Weapon Effect: Raven Queen's Blessing

[Lokeal_The_Flame]

Raven Queen's Blessing: With each strike of this blade, undead enemies become increasingly vulnerable to cold damage. Each time you strike an undead enemy with this weapon, the enemy gradually becomes more vulnerable to cold damage. Immunity becomes resistance, resistant becomes unresistant, unresistant becomes vulnerable, and vulnerability can stack up to 25 times for a total of 25% vulnerability to cold damage. This effect is applied on every hit and each stack lasts 15 seconds.

Too powerful?

Too Niche?

Interesting?

What are your opinions on this?

[systemshaker1941]

Too powerful.

Too niche.

Not interesting.

Doesn't even make sense - they're undead, fire is their enemy, not cold. Who uses melee weapons to make trash mobs vulnerable to spells? If you're playing a caster you're using CC to keep from getting hit, not running right up to enemies and poking them.

[Lokeal_The_Flame]

Too powerful.

Too niche.

Not interesting.

Doesn't even make sense - they're undead, fire is their enemy, not cold. Who uses melee weapons to make trash mobs vulnerable to spells? If you're playing a caster you're using CC to keep from getting hit, not running right up to enemies and poking them.

It makes sense on two levels:

1-Forgewraiths (An undead type that is already vulnerable to cold damage)

2-This is actually thematically cannon to the Raven Queen https://dnd4.fandom.com/wiki/Raven_Queen

Who said the weapons like this would go on would only have this effect? Of coarse a weapon with this effect would also have ice damage on it already, also....... this weapon effect would be favored by Eldritch Knights running the Too Hot To Handle raid.

If we take a look at undead bane weapons, we can begin to argue the niche factor, if we take a look at monk specific items, we can throw the niche claim out the window all together as to being irrelevant.

As for the too powerful claim........... below are some effects that already exist in game!

"Cold Vulnerability: On Hit: Applies a stack of Vulnerable (1% more damage for 3 seconds. This effect stacks up to 20 times, and loses one stack on expiration.). This effect may only occur on-hit once every second."

"Frostbite: On Hit: Applies a stack of Vulnerable (1% more damage for 3 seconds. This effect stacks up to 20 times, and loses one stack on expiration.). This effect may only occur on-hit once every two seconds.
On Vorpal: Applies a stack of Lethargy (-1 to all Saving Throws. Non-bosses also move and attack 5% slower. This effect stacks up to 5 times.)"

"Fetters of Unreality: This weapon is cruel and deadly, and leaves behind wounds that affect both the body and the soul. This weapon has a chance to inflict multiple stacks of Vulnerable.
Vulnerable: You take 1% more damage for 3 seconds. This effect stacks up to 20 times, and loses one stack on expiration."

I'd argue that the niche factor waters the validity of the claim down a bit to one extent while to another extent you are correct that such could use some nerfing as a concept, however............ I'll just have to wait until someone who is qualified in that to come around as you stated too much as a fact without showing that you could back up your positions with an explanation.

Forgewraiths are painful to fight, they are both undead and fire based and come with plenty of hitpoints and DPS, an item effect that can help you deal with them would be nice and this would work for that.