How impolite is it to change a PC with a cursed item?

[blargney the second]

There's a PC in my party that's been carrying a cursed psionic item for a while. Over time it forces you to make Will saves, but the sourcebook it came from was not specific as to the long term consequences. All it says is that you are entranced by the object and must examine it as frequently as possible, and the DM is free to make up the rest.

I'm contemplating having the character lose a point or two of Wisdom permanently but gain Wild Talent as a bonus feat. I'd likely put in a clause that break enchantment or similar would reverse the effects so he's not hosed forever.

How impolite is it to (mostly) permanently change a PC like that?
-blarg

 

[Hussar]

I'd have no major issues with that. Heck, it might not be a bad idea to run the idea past the player first. I'm constantly surprised to find that players, when approached about things like this, are usually very open minded and give me all sorts of ideas.

 

[Tetsubo]

Back in the days of 1E I changed a male PG mage into a woman. The player just shrugged and continue playing the now female character... It was part of the campaign and he didn't seem to care...

I think the big question is how much will this effect the character? Is Wis a key stat to the class? If Wis isn't much of an issue, go for it... if it is... I'd talk to the player first... this a collaborative hobby...

 

[blargney the second]

He's playing a straight up crusader, so Wis isn't a huge deal for him. Good idea to talk with him first.

 

[Thurbane]

I swear, DMs thesedays! Is it polite? You're the DM man - you are GOD! Do it!



Seriously, if a DM can't afflict a character once in a while with something unexpected, why are we playing? So all the players can be coddled and nursed through their adventures?

I hear a lot about tyrannical DMs and "Mother may I?" syndrome - now it seems the shoe is on the other foot - DMs think they need to ask permission to drop a cursed item on a player! Gary Gygax must be spinning in his grave, except that he's alive!

As someone who has been on both ends of a cursed magic item (DM and player), I say go for it, so long as it's not malicious, and you don't always single out one player.

The watered down treatment that cursed items get in 3E is one of the things I miss most from 1E and 2E - back when you didn't just slip every magic ring you found on your finger willy-nilly: there was some real trepidation...

 

[Jesus_marley]

just a suggestion, but what if the wisdom loss was a result of losing the item (say via theft). so long as the the player retains the item they suffer no serious consequences other than a preoccupation with the item. once it is gone, after 24 hours, they suffer the Wis stat damage and must make continuous hourly Will saves or be compelled to retrieve it.

 

[ScardPtori]

I'm not sure how often you are making him make a will save to examine the item or if it is just a roleplaying action at this point, but instead of the wisdom loss you could go with ratcheting up the obsession level. If the item is used in combat, every time he uses the item in combat, he has to make a saving throw or spend that round examining the object and not helping his party members. Or maybe at night when he is on watch, if something is occurring when it is his turn to keep an eye out, make him make the save and if he fails, it is the same as if he'd fallen asleep on watch as he is so focused on the magic item.

And over time, keep cranking up the obsession level. I'm picturing a LoTR Gollum type scenario here. You keep that cursed object of obsession for too long and you're gonna find yourself living alone in a cave staring at your magic item where no one can disturb you from your "precious" item . . .

 

[Lanefan]

I swear, DMs thesedays! Is it polite? You're the DM man - you are GOD! Do it!



Seriously, if a DM can't afflict a character once in a while with something unexpected, why are we playing? So all the players can be coddled and nursed through their adventures?

I hear a lot about tyrannical DMs and "Mother may I?" syndrome - now it seems the shoe is on the other foot - DMs think they need to ask permission to drop a cursed item on a player! Gary Gygax must be spinning in his grave, except that he's alive!

As someone who has been on both ends of a cursed magic item (DM and player), I say go for it, so long as it's not malicious, and you don't always single out one player.

The watered down treatment that cursed items get in 3E is one of the things I miss most from 1E and 2E - back when you didn't just slip every magic ring you found on your finger willy-nilly: there was some real trepidation...

Thurbane's hit it spot-on here. Curses, alignment change, gender change, even race and-or class change...these are all tools in the DM's toolbox waiting to be (wisely) used now and then when it makes sense. If nothing else, they shake things up, and can provide handy adventure hooks if the affected character and-or her party want to undo the effect and need to go through some hoops in the process...

Lanefan

 

[Aeric]

Here's a little story.

A few years back, I joined a small Cyberpunk game. The character I made was a netrunner (a hacker). She was eighteen years old, a senior in high school whose parents were corporate wage-slaves. She ran the 'net because her life was totally safe and boring.

This character ended up having to replace half of her body with cybernetics, and it was discovered that she was part of an experiment testing personality-modifying software. She became a sort of "perfect soldier" and eventually joined the Space Marines.

Clearly, this was not the character I thought I was going to play. I thought I was going to play some meek little netrunner hiding in the back of a van somewhere hacking into corporate mainframes. Instead, I was kicking butt and taking names.

Did I complain? Heck no! I loved this turn of events. It came completely out of left field, and roleplaying my character's reactions to all the stuff happening to her was an incredibly fun challenge.

If a player doesn't want his character to change, then he should lock the character sheet in a box and hide it under his bed. Roleplaying is all about growth and change, for better or for worse. And really, are any changes in RPGs ever truly permanent? The person running the game is a human being, after all; if you don't like something, you can talk to him and figure out a way to put things right. It's all part of the game.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

There's a PC in my party that's been carrying a cursed psionic item for a while. Over time it forces you to make Will saves, but the sourcebook it came from was not specific as to the long term consequences. All it says is that you are entranced by the object and must examine it as frequently as possible, and the DM is free to make up the rest.

I'm contemplating having the character lose a point or two of Wisdom permanently but gain Wild Talent as a bonus feat. I'd likely put in a clause that break enchantment or similar would reverse the effects so he's not hosed forever.

How impolite is it to (mostly) permanently change a PC like that?
-blarg

What kind of player is the player of the character? How will he/she be likely to react?