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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9363751" data-attributes="member: 6877472">Going off topic: I don't like cursed items.&nbsp; But I suppose I should elaborate on that.&nbsp; I don't like items that are basically traps that you can't easily identify.&nbsp; I do to this day use items that have unforeseen side effects and drawbacks, and sometimes yes, divesting yourself of the item does require magic.But in my mind even a cursed item should have potential use as something other than a trap to the unwary.&nbsp; But a magic sword that makes you fight your allies, a cursed cloak that instantly kills you, or boots that make you dance like a fool in combat?&nbsp; I don't see them as being very fun.Magic items are a potential reward, it's bad enough when the party can't use a given item, throwing cursed widgets in the game is about the same as giving the party 10,000 lead pieces painted gold.In The Ruins of Undermountain, an early trap is the party spots a gold coin on the floor.&nbsp; If they pick it up, they get flame striked for their &quot;greed&quot;.&nbsp; I'm sure much fun was had laughing at the luckless fool who fell for it, but that's really a cruel, sadistic prank.&nbsp; And sure, D&amp;D is full of cruel, sadistic people, so maybe there is a Joker-esque guy out there slapping glyph of warding on random stuff to sow misery, but that's not the kind of villainly I enjoy.I used to use &quot;harmless&quot; curses that didn't affect your character in a physical way, like the infamous girdle of masculinity/femininity, but I've since learned that sort of thing requires buy-in; some players are uncomfortable with that, and a few are outraged that a DM has &quot;violated the borders of their character sheet&quot;- death, mayhem, and dismemberment, that's a part of the game.&nbsp; Fundamentally changing who their character is?&nbsp; Beyond the pale.Me, personally, I usually love that sort of challenge, but not everyone is built that way, so I've backed off and make sure the players know what they are getting into, even if the characters themselves do not.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 9363751, member: 6877472"] Going off topic: I don't like cursed items. But I suppose I should elaborate on that. I don't like items that are basically traps that you can't easily identify. I do to this day use items that have unforeseen side effects and drawbacks, and sometimes yes, divesting yourself of the item does require magic. But in my mind even a cursed item should have potential use as something other than a trap to the unwary. But a magic sword that makes you fight your allies, a cursed cloak that instantly kills you, or boots that make you dance like a fool in combat? I don't see them as being very fun. Magic items are a potential reward, it's bad enough when the party can't use a given item, throwing cursed widgets in the game is about the same as giving the party 10,000 lead pieces painted gold. In [I]The Ruins of Undermountain[/I], an early trap is the party spots a gold coin on the floor. If they pick it up, they get [I]flame strike[/I]d for their "greed". I'm sure much fun was had laughing at the luckless fool who fell for it, but that's really a cruel, sadistic prank. And sure, D&D is full of cruel, sadistic people, so maybe there is a Joker-esque guy out there slapping [I]glyph of warding[/I] on random stuff to sow misery, but that's not the kind of villainly I enjoy. I used to use "harmless" curses that didn't affect your character in a physical way, like the infamous girdle of [I]masculinity/femininity[/I], but I've since learned that sort of thing requires buy-in; some players are uncomfortable with that, and a few are outraged that a DM has "violated the borders of their character sheet"- death, mayhem, and dismemberment, that's a part of the game. Fundamentally changing who their character [B]is[/B]? Beyond the pale. Me, personally, I usually love that sort of challenge, but not everyone is built that way, so I've backed off and make sure the [I]players[/I] know what they are getting into, even if the characters themselves do not. [/QUOTE]

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