[RPG] Can a weapon form of the Rod of Lordly Might be considered a pact weapon

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I've got a character in my campaign who was lucky enough to snag a Rod of Lordly Might.

The snag is that she's a Hexblade Warlock, and she wants to use the Hex Warrior ability on the rod (basically get her CHA bonus on attack rolls)

Rod of Lordly Might

If you press button 1, the rod becomes a Flame Tongue as a fiery blade sprouts from the end opposite the rod's flanged head.

If you press button 2, the rod's flanged head folds down and two crescent-shaped blades spring out, transforming the rod into a magic Battleaxe that grants a +3 bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls made with it.

If you press button 3, the rod's flanged head folds down, a spear point springs from the rod's tip, and the rod's handle lengthens into a 6-foot haft, transforming the rod into a magic spear that grants a+3 bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls made with it.

My answer was, "No. It's a rod, not a weapon."

Her counter was, "What if I activate a form of the rod, then attune?"

My return answer was… "Uh, let me think about it."

My gut says, "Allow this, but as soon as the form of the rod changes, it's no longer a pact weapon."

But really the question is what's RAW?

(and yeah, I looked at Can the Rod of Pact Keeper +1 be selected as a pact weapon by a Pact of the Blade warlock?. Not exactly the same. This is a basic question of the primary Hex Warrior feature – XGE: page 55)

Best Answer

A rod can be a weapon too...and the Rod of Lordly Might is in fact a magic weapon

The Rod of Lordly Might has this text in its first paragraph:

This rod has a flanged head, and it functions as a magic mace that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it.

So in it's "natural" form it is a weapon, and thus a target for the Hex Warrior ability.

Additionally there is another rod which is explicitly a weapon:

Tentacle Rod

Made by the drow, this rod is a magic weapon that ends in three rubbery tentacles.

So just because something is a Rod does not preclude it from being a weapon (or indeed a magic weapon)

If it's chosen as the Hex Weapon in its base form, is it still considered the Hex Weapon in its other forms?

The relevant text of Hex Warrior we need to consider is:

The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property.

So we have three possible questions to answer here:

  1. Is it still the same named weapon? (i.e. is it still the Rod of Lordly Might in its other forms)
  2. Is the user proficient with the new forms?
  3. Do the new forms lack the two handed property?

Is it still the same named weapon? (i.e. is it still the Rod of Lordly Might in its other forms)

Yes, it is still a weapon and it is still a Rod of Lordly Might. As such I'd rule that it is still the same weapon for the purposes of the Hex Warrior feature in each of its forms.

Is the user proficient with the new forms?

Yes the Hexblade warlock is proficient with martial weapons and as such is proficient with all the weapon forms the rod can take.

Do the new forms lack the two handed property?

None of the new forms have the two-handed property so they are all still valid Hexblade weapons.

So the answer to the final part of the puzzle is that yes it is still the same weapon for the purposes of the Hex Warrior feature in each of its weapon forms.

What about it's non-weapon forms?

In the event the warlock uses it's non-weapon forms, this DM wouldn't, from a fun in the game perspective, cause the ability to drop altogether from the item, but merely suppress it's effects. So the warlock wouldn't gain the benefit of their ability if they tried to use the ladder or battering ram options as a weapon, but they wouldn't have to reapply it after they changed it back either.

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