D&D General Sandbox style: Rumors say a +1 sword is in a cave nearby. Go get it?

[TiQuinn]

You are fresh level 1 characters. You are playing in a sandbox style game. You have many options to explore. Caves and temples and whatever. Riches and glory and treasure no matter where you go.

One rumor says a cave full of monsters has a magic (+1) sword hidden somewhere inside. Is it worth it to you to seek out this sword? You are level 1 and have no magic items. Plus, who knows what's in the other areas to explore. It's JUST a +1 sword after all.

Would it make a difference if it was AD&D/OSR/Shadowdark etc?

Basically: Is it worth going out of the parties way to get JUST a +1 sword?

It’s a magic sword, and it’s in a dungeon. Yes, I’m going to go get it and no, it doesn’t matter what system it is.

 

[Tonguez]

If I was told the cave held the lost Sword of the Empire, weilded by the first emperor when he bound the warring clans into a nation and lead them against the forces of the the Dread Lich Kazaryth I would be interested in going and finding it, even if it had No Magic bonus at all

Sword +1 is meaningless

 

[KYRON45]

I mean, okay. But this isn't a 5E thread,it is a General thread.+1 pre 3.5 actually mattered. That your GM couldn't be bothered to give it a name isn't the game's fault. You just played with boring people.

You’re not going to change people’s minds. You’ve given them something to complain about so they will.

 

[Lanefan]

If I was told the cave held the lost Sword of the Empire, weilded by the first emperor when he bound the warring clans into a nation and lead them against the forces of the the Dread Lich Kazaryth I would be interested in going and finding it, even if it had No Magic bonus at all

If the rumours said all that I'd be wondering what other adventures and missions are out there as chances are every other adventurer in the land will be racing to get to this one.

Sword +1 is meaningless

Magic items are never meaningless provided you can sell or trade them. I mean, even if you're a cloistered wizard who doesn't otherwise know a sword from a screwdriver, you can still turn a +1 sword into a pile* of gold which can then be put toward things you want and-or can use.

* - the size of said pile being dependent on edition, setting, DM, and a bunch of other factors.

 

[MarkB]

1. Find a rival group of slightly-tougher adventurers in town, preferably ones who have a decent utility item or two between them already.
2. Send in the bard and spread a rumour that the sword in the cave is actually a +2 sword.
3. When the rival party goes to get it, follow them at a distance and wait while they clear out the caves.
4. As they emerge beaten and bloodied from all the traps and encounters, mug them and take the sword, plus anything else cool or valuable.

 

[cbwjm]

As others have mentioned, I probably wouldn't frame it as "+1 sword", your players might assume it is only a +1 sword on account of them being 1st level. Whether you give it a name and history or just bait the hook with something like "a sword which never tarnishes sits within these caves" at 1st level, of course I'd want to go in and get it, it's the first step in gstting geared up and I would not be disappointed to learn that it is a +1 sword, since the power of the sword doesn't matter at 1st level.

 

[bloodtide]

Maybe not?

If it is a casual sandbox game of fun everywhere, then no matter where the players randomly choose to go they will have a fun adventure and find loot. Soon enough they would find sword +1, either by a random treasure roll or looting the corpse of a dead NPC.

So they never need to go to "one spot".

 

[aco175]

Fine. Everyone else gets the +1s, you get a +0.

I give out +0 weapons a lot in my 5e games. They are magic and I place something on them like misty step or invisibility 1/rest.

 

[Reynard]

I don't think you understand what I'm saying.

I have play all editions of D&D. In every edition, no matter how mechanically significant a +1 sword is, the +1 BORES me. Seeing the "1" BORES me. I am BORED at the very IDEA of adding "+1" to anything. It doesn't matter how significant it is to the game. I feel like I'm adding pennies to the dice roll when I add +1 to it.

Now a +1 sword that can sing enemies to sleep or that can cut through light to create darkness zones or that tries and takes me over sometimes is a fun. Just a +1 feels like the laziest way to make a magic item possible.

And I am saying that the "+1 sword" was the way you did not get eviscerated by the worst monsters in the game. it did not need to sing, because what really mattered was that you might actually make it out alive. if you did not feel the pressure of survival, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Bill Zebub]

ACTUALLY...

We were talking about hit rates, not damage.

If only because you're doing that extra 5% damage 5% more often than you would with a +0.

Even so, +1 hit increases damage by more than 5%.

Let's say you need to roll a 10 to hit. +1 makes that a 9, which means out of 20 attacks you hit (on average) 11 times instead of 10, for a 10% increase in damage.