Transfer Enchantment and Cursed Items

[Scalding]

While there aren't many cursed items in 4e, they do exist in [sblock]Thunderspire Labyrinth, as the Face of Baphomet, Bloodhorn Blade, and Bell of Fury's Calling.[/sblock]

Does Transfer Enchantment transfer the curse as well? After the enchantment has been transferred, can the original (theoretically still cursed) item be used [sblock]to open the door to the inner sanctum?[/sblock]

 

[Flipguarder]

Flipguarder's rule #132:

Why the hell not.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I don't know if they're 'cursed' in the oldschool sense, they do have side effects.

I suspect that, as they're unique items, they could only be transfered into a similar item. That is, the Bell of Fury's Calling can only be a bell. You can't make a Drum of Fury's Calling or a Mandolin of Fury's Calling, so you can't tranfer Fury's Calling into anything but a bell. Maybe you could transfer it to a cowbell or church bell or slieghbell - or maybe you couldn't. It's a unique item, and one aspect of transfer enchantment is it can't make a new item.

I suspect thier function as 'keys' as well as thier 'curses' would be transfered.

 

[Scalding]

Yes, the ritual states that you can only transfer it to a like item. Only the bell is an odd one - and that's not the one of interest. The others, [sblock]a awesome dagger and a mask that's like a better, yet corrupted, version of Starlight Goggles, [/sblock] are much more interesting. My players would definitely want to keep them - if they could remove their "curse" effects. So the question is, should I let them? It seems like fun, but without their curses, these items would be very powerful.

 

[Nifft]

Maybe you could transfer it to a cowbell (...)
I suspect thier function as 'keys' as well as thier 'curses' would be transfered.

The Guardian roars, "MORE COWBELL!"

Cheers, -- N

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

My own view is that the "cursed" portion is definitely part of the enchantment, and would be transfered with it, just in the same way that a magic weapon with no extra crit dice (analogous to a curse, in that it makes the item worse in one respect than it would be normally) does not gain crit dice when transfered to a different weapon.

That said, as a gamemaster I would allow the players to remove the "curse" - simply make a decision of the level of the item without the curse and have the player pay the difference in residium to remove the curse (in mechanics terms they would be upgrading the item to a very similar one without the drawbacks).

To what extent this would require role playing (finding a master artificer capable of doing it, finding the formula for the item to figure out how to remove the curse, finding the ingredient necessary for the ritiual to remove the curse) is also up to the DM.

 

[BobTheNob]

My own view is that the "cursed" portion is definitely part of the enchantment, and would be transfered with it, just in the same way that a magic weapon with no extra crit dice (analogous to a curse, in that it makes the item worse in one respect than it would be normally) does not gain crit dice when transfered to a different weapon.

That said, as a gamemaster I would allow the players to remove the "curse" - simply make a decision of the level of the item without the curse and have the player pay the difference in residium to remove the curse (in mechanics terms they would be upgrading the item to a very similar one without the drawbacks).

To what extent this would require role playing (finding a master artificer capable of doing it, finding the formula for the item to figure out how to remove the curse, finding the ingredient necessary for the ritiual to remove the curse) is also up to the DM.

I would definately second that if you transfer the enchantment the curse goes with it. As for seperating out the curse...isnt that just having your cake and eating it too? The curse is part of the item, part of the price of power.

I have a fundamental belief that anything that relates to the accumulation of power has a price associated. It strikes me with cursed items that the curse IS the pirce and to allow the seperation of benefit from cost is just using role playing semantics to get a freeby.

My personnel position is if they want the power, they can have it, with ALL associated costs (imagine playing Lord of the Rings and having some player insist they should be able to remove the corrupting effect of the one ring! You would laugh in their face)