[Cosmos] Weapon - Dead Lock

Though the “Dead Lock” designation actually refers to the proprietary firmware inside an auto-weapon, rim runners commonly call the weapon itself by that name. Some famous voidfaring pirates are known for carrying hundreds of collapsible Dead Lock weapons, turning engagements into terrifying storms of whirling blade and metal.

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Dead Lock
Weapon (any auto-weapon), technomancy, uncommon (optional attunement)

Return Protocol. After you hit or miss a target with this weapon, it flies back into your hand if you allow it.

Target Lock. This weapon has 2 charges and regains all expended charges daily at dawn. When you make a thrown attack with this weapon, you can expend 1 charge to grant the attack a benefit of your choice from the options below. If this attack hits, it deals an extra 1d6 weapon damage.

Deadshot. You can roll 1d8 and add it to this attack roll. A target being prone doesn't impose disadvantage on this attack.

Ricoshot. Whether this attack hits or misses, the weapon deflects toward another target within 20 feet of it that is within the normal range of this weapon. Make another attack roll against the new target. You don't deal the extra damage for this second attack.

Seekershot. Blindness, obstacles, and long range cannot impose disadvantage on this attack, as long as the weapon can fly to the target uninterrupted.

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Optional Attunement. If you choose to attune to this weapon, you can magically recharge the arcane battery that powers it. While wielding this weapon, you can use a bonus action to expend a spell slot of any level and cause the weapon to regain 2 expended charges for each level of the spell slot expended, up to its maximum.

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Rare Variant. The rare version of this weapon also grants a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls. It has 4 charges instead of 3.

Very Rare Variant. The very rare version of this weapon also grants a +2 bonus to its attack and damage rolls. It has 5 charges instead of 3.

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DESIGN COMMENTARY

Moving to the Auto- family of weapons (the Cosmos-themed version of any Thrown weapon), this device transforms any mundane Thrown weapon into a more special one. I went back-and-forth for a while between weapon version and a device version that gives thrown weapons those properties. I eventually settled for a weapon because 1) Thrown weapon fighting is not really supported by 5e rules, and the device version was really long and clunky just to make it work. A version of this device has been reworked into the list of common rarity futuristic weapons.

Using the same guidelines established in the Kiloton item (an uncommon non-attunement item = ~2 casts of thunderwave), we can evaluate this as follows.

Over a day's use of the 3 charges, you'll deal 3d6 damage + some equivalent bonus effects (pseudo-6d6). Since a thunderwave's two uses equal 8d8 expected damage overall plus added effects, this is okay. The returning property (which I think every thrown magic item should have anyway) makes up the difference.

More importantly, each recharge of the weapon equates 1 level for 2 charges, that means each charge use should equal half a thunderwave. It does, since it deals 1d8 damage plus an effect that is roughly equivalent, making up the other d8 of thunderwave's damage.