What makes a weapon awesome, silly, bad, OP?

[Vio]

While I'm working on the RP M-K with character designs, I've been creating weapons for some characters for combat proposes. When we finally decide what type of weapon we will design, whether or not the weapon is unique, there's that moment when we think to ourself, "Is this an awesome weapon?" or, "Is this weapon too silly?" or, "Is this a bad weapon?" or, "Is this weapon too OP?"

So, I was wonder what are the fine lines between such labels?

P.S.

Man, this board gets no love at all.

[swearzy]

As long as the weapon has an equal drawback/weakness/catalyst then they should be ok, I think.

[han ki-tae]

I agree. Usually really powerful has a long recharge. Less powerful is faster. Not to mention requirements to use it. Like a great axe usually require high strength which limits how much you can use on other stats.

Does that help?

[50 Words for Paipis]

I don't think much about the subject, but I'll give my two cents: People try to be "creative" with weapons, but it's sometimes the wrong part of the story to be creative with. Not that you can't come up with new weapons, but weapons tend to seem silly when they aren't as effective as the existing weapons. "Why don't they just use a sword/gun?" some may ask. It's good to be able to answer that question. Secondly, it's good to know the physical outcomes of the weapon you've designed. If it's large and has a lot of its weight distributed on one side, maybe consider making it lighter. Of course, there are weapons, such as atomic bombs, that are made to house incredible power and nothing else. But even in that case, weapons are designed for practicality, not style. Style's great to have, but I'd not let it get in the way of practicality unless you think you can use the absurdity of certain weapons to an aesthetic advantage.

[Operative13]

I believe as long as the weapon you're making is at least practical, then you shouldn't have any problems with worrying about most of any of these questions.

To put it into perspective, a gun would be considered overpowered compared to a knife or a stick, but any of these things could make for an awesome weapon for anyone with good skills and mastery over its use. So really there's no limit on what weapons would make for good or bad ones.

That being said, there are a few exceptions to this, and that's generally when weapons become nonsensical or impractical, say for example a weapon that can instantly conjure up a black hole out of nowhere or a suit of armor that sucks away the life force of its user. As long as said weapons aren't anything within that aspect, you should be okay overall 

[Vio]

Well, it's just how the weapons will appear. Some items, objects, defensive, and weapons will have certain magical  abilities.

But I'm not worried about it that much. Just looking for opinions on what deems to be OP or awful.

[legomaestro]

OP weapons would be ones that one would consider unfair in an RP basically: Does a sword happen to have defence abilities and oh, it can make the character teleport and can cut through everything? Does the weapon have no backlash, or was ridiculously easy to find and use? Then it's OP.

As for bad weapons that's a matter of taste, but if you go Halo 3 and beyond you'll notice the frag grenade is pitiful as compared to what I consider its true form from 1. If a weapon is nerfed and too weak then it's awful. Similarly if obtaining this weapon took a lot of effort and its stats should be high e.g a high powered sniper rifle with tracking bullets then it should be effective in one way or the other

Silly weapons I dunno... A marshmallow hammer?

[Ace]

A small little black block that can turn into transform into any form of firearm. Ranging from pistols to a Chain gun making it the ultimate from ranged versatility combat. Hell, let's make one for close range weapons as well that can range from a dagger to a giant sword.

but the cost for it, is where the it's only usable for a few minute for each type of weapon you have and depending on what you make it turn into.

[Coryn]

as far as weapons being awesome/silly/bad, I think you just need to read up on the Rule of Cool


http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool


If the weapon is cool, that's all that matters in that department. Impractical? Check. Impossible? Check. But is it cool? Always ask that, because if it's cool, then you can throw all rules out the window. Anime is full of weapons that make no sense, but because they're cool, we forgive them.


as for being OP. Ask yourself if there is a way to defeat someone using the weapon. Does the wielder become nye invulnerable while using it? How many ways can you think of off-hand that one would be able to counter the weapon? Basically just think about how something can be overcome. If you come up with a variety of options, then you probably don't have to worry about something being too OP