So, we all know the White Plume Mountain Weapons: Blackrazor, Wave and Whelm. These three weapons have been in literally every single edition of the game so far, and I would know, as I just spent the last couple of days tracking down their stats. They're some of the most iconic magical weapons to come out of D&D.
But, what few people remember is that, in their 2nd edition appearance, 'Return to White Plume Mountain', they gained a sibling. Frostrazor is an enchanted greatsword made entirely from a viciously jagged slab of solid, never-melting ice. Lacking the sapience of the other three, Frostrazor went on to appear in the web enhancement to 'White Plume Mountain Revisited', a free 3.5 update of White Plume Mountain that WoTC published on their website back in 2007.
What I'm curious to know is, do people think that Frostrazor could likewise be updated to 5e? The others appear in the DMG, but Frostrazor has gone unmentioned since the aforementioned web enhancement.
The issue with Frostrazor is how to handle it. Traditionally, despite being made of ice, Frostrazor has had no ice-related powers, beyond its ability to cast Ice Storm 1/day in 3.5. Rather, its focus has been on its ability to embed life-draining shards of ice in its victims. In AD&D, depending on what number you rolled, this could transfer 1 hp per round for 10 rounds, 3 hp per round for 10 rounds, 1 Strength point per 2 rounds for 10 rounds, or 1 level. In 3.5, in an attempt to simplify this, the shard did 1 hit point (and, at a high enough level, 1 Constitution point) of damage each round until the victim was cured or killed and the shard's victim could be targeted by innate Rays of Enfeeblement, Enervation and Fingers of Death spells from the sword itself.
So, how might a 5e version of the blade look? I have to admit, the first thing to come to mind is to make it a +3 greatsword with bonus Cold damage and the ability, 3/short rest, to make a strike that leaves a soul-sapping shard embedded in the target, causing Necrotic damage for 10 rounds. But, if you think the weapon is possible to convert to 5e, how would you do it?