Players spend a lot of time thinking about which items would most benefit them. But what about the other items? Which items would your characters turn down and why?
My wizard-fighter with his bonded weapon wants no part of Gauntlets of Rust. That's just asking for trouble. And while he makes pretty good use of Hand of the Apprentice + bonded weapon, I'm gonna say no to the dancing property---six seconds airborne is my limit, thank you very much.
Players spend a lot of time thinking about which items would most benefit them. But what about the other items? Which items would your characters turn down and why?
My wizard-fighter with his bonded weapon wants no part of Gauntlets of Rust. That's just asking for trouble. And while he makes pretty good use of Hand of the Apprentice + bonded weapon, I'm gonna say no to the dancing property---six seconds airborne is my limit, thank you very much.
I once decided to make a magic item that gave a simple +5 bonus to Disguise checks. A pair of bracers. To give it a quirk, I decided to roll a random drawback for the item (see cursed items). Drawbacks have no major effects, but have weird things that they do.
Well as it turned out, I rolled the drawback that changes your gender. Humorously, it also fit well with bonus to Disguise (something is definitely different).
At first, the party didn't wanna touch them with a 10ft ladder. However, after a little while, someone claimed them, thinking they were kind of interesting and might be useful for something.
Turns out that later, they were. The character used them to not only disguise himself and get into various places, but also to throw people for a loop. If the bad guys were looking for some dude, only to find a girl who looks different than him...well, tough day for the badguys. :P
I remember one character who was very into ‘experiencing the journey’ that refused some boots of comfort, donated them to some charity I think. Another passed on a cloak with a nice perception bonus because it was covered in ‘living eyes’. It just didn’t mesh with the character’s personality at all.
In general…
Anything that is counter to my character’s alignment, even if only due to ‘the fluff’.
Anything that is cursed, obviously. Quirky drawbacks are usually cool though.
I also have an unreasonable aversion to armor check penalties with most of my characters. If I’m not playing ‘a tank’, I generally stick to light armor unless something AWESOME comes along.
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My wizard-fighter with his bonded weapon wants no part of Gauntlets of Rust. That's just asking for trouble.
Sorry to change the subject, but why exactly wouldn't your fighter/wizard want to have such a useful item about? Protects your stuff from rust attacks and can cast Rusting Grasp once per day. That gauntlet comes in very 'handy'. (Teehee)
My wizard-fighter with his bonded weapon wants no part of Gauntlets of Rust. That's just asking for trouble.Sorry to change the subject, but why exactly wouldn't your fighter/wizard want to have such a useful item about? Protects your stuff from rust attacks and can cast Rusting Grasp once per day. That gauntlet comes in very 'handy'. (Teehee)
Because he has a knee-jerk reaction. Rust = bad. Also, he didn't read the last sentence of the item description. . .
Ioun stones. Useful items? Yes. But it's hard for me to take someone seriously with a bunch of rocks and crystals and strange shapes floating around his/her head. I'm only using one now because it's boosting my AC. Generally though, not my thing at all.
I had an anti-paladin who made it his personal quest to collect as manu ioun stones as possible. People laughed at him seeing so many shiny rocks floating above his head. And then he chopped them in half.
I just imagine them flitting around like annoying flies, always in the way, distracting me by floating in my peripheral vision.
Cloak of Resistance. Hate them. Never use them. I always sell them. Are they necessary? Hell yes. But they are so boring; they don't *do* anything, and I hate that in AP's, 90% of cloaks found are resistance.
I once had a character that claimed all the cloaks of resistance we found (other than the ones the other pc's were using), sold them, and used the money to buy an *actual* magical cloak.
I had an anti-paladin who made it his personal quest to collect as manu ioun stones as possible. People laughed at him seeing so many shiny rocks floating above his head. And then he chopped them in half.I just imagine them flitting around like annoying flies, always in the way, distracting me by floating in my peripheral vision.
I tend to agree. Worn items and weapons have a more 'direct influence' feel to them. "These boots are comfy!" = circumstance bonus to survival.
That, and this one GM I played with had Ioun stones get pick-pocketed in urban areas. They aren't even in your pocket! Easy nab.
that 10th ring of prot +1, and 10th +1 long sword. yay generic gear.
Hey now, generic gear is an adventurer’s bread and butter ;P
The sad story is that most PCs I gamed with would refuse a belt/headband item that wouldn't give a bonus to their primary stat(s) fearing to have to pass whenever such an item comes around.
