I plan an adventure where the PCs can choose their reward in the form of unusual magic items.
Please read the list of items without the spoiler and tell me what item you would have chosen, because the players will only have the looks and the name of the item to guess it's function.
I just want to see if the the group will have a hard time deciding or of everyone would pick the same item (The whole group gets 1 item!).
Of course if you have tips for improvement for an item you are free to say so. Just keep in mind the items do not need to be balanced. Some may be more useful or powerful than others.
A girl's apron:
A simple white and blue apron is intended to be worn at the front and tied together at the back.
Hooka of a little worm:
This item is simply a small water pipe, excellently made with smoke/cloud like adornments.
Teeth of a striped cat:
These appear to be a set of fake fangs sometimes used for fancy dress parties.
A very sharp sword: - This one can't be chosen!
This item is missing. Just the pedestal with the name is still there.
Teapot of a mad craftsman:
A porcelain teapot. White with pink patterns of flowers.
Scepter of an angry ruler:
This ornamented gold and red scepter looks sturdy enough to be used like a mace in combat. It is is adorned with hearts.
Handkerchief of a big, ugly monster:
This big and colorful piece of cloth is the size of a carpet, but softer and thinner.
Clock of a colorless rodent: - This one can't be chosen!
This item is missing. Just the pedestal with the name is still there.
A lizard's brush:
This brush is covered in soot and looks like it is intended to be used by a chimney sweeper.
Mallet of a hare:
A big wooden mallet.
The pajama hat of a mouse:
This colorful hat might fit your fingers, but certainly not your head.
Bucket with paint 572:
As it says. A metal container filled with paint. The color never seems to be the same whenever you avert your gaze and look back.
Crown of a cowardly ruler:
A crown that appear to have been made for a child (or a halfling). Elegant with only a few adornments in a red velvet/ gold motif.
Bird Bat:
This bat (or mallet with a long handle) is shaped to look like an exotic bird with long legs.
Hedgehog ball:
This item looks like a curled up hedgehog, with the spikes looking very pointy.
Alice’s Apron
Occupies torso or shoulder/cloak slot. Give +1 luck bonus to saves. Front pouch stores one small non-magical item you could need (like the Halfling trait ability). Retrieve once per day.
Hooka of the caterpillar
As long as you concentrate you can form the smoke of the hooka similar to a silent image spell. But it always looks like smoke. 1/day you can exhale the smoke and create an effect similar to a stinking cloud (Clvl 5).
Teeth of a chesire cat
When putting these fake teeth in your mouth it becomes almost impossible not to grin at even the smallest funny event. While wearing the teeth you can separate your head from the body. Thus beheading is no longer lethal to you. Should you lose the teeth while your head is separated or should the head move further than 30 ft away from your body, the head vanishes and appears back on your shoulders. Being beheaded is very disorienting. You suffer a -10 penalty to Acrobatics checks, -5 to melee and -10 to ranged attacks while beheaded.
Should you turn invisible through any means your grin/teeth will stay visible.
Vorpal Sword - Missing!
Magical Beast Bane sword. True power only revealed when wielded by a young humanoid girl. Or something. Since it is gone I have not thought about that one too hard.
Mad Hatter’s Teapot
Tea pours upwards instead of downwards. If captured and drunk, you are under a Reverse Gravity effect for 1 minute. Also objects and such can be splashed.
Scepter of the Queen
Works as a +1 light mace. 3/day, if you strike someone in melee you can make it appear as if their head was cut off. This affects everyone in a 60 ft radius (except you). Will DC 16 negates. This is a mind-effecting ability.
Handkerchief of the Jabberwock
Is like a carpet of storing. 10 x 10 ft.
Clock of the white rabbit - Missing!
Can store and release time. Gain Haste or something. Dunno yet.
Bill’s Brush
If you touch something with the brush it is cleaned instantly. Can also purify food and drink. 1/day you can neutralize poison of a target creature.
Marchhare’s Mallet
Uses stats of a simple +1 club. It also has the merciful, throwing and returning ability.
