'Dungeons & Dragons' Supplement Lets Players Create Powerful Ancestral Weapons

A new Dungeons & Dragons supplement provides an interesting mechanic for players looking to wield a weapon that grows in power as they level up.

Earlier this week, Matt Vaughn of Dungeon Rollers published a new Dungeons & Dragons supplement that adds an interesting mechanic for players. Ancestral Weapons is a 29 page supplement that explains how to create special ancestral heirlooms that builds in powers as a player levels up. The idea plays off of the idea off of the popular fantasy trope of an adventurer having some sort of family heirloom that they use during their journeys.

From Frodo's "Sting" to the Heron Mark Sword passed down to Rand in The Wheel of Time series, it's not that uncommon for a simple adventurer to have some sort of special weapon passed down from some powerful ancestor. However, this trope becomes problematic in Dungeons & Dragons as melee fighters will eventually grow out of their weapon and need something a bit more powerful if they don't want to get left behind. Ancestral Weapons fixes this by introducing "Spirit Points" that can be used to customize a weapon as a player completes feats that pleases their ancestors. Although a player earns Spirit Points at a rate of about 1 per level, the DM should give out Spirit Points for completing a particularly heroic (or evil, depending on the player and weapon) feat.

Spirit Points can then be used on different upgrades that either benefit the PC wielding the weapon or deals out some sort of addititonal damages. Ancestral Weapons contains over 130 upgrade options split into four tiers, many of which can't be accessed until a player is of a certain level. The supplement also provides Ancestral Traits that grants the weapon some extra flavor that describes the personality of the ancestor that seemingly grants the weapon its magical ability.

Ancestral Weapons is a great supplement that provides a fun alternative to melee characters who don't want to be shackled by needing to constantly upgrade their equipment to stay relevant. Not only does this provide them with a special weapon at the beginning of a campaign, it allows the weapon to grow with the player and become part of a character's story.

Ancestral Weapons is available on the DMs Guild for $3.95.