I will use cursed items that enhance the game by giving the characters a chance to grow.
In a 1st edition game I played in, a Chaotic Neutral Fighter put on a helm of opposite alignment and his character's alignment changed to Lawful Good. We expected this to be fun since the player tended to play the fighter as Chaotic Asshat. He wasn't disruptive to the group nor the DM but really liked to roleplay. That player then spent the next
two years (real time) trying to become a paladin. He had a lot of misdeeds to atone for.
Funny thing was, neither the DM nor the player planned this. The helm came up as a random piece of treasure that the DM rolled. All of the players rolled to see who would get the first pick of treasure. The CN Fighter's player picked near the end. He already had a helm. He said what the hell, how bad could it be? Identify took too long and was too expensive. For something that was completely random, that character is one of the most memorable that I have ever seen.
(rant)
In those days we all played in a world where players were entitled to CRAP, and nobody made "builds." We took what we could get, and we played with what we got. That's where the game came from for me. The DM was fair and let the dice fall where they may. It made for the best games for us. We took everything that happened and made the best of it. We didn't expect to survive. Our one Bard was the height of success for our group.
Now players expect certain magic items for their build? In the Player's Handbook???? Maybe too many players today don't care about role-playing, only roll-playing. My how things have changed.
(/rant)
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