Should I, or should I not (you be the DM)

[Oryan77]

I have a pretty minor situation in our game and I can't decide what to do. So I'll leave it up to Enworld to make that decision for me

Plus, all I ever see here anymore is bickering about editions & gaming styles, so I'm doing this as something new. Maybe more people would like to do this sort of thing and let Enworlders make campaign world decision for DMs?

So I'm running the Dead Gods adventure. There are spoilers, so you have been warned.

A player found the Sword of Orcus earlier in the adventure. He didn't know it was the Sword of Orcus and it's powerful magical properties were not currently working. He knew it "could" be more powerful, but he wasn't sure how. All he knew is that it was a +3 sword that would break if the wielder rolls a natural 1 on an attack. It is more of an artifact for show rather than something to be used on a regular basis. It can come in handy at the end of the adventure, but it isn't necessary to have and won't cause problems if it is not in possession.

The player that had it began using it whenever he needed a sword. He's also notorious for rolling natural ones (he's like a freak of nature). While he's in a drow temple he gets surrounded by a dozen unarmed drow slaves wearing nothing but rags. Both sides are trying to intimidate each other but neither are backing down. To show how big & bad he is, the PC draws out the Sword of Orcus and slashes at the drow slave doing most of the talking. Of course, he rolls a natural one, and what better way to mark his place in history than by shattering his magical sword against the chest of an unarmored drow slave!

Seeing a magical sword shatter into pieces against their comrade gave the other slaves great confidence. So they all jumped on the PC at once and tried to pound him into the floor. The PC dodged their attacks and threw the hilt of the broken sword at one of the drow. He then finished them off with his more reliable weapons. The PCs stored all the dead drow in a storage room and the PC through the pieces of the broken sword in there with them. His final comment about the sword? "What a piece of garbage!"

Several sessions later, the PCs learn that Orcus is the mystery man they have been trying to thwart. He puts 2 & 2 together and realizes that sword he broke was the Sword of Orcus. He made a side remark about wanting to find that broken sword when they go back through the drow temple.

So my question is, should I allow him to find that broken sword? Or should it be gone forever? Either way, it won't make a difference. It's broken, and the drow that found it may just think it's trash and dump it. On the other hand, the hilt still looks cool, and maybe the drow that found it might be curious about it (he would never be able to know it is related to "Orcus" though). So maybe the pieces have been stored somewhere and the PC may have a chance to find it. The only problem with this is that it seems like I'm handing over whatever scenario the player hopes for...and I know them, they'll think, "Hey, I wanted "this" to happen and Ryan gave it to me. So basically anytime I regret an action that I did, he will just fix it for me". They expect me to hold their hands a lot and it gets pretty annoying. This might just egg that mindset along even more. On the other hand, maybe I could use the broken sword as a plot device in some future scenario. I just don't have any ideas how at the moment.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Ask yourself what the drow would do with it. If they thought it was trash, it might be in some Otyugh's dung pile, or perhaps they reforged it into the weapon it was destined to become, then he'll have to wrest in from Drizzt's cold, dead, hands.

 

[Crothian]

Give him the chance to find it, but you don't have to make it easy to find.

 

[Wik]

Yeah. If the player wants to work for it, give it to him. Don't just have a drow NPC carry it when they kill him. Make it something the player will have to ask about, and an encounter or two to get back. Something like that.

 

[weem]

Finding/recovering the pieces (now scattered) and getting it back together could be a major arc of a campaign - To me, this is the perfect setup for such a grand undertaking! I mean, this all played out naturally but you could not have set it up any better imo.

He had it in his hands - he "was so close!!". I'm betting he has a major itch to have it again now, knowing the potential he had and lost. So my answer is YES but it should require a lot of adventure, and FUN of course

---edit---

As far as ideas, what if the pieces were scattered and are now in various hands... but not only that, these pieces have been corrupting their various owners. So it's not just a drow anymore with one piece... it's some crazy corrupted drow. Another piece is in the hands of a troll, now a transformed demonic thing. Perhaps another piece was carried away by an adventurer who was killed by a dire bear - the bear swallowed the blade while eating the victim and now the blade, after working it's way through the bears organs, has lodged itself in its heart and this dire bear is now something much much worse.

Anyway, you get the idea.

 

[CleverNickName]

This could be the hook for a whole series of adventures. I'm envisioning a situation where the sword has to be found one piece at a time.

The Drow slaves' bodies were discovered, and sent to their dark temple to be reanimated as zombies (the Drow would probably see little difference between a Drow slave and a Drow zombie, after all.) While preparing the pile of bodies, the acolytes at the temple found the fragments of the sword. They began to quarrel with each other over who got to keep it. So, each priestess took a piece. Then, after the task of reanimating the slaves, the Drow priestesses went their separate ways.

One fragment was made into an amulet...the rare metal from the sword was the final ingredient that the acolyte was missing for her ring of spell storing. Another is being used as a paperweight, on the desk of a powerful Drow wizard. The tip of the blade was fashioned into a knife, and was given to one of the temple monks as a gift. Another fragment was hammered and twisted into a wrought-iron wand. And the pommel was given as a gift to the High Priestess of Lolth herself, who recognized it and plans to use it to open a gate to the Abyss.

To reforge the sword, the PCs will need to find all three (or six, or fifty) pieces of the sword. This should involve a lot of sneaking around, asking questions, and getting into various amounts of trouble.

 

[coyote6]

I voted Yes, but I think I'd let him find it -- in the hands of the meanest swordwielder the drow have around. Drow are a fairly magical race that worship a demon lord -- I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that one of 'em might have recognized the fragments they found, and reforged the sword. One curious drow sage or savant sees the hilt, thinks it looks interesting, casts a legend lore, and boom! Some drow party is dispatched on a quest to get it reforged.

Just in time for the PCs to come back by.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I voted "No."

Have it show up in the hands of a major NPC/Monster worshipper of Orcus--and make every effort to have that guy escape with the sword.

Then you'll see a motivated party!

 

[Scribble]

Guess you could always go the route of, lowley Drow gets vision from Llolth, and seeks out the sword, and then begins to gain power. PC goes back to find the sword, but instead finds he's creaped a new enemy.

 

[Oryan77]

Thanks for the replies guys. A lot of good suggestions about finding parts of the sword. This could be something that would motivate him into having his own goal and trying to reach it.

You don't think it would seem like a "pushover" move if I allowed him to find info about the abandoned sword? I really do worry about doing things that cause the players to think whatever they do doesn't matter (I'll just make it right). They really do have this attitude, not because I give them what they want, they just "expect" things to work out their way no matter what they do. I don't know why they think like that, but they do. I don't want to encourage it by doing something cheesy. Putting the sword back in the game won't be cheesy even if it is done creatively like people have suggested?