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I have been wracking my mind for the past week or so working on creating some career artifacts for my version of the Jade Regent campaign. For those who don't know, there is a section in the Jade Regent campaign where you are suppose to create a custom treasure list at the end of the first part. The treasure is suppose to seem also destined to be theirs and in another thread elsewhere on the message boards, some folks were talking about the career equipment (something that a player gets at a low level and has some kind of power or ability that makes it good at higher levels, like a weapon that increases in power or an item that unlocks powers as the wielder grows in level) that they gave their players at the end of the AP. I loved the idea and started working on my own for my group... but like I said, I have been wracking my mind. I am totally stuck.
I was hoping you folks might be willing to be me some suggestions or tips about how you guys might design such a thing.
(Original thread that mentioned it here: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2n10q?Brinewall-Vault-Treasures )
Dot.
If you're looking for items that grow in power as someone advances, I'd suggest giving the 3.5 book Weapons of Legacy a look. It has some really cool ideas, and can definitely help to get the juices flowing.
On a side note, a character could also have something similar to a Blackblade from the Bladebound Magus. Just an intelligent weapon that gets more abilities as you level, and can do a few interesting things (such as teleport to you within 1 mile).
If you want an example of an item that i've put together, let me know and i can post something.
I would be interested in the Item you put together.
& Why Weapons of Legacy...
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If you're looking for items that grow in power as someone advances, I'd suggest giving the 3.5 book Weapons of Legacy a look. It has some really cool ideas, and can definitely help to get the juices flowing.
On a side note, a character could also have something similar to a Blackblade from the Bladebound Magus. Just an intelligent weapon that gets more abilities as you level, and can do a few interesting things (such as teleport to you within 1 mile).
If you want an example of an item that i've put together, let me know and i can post something.
Thanks for the idea. I called up a friend with a ton of 3.5 stuff and he said he would lend me his copy. +1 to you, good sir.
Also, please do share some of your stuff. Maybe it will inspire me with my own.
That's one of the unique weapons carried by an Aasimar Paladin in one of my campaigns. He eventually died fighting a pair of Elder Red Dragons, but he made a huge mark on the campaign world along the way.
Edit:Ironsworn Gauntlets
These were used by a Dwarven Barbarian that had a unusually high Charisma, and decided to get followers through Leadership. He eventually died fighting the before mentioned dragons, but not before collapsing the entire Cavern on them after they killed the paladin.
I recommend dropping the cost of using the abilities on the Weapons of Legacy.
BTW: You might want to share the files.
Sorry about that, changed the share options.
The party had been pretty powerful at the time, and there were six of them. Only two died, and the dwarf actually killed himself AND the dragons by collapsing the cave on them after making the party flee.
Seems nice...
But I still say drop the Personal Costs...
Maybe make it to where they suffer a little bit of Temporary loss of Stats. Nothing Permanent.
Seems nice...
But I still say drop the Personal Costs...
Maybe make it to where they suffer a little bit of Temporary loss of Stats. Nothing Permanent.
The personal costs bit was something i originally wrote up, and then never used. I still required them to do certain actions to activate the higher tiers of abilities, but I removed the Gold piece equivalents.
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I like them, especially the Sword of Kings.
Let me ask you this, while designing them, did you design them from level 5-20 or did design them as the levels came? Just because I have a player who is kind of known for changing her mind about what she wants to do (I want to do melee stuff now! *is a level 9 wizard who never fought in melee in her character's life* ) and I wonder if I should hold off a bit or not. XD
I meant the Lose a Spell Slot, Stat Point, or sich.
I would keep the Rituals and maybe give "Legacy Deeds" that must be completed in order to awaken the Latent Power in the Weapons.
Like my Albion, Sword of the Shining Knight. It requires you to successfully save against X number of Spells to awaken the Scaling Save Bonus it gives. Each of the steps requires a higher number of Saves.
I designed them from levels 5-10, and after that just went as they leveled. Gave the weapons a bit of a static "this is what it does", and after that developed it around the Characters themselves and what they were aiming for.
And yeah, i dropped the Lose a Spell Slot and such pretty quickly myself. It just seemed strange that using a weapon meant for a certain character would take AWAY from them. I got rid of the monetary cost because it was a relatively low money campaign, and it just kinda fit to do so.
I'm trying something similar in my homebrew, only making them from scratch. I made sure each character had some item that was personal and meaningful to them - the wizard obsesses over his spellbook, the dwarf fighter just got a masterwork hammer, etc. Then I had this BBEG fight planned where in addition to defeatig the villain there was a source of evil power they had an option of destroying. In taking that option, the ensuing release of freed divine and arcane power imprinted on these items.
