Magical items for a 6th Level Cleric

[bento]

I'd like some input on a villain I'm going to pit against my players in a few weeks!

(NOTE: If you're a player in our Fort Worth D&Ders group - keep out!)

My players are about to reach 5th level and have been doing quite well in combat. I typically throw EL4 or EL5 so I've decided to give them a real challenge at the end of this current adventure. The party consists of a human fighter, elven rogue/cleric, human sorcerer, human ranger, and half-ogre ranger, all Level 4 or equivelent in the case of the half-ogre.

I'm using "The Masque of Dreams" adventure from Dungeon 142, and possibly going into the classic 1E module "The Lost City." At the end of the last game the players snuck into the lost city by climbing up the backside of the great pyramid. As the players were getting towards the top, one "Zargon's" priestess and her guards came out of the door of the pyramid and found them. So at the start of the next game, they'll be fighting the priestess and the guards on top of the pyramid [massive coolness!!!].

The guards will be CR1 mooks, and so I'm building a higher level priestess. I'm using a racial templace from Goodman Game's Dungeon Crawl Classics #35 setting (Nalvor) which give them more STR and CON, and less INT and CHA. The race has a Level Adj +2. I'm statting the priestess 6th level cleric with the Evil and Destruction domains. I see her as a "hands-on" cleric who's not afraid to go toe-to-toe in melee.

The question I have is her gear. I've been kinda skimpy in the treasure department so I want to make it up by giving her a cool weapon and armor. I'm cautious though of not "breaking the game" by giving her an item that in my players hands will make it much tougher to keep them challenged.

I'm giving her +2 armor breastplate, to boost her AC, and a Rod of Withering, which deals 1d4 STR + 1d4 CON damage rather than HP damage. I'm concerned that this rod will be too powerful in the hands of 5th level characters. According to the DMG, the rod is a major magical item with a GP value of 25,000 and is a CL13. I'm also coupling this with the Ring of the Ram (8,600 GP; CL9) to make it interesting!

So what's the guidelines on CL items and players? When is a potential item too powerful for a charater to posses? Is this a good challenge or am I setting myself up for trouble?

 

[Evilhalfling]

yes the rod of withering is completely over the top for this level.
by the standard treasure by level tables - the earliest a PC should have 25k in magic would be 8th level. At 10th level it would still be half the normal wealth.
see pg 127 and 135 in the DMG.
using these tables a ring of the ram would be alright if it is that characters only magic item.

A good selection for a 6th level cleric might be
+ 1 full plate (2.6k) vs 4.5k Instead of the breastplate and +9 AC vs +6 AC
the cleric will only get 1 action each round, so just use the ring anytime you want to do damage. The party is going to remember an enemy who does 3d6 damage and throws people into walls. (+13 bull rush with each attack)
a more common selection for a 6th level NPC would be +1 armor, +1 weapon and +1 shield, with a few potions or scrolls.


Caster level:
this is only used for item saving throws or dispel checks, it has no bearing on when an item should be available

 

[Quartz]

This is a character that's a 6th level cleric with LA +2, so ECL 8, right?

The Ring of the Ram is a good idea. How about giving her a device - say a Ring of Spell Storing - with a one-use Time Stop in it? Given to her by her evil master, of course. So she can buff or heal herself. Or maybe it's not one-use, but can be recharged...

How about a Luckblade - without Wishes?

An interesting twonky would be something that allows her an extra domain.

 

[wargear]

hows about a Relic item, such as a mace, that only functions for a devout follower of her diety. for anyone else it is a +1 mace, for her it is +3 and grants her the smite good ability 3/day. combined with a couple of wands (5-10 charges remaining) say cure moderate wounds and cause blindness/deafness. maybe the +1 full plate mentioned earlier. have her holy symbol able to cast circle of protection from good once per day.

nothing is overpowered, and is unlikely to overbalance the game. plus it will provide plot hooks for some time to come, particularly if they do not recognise the true nature of the relic mace.