Does the astral form have to match with the physical? Could you enchant, say, a dagger as if it were reach 1, and it take the form of a sword when you project?

I think that the size of the foci is the same in both.

I've never had it occur. I would probably rule the reach would need to be the same. If you want something that is more concealable on the physical, while still giving better astral reach, try a whip. It's even relatively easy to enchant as it is leather.

I might let it go, but the cost would be all wonkey. Be cool for someone expecting to fight alot in the astral planes.

Not a good idea to implement. The enchanting rules have no consideration of reach in enchanting cost (just the cost to buy a pre-enchanted weapon focus) so if you can enchant a weapon to be astrally larger than the physical, every mage with an enchanting shop will make astral reach 47 butter knives.

By the book, they're the same. When fighting while astrally perceiving, you'd have different reaches on the same weapon - it just muddles things up.

I would allow it, but only on the condition that every time they want to use the larger astral form they say "Thundercats! Thundercats! Thundercars! HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


Seriously, though, I see the anti-cheese arguments, and they're some very good points. Like the astral reach 47 butter knives. But just in terms of flavor the idea of a knife focus that has the astral form of a sword sounds really cool to me.
If you were to treat the cost and everything like a sword, then what's the difference? Astral opponents - no difference at all. Physical opponents - more concealable, less reach. It's somewhat self-balancing. Of course, that's in the case of reach 0 vs reach 1, not reach 0 vs reach 47. But cheese aside, it could be a really cool concept.

Really it's less like the Sword of Omens, more like a lightsaber, don't you think? An empty tube with a 1 meter glowing astral blade coming out of it?

Yeah, I suppose you're right. I think I just wanted to make a Thundercats reference and maybe stretched a bit too far.

So what if you have a sword weapon focus and you use a transformation manipulation to turn it into a knife. Does it still show it's "true" astral form and work like a sword on the astral?

Extrapolating from the rules for Shapeshifters, yes.

~J

Custom spell based on Transform that holds the inanimate object in a different inanimate form while sustained? I can think of far worse abuses for that spell than hiding your polearm weapon focus as a swiss army knife.