D&D 5E Campaign Idea: Very Rare Magic Items at Lv. 1

[doppelgangerstudios]

no what if they all do... then what... how does your game continue once all disintegrated?

The PCs will be destroyed but there is still a campaign world full of vibrant NPCs that can do anything they set their hearts to (provided that it isn’t recovering, re-creating, or otherwise using the players Very Rare magic items)

 

[Mort]

it is mean spirited, but I think he thinks the players will be blown away by the surprises... but none of it is a surprise that seems worth it to me.

I ran a game where the PCs had a ton of gear (like this was 2e and using high level campaigns so like level 22+) and I hit them with a Mordicains disjunction... and blew up 1/3 of the items, then had the lich run. They not only had gotten warrnings he like to destroy items, but I had already placed clues to were there were epic level treasure they could go get...

that went badly. No one wanted to go get new cool things they were too mad they lost the old cool things

I've found players are often more attached to the PCs stuff than to the PCs themselves!

Taking away stuff, even when it's telegraphed, is always a tough sell!

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The PCs will be destroyed but there is still a campaign world full of vibrant NPCs that can do anything they set their hearts to (provided that it isn’t recovering, re-creating, or otherwise using the players Very Rare magic items)

the game... what happens next when these players who worked on characters ask "So what's next" do you just tell them a story about the NPCs, do the PCs come back (resurrection) or do you just end the game?

 

[Maxperson]

no what if they all do... then what... how does your game continue once all disintegrated?

Continue playing them in the Ghostwalk setting?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Taking away stuff, even when it's telegraphed, is always a tough sell!

Yeah I was 17 when I learned that lesson back in 2e... I thought it would be like power rangers "lose 1 power up get a better one come back beat the bad guy" instead it ended the campaign and sowered everyone to playing high level games for a bit.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Continue playing them in the Ghostwalk setting?

I would say find a new DM first but sure

 

[Grantypants]

True, but part of the OP plot twist is that the PCs can't ever actually get the items back.

Consider this campaign where PCs can't get particular items back ever but hold false hope that they can. Now consider one where PCs can't get the items back until they beat the very last boss. There is no difference between these campaigns until the end of the last session where the PCs win and either do or don't get their items back.

And if retrieving the items isn't the main quest; if your goal is to have your PCs give up on getting the items back and have other adventures in a world that just no longer has these particular very rare magic items, that's... not really so big a deal. If missing these magic items isn't what's driving the plot, then your players will barely notice, especially as they gain levels and find other magic items.

 

[billd91]

Not to dog pile on here, but I don't see players reacting terribly well to this campaign. As has been said, you know your group better than we do, but a campaign in which they all start with something really nice that they chose, it's taken from them and they can't really do anything about it, and they can never get it back... you might as well lay a $100 bill on the ground and keep yanking it away with a string. At least that's over quickly.
Think of this from a player perspective. Are they going to see your point and enjoy chasing the unobtainable like some French arthouse film or are they going to get frustrated at being continually jerked around?

 

[Mort]

Consider this campaign where PCs can't get particular items back ever but hold false hope that they can. Now consider one where PCs can't get the items back until they beat the very last boss. There is no difference between these campaigns until the end of the last session where the PCs win and either do or don't get their items back.

And if retrieving the items isn't the main quest; if your goal is to have your PCs give up on getting the items back and have other adventures in a world that just no longer has these particular very rare magic items, that's... not really so big a deal. If missing these magic items isn't what's driving the plot, then your players will barely notice, especially as they gain levels and find other magic items.

Except that the entire proposed hook was that the players pick a fun powerful item. One they wouldn't normally ever see, and have their character start with that.

If that's the hook, and that hook is yanked away immediately - players are going to get (rightfully) salty.

Point is: Unless the DM has a well-established group that has grown to trust them from the perspective of having the group's "fun" fully in mind - bait and switch scenarios tend to go very, very poorly.

 

[doppelgangerstudios]

Continue playing them in the Ghostwalk setting?

I’d consider allowing players return as ghosts, holding the broken pieces of their Very Rare magic items as a testament to what they died over, a visible reminder of unfinished business. Ironically, if they kill the BBEG later, he will rest easy, moving to the afterlife since his goal is complete