Jul 19, 2018 7:14 pm
Since we're starting out at level 3, are we getting any advanced equipment?
Creation and Rules
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Jul 20, 2018 4:21 am
That seems reasonable... how should what they are, and how many be determined though? Roll on appropriate tables? Like twice on magic item table A and once on B? Should they be chosen by players, two consumables and one permanent?
Jul 20, 2018 5:49 am
It depends on how much presence you want magic items to have in your world. Maybe magic items are so rare, a +1 sword is the stuff of legend. D&D 5e is flexible enough that you could have literally no magic items save for healing potions (which you could handwave as just alchemical concoctions), and characters can still go from 1 to 20 in a campaign.
Jul 20, 2018 2:22 pm
Hmm, I dont think they'd be especially rare... a standard distribution makes sense. Im more worried about getting enough out without making characters too strong... do I have a lot to worry about, or no?
Jul 20, 2018 2:46 pm
Every player is different in how they use what they have. so truthfully its up to you, you could give us magic items that arnt +1's or you could drop all +1's and adjust the encounters accordingly.
for me personally i'd rather not take a +1 item and opt for more fun magic items if thats a thing. but potions are always welcome :)
for me personally i'd rather not take a +1 item and opt for more fun magic items if thats a thing. but potions are always welcome :)
Jul 20, 2018 2:59 pm
So it would be fine if I said that everyone should take a consummable common, and a common and uncommon item?
Jul 20, 2018 4:01 pm
It is a legitimate worry, making characters too powerful. To mitigate that, you can slowly introduce very low-level magic items one at a time, and see how the story goes. We're also very new characters and while we may have ideas of how they will be, we don't really know until we get into roleplay. Personally as a DM, I don't give out magic items at the start, and only introduce one or two items (in a party of four) in maybe the first dungeon or crypt they go through.
As for customized magic items, especially if they grant abilities beyond normal character skill, you always have the option to scale back the item. It just requires some communication and cooperation with the player that has the item. Don't feel that you're locked into something once you realize that it's too powerful or open to abuse.
As for customized magic items, especially if they grant abilities beyond normal character skill, you always have the option to scale back the item. It just requires some communication and cooperation with the player that has the item. Don't feel that you're locked into something once you realize that it's too powerful or open to abuse.
Jul 20, 2018 4:24 pm
That makes sense. Maybe at level 3 we should just hold off until characters come out in rp, and perhaps just have the items out at a faster rate for a little while.
Jul 20, 2018 4:26 pm
CancerMan says:
It is a legitimate worry, making characters too powerful. To mitigate that, you can slowly introduce very low-level magic items one at a time, and see how the story goes. We're also very new characters and while we may have ideas of how they will be, we don't really know until we get into roleplay. Personally as a DM, I don't give out magic items at the start, and only introduce one or two items (in a party of four) in maybe the first dungeon or crypt they go through.As for customized magic items, especially if they grant abilities beyond normal character skill, you always have the option to scale back the item. It just requires some communication and cooperation with the player that has the item. Don't feel that you're locked into something once you realize that it's too powerful or open to abuse.
Jul 20, 2018 4:37 pm
Mind you, this is just how I do it. Common and Uncommon items rarely tend to be game-breaking, but I just feel like they still need to be earned.
Jul 20, 2018 4:45 pm
Oh! I just had the thought that you could ask that each character writes up a little background for how the magical item(s) came to be in their possession. You determine whether or not the story justifies the item.
This has bonus benefit in that it could give some insight to a character's backstory or their personality, which will also help the player with RP.
It wouldn't have to be a novel or 300-word essay. For example, if I wanted Mithral Armor (uncommon), I might write a little thing about how Chuton the dragonborn fighter was awarded the armor for exemplary service to the city after individually holding the line against marauding bandits, until the people could be transported to safety.
This has bonus benefit in that it could give some insight to a character's backstory or their personality, which will also help the player with RP.
