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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1193089" data-attributes="member: 3146">For buying a generic magic item, you're right, there generally isn't a lot of flavor or backstory. (OTOH, maybe that's appropriate. I don't necessarily want a separate backstory for my character's boots, cloak, headband, three wands, shield, armor, primary weapon, backup weapon, tertiary weapon, ranged weapon, and three different sets of ammunition--much better (IMO) to have a good backstory for three or four items and let the rest just be items; too much detail ruins a story through lack of focus just as surely as too little ruins it through lack of interest). Not necessarily though. The blandness comes from the "generic magic item" phrase rather than from the idea of buying it. There's nothing saying that the sword your fighter bought from the merchant Cordwellyn doesn't have a story behind it. Perhaps it was once the blade of a Centurion in the Capernaen legions or perhaps it was the weapon of an orc-chief who attacked his caravan on its way through the cursed lands. For every +1 flaming sword with no history whatsoever that an unnamed merchant sells the party, there's a +1 flaming sword with no history whatsoever that an adventurer found in the horde of an unnamed manticore that had no plot significance and simply attacked the PCs because it was hungry and they looked tasty.On the subject of commissioning items, however, I couldn't agree with you less. Such items come with an automatic story. On any crafted or commissioned item, one can say "This weapon was forged by the Master Smith Elebac, enchanted with frost by the mighty wizard Tarhelion and blessed with the power of the gods by the Heironean bishop of Rel Mord for the use of Sir Valorek Greymantle in the battle against the traitor, Prince Sewarndt and his allies in Rauxes." It's pretty hard to comission an item without getting at least that much flavor and history. And that's more meaningful history than "this sword was crafted by NPC X for NPC Y to deal with threat Z that the PCs have never met, encountered, or cared about." As the Expedia commercial says, who wants to listen to the windbag at the inn explain the history of your sword when you could be that very windbag?And as for strange quirks, I think that the game is generally better off without them. If every sword glows red in the presence of gnomes, or is cursed with the affliction Y or has drawback Z, the whole business becomes rather tiresome. And if you want the occasional gimmick, it's just as possible to introduce it through purchased or commissioned items as it is through found ones. (Maybe that's why the owner was so eager to sell it and maybe the sword forged for Sir Greymantle took upon itself the purpose of its forging and can only be wielded by one who has sword fealty to the true king of Nyrond).</blockquote>

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