Same with cloaks, decent Resistance is about 100% better than almost everything else that you get until high levels.
Suppository of Speed
now you have thinking of that scene from Trainspotting. ;)
Cloak of Resistance. Hate them. Never use them. I always sell them. Are they necessary? Hell yes. But they are so boring; they don't *do* anything, and I hate that in AP's, 90% of cloaks found are resistance.
I once had a character that claimed all the cloaks of resistance we found (other than the ones the other pc's were using), sold them, and used the money to buy an *actual* magical cloak.
Ok, now I want to gather up all the extra +1 cloaks and stitch together a pavilion of resistance +1!
OT. I hate +x weapon/armor/kneepads/whatever. Give me something that does something. Give me something that uses odd spells in a strange way.
Heck give me the old +1 dagger +4 vs. spellusing creatures from 1st ed.
Heck I really love cursed items and wish they had gp costs in core. I remember a 2ed half-elf thief who fought with dagger and necklace of strangulation.
Unfortunately, in my experience? If you have a magic store in your game...
Everything, except for the Big Six. They'll just sell it and use the funds to buy the Big Six.
Incidentally, I despise magic stores.
what's the big six?
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what's the big six?Unfortunately, in my experience? If you have a magic store in your game...
Everything, except for the Big Six. They'll just sell it and use the funds to buy the Big Six.
Incidentally, I despise magic stores.
Magic Weapon, Magic Armor, Ring of Protection, Cloak of Resistance, Amulet of Natural Armor, Ability Booster.
Basically, unless it gives you pluses to hit, damage, AC, or saves, there's no interest. Everything becomes either these pluses, or stuff to sell to get money on these pluses. Perhaps a Haversack or Wands of Cure, too.
They were not that happy about bracers of armor when the entire part wore armor.
Hollow's last hope spoiler
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I hate +x weapon/armor/kneepads/whatever. Give me something that does something. Give me something that uses odd spells in a strange way.
A funky variant system might remove completely any 'plus' enhancement and have any weapon property that includes a +X equivalence for cost purposes actually gain that +X in addition to it's weapon property.
So a flaming weapon would automatically count as +1 to hit and damage, since that's the equivalence of the flaming weapon property.
A holy weapon would automatically be +2. A speed weapon would automatically be +3. A disrupting (+2) bane-undead (+1) weapon would also be +3.
Same for armor. There is no '+1 armor,' although one could purchase light fortification armor that also grants a +1 to AC.
Or you could go the other way, and completely remove magical enhancement bonuses to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, armor class and ability scores. Higher level combats would get that much more nasty, and spells that provide temporary bonuses, like bull's strength or magic weapon or magic vestment, would never become redundant, if those magics could never be made permanant or enchanted into items.
(A higher level version of resistance would probably be handy, in such a setting, since nobody would ever have a cloak of resistance...)
what's the big six?Unfortunately, in my experience? If you have a magic store in your game...
Everything, except for the Big Six. They'll just sell it and use the funds to buy the Big Six.
Incidentally, I despise magic stores.
Magic Weapon, Magic Armor, Ring of Protection, Cloak of Resistance, Amulet of Natural Armor, Ability Booster.
Basically, unless it gives you pluses to hit, damage, AC, or saves, there's no interest. Everything becomes either these pluses, or stuff to sell to get money on these pluses. Perhaps a Haversack or Wands of Cure, too.
That is a level of boring I have not seen in a long time. I played in a party that didn't get a lot of awesome weapons and armor, but we got a LOT of quirky wondrous items. You have no IDEA how useful an Immovable Rod can be until you get swallowed whole by a purple worm.
OGRE HOOKS... hands down the worst non-cursed loot ever! (magical or otherwise) These make me feel bad for the groups out there whose DMs don't believe in players buying their own magic items.
"Yay, just what I wanted, a large weapon that resembles a boat anchor. Just think, if I fumble I could potentially kill myself because it's also HUMAN BANE!" -Human Fighter
Followed immediately by MASKS MADE OF HUMAN FLESH, ALL of which were magical and NOT evil.
OGRE HOOKS... hands down the worst non-cursed loot ever! (magical or otherwise) These make me feel bad for the groups out there whose DMs don't believe in players buying their own magic items.
"Yay, just what I wanted, a large weapon that resembles a boat anchor. Just think, if I fumble I could potentially kill myself because it's also HUMAN BANE!" -Human FighterFollowed immediately by MASKS MADE OF HUMAN FLESH, ALL of which were magical and NOT evil.