It wouldn't have to be a novel or 300-word essay. For example, if I wanted Mithral Armor (uncommon), I might write a little thing about how Chuton the dragonborn fighter was awarded the armor for exemplary service to the city after individually holding the line against marauding bandits, until the people could be transported to safety.
Jul 20, 2018 7:04 pm
I really like both those answers... I'd be happy if each character picked up their own uncommon item through backstory, and I'll be mindful to get out some commons and consumables quickly. Is this agreeable to everyone?
Jul 20, 2018 8:15 pm
OOC:
I kept the story a little generic so that there's room to fit into any location that might suffice.Things changed and his life took on a new direction after a fateful night while on patrol. Chuton and his partner encountered a woman in the process of battering down the front door to a home, armed with a sword and screaming in rage. The dragonborn decided to intervene and used his strength to restrain the warrior with a chokehold, while his partner confiscated the blade. Chuton secured her so that she could not fight back, ignoring her cries to be released and deaf to the claims that she was not the enemy; he reasoned that he was no judge of character and those with greater authority could decide whether or not her claims were true.
That was when the assassin, barricaded within the woman's own home, opened the door and sent a fatal crossbow bolt into her heart. The surprise was enough to allow the assailant to flee, leaving behind the woman's slain family and both guardsmen flat-footed and shocked.
An investigation cleared Chuton and his partner of significant wrong-doing, but their negligence still cost them employment. Chuton was discharged from service and while not prosecuted for the deaths of innocent lives, was exiled from his hometown.
Chuton carried the guilt of that night since, and the experience left a dark pit in his heart. He discovered that he couldn't even find rest without the need to keep his greatsword at his side at all times, as though he needed to be ready to prepare for an attack and leap to someone's defense. He was vaguely aware than whenever he was in a fight, the sight of his own blood would sometimes propel him into a furious rage against the one who drew it, such that he would lose all tactical sense while he focused on the target of his ire.
[ +- ] Sword of Vengeance
Weapon (any sword), uncommon (requires attunement)
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
Curse. This sword is cursed and possessed by a vengeful spirit. Becoming attuned to it extends the curse to you. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the sword, keeping it on your person at all times. While attuned to this weapon, you have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons other than this one.
In addition, while the sword is on your person, you must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw whenever you take damage in combat. On a failed save, you must attack the creature that damaged you until you drop to 0 hit points or it does, or until you can't reach the creature to make a melee attack against it.
You can break the curse in the usual ways. Alternatively, casting Banishment on the sword forces the vengeful spirit to leave it. The sword then becomes a +1 weapon with no other properties.
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
Curse. This sword is cursed and possessed by a vengeful spirit. Becoming attuned to it extends the curse to you. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the sword, keeping it on your person at all times. While attuned to this weapon, you have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons other than this one.
In addition, while the sword is on your person, you must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw whenever you take damage in combat. On a failed save, you must attack the creature that damaged you until you drop to 0 hit points or it does, or until you can't reach the creature to make a melee attack against it.
You can break the curse in the usual ways. Alternatively, casting Banishment on the sword forces the vengeful spirit to leave it. The sword then becomes a +1 weapon with no other properties.
Jul 20, 2018 9:00 pm
Sounds good to me. Are there in temples that my Aasimar could have grown up in? My basic background is an Aasimar who was found as a baby raised in a temple and one day discovered the book holding the soul of the Fiend and that is how he got his powers.
Once I have this info, I can definitely write up a background for an uncommon item.
Once I have this info, I can definitely write up a background for an uncommon item.
Last edited July 20, 2018 9:00 pm
Jul 20, 2018 9:13 pm
@eldritchblast90 you could name a Roman diety, or a group of them. What about a temple dedicated to then, that is also charged with the safekeeping of the artifacts of the small cults that have popped up over history? They destroy the ones they can, and lock up the others as best they can. Otherwise they perform services related to their diety and try to keep the artifacts a secret. Does this sound appropriate?
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