SS | Spirit Weapon Mechanics

Spirit Weapons are special equipment or abilities acquired through a variety of means in the Apex world. Be they fabricated or something that occurs as a result of one's own personal growth, they represent an extremely powerful element that will help define your characters and add additional customization.

Please keep in mind that this system is built from scratch and therefore is a perpetual work in progress that may see adjustments as we play. It can, and will, throw the game's existing balance to the wind.

Core Concepts

Living Concepts

A Spirit Weapon, as its name implies, is an object that exists somewhere between a living creature and not. However, living and sentient are entirely different things, and Spirit Weapons are not sentient. They act as extensions of a wielder's subconsciousness, and once bonded they fuse to the wielder's genetic scripture and cannot be removed by any conventional means.

Bonding to a spirit weapon can be thought of as like the magic attunement in D&D 5e, but it's more involved and the specific variables are extremely dependent on the weapon, the user, and the environment. You'll never know the full conditions to bond to a weapon right away - the smith who created it may be able to tell you, but some discovery is often necessary.

Spirit Weapons need not be weapons. They can be shields, armor, and other things - though anything outside the scope of a weapon is extremely rare and usually difficult to create. It greatly depends on the elements used to create them.

Leveling Up Your Weapon

Spirit Weapons function as a multiclass. During your level-up process, you will choose your Spirit Weapon just as you would a level in any other subclass. However, Spirit Weapons do not contribute to your overall maximum level. Instead, each Spirit Weapon has its own level cap.

Furthermore, the traits and functions of your Spirit Weapon will not be entirely linear. Each time you level up a spirit weapon you will have several improvement options you can choose from, which may include attribute advancements when using that weapon, new Actions you can perform with it, or exotic features. Once an improvement has been selected it is set in stone, so choose wisely. What improvements will be available will be determined by many factors, including but not limited to:

- Your class.

- Your combat experience with the weapon prior to the time of leveling.

- The smith whom created it, or the manner in which it was created (if it wasn't smithed)

- The dominant factors determined during Bonding.

I'm not going to give you something I think you can make "wrong decisions" with, but if you're seeking specific features out of a weapon - like utility, health manipulation, damage, etc I advise you to carefully consider any factors you may have control over during its inception.

Acquisition

Acquisition of a spirit weapon greatly depends on in-game mechanics and has too many variables to list here. They can be built, usually by requiring high function materials and a powerful catalyst that gives them latent life. Explore the game world and consult talent for advice or seek out routes on your own.

In order to actually "own" the Spirit Weapon, you eventually undertake a Bonding Action. It is this specific action that you are seeking to provoke through the acquisition process. Until a Spirit Weapon is bonded almost all of its potency is entirely unknown, even to most smiths, and it isn't much more effective than a standard weapon. Some weapons cannot even exist as physical entities until Bonded. Some cannot even be discovered until Bonded.

Bonding

When a bonding process begins, some Spirit Weapons may provoke certain Saves from you. Saves will determine the dominance of certain attributes and will greatly influence how the Spirit Weapon exposes its power to you. Willpower-based effects (CHA) may allow you to take advantage of extremely powerful and unique abilities, or they may expose themselves more randomly. Affluence-based effects (INT) may allow you to utilize your weapon in extremely unusual ways. Bonding is extremely important, and you can fail to bond to an entity entirely. Failed bonds can be re-attempted, but the conditions tend to get more difficult and complicated if you find you are incompatible with a specific entity.

Spirit Weapon Features

Ultimately, how I tailor your weapon's available attributes will depend on how you perform during the Bonding process. However, there are some key traits shared by the majority of Spirit Weapons.

- Spirit Weapons are typically indestructible. Even if they are destroyed, you can re-summon them.

- You can manifest them and dismiss them as a Bonus Action (like a Pact Weapon warlock). They're a part of your body, and wielding them offers considerable advantages, including no weight when dismissed.

- Most Spirit Weapons are forged out of specific materials which determine their damage types. However, you can often add damage types or change them through features unlocked by leveling them up.

- Spirit Weapons can function as Spell Focuses and omit the need for a separate spell focus on respective units.

- Typically, ranged spirit weapons can both make use of specific ammo or conjure their own.