So, I run a game with 4 players and I recently gave the party a Rod of Wonder to make things more interesting. I was thinking about adding new functions to the rod. The last one I added nearly killed them. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on some other things I could add?
Cause them to get trapped in a maze on the surface of a 3 dimensional object embedded in a 4 dimensional space. Note: only do this if you're good at mathematics.
Shift everybody's clothing and gear 5' to the left.
Make the rod intellegent and give it a goal at odds with the parties motives.
Have it change the genders of everything within 60ft.
Or is that too powerful?
So, I run a game with 4 players and I recently gave the party a Rod of Wonder to make things more interesting. I was thinking about adding new functions to the rod. The last one I added nearly killed them. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on some other things I could add?
Just be careful of what you add. If you cross the line between "fun" and "irritating" the thing is going to be sold or lost in the bottom of a haversack. Right now it is a moderate risk/reward item. It does some cool things, some irritating things, and some that are a wash. When you add new abilities you need to keep that balance.
If every time it gets used the players say "That was a waste of time" or "That didn't help at all" or even "Ouch!" it's not going to get much more use. Unless they are ultra-chaotic, the kind of people who gleefully pull max cards out of Decks of Many Things.
I know I've seen expanded lists out there, don't recall if it was in print or off the web somewhere.
Dragon magazine issue #147 has some alternative tables for wands of wonder (as they were called in days of old...).
Here's a thread discussing alternate wands of wonder. I remember the article from Dragon #147, but I didn't know about the versions in the 2E Encyclopedia Magica.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Someone on hogath's list linked to "The Semi-Comprehensive List of Random Magical Effects" ( 13th from the bottom of a useful list). Whoa. Somebody went on a very creative bender. "The sun appears as a cube for the next 1d20 days." "All air from 1' to 20' around the caster turns to iron." "The caster believes that the next cave he descends is his wn esophagus."
Make the rod intellegent and give it a goal at odds with the parties motives.
I actually randomly determined an intelligent Rod of Wonder that my party found.
I'm running it as Rod has opinions, goals, and talks -- but has no control over which power activates.
Does that make sense, or could an intelligent Rod control what it does?