the wielder inflicts the Torpid condition on the target, in addition to the weapon's normal critical damage. This condition persists until the end of the encounter, or until replaced by another condition on the target (or until the creature is slain), whichever comes first.

While the property is active, all attacks made with this weapon can blast a 4x4 square area (20 feet x 20 feet), where the center of the blast occupies a corner of the target's space, if the target is sized-medium or smaller. If the target is sized-large or larger, the center of the blast must occupy an intersection of squares inside the target's space. That is, the blast should always be as centered on the target as possible, but the wielder may choose how it is offset once that requirement is met.

The wielder rolls to hit all targets within the area of effect. All struck targets take the full weapon damage (including the bonus damage from this property). Damage is only rolled once, and that result is applied to all successfully struck targets. Successfully struck targets only take damage once, no matter how many of their squares are included in the area of the blast effect (i.e. you can't hit a large creature twice just because two squares of the effect fall within two squares of its 4-square space).

This blast effect is optional, and the wielder can decide whether they are using it or not with each attack. Note that this blast effect is indiscriminate — it will hit both friend and foe alike, and it cannot be used with selective effects such as the Selective feat. Aim carefully!

If the blast effect is used with a single attack that targets multiple creatures as part of a single attack action (such as Cleave, Whirlwind Attack, or a Monk's Echoing Strike), the bonus damage applies to all creatures struck, but the blast effect can only be used once during the attack (not once for each target).

While the Frostheart effect is active, the weapon gently numbs the hands and fingers of the wielder. As a result, using Use Magic Device while this property is active suffers a -3 penalty.

Creation: Creator (Feat), Epic Creator (Feat), Bailiwick Check (DC 65), a vital remnant (tier 6), and an item symbolic of the enchantment.