The next campaign I run, I will allow magical items to advance Themselves.
Y'see, I want to add a little flavor and a lot of awe to magical items. Like Arthur's Excalibur, which likely got more powerful as he did, he never had any reason to just throw it away for a more magical sword.
Magical items' powers must be discovered, and work for the wielder, who has grown a bond between the item and him, worked to unlock it's powers, for the magic placed inside can be limitless.
This is done either by donating XP, or going on quests to unlock the powers of the magical item, as well as researching it's command words, it's history, the past wielders of the weapon, etc etc.
For example, the PCs run across a guy with a pair of boots who can run up walls, and he moves FAST, and it makes him faster. Okay, so these boots not only simulate spiderclimb, but boots of Speed and Striding/Springing. But when they get the magic item, it doesn't work for them.
So what does that mean? They must research the item, and find out how it was used, go on quests to unlock the powers from it. Perhaps these boots were the boots of Zhantif, the mighty Demonslayer, who used these boots to scale the cliffs of Karton, where the Palace of the Fiendsmith.
So they must go to complete the methods which could open the powers, like soaking the shoes in Fiendblood, or finding Zhantif's tomb to let the shoes set before his gravestone on a waned moon. Or try and mold new powers to them. For example, during the adventure, the person could suffer a great fall. Well, perhaps the boots develop a featherfall ability.
All associated with their levels, of course. And by doing this, they will also level up. So it's a process.
Makes having few magical items a lot more mysterious, MAGICAL, and interesting. Offers RP, and lets you KEEP that weapon. And it allows you to give badguys magical stuff, and not worrying about the party getting every trick they have.
Of course, this requires 1) Getting items which the PCs would be interested in, and inserting them into the campaign (Ie, if the fighter is an Axe man, let him hunt for an axe, if someone wants a Whip, let him do that. This might reward people for choosing 'weaker' weapons, which may be more interesting. Or giving them 'weaker' weapons, and thus allowing them to 'Develop' it along their carreer, like someone who suddenly wants to be a Lasher, or a dagger expert.
Also means no sundering. They'd skin you alive.
Y'see, I want to add a little flavor and a lot of awe to magical items. Like Arthur's Excalibur, which likely got more powerful as he did, he never had any reason to just throw it away for a more magical sword.
Magical items' powers must be discovered, and work for the wielder, who has grown a bond between the item and him, worked to unlock it's powers, for the magic placed inside can be limitless.
This is done either by donating XP, or going on quests to unlock the powers of the magical item, as well as researching it's command words, it's history, the past wielders of the weapon, etc etc.
For example, the PCs run across a guy with a pair of boots who can run up walls, and he moves FAST, and it makes him faster. Okay, so these boots not only simulate spiderclimb, but boots of Speed and Striding/Springing. But when they get the magic item, it doesn't work for them.
So what does that mean? They must research the item, and find out how it was used, go on quests to unlock the powers from it. Perhaps these boots were the boots of Zhantif, the mighty Demonslayer, who used these boots to scale the cliffs of Karton, where the Palace of the Fiendsmith.
So they must go to complete the methods which could open the powers, like soaking the shoes in Fiendblood, or finding Zhantif's tomb to let the shoes set before his gravestone on a waned moon. Or try and mold new powers to them. For example, during the adventure, the person could suffer a great fall. Well, perhaps the boots develop a featherfall ability.
All associated with their levels, of course. And by doing this, they will also level up. So it's a process.
Makes having few magical items a lot more mysterious, MAGICAL, and interesting. Offers RP, and lets you KEEP that weapon. And it allows you to give badguys magical stuff, and not worrying about the party getting every trick they have.
Of course, this requires 1) Getting items which the PCs would be interested in, and inserting them into the campaign (Ie, if the fighter is an Axe man, let him hunt for an axe, if someone wants a Whip, let him do that. This might reward people for choosing 'weaker' weapons, which may be more interesting. Or giving them 'weaker' weapons, and thus allowing them to 'Develop' it along their carreer, like someone who suddenly wants to be a Lasher, or a dagger expert.
Also means no sundering. They'd skin you alive.
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