Currently all they know is that each of the items radiates magic and confers a minor bonus related to their character. The wizard for example is an Abjurer so his spellbook radiates an aura of protection granting a +1 AC bonus.
As they go on further adventures they will have the opportunity to perform certain acts that unlock future powers. I do have a dilemma though - none of my players seem to want to learn anything about these new items!
In the fluff I gave each of them a unique mark no one could readily identify - that didn't spark any interest. The PC wizard identified them and I gave them the base powers but hinted at a "deeper power lingering under the surface" - still no further investigation.
I am going to try and get them interested in learning how to unlock them a couple other ways. The dwarf player doesn't have any set motif for the character so I thought it would be cool to take him down a sonic energy road with the hammer - shatter spell, sonic damage bonus, that kind of thing. So I figured next time we meet in person I'd describe how he hears an audible hum when he grips it, maybe give it a permanent base ability of the spell Clarion Call whenever gripped and held forcefully (silence this effect or return it as a free action).
The other way to get them interested is through an NPC. They travel around w/a monk/bard who is researching the mark on her sword at the monastery. Perhaps she can come back with some cryptic info to spur the characters.
I don't want to just hand them new powers, but I also don't want to make unlocking powers impossible to do. Any advice on trials to unlock powers and ways to get the party to learn them would be helpful.
I have a +1 & +2 Melodic/Melodic Burst it functions just like the Flaming/Frost/Corrosive Enchantments.
I find Legacy Itemms are nice in low Magic or low Crafting Campaigns.
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I flipped through the Weapons of Legacy book and got some pretty decent ideas. Some of the stuff needs changed a bit to better fit Pathfinder, such as dropping the personal costs that punish players for taking the items and changing how they progress so that players gain something every level and remove the empty levels. I am having some problems with this and maintaining balance.
For most of the six legacy items I am working on, I decided to take some of the pre-existing items and rework them. I plan on changing them more than what I have so far. I was going to post my intent for each below. Any ideas or tips would be awesome. Also, my campaign is the Jade Regent, so my items will be Asian themed.
Paladin (New player, wants to play the "leader" )
I am changing it to a Horagai (Japanese war horn made of a shell) and planned on making Legacy rituals about leading somehow. I dropped an ability that let him summon a swarm (lol, whut?) and replaced it with the ability to cure light wounds, mass.
I figured I might add a few more abilities that buff allies, although not sure which ones.
Rogue (New player, wanted to play a gnome with a beard... *eye roll* )
The item is a Jingasa, a type of hat that covers one's face. Having taken some abilities from both items, it is pretty well rounded. I only have a few others and might add a few skill bonus.
Alchemist (Loves to play the Blaster)
I intended in grabbing a few other blasting abilities or maybe even something to change how her Alchemy abilities work.
Cavalier (taking the Beast Rider archtype)
Inquisitor (new player, wants to be a Dwarven crusader)
Sorcerous (playing a Dhampir with the Undead Sanguine blood line... and possibly no clue what she is getting herself into... >.>)
So I kind of torn on what to give her. I would like to give her something to help her survive, should something terrible happen, but a legacy weapon that just heals you because no one else in the group can seems kind of meh. I had contemplated some kind of ability that used her vampiric heritage to augment spells, but not sure what to do there.
So yeah, generally lost on this one.
I'm trying something similar in my homebrew, only making them from scratch. I made sure each character had some item that was personal and meaningful to them - the wizard obsesses over his spellbook, the dwarf fighter just got a masterwork hammer, etc. Then I had this BBEG fight planned where in addition to defeatig the villain there was a source of evil power they had an option of destroying. In taking that option, the ensuing release of freed divine and arcane power imprinted on these items.
Currently all they know is that each of the items radiates magic and confers a minor bonus related to their character. The wizard for example is an Abjurer so his spellbook radiates an aura of protection granting a +1 AC bonus.
As they go on further adventures they will have the opportunity to perform certain acts that unlock future powers. I do have a dilemma though - none of my players seem to want to learn anything about these new items!
In the fluff I gave each of them a unique mark no one could readily identify - that didn't spark any interest. The PC wizard identified them and I gave them the base powers but hinted at a "deeper power lingering under the surface" - still no further investigation.
I am going to try and get them interested in learning how to unlock them a couple other ways. The dwarf player doesn't have any set motif for the character so I thought it would be cool to take him down a sonic energy road with the hammer - shatter spell, sonic damage bonus, that kind of thing. So I figured next time we meet in person I'd describe how he hears an audible hum when he grips it, maybe give it a permanent base ability of the spell Clarion Call whenever gripped and held forcefully (silence this effect or return it as a free action).
