New Feat: Create Legendary Item

[Jürgen Hubert]

From my home page:

Create Legendary Item [Item Creation]

Through the sheer force of your personality, some of your items can become spontaneuously enchanted when you perform mighty deeds.

Prerequisite: Character Level 9+, Charisma 13+.

Benefit: You can set a pool of XP aside for the creation of legendary items. When you perform a sufficiently remarkable deed (in the DM' opinion), one piece of equipment that you are currently carrying becomes spontaneuosly enchanted. Examples: If you have managed to slay a dragon with your sword, it might become a +1 dragon bane. On the other hand, if you manage to stab a king in the back, your dagger might become a +1 dagger of wounding, or your cloak a cloak of elvenkind. This costs the usual amount of XP for this type of item, but no money and no time. The DM selects the type of enchantment, but the specific enchantment should be appropriate to the event that triggered it. If there is not enough XP in the pool, the item is not enchanted.




Comments? Suggestions?

 

[CRGreathouse]

Actually, I like it quite a bit. I think I may use it in variant campaigns - though I'll split it up into a few feats with varying level and Cha requirements (Cha 13+, level 6+; Cha 15+, level 12+; Cha 17+, level 18+?).

 

[Anabstercorian]

I like the idea, but I'm not sure if it's balanced. I think that the experience required should be double for using this method of item creation.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Actually, I like it quite a bit. I think I may use it in variant campaigns - though I'll split it up into a few feats with varying level and Cha requirements (Cha 13+, level 6+; Cha 15+, level 12+; Cha 17+, level 18+?).

You could also make an Epic Variation of this feat (Character Level 21+ and Charisma 23+ should do nicely) that works for Epic Items... and make this the only way in which epic magic items can be created.

This (a) prevents proliferation of such items, and (b) makes sure that all people who made such items in the past had real powerful personalities - the stuff of legends, so to speak...

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I like the idea, but I'm not sure if it's balanced. I think that the experience required should be double for using this method of item creation.

I think this balances with the fact that the character doesn't choose the item, but the DM - but then again, I haven't playtested this.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

 

[Geoff Watson]

I think the XP cost should be higher, unless the 'DM fiat' rule is supposed to be annoying a lot of the time.

Hong and I use similar rules in our campaigns; the XP cost is higher, but the character has full control over what powers the item gains.

Geoff.

 

[hong]

I think the XP cost should be higher, unless the 'DM fiat' rule is supposed to be annoying a lot of the time.

Hong and I use similar rules in our campaigns; the XP cost is higher, but the character has full control over what powers the item gains.

Say Geoff, do you intend to allow general item imbuing in your game? As in, how it works in my game.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

So what do you think is an appropriate amount of XP? 1.5 times the normal amount? Two times?

 

[Geoff Watson]

Say Geoff, do you intend to allow general item imbuing in your game? As in, how it works in my game.

I have considered it; I was thinking that it didn't really suit the setting, and was going to leave it until I started a new campaign or setting, with 'normal' permanent magic items being a lot rarer.

You did it like that in your game, and it seems to be working OK so far, though I'll have to see how things work out over the next couple of sessions (when we all start getting the stat boost items).

We'll wait and see. I don't foresee any real problems with it, but it does affect things like the Item Creation feats (I was thinking of changing Craft Wondrous Items anyway).

Geoff.

 

[hong]

So what do you think is an appropriate amount of XP? 1.5 times the normal amount? Two times?

In my game, I'm allowing free imbuing of items, at an XP cost of 1/5th the market price in gp. Thus a +1 sword (market price 2000 gp) would cost 400 XP to imbue. There are some more details and limitations (see this page), but that's the bare essentials.

Your setup differs in that the DM is the one who decides when an item becomes magic, and what enchantment it gets. Because of this, a lower XP cost than 1/5th is probably appropriate. I'd say 1/10th (+1 sword costs 200 XP), which is the same order of magnitude as what anabstercorian suggested.