D&D General Sandbox style: Rumors say a +1 sword is in a cave nearby. Go get it?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You are fresh level 1 characters. You are playing in a sandbox style game. You have many options to explore. Caves and temples and whatever. Riches and glory and treasure no matter where you go.

One rumor says a cave full of monsters has a magic (+1) sword hidden somewhere inside. Is it worth it to you to seek out this sword? You are level 1 and have no magic items. Plus, who knows what's in the other areas to explore. It's JUST a +1 sword after all.

Would it make a difference if it was AD&D/OSR/Shadowdark etc?

Basically: Is it worth going out of the parties way to get JUST a +1 sword?

It's absolutely worth getting it in any OSR-style game, including Shadowdark.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I would find more interest in the story surrounding the magical weapon. Whose weapon originally was it? Who are the people who gave me the rumor that it was there? What is the location it is found and what is its history? What might be defending the weapon?

Basically what @J-H said in their post is exactly the juice I find more interesting than just the mechanical knowledge that a +1 sword is there to boost my attack bonus a point and let me hit creatures immune to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing weapons.

 

[Guest 7037866]

Would you be disappointed if the "the lost sword of King Grergic" was a mere +1 sword?

You're kind of missing my point... there is no such thing as "mere" when it comes to a magical weapon.

 

[DEFCON 1]

You're kind of missing my point... there is no such thing as "mere" when it comes to a magical weapon.

Absolutely. A former King's lost sword is way more important regardless of what the mechanical bonuses are on it. If I get that sword, then my character has a potential "in" with the royal family down the line. That's way more important to the campaign than a +1 attack and damage bonus.

 

[KYRON45]

Oh, no, what it is matters a whole lot. You know you will need that magic weapon eventually and if you have a line on one out the gate, you go after it.

I guess adventuring isn’t what it used to be.
Why is there no “shaking fist at the clouds” emoji?

The rumor could be there’s a kings ransom in the cave or a plush Wookiee….its a rumor so….you won’t know until you venture forth to see.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Absolutely. A former King's lost sword is way more important regardless of what the mechanical bonuses are on it. If I get that sword, then my character has a potential "in" with the royal family down the line. That's way more important to the campaign than a +1 attack and damage bonus.

Look, strange women lying in ponds, distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Absolutely. A former King's lost sword is way more important regardless of what the mechanical bonuses are on it. If I get that sword, then my character has a potential "in" with the royal family down the line. That's way more important to the campaign than a +1 attack and damage bonus.

I think most DMs would have NPCs react differently in the presence of a famous weapon. It's a great easy bit of worldbuilding and rewarding for everyone -- the player feels awesome about a "mere" +1 sword and everyone gets drawn deeper in the game world that the DM has created.

My players infamously have a legendary sword that they refuse to use, since it's tied to a scary -- but never actually seen in the campaign -- group of hags, who have a hag's eye gem embedded in its pommel. The players have kept it in a sack for years rather than let the hags spy on them and their activities and are currently planning on stashing it somewhere the hags will never be able to retrieve it from. (The Banewarrens of Ptolus.)

I made the sword grotesquely overpowered (in 3E terms, I believe it's a +3 frostband greatsword with ghost touch) and they still have never been tempted to use it, just because they don't want any attention from the Grandmothers.

 

[Dausuul]

You are fresh level 1 characters. You are playing in a sandbox style game. You have many options to explore. Caves and temples and whatever. Riches and glory and treasure no matter where you go.

One rumor says a cave full of monsters has a magic (+1) sword hidden somewhere inside. Is it worth it to you to seek out this sword? You are level 1 and have no magic items. Plus, who knows what's in the other areas to explore. It's JUST a +1 sword after all.

Would it make a difference if it was AD&D/OSR/Shadowdark etc?

Basically: Is it worth going out of the parties way to get JUST a +1 sword?

Depends on a lot of things. How common are magic items in this setting? What other adventure options are available? What kind of monsters are we facing?

Also, what edition is this? Some editions you're badly screwed without magic weapons. Others, it's not such a big deal.

 

[toucanbuzz]

I can't really give any logical answer because 1000 gaming groups might have 1000 different reasons to do stuff. But OD&D might have encouraged folks to seek out all the rumors and kill every last monster in them:

OD&D: As characters meet monsters in mortal combat and defeat them, and when they obtain various forms of treasure (money, gems, jewelry, magical items, etc.), they gain "experience". This adds to their experience point total, gradually moving them upwards through the levels.

I'm not really going for the sword. The DM said there's monsters. The only way I go up in levels is to kill monsters & get loot. And, I'm expecting +1 weapons at 1st level cause the DM has lots of nasty monsters immune to non-magical weapons in their Monster Manual. It's not like 5E and its fancy "bounded accuracy" math which may not hand one out till 4th level or later.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

As others have said, it doesn't need to be THE legendary sword of King Dragos himself. But it could be the glowing sword of that knight who came through here a couple years back. Had kind eyes that one, pity about him. The sword was etched in fine silver, as I recall, with a glittering amber pommel stone.

As for whether that's sufficiently motivating in a sandbox game, that depends heavily on the PC's base needs and desires; as well as just how valuable a magic sword might be to them. If the wights terrorizing St. Croix, where the rogue's little sister lives, are invulnerable to normal weapons, that's a heck of a lot more motivating than yet another rumored magical trinket.