Dormouse’s pyjama hat
Protects from nightmares while sleeping (natural or unnatural). You gain full rest after only 2 hours and you can ignore one unfavorable condition that could cost you sleep (such as sleeping in armor, or loud noises etc.). You also gain a +2 bonus on AC and atk VS nightmares (creature). If someone tries to attack you in your dreams (via a spell for example) you can reflect the spell back on him when you make your save. While sleeping with this you suffer a perception penalty of -10 (in addition to the penalty for sleeping).
Paintbucket of the cards 5, 7 and 2
Use Disguise self on yourself or others (up to 3/day, Clvl 5). Change the color of objects and or creatures by touching them (one solid color of your choice). Unwilling get a will save (DC12) to negate the effect. Also reveals an invisible creature this way. Color lasts 5 hours.
Crown of the King of Hearts
Reduce Person when worn. You gain an extra +5 competence bonus to stealth, but also speed reduced by 10 (or 5 when speed is 20 or less).
Flamingo Crocket Bat
Normal heavy mace. Can be animated into a bird with command word. Has stats of eagle and hardness 8. Lasts 10 rounds per day.
Hedgehog Crocket Ball
Can be thrown like a shuriken or dagger. Deals 1d4 dmg. When hit it lodges in the target with its spikes and imposes a -1 penalty to atk, Str and Dex checks until removed. Removing brutally deals 1d4 damage. Heal DC 15 needed to remove without damage. Reappears with thrower once pulled out.
:3 I would be very disappointed if someone didn't get the theme after seeing this list of items (it was obvious to me after the second item) anyway, I would totally pick the clock. (Now to see what it does)
No you wouldn't be able to take it. It is part of the story. There have been people at that place before and chosen those two items.
There is one person running around with the sword and one with the clock.
The group will meet them eventually ;)
I made it more clear in my first post that the sword and the clock can't be chosen.
Aw ><; Well then, I guess I'd choose the paint. Mostly because it looks fun.
I'd appreciate it if I could get at least a few more posts on this.
It took me 2 and half item on the list to catch the theme.
My group would get Blue Screen Of Death for eternity trying to decide what to take until the party gnome/halfling would silently pick one thing when one one would be looking... Crown would be appropriate for the small folks he usually plays.
Well id have to go for the teapot myself. Love the Themed items.
Wow, I feel like a total dunce, I didn't figure out the theme until the Bird Bat. However, based off the descriptions, I'm inclined towards the handkerchief as my first thought was flying carpet, which I've used before to great extent.
I will be editing this post once I've seen the item effects.
[Edit] Not a bad choice, all things considered, though some other items have some really cool abilities.
Why not just use Vorpal for the sword? It's an actual weapon ability, and I foresee you taking the party up against the Jabberwocky in the future. Perhaps the Vopal ability only functions in the presence of the Jabberwocky, so as to keep the power of the weapon in comparison with the others?
Not a criticism, just a curious question.
Why do you try to "reward" them with something that they don't know what it is?
Its more like a punishment. "Oh darn, i chose X and its.. totally worthless for me."
Might as well be "roll a random item from the back of the magical item section and pray its something you find useful".
IMO: give them both the list of what they look like And what they do.. and let them choose according to that.
The theme is neat and well thought out, but .. just not my cup of tea.
(no pun intended.. no.. really.. honest!)
-S
Hard to say, it would depend heavily on my character. My magus has some serious ambition so he probably would have taken the scepter.
Though I wonder what you would do if someone tried to identify the properties of the items? Do you plan on fiating away that option?
Also I am kind of on board with Selgard, with no knowledge of what the items do they very well could be no reward at all, or even a problem. An item that is either useless or detrimental to your character isnt a reward at all, and there are cases where many of those items could be so.
I would probably choose the apron, although I would also be tempted by the teapot and the striped cat's teeth. Most of my characters are rather fastidious elven spellcasters (or precious princesses, if we want to be catty about it), and would eschew the stranger-looking items if they could only choose one. Most of them would also try altering the apron into something a bit more flattering in short order, if they could.
On a related note, I'm curious as to how you're planning your adventure. My choice would be a bit bolder in a light-hearted one-off session than with a character from a longer campaign. I imagine it might make a difference for other people too if they're playing characters they rolled up just for the adventure and what they're expecting from it.
