As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I think DnD 5e is lacking in interesting nonmagical gear. This can make low-magic or no-magic settings suffer a bit, especially when it comes to combat variety. An item doesn’t always need to be enchanted to be interesting or effective. Sawtooth weapons are another tool we can use to spice up combat and, by extension, give martial classes a few more options as well. Now, let’s cut to the chase…
Sawtooth weapons are true to their name. Instead of a cutting edge made of metal, the weapon’s edge is made from a series of sharp and/or serrated animal teeth, giving it the appearance of a serrated saw. Those who wield these wicked looking tools of war are capable of striking fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned veterans. The serrated edge also makes the weapon especially devastating when used in combat and can leave its targets with deep, persistent wounds. Particularly strong attacks are so gory that they can even cause nearby enemies to pale in fear as they witness firsthand the effects of the brutal sawtooth weapon.
Sawtooth Weapon
Weapon (any melee weapon that deals slashing damage), uncommon
The cutting edge of this wicked looking weapon is lined with jagged teeth from a variety of animals. While brandishing this weapon, you have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Additionally, when you attack a creature with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, each hostile creature within 10 ft. of you must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature is frightened of you until the end of their next turn.
Variant: Bleeding
If you’d like sawtooth weapons to deal some extra damage as well then you can allow them to apply a bleeding effect on each hit. Effectively, the weapon cuts so deep into the target that the creature continues to take damage due to excessive blood loss. This variant functions the same as a normal sawtooth weapon with the following additional effect:
- When you hit a creature with an attack using this weapon, the target takes an additional 1d4 necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns if it is not a construct or undead. This effect lasts until the target is healed for at least 1 hit point or until the target or another creature within 5 ft. of the target uses an action to make a DC 13 Wisdom (Medicine) check to stop the bleeding. Regardless of the number of times the target has been hit by this weapon, it cannot take more than 1d4 damage at the start of its turn.
Using Sawtooth Weapons
Sawtooth weapons make a great addition to a variety of enemy stat blocks. They are perfect for especially cruel enemies or societies that don’t have access to metalworking or metal weapons. A tribe of lizardfolk living in a swamp could use sawtooth longswords made from the teeth of alligators. The leader of a ruthless gang could use a wicked looking sawtooth whip to help intimidate their followers into submission. A bloodthirsty pirate wielding a sawtooth scimitar is sure to strike fear into the hearts of sailors.
These weapons don’t always have to be found in the hands of enemies. Sometimes they can be created by (or for) your players themselves. For example, if your players are in a survival situation and need to make their own weapons, they could always use some scavenged teeth to create a sawtooth handaxe. Sawtooth weapons can also be used to reward that one player that always wants to collect teeth from the corpses of slain beasts. All you need is a bag of teeth and a willing weaponsmith to create a unique item that your players will love. What better way for the barbarian to show their prowess than by wielding a weapon made from their past kills?
The Bone Collector
The stat block below provides an example for how you can use sawtooth weapons to enhance an enemy or NPC stat block. The Bone Collector is a hulking warrior that wears armor made of bones to compliment the massive sawtooth greatsword they wield. They could be the leader of an evil tribe of barbarians or a solo hunter living deep in the wilds. They make for a decent solo boss for a low level party, but can also work well as a medium difficulty encounter for levels 5-10. However, you may want to consider giving them a few minions such as wolves or bandits if you’re going to use them against a higher level party.
No matter the setting or encounter you use them in, the Bone Collector works best as a straightforward melee bruiser in combat. You should use their first turn to move into close quarters before unleashing their bone-chilling cry ability to frighten as many PCs as possible. On following turns, enjoy cleaving through PCs with their sawtooth greatsword. Try to hit multiple PCs to make full use of the sawtooth greatsword’s bleeding effect and to encourage the party to spend resources on healing instead of attacking. Most importantly, when the Bone Collector is finally defeated, make sure to describe the sawtooth greatsword clattering to the ground dramatically. When the players loot the body, the barbarian/fighter/paladin is sure to enjoy their bloody new toy.
Downloads
A PDF containing the sawtooth weapon item description as well as the Bone Collector stat block can be downloaded here. This PDF was generated using the Homebrewery tool.