A Question about a magic item in Of Sound Mind

[arwink]

Midway through the module, and one of the PC's has just put this on and started experimenting with its powers.

Personally, I think this is one of the coolest low-level magic items I've ever seen, but I'm still wondering how it'll effect the game in the long term. As Piratecat notes in the description, a lot of people start talking about an adventurer as they gain levels and fame, so how much do you tell the PC? Do you drive things to the point where they're better taking the earing off because someone seems to be saying their name in the world every minute? Do you assume that a lot of things are said in the background, and only bring it up when it seems relevant? Do you use it to plant red herrings as well as useful information?

Just wondering how others have used this item, and looking for cool things to do with it in games to come.

 

[Seule]

I find it a little disappointing that is duplicates in essence the 10th level power of the Eldrich Master. Granted, it's a cool power, but this lessens the impact of that PrC to have it's ultimate power duplicated by a cheap magic item.

--Seule

 

[Pielorinho]

Just a small request: you might want to change the name of this thread so that it doesn't contain a spoiler. Something like "Question about magic item in Of Sound Mind"?

[edit: thanks!]

I like the item, although I've not played through the adventure as part of a campaign. I think it'd depend on the PC: it'd be most useful to someone who keeps a low profile. That way, she'd be fairly sure that someone talking about her wasn't just a fanboy. A celebrity character may find it a lot less useful.

The most fun of it, for a DM, would be thinking of the sentences: "-Kamlin before we take out the ....", or "-Kamlin? No, I'd totally do Fruisbat before I'd...", or "-Kamlin paid you 100 gold pieces for such a ...."

A great way to strike paranoia into the PC's heart.

Daniel

 

[Enkhidu]

I find it a little disappointing that is duplicates in essence the 10th level power of the Eldrich Master. Granted, it's a cool power, but this lessens the impact of that PrC to have it's ultimate power duplicated by a cheap magic item.

--Seule

One of the problems associated with SRD material is that it becomes extremely difficult to create new material that is compatible with everything out there. Besides, from reading P-kitty's story hour and it's explanations along the way, that earring has been a staple in his campaign for longer than 3rd Ed has been around, and lots of unique magic items don't make a smooth transistion to 3rd Ed...

 

[arwink]

Just a small request: you might want to change the name of this thread so that it doesn't contain a spoiler. Something like "Question about magic item in Of Sound Mind"?

Consider it done. Should have thought of it myself.

Interestingly, I had the same challenge with an Eldritch master in a previous campaign, but things ended not long after she gained the ability so it never became a big deal. This time round, it's going to be a power that hangs around for the length of the campaign...

 

[arwink]

I'll bump it this once, then leave it alone - Honest

 

[Chronosome]

I love the item. About the Eldritch Master: They get it innately..that's pretty dang powerful. The earring is dipellable, etc...

A character who got that trinket in my OSF game just happens to be the brother of another character in my main campaign, who's embroiled in a family endangering plot... The possibilities...

It's odd, because the two characters are played by the same player...

 

[drnuncheon]

I find it a little disappointing that is duplicates in essence the 10th level power of the Eldrich Master. Granted, it's a cool power, but this lessens the impact of that PrC to have it's ultimate power duplicated by a cheap magic item.

Actually, the Eldritch Master gets a lot more than the earring gives you. The earring just lets you hear a snippet of speech. The Mastered Name power tells you who said it, where they are, and gives you enough information to scry them (which, in turn, would allow teleportation...)

With all the possible sources for mysterious voices in OSM, I now have my party utterly confused.

J

 

[Ziggy]

I used OSM in my campaign, and they found it on the second try.

As I DM I use to give snippets from the Bad Guys (TM). With a few groups already getting aware of them, it can be used to build paranoia.

A few examples:

1. A spy giving information to his master about the party. The character wering the item heard her name, followed by (the start of) a pretty accurate description.

2. The same spy (later) giving a short briefing about their combat capabilities. Told the party that someone is definitely watching them pretty closly.

3. Snippets from a conversastion where the bag guys discuss how to fight the party. The trick here is to give just enough information to give the party an idea of what they are discussing without giving away the whole gameplan.

4. Someone hiring a assasin to kill the wearer of the item (not resolved yet).

In addition after the party saved the local village, I told them that the level of noise increased a lot, with a few examples of what was beeing said. After a while their fame will spread even further, until it'll be impossible to wear the item on a daily basis.

Finally, the party has used it for tactical communication during battles. When you divide the party, it can be used to give messages from one group to the other (but only one-way). Very useful for a low-level party.

.Ziggy

 

[Piratecat]

Hi there!

Sorry for the delay; I've been at a con all weekend, seeing Blood Jester, and Rugger, and Kugar, and a whole lot of other cool EN World folks. I even had dinner tonight in NYC with Nemmerle and Squirrel Nutkin! So I haven't seen a computer in three days.

The major limiting factor of the earring of fame is that it never seems to give you enough information to actually be useful. It gives you a fair idea how much people are talking about you, but since it only transmits a few seconds of a sentence (the part *right* after your name) you end up making a lot of guesses. Assuming that you can filter out the wheat from the chaff, you're likely to hear a recognizeable voice say, "TomTom Badgerclaw is going to pay! Bring me my..." And it cuts off. That's pretty far from a 10th lvl class ability, in my opinion.

It is primarily designed to be used as a fun tool for the DM to lay foreshadowing and plot hints. The evil villain's voice heard over the earring might be recognizeable at a party. The PC may hear a clue, or part of one, that they need to explore. A hero may hear beautiful damsels pining over him. An obnoxious bard who hates the PC may decide to bother him by writing a catchy song that states his name, and spreading it near and far. Finally, in a pinch, it can be used as a message spell by people who talk REALLY fast.

Ziggy's ideas are great. One fun way to handle it is to sit down one day when you're bored and write down a list of 15 or 20 5-6 word sentence fragments, all of which start with the PC's name. Then add actual plot hooks to suit you, and randomly drop these into play - especially when the PC is trying to concentrate on something else.

As Enkhidu mentioned, this item has been around in my game since the early '90's, and it's proven to be tremendous fun. I just hope you guys find it as amusing as we have.