Thanks for your posts. Glad to see it finally rolling ^^
The items here are not the only reward they will get. I play with the Pathfinder Society setting (all players are agents of the society, although I don't play official modules) and thus they get paid after the mission anyway and there is loot to be had too.
See it as icing on the cake.
The adventure plays in a club and not a private round with fixed players. People come and go. Group size can go from 3 to 7 on a given evening.
Thus this setting is very easy to work with. Instead of having a "how do the heroes come together" adventure every week I can simply say. "Do it. It's your job!"
There is a hard core of players that is almost always there, that can connect the hints I sprinkle out over time.
Didn't think the apron would be so popular ^^
Good to know.
For those interested in the story behind this. I have today's event planned like this:
Adventurers are level 1-3.
1) On the way they will pass by at a small farm/village (30-50 people) where they are told some young girls have been kidnapped.
They hear about a tribe of Kobolds that is living in the area. So far they have never been much of a problem and both the villagers and Kobolds have simply ignored each other.
A hunter from the village also tells them that he saw tracks of a heavy wagon being pulled through the woods.
2) When they investigate the road, the will see a fight has taken place and find 1 dead ogre and 2 dead guard of the transport. Tracks lead to where the Kobolds live.
3) If they follow the tracks they will find the wagon, complete with a whole bunch of kobold guards that seem to be from 2 fractions. A dead Ogre lies next to it as well.
4) Now it is hard to write sequentially as I don't know what the heroes will do. They can talk or they can fight or they can be sneaky. although I do hope they realize fighting would be a rather bad option, since they are outnumbered and outleveled.
Situation is as follows.
The transport had some Ogre slaves for the semi-legal market in Absalom's coins (in addition to the relics... seems like someone wanted to make some extra gold). The Ogres broke free killed two of the guards (loosing 1 in turn) and then took the wagon off the road to escape pursuers. They ran into the Kobolds though who managed to overwhelm them (killing 1 more Ogre) and capturing the remaining 2 guards and ogers.
The area belongs to two rivaling Kobold clans that now quarrel over the contents of the wagon (they just split up the prisoners). As a compromise for now, they just left it with guards from both sides.
They intend to decide their dispute with the contest of dragons. A set of classic dragon clichés inspired contests (kidnap the virgin (that's what they needed the girls for), protect the horde and fight the hero).
Clever PCs can convince the leaders of the tribes (both dragon disciples, one coming from bard and one coming from summoner) to participate in the contest and win back the wagon without violence.
The winner of the contest also gets the title of "Dragon aspirant" and may enter the holy cave (both leaders have this right). In the cave is some smaller, uninteresting stuff lying around, but hidden beneath a fake wall, lies another cave leading to a huge magically sealed door.
This is where they make contact with an entity (I am not sure what it exactly will be... but of course dragon seems obvious) that tells them it had much fun watching them and offers the items above as reward.
Attempts to detect magic make the magic user fall unconscious since there is an overwhelming presence of magic in here, thus preventing the analysis of the items.
The item will later be used to "keep tabs" on the hero. The being following his own plots and keeps the Kobolds outside as distraction and cover.
Basically it is another Quest giver besides the Pathfinder society, and some other contacts they made (some of them are a Tengu Harrower, a human one-legged, one-eyed, one-handed (with hook) Pirate (complete with Parrot) running an inn, etc...)
In the end I hope I have given them an idea about the world (most play pathfinder the first time) and then they can go and get quests from whoever they chose ;3
Spoiler:For the clock, have you considered a simultaneous Haste for the bearer, and Slow for all within 30 ft of the bearer?Why not just use Vorpal for the sword? It's an actual weapon ability, and I foresee you taking the party up against the Jabberwocky in the future. Perhaps the Vorpal ability only functions in the presence of the Jabberwocky, so as to keep the power of the weapon in comparison with the others?
No need to use spoilers for the clock and the sword since they are taken anyway and can't be chosen ^^
Although some people might read the thread from the bottom up.... Ok, gonna put everything behind spoilers.Yes, it is kind of ironic. The Vorpal name initially comes from Alice in Wonderland, but I never liked the enchantment much. And now I have not just a Vorpal sword. I have THE Vorpal sword. I don't know when or how I am going to use this one, I don't know yet. But the vorpal setting could be unlocked when wielded by the right little girl ;3