The other way to get them interested is through an NPC. They travel around w/a monk/bard who is researching the mark on her sword at the monastery. Perhaps she can come back with some cryptic info to spur the characters.
I don't want to just hand them new powers,...
As far as getting them interested, let it rest for a little while and then have the NPC mention something about unlocking a hidden layer of magic in her sword to give them all a drive.
Now, as for ideas for requirements/actions to unlock said powers...I believe that tailoring it to each player is best. Have all of their items have a trigger within the same general time frame, such as planning on adventure that has multiple parts and each part has a different PCs trial.
Take the Dwarf for example; You want to have a sort of "Sonic/melodic" theme for him, so have him use his Hammer (and i'm guessing he's pretty strong) to ring large Gongs in a specific order to open a sealed chamber door. Have it lead to, or be in, a Dwarven ruin that houses great mysteries long forgotten to the ages.
The Wizard could have to solve an arcane riddle, or have a spell duel with another caster in order to unlock his next ability. Something similar to the Test of High Sorcery from the Dragonlance campaign setting could even be used.
Just remember to let each player shine during their particular trial, so that they know that this is meant for them.
Rogue: Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier that evolves would be neat...
Alchemist: Maybe a Headband, mocked up as a Hairpin/Comb (Mulan Style), that increases Mental Abilities and grants bonuses to her abilities.
Cavalier: Seems fitting especially if they take Order of the Lion. Also Can't Samurai take Beast Rider? If so then Naginata might be nice.
Inquisitor: Remember that the Tetsubo is an Exotic Weapon.
Sorceress: Maybe a Blade that absorbs the Blood and transfers it to her.
Figured I'd share a Wizard orientated item.
Dinin's Fury.
I'm also willing to take requests if there's a specific flavor or theme you'd like to see. Been in a creative mood lately, and decided to work on a campaign idea that's been on the back burner that uses Legacy Weapons.
Twin Intelligent Blades, for a TWF Character, whose Names Translate in each language translate to Hope & Despair? Variable between any Light or 1-Handed Weapon their chosen Wielder is Proficient with & allows them to apply any Light or 1-Handed Weapon Feat, like Weapon Focus, they possess to any of their Forms. But must be wielded together for the bonuses to activate.
Hope: Brings hope to allies.
Despair: Brings despair to foes.
If you want any more details feel free to PM me. I am also working on them.
I sometimes had the gold piece value of the enemy slain's gear count. When the items were cursed or aligned it was better that way.
You might want to take a look at this thread.
It's about scaling artifacts.
Nice Ideas...
I don't have the weapons of legacy book. The rituals, do they need to perform them for every power? So if I did give them a power every level, starting now at 4th level, they'd need to go through another 15 trials?
Reaver: for some reason when I click your link it just takes me to the front page of the messageboards?
Cujo: the damphir reminds me of a couple of my players, though not as extreme. They started off planning for PrC's at upper levels but by the time they leveled to 2nd they were already onto other "wouldn't it be cool if..." concepts for their builds. Now neither of the 2 knows what they want to focus on.
One is a cleric of Erastil but her feats and skills show a little focus on channeling, a little focus on archery, a little focus on knowledge...no defined drive though to be great either at ranged combat, or channeling, or healing.
The other one is that wizard, the abjurer. He started out all about defense and the arcane. Then he drifted into tons of knowledges and kind of a focus on divination while still maintaining the basic requirements of his specialty school. Now after a particularly tough fight he's recognizing the need for some combat/offensive spells and is looking at ways to "weaponize" his familiar.
I was spoiled by my other group of gamers who are HIGHLY tactical. Usually by now the wizard would have a theme to his spells (all acid, all blasting, or whatever) and the cleric would be tightly focused on a meme (combat medic, surrogate ranger, etc.) but these players didn't do that.
For their legacy items then I'm just going to invent a focus and hope they like it. For the wizard the jury's still out but I think I want something that provides a base protection and then also adds special effects to that, like auras in Diablo. With the cleric I'm focusing mostly on the player. The way she plays she throws a lot of buffs, healing, and uses her shots specifically to help others. Her bow then will be able to debuff enemies or fire arrows that explode into buffs or utility for the party or herself.
Mark: the rituals are performed at certain levels to unlock least, lesser and major powers; basically one at 5th level to unlock its hidden powers in the first place, one at 11th to unlock even more powers, and one at 17th level to unlock its greatest powers. there are only three rituals per item.
It is surprisingly easy to find a copy of the Rules.
I am planning a Pathfinderized Version of it.