Cursed Items

[Dragongrief]

I've used one item (in both 2e and 3e) and had one used against me. Both fall into the "cool powers with a annoying effect".

In my games, I've used a modified version of the Ring of Bureucratic Wizardry. It functioned as a normal version of the Ring of Wizardry doubling the (base) spells prepare/memorizable per day (I gave the 1st-3rd version), but caused any spells cast to be delayed 1-4 rounds while all of the "necessary paperwork" was filled out. I changed it so that the ring was removable, and the curse only applied on days that it's extra preparing effect was used.

In one of my friends games, I aquired a "Staff of Fiery Death" which had the curse of causing my touch to harm those I cared for. We quickly learned that giving a 10th level fighter/mage (2e) such a staff is a bad idea... especially when near any enemy army encampment.

So I am definitely in favor of using cursed items, as long as the curse is more along the lines of a quirk that causes second thoughts about using the item, than the "haha, you're hosed" curse.

 

[Rechan]

I do like cursed items and items with drawbacks and benefits.

However, there's something that I don't often see: Cursed items that do more than impose penalties or do damage (or the oft Helm of Opposite Alignment).

What I'd like to see is something a little more narrative-cursed. Ye olde "You lose everything you own" or "Everyone begins to distrust you" or "Natural disasters follow you". The sort of thing Steven King would have in a novel.

In other words, an item that brings plot hooks and interesting story with it, effecting the PCs lives or their surroundings, as opposed to a mechanical penalty.

 

[robertliguori]

I do like cursed items and items with drawbacks and benefits.

However, there's something that I don't often see: Cursed items that do more than impose penalties or do damage (or the oft Helm of Opposite Alignment).

What I'd like to see is something a little more narrative-cursed. Ye olde "You lose everything you own" or "Everyone begins to distrust you" or "Natural disasters follow you". The sort of thing Steven King would have in a novel.

In other words, an item that brings plot hooks and interesting story with it, effecting the PCs lives or their surroundings, as opposed to a mechanical penalty.

Narrative curses plus adventurers can mean bad, bad things for a campaign setting, the natural disaster one especially. What happens when clever PCs take the item to the Evil area of the campaign map and camp out until the area has been wiped clean of evil life?

It is my considered opinion that cursed items should be built and distributed like normal items; if you wouldn't give a player an Orb of Storms, don't give them cursed items that replicate the effect of an Orb of Storms.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Do you use cursed items in your game?

What are some you've used to particularly good effect.

[edit: While my original question wasn't edition specific it just occurred to me, does 4e even have cursed items?]

I think cursed items have been handled very poorly. Most cursed items don't just hurt you, they take control of your character. They're based on the One Ring, which drove the wearer mad and caused them to excessively covet the item. DnD cursed items (pre-4e anyway) did silly things like appear in your hand when you didn't want them. (For similar reasons, I don't like intelligent magic items. A talking +3 sword that tries to convince its owner to become evil is less interesting when you realize it's just a ripoff of the One Ring.)

I don't like magic items much anyway, so negative magic items hold no joy for me. I'd rather use a single-use "anti-healing potion" rather than something that screws you for days. It might also be more fun to have a magic sword -2 that tricks the player into thinking it's a magic sword +2 ... but if the PC realizes something is weird about the item, they can just throw it off a cliff.

Ye olde "You lose everything you own" or "Everyone begins to distrust you" or "Natural disasters follow you". The sort of thing Steven King would have in a novel.

These are better curses than I've seen in a long time, as long as it's not mind control or "weapon teleports into your hand" it shouldn't be too bad.

 

[CleverNickName]

I use them all the time. In my game world, magic is a rare, unpredictable force...not just another resource or energy to be harvested. Most, if not all, magic items have some sort of drawback.

Some of my favorites:

A scythe +5 that works normally until it scores a critical hit. On a crit, it splits the damage between its target and its wielder (ouch).

A morningstar +1 that gives its weilder the ability to rage like a barbarian, once per day. The trouble is, the endorphins and "rush" created by this artifical rage are highly addictive, and each time it is used in this manner, the wielder can become addicted to it (Fort DC 20 negates). Characters who are addicted to the rage become nonproficient with all other weapons, including other morningstars.

