My fave way to homebrew magic items :
- Take an existing magic weapon, usually a longsword
- Make it literally any other weapon suitable to the party (Mace, warhammer, halberd, dagger)
- ???
- Profit
Or I just remember some magic item or NPC from Baldur's Gate / Icewind Dale (the video games) and roll with that. My favorite being handing out heads of the flail of ages, that's always fun
This is the way.
Wopobkk
There's also me who basically redesigns the game for a super-specific fanfiction campain and only keeps the dice rolling and character sheet mechanics.
Like a whip that is actually good but not an overpowered homebrew. But I agree. Just reskin whatever weapon you like
Reskinning always feels like flavorless hand-me-down for me. (Though the practice is supported by the DMG even, with their example being a Holy Avenger flail.) Then again, many magic weapon effects are flavorless to begin with, so not a lot would be lost, but still.
