What makes a magic item interesting?

ProfessorCirno · Dec 13, 2008

Unique powers.

The problem with "useful powers" is "who decides it's useful?" Sure, we all love the decanter of endless water, but for a lot of people, that item is completely useless. They don't think of any way to use it creatively. I've played in games where one player reacts in DISGUST to the Immobile Rod he got (Which I more then gladly took so he could have one of my items).

Unique powers are, well, unique. It makes the item stand out.

fuindordm · Dec 13, 2008

I voted 'unique powers', but it was a tough choice between that and 'drawbacks'.

I think attaching a disadvantage, however small, to a magic item does wonders for its longevity in a game, because the players have to think about whether to use it rather than just tossing it on someone's character sheet.

Ben

Starfox · Dec 13, 2008

As a player, its if the item matches my ideas of what my character is like, or even better enhances my character's image.

I once had a 2-sword-fighter find one fire blade and once ice blade. Visually awesome combo. That was not planned, but I loved those swords to death after a while.

Angel Tarragon · Dec 13, 2008

Poll should've been multiple choice.

What makes a magic item interesting for me is at the bare minimum good flavor text that matches up with the mechanics. Beyond that I like to see a history that might go along with it. Succeeding on a Knowledge check might reveal more information about previous, the items powers if it has a reputation, famous figures that might have used it, etc.

I love magic items and creating them is one of my fortes. I love seeing new magic items, no matter what they are. However, there are already a lot of magic weapons and armor. I really really love implements (rods, staves, wands), rings and wondrous items.

Even better is a new magic item that has a power that is from a brand new spell. Fresh and unique is keen.

der_kluge · Dec 13, 2008

Useful powers 15 25.00%
Diverse powers 4 6.67%
Unpredictable or mysterious powers 9 15.00%
Unique powers 12 20.00%
Background and history 14 23.33%
Drawbacks 0 0%
Special purpose or goals

A wand of fireballs is useful but not terribly interesting.

A wand of wonder, a deck of illusions, or a deck of many things all have diverse powers - and they tend to be pretty interesting. So, I'd say diverse powers tend to make interesting items. But, it's not the only thing. A staff of healing has diverse powers, too, but it's not very interesting.

A wand of wonder has unpredictable powers. I can't think of anything that has mysterious powers, so I'll hold judgment on that one.

An immovable rod has a unique power, and I think it's pretty interesting. So, that seems like a good candidate.

Any item can have a background and history. Having them doesn't make them interesting. Gloves of Dexterity +2 that have a 3 page detailed history are not automatically interesting.

Drawbacks do not make an item interesting. They make an item annoying.

I voted unique - I like items that can't do the same things that spells can do. A hat of disguise is nice, but it's not really any more powerful than the spell used to create it. I like items like wands of wonder, immovable rods, or an apparatus of Kwalish that can't easily be replicated via magic easily.

I think that's what makes an interesting item.

LostSoul · Dec 13, 2008

Other:

Thematic Resonance.

The Little Raven · Dec 13, 2008

ProfessorCirno said:
I've played in games where one player reacts in DISGUST to the Immobile Rod he got (Which I more then gladly took so he could have one of my items).

I love the Immovable Rod. I had a whip-using character back in '04 that would use them. That was a lot of fun.

malraux · Dec 13, 2008

About the only thing I've seen to make an item interesting has been intelligent items RPed well by the DM. Sure at a gluttonous level I've wanted certain items, but that's really not interesting.

Merkuri · Dec 13, 2008

I voted unique powers, but it's not quite what I meant. I think unique items are the most interesting ones. It doesn't have to be the powers that are unique.

I played in Hussar's campaign with Wossname and Blackrazor. I can't remember a single magic item from that campaign besides those two. It wasn't necessarily their powers that made them interesting. They stood out because they were unique. They had personality (literally, since they were both intelligent). Nothing very outstanding was done with either one of those items from a mechanical standpoint. Heck, we barely knew anything at all about Wossname and what it could do. They were interesting because they were unique.

One could argue (as Hussar did) that making these items intelligent made them interesting, but if another dagger just like Wossname had turned up after the original Wossname was lost, or if each character found a Wossname-like blade, it would have lost something.

I say it's uniqueness that makes a magic item most interesting.

Keefe the Thief · Dec 14, 2008

Other: if a magic item fits the campaign and the players react to it (love it, hate it, fear it, loath it, want it etc.), then it´s interesting. All the other poll options only help to achieve that.
So, for instance, because the Deck of many things can be such a campaign-breaker in many ways, it is of no interest to me as a DM or to my players (who would never draw from it). If my players were more into random danger balanced with random rewards, it would be THE item to find.