A sling +2 that launches "returning" stones...which sounds like a good thing, but it isn't. On a miss, the returning stone flies back and attacks the one who threw it, using the same attack bonus. Sort of like a low-grade backbiter spear.

A ring of invisibility that works like normal, but if it is used more than once per day, the character begins to fade away (-1 Strength per hour, character dies and immediately becomes a shadow when Strength = 0.)

A super-powerful potion of healing that cures 20 points of damage automatically (no need to roll), but also causes nausea for 4 hours (Fort DC 12 negates.)

A cape of the mounteback that works normally, except that the character wearing it always leaves a random item behind when he/she teleports. This was used to great effect when the character was trying to impress the queen by putting on a little "magic show" after dinner, and when he DD'd across the room he accidentally left his clothing behind. The queen was so impressed (and amused), she gave him new robes fit for a king.

 

[Jhaelen]

Don't like 'em, don't use 'em.

Besides, they usually don't make sense: To my knowledge there never existed a reason in D&D why they should exist. There's no chance of failure when creating magic items, so they can only exist if they were created on purpose which would be an incredible waste of resources. The only thing that is an even bigger waste of resources are traps - especially the kind of traps that seem to be the preferred one in D&D 4E.

Items that have a drawback in addition to a positive effect are slightly better - at least in theory. Of course (afaik) they've not been supported by any D&D ruleset either.
And, unfortunately, IME they are always used in a way that circumvents or negates their negative effect. Meh.

 

[an_idol_mind]

I like cursed items that provide a benefit along with a drawback, such as a berserking sword. Some items I've used include a magic horn that allows the user to commune with a deity but which also draws the attention of other powerful outsiders, the eye of a diviner that gives a character immense prophetic abilities but also slowly drives him mad, and an amulet that drains levels from enemies but leads the user to become addicted to the sensation of stealing life energy.

I've used stuff like a cursed sword -1, but only because it happened to be written into the first adventure I ran. If there's no reason for a character to want to use the item in the first place, the whole experience tends to be reduced to taking a lame penalty for as long as it takes to get someone to cast remove curse.

 

[Humanaut]

I have a couple of memories from my highschool days and DM. We fought what we thought was the BBE Wizard, only for him to turn to snow when defeated, of his equipment left behind, there was a magic necklace... i threw it on... Strangulation!

Another time he ran us through the double Ravenloft adventure: House on Griffon Hill. Strahd would periodically taunt us, once he showed up, joked how we needed help, then tossed a scarab on the floor and left. My PC rationalized that it WOULN'T be cursed because it would be too obvious, so he really was throwing us a bone due to overconfidance... wrong. Dang beetle almost cost me my arm! Silly greedy me.

As a DM, i rarely use them. In that vein I'm more apt to use an item with drawbacks, or in and of itself is EVIL and I try and creep the PC's out of wanting to even touch it.

 

[Oni]

I do like the idea of a cursed item being a challange to over come. Like a necklace that tries to strangle you or the like. I can see why someone might create something of that ilk.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Not only can I see why someone might intentionally create a cursed item, I rather like the idea that magic item creation can be botched.

I don't think every curse should be critical. In one 3e adventure, I included a scythe that was possessed by its former (tall albino) owner. It gave magic bonus, but the person who used it grew slowly over time until he reached 7 ft, and his skin paled to albinism. The PCs found it in the hands of a tall, pale goblin. It freaked them out so much that they chose not to use it.

I quite like the sword that desires to draw blood before it is sheathed. It has power, but if you draw it "just in case" it tries to take a hit point from you before you can sheath it again.

I like the idea of items that offer skill ranks. Earrings of Swimming 8 ranks, for example, appear as tiny jade fish that, when worn, grant the wearer a Swim skill of 8 ranks. Not +8 ranks; 8 ranks. If you have fewer ranks, it is a boon. If you have more....not so much of a boon. A character with 10 ranks of Swim who wears these earrings has 8 ranks until he takes them off.

My crypt with the dread ghoul mouse swarms contained a circlet that, among other things, attempted to possess its wearer so the long-dead reptilian sorcerer whose circlet it was could live again.......

Anyone who is a fan of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and/or The Sarah Jane Adventures can easily bring to mind episodes that, essentially, deal with cursed items.



RC