Curses, Foiled Again!

[Slife]

I like using the specific alignment restriction on the Helm of Opposite alignment. That way you don't have to worry about it being used for evil (and, of course, you get a slight discount).

 

[Korgoth]

In the all-reptiles prehistoric game that I ran, one of the PCs had gotten multiple grafts (ala Fiend Folio) from a sinister ophidian scientist, one of which was cursed with the "5% chance of polymorphing into a specific creature each day" (the creature in question was an ophidian, naturally).

Apologies for the threadjack... but I'd really like to hear more about this (new thread maybe?).

 

[Rystil Arden]

At 4000 gp a pop, this item is not too expensive to make, but you probably wouldn't use it on every goblin you come across. Significant villains maybe.

I once reverse engineered the item to design a spell that would duplicate the effect of the item. Let's see.... Reverse Alignment. I doubt it is balanced, since the item itself is kinda quirky.

Trouble is that the DC is so low that it usually doesn't matter. I've had a PC in a game I ran who really wanted a particular evil NPC as a good-aligned cohort though, so they poisoned her until she automatically failed all Will saves and then stuck on the helm. It worked out pretty well.

 

[Baron Opal]

I'm a big fan of the curse that the PCs know about and yet compels them to utter the famous last words "maybe it will be worth it."

Yeah, I do that too. My players just found* a +2 greatsword of tainted wounding. It does and extra 1d6 damage vs. mortals, +2d6 vs. clerics and outsiders. The akashic that had it was really going to town with it until she happened to kill an outsider with it, and she felt strangely better. Upon closer magical inspection of the weapon the party discovered that every mortal slain confers a negative shadow point to the character. Each immortal a positive shadow point. When the shadow points equal the character's Constitution she turns into an undead or an outsider depending if her total is negative or positive. So, now she is going to save it for any outsider she finds and try to not kill any mortals with it. Undead don't tip the balance either way, so she's safe there.

* Found means, of course, "taking it off the body of the poor sot they just killed."

 

[Slife]

Trouble is that the DC is so low that it usually doesn't matter. I've had a PC in a game I ran who really wanted a particular evil NPC as a good-aligned cohort though, so they poisoned her until she automatically failed all Will saves and then stuck on the helm. It worked out pretty well.

Saves are failed on a natural 1. Tie them up, and then

Helm goes on, helm goes off. Helm goes on, helm goes off...

I can see it now. The BBEG has captured the paladin and is repeatedly shoving the helm of opposite alignment onto his head...

attempt 1 - Are you feeling naughty yet?
Untie me evil-doer, so that I may smite you!

attempt 2 How about now?
Butt-kicking for justice!

attempt 3 and now?
*twitch*twitch*...I EAT BABIES!!!

... perfect

 

[demiurge1138]

Apologies for the threadjack... but I'd really like to hear more about this (new thread maybe?).

Ask and ye shall recieve.

We now return you to your thread, already in progress.

Demiurge out.

 

[painandgreed]

Once, the party and my character by default being the fighter got a really nice magic sword. Other events came up and we decided to sell it since it was worth more than the rest of the treasure we had at that point and couldn't be split. We got a bunch of money and another magic sword out of the deal. Turns out the other magic sword was a cursed sword of berserking and any time initiative was rolled, it teleported into my hand and I attacked until all enemies were dead, even after the sword was broke. The sword we sold was so special that one of the members of the council of wizards we sold it to ran off with it throwing the city into civil war. Luckily, we still got enough money out of the deal to get the curse removed and hire the mercs we needed to free another kingdom from viking raiders.

I rarely put cursed items into play as a DM except as parts of evil intelligent creatures treasure. There will often be a poison potion labeled Cure Light Wounds in with the rest of the creatures properly marked potions. Perhaps a nasty ring or helmet too. All put in with treasure where they would only be found and used if the person who put them there had been killed an has his stuff taken. A final bit of vindictivness against theives or murderers.

 

[Mark CMG]

Saves are failed on a natural 1. Tie them up, and then

Helm goes on, helm goes off. Helm goes on, helm goes off...

If the DM gets tired of rolling, he can implement the "Take One" rule.

 

[Hussar]

Meh, was never much for straight up cursed items like a Sword -1 or something like that. Remove curse isn't too hard to cast and it's pretty obvious when the PC is cursed since he will use the cursed weapon every time.

I prefer to just add quirks to existing items.

 

[Mark CMG]

There seems to be a definite trend these days to adding bad things to good items in an effort to not see them discarded.