I feel you one the Ogre Hooks. Having played through Rise of the Runelords, I can safely say that we had every magical ogre hook in the world in our possession by the time we ended that path. No one wanted to buy the stupid things, so they sat in a closet.
what's the big six?Unfortunately, in my experience? If you have a magic store in your game...
Everything, except for the Big Six. They'll just sell it and use the funds to buy the Big Six.
Incidentally, I despise magic stores.
Magic Weapon, Magic Armor, Ring of Protection, Cloak of Resistance, Amulet of Natural Armor, Ability Booster.
Basically, unless it gives you pluses to hit, damage, AC, or saves, there's no interest. Everything becomes either these pluses, or stuff to sell to get money on these pluses. Perhaps a Haversack or Wands of Cure, too.
I despise the overreliance characters have on the Big Six, so much so that I once designed a charatcer that wouldn't use them. He was a single classes cleric (something I am usually loathe to play, because I hate clerics and I hate staying in one class). His saving throw bonuses came from the Protection domain, so no need for a cloak. He never used his spells on enemies, focusing instead on buffs and heals, thus bypassing the need to boost his wisdom past 19. Greater Magic Weapon and Magic Vestment took care of the need for magical armor and weapons. He usually had multiple shields of faith memorised to handle deflectyion bonuses. The only thing he lacked was natural armor bonuses, but that was a hit I was glad to take.
It was really refreshing playing a character that spent his money buying actual *magical* items rather than constantly upgrading his gear. There are a lot of interesting and useful magic items in the books; this was the first character in close to 9 years that owned a folding boat!
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OGRE HOOKS... hands down the worst non-cursed loot ever! (magical or otherwise) These make me feel bad for the groups out there whose DMs don't believe in players buying their own magic items.
"Yay, just what I wanted, a large weapon that resembles a boat anchor. Just think, if I fumble I could potentially kill myself because it's also HUMAN BANE!" -Human FighterFollowed immediately by MASKS MADE OF HUMAN FLESH, ALL of which were magical and NOT evil.
Ha, awesome! But then again, if you don't find them wielded by ogres, what is your DM doing placing ogre hooks in the treasure trove?
Treasure without rhyme or reason + no way to get rid of it or exchange it makes for a bad game, true. Thankfully, it's easily solved by not doing that. Some people prefer simple exchanges. I prefer a bit of thought to hoards. And, sometimes, booby prizes.
I'm playing in one campaign where I've got a dagger +1 that does extra damage to incorporeal undead. However, the dagger is horribly evil and attracts the incorporeal undead straight to it. It's also the only magic weapon owned by the whole party, and the only reason I've got it is because no one else dares to touch the thing. It's a low-magic game, so I can't just go and sell it for +1 weapons for the party or anything like that. We can keep it, or we can get rid of it. It's our choice. It's fun. Lots of fun.
It was really refreshing playing a character that spent his money buying actual *magical* items rather than constantly upgrading his gear. There are a lot of interesting and useful magic items in the books; this was the first character in close to 9 years that owned a folding boat!
I'm a fan of the 'Robe of Many Things', especially on a more whimsical character who can become even more animated by placing windows, doors and pits on a moments notice.
Most of my characters go for the 'Provisioner's Field Box' out of the Magic Item Compendium, it's only 2000gp and stops the tedium that is keeping track of rations and water for a normal-sized party (and even a few horses) or relying on survival checks.
Anything that can only be used once.
My character would like you to please stop wasting gold.
My characters generally don't wear anything made from sentinent creatures( like dragon hide armor) even if it is evil...thinking wearing body parts from sentinent creature are evil...
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Cloak of Resistance. Hate them. Never use them. I always sell them. Are they necessary? Hell yes. But they are so boring; they don't *do* anything, and I hate that in AP's, 90% of cloaks found are resistance. I once had a character that claimed all the cloaks of resistance we found (other than the ones the other pc's were using), sold them, and used the money to buy an *actual* magical cloak.
They have their uses, but they truly suck for the classed that needs them most: bards and sorcerers with crap FORT and crap HP -- because it conflicts with the Cloak of Charisma.
(Tis shame Pathfinder does not have the Vest of Resistance, which took up the torso slot.)
