Rare Items

[keterys]

Many of the recently published rare items are relatively disappointing, so figured I'd take a quick stab at how I'd change most of them to be where I'd actually want rares to be... also fixing what I perceive as a few problems, cause I meddle like that.

Staff of the Magi is good, and a reasonable baseline comparison.

Mantle of the Seventh Wind (lvl 23+)
Property: You have a fly speed equal to your speed, but you must end each turn on a solid surface or you fall.
Property: You take no damage from a fall and always land on your feet.
Power (Encounter) - Free Action. Use when you hit with an attack. You may slide one target of the attack 5 squares.
Power (Daily) - Minor Action. You gain a fly (hover) speed equal to your speed for the encounter.

Holy Avenger (lvl 25+)
Critical: +5d10 radiant
Property: Add 1d10 extra radiant damage to the damage rolls of your Divine attacks
Power (Encounter) - Minor Action. You or one ally within 10 squares may spend a healing surge.
Power (Daily) - Minor Action. You and each ally within 10 squares of you gain a +5 power bonus to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will defenses until the end of your next turn and may heal as if they had spent a healing surge.
(Keep the Special to use it as a holy symbol)

Vorpal Weapon (lvl 30)
Critical: Extra damage equal to the maximum result of all [W] damage dice.
Property: Whenever you roll the maximum result on any [W] damage die for this weapon, you deal extra damage equal to that maximum result.
Power (Encounter): Free Action. When you reduce an enemy to 30 hp or less with a melee hit, the enemy is reduced to 0 hp and beheaded.
Power (Daily): Free Action. When you roll an 18 or 19 on an attack with this weapon, the attack becomes a critical hit.

Winged Boots (lvl 13)
Property: You take no damage from a fall and always land on your feet.
Power (Encounter): Move Action. Fly a number of squares equal to your speed. At the end of your turn, you float down to the ground if you aren’t already there.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. You gain a fly speed equal to your speed for the encounter.

Gauntlets of Ogre Power (lvl 5)
Property: Gain a +1 item bonus to Athletics checks and Strength ability checks (but not Strength attacks).
Property: Your encumbrance limit is doubled.
Power (Encounter): Free Action. Use when you hit with a melee attack. The attack deals an extra 5 damage and the target is pushed 2 squares.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. You gain a +2 power bonus to melee damage rolls until the end of the encounter.

Ioun Stone of True Sight (lvl 28)
Property: Gain darkvision and a +6 item bonus to Insight checks and Perception checks.
Power (Encounter): Minor Action. You gain truesight 20 until the end of your next turn.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. You gain truesight 20 until the end of the encounter.

Cloak of Invisibility (lvl 23+)
Property: Gain an item bonus to Stealth equal to the enhancement bonus.
Power (At-Will * Illusion): No Action. Use when you roll initiative. You gain total concealment until the start of your turn and may make a Stealth check.
Power (Encounter * Illusion): Minor Action. You become invisible until the start of your next turn.
Power (Daily • Illusion): Minor Action. You become invisible until the end of the encounter or until you are hit by a melee attack or a ranged attack.

Todo:
Ring of Freedom of Movement (lvl 15)
Ring of Invisibility (lvl 18)
Ring of Protection (lvl 17)
Ring of Regeneration (lvl 24)
Flying Carpet (lvl 20)

... and explanations for the changes

 

[aco175]

These ideas do make the rare items more cool and unique. I have not realy incorporated rare items into my campaign, so pardon if I do not know what I'm talking about.

I like the way you have the base item in the old 4e books and added a poer that is useful in each encounter and another cool daily, like bumping the gauntlets of ogre power. IIRC the +5 damage used to be a daily power, but making it a encounter power makes this ited more wanted as my only rare of level 1-10. Side note: How long before somebody argues that it does not break the game by allowing multiples?

A different idea would be to have some things that can get added to a normal item, common or uncommon to make it rare. I'm not sure if if you/we can come up with 5-10 things that can get added to items of any sort, I tend to think that most players will want a rare that is a weapon,implement, or armor.

Example would be to take a flaming wpn (PHB p.234) that has an at will power of making all damage fire instead of normal and a daily power of dealing +1d6 fire and ongoing5 fire when you hit. I'm not seeing a problem if a player wants to make this his rare either when it is found or be able to change it each level like a power. I have not thought this through and just rambling at the moment. Take the daily and make it a encounter and have another daily to raise the damage on 1 hit, or raise the ongoing damage, or something like a burst/blast power.

I guess it depends on how you see the power of the item being rare depends on if you can swap the power to another item. I am leaning to have the power be inate and something the character manifests. This way if can be transferred to another item gotten a few levels later. I still have the problem with players getting a new item and it is just a more powerful version of the item they had only with another +1, so why not just give them the ability to pump something on their own.

 

[the Jester]

What are all the rare items we have seen?

I know the holy avenger was previewed here, and I remember the vorpal sword and staff of the magi (though I can't seem to find them now)...

Have we seen any others, and could someone post a link to the holy avenger and staff of the magi?

 

[keterys]

As far as I know, all the ones I listed are all the rare items. Most of them are relatively unchanged. Some have minor differences - like the gauntlets of ogre power give +2 power bonus to damage for one encounter per day instead of +5 for one attack per day.

 

[the Jester]

Do you by any chance have that link?

 

[the Jester]

Here's my first custom rare item (which is in a dragon's hoard):


BLINDFOLD OF DEXTER--- Level 12+ Rare
This ragged strip of white cloth can be tied around the eyes to serve as a blindfold.
Lvl 12: 13,000 gp
Lvl 22: 225,000 gp
Item Slot: Head
Property: While wearing the blindfold, you are blind. You are immune to effects with the gaze keyword and cannot be blinded.
Property: While wearing the blindfold, you gain are treated as having blindsight with regards to detecting creatures only.
Power (Daily*Healing, Radiant): Standard action; you give off light in a close burst 5; one ally in the burst may spend a healing surge. Make the following attack against each enemy in the burst: level + 4 vs. Reflex; Hit: the target takes 10 radiant damage and is blinded until the end of its next turn.
Level 22: level + 6 vs. Reflex; 20 radiant damage.

 

[keterys]

There are some rare items in the DM's Kit.

 

[the Jester]

Aha, I haven't picked that up- I was considering skipping it, based on having already gotten the Rules Compendium and having heard it was largely nothing new, aimed squarely at new DMs. I'll have to at least take a look at it...

 

[the Jester]

Hey keterys, would you mind highlighting what you added/changed in the OP? I don't have the DM's Kit, so I don't know what they changed in there.

 

[keterys]

I'll do so... shortly... but first I have two games I'm DMing to work on, and a module to write a couple encounters for... so... few days. Actually, let me google for ya...

Try this link - it should have a summary of all the changes.