A little more info on Helm of Opposite Alignment?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


I’m adding a visually tweaked Helm of Opposite Alignment to my adventures. It functions exactly like it says in the core rule book (page 540), but looks like a novelty tiny metal fez. To an onlooker it’s nothing more then just a stupid metal cup on a string.

But I still need a good solution to:

1) Ignoring the holes in it, is it safe to drink out of the Helm of Opposite Alignment?

2) Is it supposed to work on absolutely everything without will spell immunity? Now that it can easily be applied to anything with a head, should it work on everything, like blink dogs, dragons and so on?

3) Does the Helm of Opposite Alignment normally gives out any visual or audio indication that it worked. Say the target is asleep and the player is a none magic user (rogue). Should a player be able to tell when it worked without waking up the target, or keep on dunking through the night and hope for the best?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Your players should not even be able to identify the item. It's a cursed item after all. It's meant to be a party destroying trap, not a utility.

Silver Crusade

LazarX wrote:
Your players should not even be able to identify the item. It's a cursed item after all. It's meant to be a party destroying trap, not a utility.
PRD wrote:
Identifying Cursed Items: Cursed items are identified like any other magic item with one exception: unless the check made to identify the item exceeds the DC by 10 or more, the curse is not detected. If the check is not made by 10 or more, but still succeeds, all that is revealed is the magic item's original intent. If the item is known to be cursed, the nature of the curse can be determined using the standard DC to identify the item.


Please don't. Just ... don't. This may be the absolute dumbest magic item in the history of the game, surpassing even the 'Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity'. Like Lazar says, it destroys parties. It screws up games.


I guess I'll be constructive.

1. The helm only works when putting it on. I assume because it magically connects with the brain (thus, a helm). Doing other things with it should be fine, though a minor magical effect could be interesting.

2. SR doesn't seem to apply, so it's just the save. Non-sentient beings (like animals) shouldn't be effected, because they do not have the mental capacity for true alignment.

3. I do not believe clues are given. He would have to wait for him to wake. To prevent the repeated on and off until a one is rolled issue, you could make someone wake upon a save for fending off a magical attack.


Thank you TheRedArmy on clearing that up.

I find adding a minor temporary mood swing when drinking out of it will be entertaining for all involved. Its current effectiveness range is a good limiter on its usefulness. The absence of clues on whether it worked or not is a good intrigue builder for the players, so best leave it as is.

For everybody else, I only wanted to know the vague mechanics of the cursed item, not if it’s a good acquisition for the party. On that I have decided. Still, thank you for the warning on using cursed items as utilities. That does sound like a game destroyer. Will need to look into that.

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