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Cloak of Resistance. Hate them. Never use them. I always sell them. Are they necessary? Hell yes. But they are so boring; they don't *do* anything, and I hate that in AP's, 90% of cloaks found are resistance. I once had a character that claimed all the cloaks of resistance we found (other than the ones the other pc's were using), sold them, and used the money to buy an *actual* magical cloak.They have their uses, but they truly suck for the classed that needs them most: bards and sorcerers with crap FORT and crap HP -- because it conflicts with the Cloak of Charisma.
(Tis shame Pathfinder does not have the Vest of Resistance, which took up the torso slot.)
But PF made the cha item a headband...
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I feel you one the Ogre Hooks. Having played through Rise of the Runelords, I can safely say that we had every magical ogre hook in the world in our possession by the time we ended that path. No one wanted to buy the stupid things, so they sat in a closet.OGRE HOOKS... hands down the worst non-cursed loot ever! (magical or otherwise) These make me feel bad for the groups out there whose DMs don't believe in players buying their own magic items.
"Yay, just what I wanted, a large weapon that resembles a boat anchor. Just think, if I fumble I could potentially kill myself because it's also HUMAN BANE!" -Human FighterFollowed immediately by MASKS MADE OF HUMAN FLESH, ALL of which were magical and NOT evil.
Pshaw, what I did was in converting to pathfinder since CR changes meant you needed to add a level I dropped the +1 on the Ogre hooks that way the attack bonus stayed the same, plus I hated the idea of ogres being smart enough to manufacture a lot of magic weapons anyways.
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I was playing Druid once and my GM had us find a suit of hide with the Wild enhancement specially modified so that I could only use it with Reptile forms. Sounds good right? Lots of great dinosaur forms to choose from and all that.
The problem was that I was a Lion Shaman. When I started using the armor to turn into reptile forms for the massive armor bonus the GM said I wasn't playing my class right and made me drop the template and become a vanilla druid. GM entrapment I say.
Deck of Many Things.
Last time one showed up in a game I was in, it took half the party to the Void.
Deck of Many Things.
Last time one showed up in a game I was in, it took half the party to the Void.
We see these about once per campaign. I've had the same character hit by Donjon in one campaign and Void in the next. On the plus side, my party was willing to go through the effort to get my character back.
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Ioun stones. Useful items? Yes. But it's hard for me to take someone seriously with a bunch of rocks and crystals and strange shapes floating around his/her head. I'm only using one now because it's boosting my AC. Generally though, not my thing at all.
I see this post and I think of Wash's comment about Jayne's hat in Firefly "See a man walking down the street with that kind of hat and you know he's not afraid of anything."
My GM pulled a Deck of Many Things on us and it was AWESOME...even if I did have to fight a dread wraith that should have slaughtered me like a pig, but another party member jumped in and bailed me out even though it meant another dread wraith showing up for him. But the party got like 75k gp from it and one guy got like 10k XP. (I don't remember exact numbers.)
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There are a lot of fun things I wish would see more play. I remember when Boots of Striding and Springing were awesome. I know my dwarf fighter uses 'em. Heck he bought a helm of comp languages because he was tired of people speaking a whole bunch of different languages and not being able to do something about it. Also I want to make a character completely centered around marvelous pigments. So much fun!
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Basically, anything that does nothing but give you a plain pluss. Magic items have to be, at least, a little bit amazing, not just another way to cast an unknown spell ( that's what scrolls are for), or just boost what you can already do ( the annoying evergrowing DC Vs. ST, At Vs Ac - theme). Ok, you must have those infamous six , but they are just the magical version of our quotidiane gadgets, and everybody will agree that without some cool stuff in it, a mobile can be very boring and no one would look twice to some plain trainers..
By the way, I've been Dm for 25 years, and one of the most loved /hated things in our campaign has been this reviled deck of many things. My players hate it, but after a while, they'd go out of their ways just to find one of them, complaining about the dangers of using it, swearing that "just one or two, and that's enough" .
And no one has ever picked less than five cards out of the deck, in more than 40 different scenarios ;)
I was in a game where one of the players drew 15 times. It was crazy! He lost of his gear fought the dread wraith twice. Got two castles and more money and gear than he had before he lost it all.
The Deck can be great, especially when the DM is willing to tweak it or fold it into the story. In one long-running game, we encountered the Deck twice. As a result, our gnome wizard accumulated three Throne cards (DM ruled that the keep wouldn't appear until you placed the card on the ground). The gnome threw down all three cards at once and ended up summoning a lost castle that had been consigned to the Abyss. Great moment.