Ralif Redhammer
Legend
Cosigned, a thousand times.
[video=youtube;OPgJwxb73Js]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPgJwxb73Js[/video]
[video=youtube;OPgJwxb73Js]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPgJwxb73Js[/video]
Love/Hate - Magic Items!
L
lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
Oh, I love magic items in general, even the ones that seem fairly useless. One thing I like to do in my campaigns is give my magic items quirks or personalities.
For example, in my Storm King Thunder's game, the party has acquired a Bag of Devouring. However, this bag is an extraplanar entity that wishes to devour all things. The party has negotiated with the entity to allow them to use it as a bag of holding as long as they regularly feed it...what they feed it is up to the party, as long as it's well fed. So, the party has been regularly feeding it the bodies of the giants they've slain, or they will let it eat the useless items they pick up along the way. The good-aligned Paladin and cleric in the party are surprisingly OK with the party's rogue earning a friendship with the entity.
Fun times.
For example, in my Storm King Thunder's game, the party has acquired a Bag of Devouring. However, this bag is an extraplanar entity that wishes to devour all things. The party has negotiated with the entity to allow them to use it as a bag of holding as long as they regularly feed it...what they feed it is up to the party, as long as it's well fed. So, the party has been regularly feeding it the bodies of the giants they've slain, or they will let it eat the useless items they pick up along the way. The good-aligned Paladin and cleric in the party are surprisingly OK with the party's rogue earning a friendship with the entity.
Fun times.
TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
Items I love
Sun Blade: Because it's a lightsaber.
Deck of Many Things: My games don't have rails to go off of.
Any item that gives new modes of mobility. Flying, levitating, climbing, swimming, short range teleports...they're all fun!
Any item that makes my character more comfortable. I don't like the idea of my characters being hungry, cold, and sitting in their own filth. One of my favorite items in Pathfinder was a portable oasis, which give me a tent to sleep in, a campfire, and as many dates to eat as I wanted every night.
Staff of the magi: Screw holy avengers or vorpal swords, this is the ultimate power item.
Items I hate
Items with flat bonuses: I recognize they're powerful, but they're so dull. I like items that increase my available choices.
Scrolls with spells I can already cast. A scroll of fireball is pretty exciting at level 2, it's dreadfully dull at level 7.
Sun Blade: Because it's a lightsaber.
Deck of Many Things: My games don't have rails to go off of.
Any item that gives new modes of mobility. Flying, levitating, climbing, swimming, short range teleports...they're all fun!
Any item that makes my character more comfortable. I don't like the idea of my characters being hungry, cold, and sitting in their own filth. One of my favorite items in Pathfinder was a portable oasis, which give me a tent to sleep in, a campfire, and as many dates to eat as I wanted every night.
Staff of the magi: Screw holy avengers or vorpal swords, this is the ultimate power item.
Items I hate
Items with flat bonuses: I recognize they're powerful, but they're so dull. I like items that increase my available choices.
Scrolls with spells I can already cast. A scroll of fireball is pretty exciting at level 2, it's dreadfully dull at level 7.
Love: Cursed items that don't totally screw you over. Like, if the curse is an interesting and troublesome side-effect, and the item itself is pretty good, then actually using it could be an interesting decision that leads to fun game-play.
Hate: Cursed items that totally screw you over. All they do is prevent players from experimenting with items ever again, and then have to go seek out a 3rd-level remove curse. Totally boring and pointless game-play, and one of the last remaining Gygaxisms that needs to die.
Hate: Cursed items that totally screw you over. All they do is prevent players from experimenting with items ever again, and then have to go seek out a 3rd-level remove curse. Totally boring and pointless game-play, and one of the last remaining Gygaxisms that needs to die.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
Agreed on both counts. If you look at some of the most famous magic items, like The One Ring and Stormbringer, they come with drawbacks and prices to be paid.
The only time I actually put just a straight negative something magic weapon out there was back when I a kid and the one player was being a jerk. Rather than doing the mature thing (in my defense, like I said, I was a kid!) by telling him to stop being a jerk in the game, I just put a cursed blade in his way.
The only time I actually put just a straight negative something magic weapon out there was back when I a kid and the one player was being a jerk. Rather than doing the mature thing (in my defense, like I said, I was a kid!) by telling him to stop being a jerk in the game, I just put a cursed blade in his way.
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Back in AD&D 2ed when a vorpal sword was 20=insta-kill I gave one out. However, I told them that it wasn't quite made correctly, and not to roll a 1.
AtomicPope
Hero
We rolled for random treasure in Storm King's thunder (it's part of the adventure) and got a Giant Slayer. We decided to play Against the Giants in Yawning Portal as our next adventure for that party.
