Help me build my McGuffin

[Olive]

So I'm working on a campaign, starting next week. It's my first D&D game in a while and I'm a little out of touch.

So, my players stay out. Thanks.








One PC will be teleported far to the east by an Evil Wizard and have a geas cast upon him to find the Eight Fold Staff. He will meet other players and adventure will ensue.

The question is, what is the Eight Fold Staff? What powers does it have and how will they grow? I want it to be an interesting 8 part magic item that will not be too powerful but will grow with the party. I was planning to base it on buddhist ideas of the Eight Fold Path. This includes the following:

* Wisdom
1. Right view
2. Right intention

* Ethical conduct
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood

* Mental discipline
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

The PCs are starting at 3rd level and the idea is to take them through till 12th-15th on this quest.

Any ideas on how this might work?

 

[Dei]

A few ideas from the top of my head, these will depend a great deal on the level of power you want for the McGuffin.

*Wisdom

1- x/day cast true seeing or perhaps detect thoughts if you want to be a little more philosophical.
2- Detect Alignment at will

*Ethical Conduct
3- Allows user to Inspire Courage as a level X bard a number of times per day. Alternatively it could give access to the Inflame class skill of the Warpriest PrC (Complete Warrior iirc). User may not speak out against his/her own alignment/diety.
4- Hmm, hard one, perhaps a +X competence bonus to x numbers of skill checks/day. Since this is supposed to be some kind of guidance tool add that the actions concerned must be in line with users alignment.
5- User has no need for food or water, you could even take this further and have it also act as an Endure Elements spell.

*Mental Discipline
6- +X sacred bonus on ability check x/day, actions must be in accordance with alignment.
7- Acts as the Alertness feat. A more powerful alternative, acts as a constant alarm spell centered on the staff, can be activated as a free action at will. Or perhaps, for a really powerful one, X/day cast Mordeknkainen's Faithful Hound.
8- Acts as a Protection from opposite alignment spell for the purposes of determining the effects of Spells, i.e. immune to mind affecting and enchantment effects, etc.

Now this is a very powerful item but it is supposed to be a McGuffin so I did not reign myself in too much If you like you could even make the staff intelligent and have it decide when and how it's powers will be used on behalf of the User. If it is supposed to be a Holy Relic of some sort make it have a LG alignment and RP it as some sort of wise, sagely monk.

 

[Aramax]

How about the staff giving Ws bonus to ac,to hit,damage,DC of spells and some of these powers in a small radius

 

[Kafkonia]

* Wisdom
1. Right view
2. Right intention

* Ethical conduct
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood

* Mental discipline
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

1. True Seeing
2. Functions as a Periapt of Faithfulness
3. Detect Lies, but user cannot lie (or must make Will save to do so.)
4. All attacks considered good-aligned for overcoming DR
5. Need no longer eat or drink
6. Competence bonus to all skills
7. Immune to mind-affecting abilities
8. Can maintain concentration on spells as a free action; casting spells does not provoke attacks of opportunity

 

[IcyCool]

8 schools of magic (if you count universal), 8 pieces of the staff. Coincidence? I think not.

 

[Olive]

Those are pretty cool ideas. Part of what I was thinking was that it would scale. So the first three parts are pretty minor, but get more powerful when you join them together. Same for the next two sections. Then the whole thing together is hugely powerful.

That way I can give them the first few parts of each section over the first few levels without it becoming game breaking.

Another idea is for the Evil Wizard to pop in and claim his sections every few adventures.

 

[Kafkonia]

Those are pretty cool ideas. Part of what I was thinking was that it would scale. So the first three parts are pretty minor, but get more powerful when you join them together. Same for the next two sections. Then the whole thing together is hugely powerful.

That way I can give them the first few parts of each section over the first few levels without it becoming game breaking.

Another idea is for the Evil Wizard to pop in and claim his sections every few adventures.

That latter idea might get annoying for the players if it happens too often, although if it's their job to find things for him I think it's fully justified.

Scaling it is a good idea, but be prepared for a lot more work, since instead of coming up with 8 abilities you'll have to come up with 15 (assuming the scale jumps up at each of the two intervals.)

 

[IcyCool]

You could also take a look at the rod of seven parts, and add an 8th piece to it.

 

[Olive]

You could also take a look at the rod of seven parts, and add an 8th piece to it.

Thank might be what ends up happening... Damn babies take up all your DM planning time!

 

[Kafkonia]

8 schools of magic (if you count universal), 8 pieces of the staff. Coincidence? I think not.

There are also 8 alignments (excluding True Neutral), so each part could be tied to/guarded by an exemplar of a particular alignment.