Special reward for a Dwarven Fighter Smith?

[Oryan77]

I've been trying to come up with some kind of shtick to do to reward a 5th level Dwarven Fighter. Usually I'll throw in some kind of cool magic weapon or armor, maybe even an intelligent weapon to give a player an NPC sidekick that doesn't have any major effect on the game (more for roleplaying).

But this PC is a smith and the player is really looking forward to making a special set of weapons and armor just for him. He plans to keep improving these items over time. So I don't want to diminish that goal by providing him a better magical weapon or armor. He's currently doing a quest to find a treasure hoard and I have included mithral ingots and adamantine full plate that he can smelt down.

I'm trying to come up with a reward that will be unique and make the player excited. I prefer something of a curiosity and something that will make his PC stand out more than just a character that got a new item from the Magic Item Compendium.

I've thought about throwing in a minor NPC sidekick that can't really do much other than roleplay with him. Like an intelligent weasel or something. Or maybe a special smithing hammer that will help enhance his crafting in some special way. It is a planar game and he lived with the petitioners of Mt. Clangeddin and is loyal to Clangeddin Silverbeard. So I'm not against him receiving some "gift" from the god himself.

I've been thinking about this for weeks now and I'm just stumped with this particular character. So I'm wondering if anyone here might have some good ideas?

 

[I'm A Banana]

My first thought is "special materials." Mithral and adamantine, but also starmetal and astral silver, and other assorted weirdness. The game's planar, so metal blessed by Silverbeard wouldn't be out of character. You could also gift him with knowledge of how to make certain things: an old battered tome that reveals the method for making a particular magic item (so not only does he get it, but he can make it for NPC's too why not? This makes his role as one of the faithful of Silverbeard one of giving back to the community).

In effect, this might be a magic item -- the metal gives him whatever ability the item represents, or he can imbue the object with power on his own -- so you wouldn't need to do anything too unusual.

If you want to do something more unusual, it might make sense to give him a divine servitor of some sort -- a dwarven einheriar, or an angel of some sort he can call on. Silverbeard is a dwarven god of war, IIRC, so anything that gives the army (slash adventuring troupe) MORE POWER might be suited to this, especially if it's unusually effective against dwarven enemies or fiends or somesuch.

Basically, stuff to make really top-notch axes, since a smith dedicated to the dwarvish god of war is probably one of the best axe-makers anywhere in existence. Handy with the shields and plate mail, too!

 

[MarkB]

Maybe a Portable Hole style forge-in-a-box, that would allow him to perform smithing tasks during downtime even when out on the road?

Or perhaps a small item that channels Elemental fire for a couple of hours each day, which can be placed in a conventional furnace to greatly boost its temperature, allowing him to work with materials that would be unmeltable in a conventional forge.

 

[GMMichael]

Cohort: fire elemental.
"Time to work, Sparky! Hop in the forge!"

Treasure: enchantment gems.
I'm remembering these from something like Diablo. Set the gem in your (newly smithed) weapon or armor, get a buff.

 

[radja]

how about a +1 hammer that, when used to craft a magic weapon or armour, provides a number of experience to be used for crafting? Nothing spectacular as a weapon, but still useful as a backup, and useful for a long time for a crafting PC.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Maybe a Portable Hole style forge-in-a-box, that would allow him to perform smithing tasks during downtime even when out on the road?

This was my first thought -- let him have a smithy-to-go, so that even on other planes, he can access an extra-dimensional space or unfold the anvil and forge. (Unless the player actually likes the narrative burden of finding a place to do the forging while plane-hopping, in which case this just takes away from player fun.)

 

[Oryan77]

I like the fire elemental cohort as a smithy side-kick. I also like the smith hammer that grants XP to be used for crafting. The forge-in-a-box is also a good idea. All of these things would be something that I know the player would appreciate and find interesting.

I'm thinking of combining it all into a single reward. The hammer could be a gift from Clangeddin with a trapped elemental inside of it. The hammer head could be transparent and you can see the elemental trapped inside. When he is ready to work, the elemental "flames-on" to ignite the hammer head to give it that extra kick (which is what grants the XP to be used). He can even communicate with the elemental. This way, it's not my typical intelligent item, and it's an NPC that can't be used for combat.

I think I'll also go with the Portable Forge

Thanks for the ideas. This isn't set in stone. So feel free to critique or throw out some more ideas.