Cool uses for cursed items!


Advice


I recently got my hands on a copy of the ultimate equipment guide and have been browsing.

Naturally, I ended up at the cursed item section with a trademarked evil smirk breaking out. There is some fun stuff there, from the GMs point of view.

From the player's point of view, what are some awesome uses for magic items? I know how creative you guys can be, let's hear some ideas and fun stories!


Try a Witch or Bard with Beguiling Gift. They get a Will save, if failed they'll spend their next turn using your cursed item. Works for poisons, Cursed items, the whole lot.


How about putting it in a box in the middle of a busy square, sit back and see who picks it up and wears it.

Donating it as a lottery prize, calling the winner on stage where they get to wear the cool fancy *insert item of choice*

Switching the cursed item in an opponents inventory with the normal version. Assuming out of combat you do the switching and the item is in a storage/box/crate/chest.


Corvino wrote:
Try a Witch or Bard with Beguiling Gift. They get a Will save, if failed they'll spend their next turn using your cursed item. Works for poisons, Cursed items, the whole lot.

I did something similar with a witch who brewed disease potions. Handing one to the enemy archer and making him go blind was a very effective way to stop him shooting everyone.


I had a party that used a bag of devouring to set up a sewage system for a new settlement.


This topic just gave me that wonderful idea of gifting a paladin that berserking sword and just run away from him while there are his friends nearby in a fight..Way of the Wicked campaignwise
On a different scale there's always that helm of opposite alignment and some fun critters to make into steeds or companions..paladin with a nightmare stallion?


Non-"place-and-wait" uses for cursed items:

1) Dust of sneezing and choking

Spoiler:

Round 1) Cast Air Bubble on yourself (and friend dudes too)
Round 2) Launch the item on the enemies, they'll take 3d6 constitution damage on failed save of 15 (fortitude). If they save, it's 5d4 rounds of stunning-like (you'll bypass stun immunity because they are treated as stunned but they are actually choking). Air bubble protects you in the case you are a melee character, since you won't be breathing the dust. Single use.

2) Helm of opposite Alignment

Spoiler:

Round 1) Grapple an enemy of an opposite alignment (This works better if you are good, since good guys don't usually fight each other but evil ones do).
Round 2) Pin him/it.
Round 3) Place the helm on his/its head.
Round 4) Wait for his/its saving throw.
Round 5) If he/it saves, remove the helm then repeat those instructions starting from round 3.
Round 6) "Hi, my new friend!" Single use.

3) Poisonous Cloak

Spoiler:

As above, but any on any target and instead of a friend you'll meet a dead corpse. Single use.

4) Robe of the powerlessness

Spoiler:

As above, but works far better on spellcasters (the magus will hate you, in particular). You'll find a dude incapable of moving itself, an insane target or a anthropomorphic animal (Intelligence 2 or 1), depending on the scores of the unlucky dude you've chosen some round before. Multiple uses!

5) Scarab of death

Spoiler:

You'll need some alchemical glue, its accelerant and a universal solvent applied on a sling (for a total cost of less than 150 gp).
Round 1) Load your sling with the scarab, which need to be glued. It's a -2 penalty on hit but who cares? You're hitting against a touch AC. Apply the accelerant.
Round 2) Attack. The scarab won't glue to the sling, but to the target (unless he's covered by the solvent).
Round 3) Now the target has 2 choices (supposing he doesn't have the solvent too).
1) Ignore the scarab. The round later he has to double save against the scarab (the glue requires a strength check of 20 and the scarab needs a 25 on reflex) or die. Not bad.
2) Throw away the scarab. He needs the strength check, but at that point the scarab is still attached to the piece of the body he used to remove the scarab (in other words, one or both hands for humanoid). He has one minute for a complete destruction of the scarab or it will start to do the same thing of some lines above (since now the scarab it's simply being carried in an unsecured area). Plus he have an hand occupied. Better, but not good for the target.
Multiple uses! Just apply the solvent on the scarab, then put it on a little box!

6) Planar invasion shield

Spoiler:

You'll need:
1) A closed room near something important. The room needs a little hole on a wall, for casting.
2) A spell who disrupts teleports near and inside that room.
3) Patience.
4) A good plane for fleeing in case something goes wrong (is a cursed item, it's here to do a lot of trouble).

Insert your shield in the hole, activate it and wait 24 hours (you can leave the shield there). When you remove the shield be careful and fill the hole with something before your new buddies attack you. Repeat as many times you want, being very careful.

Results: You have now a personal secured area, protected by a potentially infinite horde of summoned creatures, which fight to the death. Multiple uses!


Sneak into the home of an important political figure. Switch their regular belt for a belt of masculinity/femininity. Then you can do such things as claim the unknown man/woman is a prostitute (for discrediting the now gender-swapped rival), or catch them and claim they're a thief (locking them up works too!). If you have a need for a disguise that's hard to beat, you can also use it on yourself. Hope you're prepared to deal with that though!


Sadurian wrote:
I did something similar with a witch who brewed disease potions. Handing one to the enemy archer and making him go blind was a very effective way to stop him shooting everyone.

I had an NE halfling witch, childlike feat. She carried a flask of alchemists fire for such an occasion, sadly the game stranded before such an opportunity presented itself.

An item that puts the illusion on someone that makes them see the person they fear most around every corner. Not fear in socially "let's avoid talking to", but the "run away now" fear.

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