I do not like 'sticky' cursed items either. But I also think that for a curse to mean much of anything, it should have some lasting, if short term effect. The previously mentioned weapon that dos +2d6 to the enemy and 1d6 to the wielder of the weapon is not really that significant of a cursed item.
I think that a cursed item ought to bring some form of misery that persists even when your not using it, but it should not be the sort of thing that is near permanent until Remove Curse is cast. I think that a player should be given a reasonable chance to stop using on his own. If an item must be sticky, why not give the user a Will save once per day to shake the curse.
If your not going to go for even a near sticky cursed item, then why not give a penalty that persists for a few days until the player makes a saving throw? For a sword, I would think that something like a Disease that does 1d2 Int / Wis / Cha ability damage per day, and allows no save until you stop using the weapon is a good way to go. The ability damage is scary sure. And even when you get rid of the item, you still have to succeed on a high DC Fort saves to avoid the damage, and need two to shake the disease. Is it a deterrent? Hell yes. Is it going to completely deter someone from using a weapon with a +4 enhancement with +1d8 Unholy burst damage? Depends on how desperate the player is, and how difficult the save is.
The trouble is in what kind of persistent effects from a curse make sense. I think that most cursed items in general should never result in a potential character death by them self. I do think that any given curse really ought to make a player very miserable though.
- Unable to benefit from Magical healing unless the caster / item succeeds an opposed roll
- Suffer a Disease that can reduce an ability score to 4 (but no lower)
- Always fail initiative
- Always considered flanked in combat
- Always provoke attacks of opportunity from those who threaten you every round.
- Random chance to be compelled to move into danger (DM gets to position your character for best benefit of monster)
- Plagued by Nightmares and possibly unable to memorize new spells
- Random chance that opponent automatically fails / (or spell attack roll auto fails)
- Random chance that spell will require a higher level slot when cast
I think that a worthwhile cursed item should have the following traits:
+ A cursed item should make a player Miserable, not Dead.
+ Penalty must not always apply. Either the player should have a chance to overcome the curse for a short time by an opposed roll, or the penalty may be random.
+ The Item must be worthwhile to use even if the penalty is known. Using a cursed item should always be better than using no item at all, at least in the short term.
+ The penalty / cost for using the item must be mildly persistant, and ideally cumulative.
+ If the item can become 'sticky', than it must NOT do so on the first use, and never do so automatically. When Stickyness does kick in, there must be a chance to avoid it, and after it happens, there must be a chance to break it.
+ The only exceptions to the above should be if the item serves a plot purpose.
Random thought: A perfectly cursed item would be a Holy Avenger sword that in the hands of a palidin, has the following additional traits:
- Grant a +4 to Sense motive Checks vs Bluff checks used to deceive.
- Make the paladin unable to knowingly speak an untruth.
- Compell the Paladin to attack anyone who lies to him.
The item is certainly useful, but very dangerous to own outside of combat situations.
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