My players have Earn a reward and so I need help choosing it

[JuliusCromwell]

My Players have just Stopped the attempted assassination of a queen and are be reward with Items

I am Planing to give each Player items totaling up to 50,000 Gold

and then one custom item for each one.

But i am not sure what items to give, there,s an alternate motive , there's a major boss fight coming up and i want them to have some chance.

I'd like help picking out items for a

level 9 Eldritch Archer (who is a bit Inexperience with using a magic base class)

Level 9 Monk who likes stunning fist and uses butterfly swords

a level 9 occultist who likes to use charm and other mental effecting magic

and level 9 warlord from Path of war who uses a katana and likes to rely on mithral current

I want each player too get something or somethings that can help them fair better

[Meirril]

This is a little plain, but sometimes basics are beautiful.

Warning: Custom item.

Royal Ring of Resistance +4. Provides a +4 deflection bonus to AC, and a +4 resistance bonus to saving throws. (32,000 + (16,000 x 1.5) = 56,000gp each ring). Has carved into it the signet of the knights order that follows the Royal Family.

This is actually a bit of a game changer. By moving the resistance from the cloak slot to the ring you allow a lot of almost unused items to go into the slot Cloak of Resistance usually takes up. Cloaks are generally interesting items. Its a real shame that such a bland item hogs the slot. Free it up!

[VRMH]

Give 'em access to the queen's suppliers and supplies, and then let 'em choose for themselves. Your players are likely more aware of what their characters need or want than you'll ever be.

[Meirril]

VRMH wrote:

Give 'em access to the queen's suppliers and supplies, and then let 'em choose for themselves. Your players are likely more aware of what their characters need or want than you'll ever be.

I'm a bit leery of that because the GM is handing out an item that is worth more than the entire expected value of a 9th level character...though the players would probably appreciate that more.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I second the ring suggestion. Pure magical usefulness aside, having an exclusive item that shows you've been personally rewarded by the ruler of a powerful nation is not only good for bragging rights but has all sorts of side benefits. People who might otherwise ignore or work against the PCs may be careful of offending people who are obviously on the Empress' good side. People may be extra helpful in hopes of getting some future favors. Even if the PCs themselves are unknown, the signet will be an identifier, letting others know the PCs are in good standing.

I would not make the ring be from a knightly order, unless the PCs are inducted into it, or the order is an honorary one rather than a practical one (most modern knightly orders are merely for buttering up people rather than demanding actual service).

[Shiroi]

So I like designing things that open up cool options that don't necessarily exist in the game. Let's see what fun toys I can make you, mind that balance is not quite as much a factor with artifact level items as flavor is.

level 9 Eldritch Archer (who is a bit Inexperience with using a magic base class)
A ring or neck item that allows you to pick the spell and cast it -after- hitting with the attack instead of before.

Level 9 Monk who likes stunning fist and uses butterfly swords
Gauntlets that allow stunning fist the vorpal quality on a critical hit, but to remove the heart instead of decapitating.

a level 9 occultist who likes to use charm and other mental effecting magic
An ioun stone of telepathy that casts mind-affecting spells in the language of the target without verbal components, making it easier to cast in public without being caught or on things you don't share a language with.

and level 9 warlord from Path of war who uses a katana and likes to rely on mithral current
I'm not familiar with mithral current, so I'll probably be a bit off on this one.
Warping blade- a katana that attacks through opened portals allowing you to flank an opponent by yourself after striking the first time, and has reach as you cut through the tears to hit further targets.

[Weirdo]

First, be aware that a 9th level PC is expected to have around 46-62,000gp depending on how close they are to level 10, so giving them each 50,000gp of gear will roughly double their wealth. This would give them a boost in a tough fight, but depending on the type of boss the characters could still be vulnerable to things like HD-dependent save-or-lose effects or getting hit by debuffs that require high level spells to remove (particularly since the party doesn't have a cleric).

It's hard to make specific recommendations without knowing a bit more about the characters and their items - for example, you don't want to give someone a cool magic amulet if they're already wearing one.

The Royal Ring is a good idea. It's a very nice item that is useful to anyone, increases survivability while probably not disrupting game balance overall, and which has a social/RP bonus to make it more interesting and reduce the chances they'd be motivated to sell it for something more optimal (otherwise a big risk for items that are disproportionately valuable for the characters' level). A +3 version would be 31,500, which would allow you to give the players an individual item as well within the 50,000gp budget. Note: if the occultist has Abjuration implements they may find the resistance bonus less useful.

Other thoughts:

In general I'd want to start by patching any major weaknesses I've noticed in the players, particularly with reference to the big fight you're anticipating. Is one of the characters taking dangerous amounts of damage? AC boosting item, or a Minor Cloak of Displacement. Failing a lot of saves? Save boosting item, or something giving them resistance or immunity to specific types of attacks. Unable to beat DR? +3 Adamantine weapon.

level 9 Eldritch Archer (who is a bit Inexperience with using a magic base class): Shiroi's suggestion is a good one. Consider also something granting some amount of spontaneous casting (possibly the ability to swap prepared spells for a specific spell on the fly).

Level 9 Monk who likes stunning fist and uses butterfly swords: a Ki Focus or Ki Intensifying butterfly sword.

a level 9 occultist who likes to use charm and other mental effecting magic: Again, Shiroi's idea is good. Consider also something to allow them to use mind-affecting effects on targets that would normally be immune, Mental Focus armour, or something to allow them to shift mental focus more easily (add the same amount of focus to the second implement and/or increasing the resonant power of the implement recieving the focus).

I'm not familiar with the warlord class so not much help there, but the warping katana sounds cool. An item granting mobility might also be appreciated?

[Decimus Drake]

Have you considered the Scaling Items from unchained? I've always quite liked the idea of them. If it's 50,000gp + 1 custom item per player I'd in part go with VRMH and suggest letting the players choose their items but only up to 25,000. I'd then give them a mix of gold items and the custom item. The last thing you want is to give the players items you think are awesome but all the players do is just want to sell them so they can get items they feel are more relevant.

You could also consider non-material rewards such as a bonus feat as the queen grants them access to special training or access to secret knowledge in the royal archives or something.Regarding feat selection you could give them carte blanche, pick the feats for them or limit them to a set lest e.g. Teamwork feats only.

Finally completing a major quest line can also be the prime time to go into stronghold territory. This may not be useful if you're intending to gear them up for a major fight.

[Shiroi]

I hadn't thought of bonus feats, with that in mind it could be really awesome to knight them and grant them a squire. Leadership feat, but only for the cohort. They choose from the members of the guards (IE you let them build a short with DM approval or hand them an NPC codex and let them pick from your approved list) and get their personal bag boy who can help handle light work and be an extra body in the BBEG fight.

[Meirril]

Oh! There is one thing you could offer them instead. Its kind of one of those "then why did we have to get involved?" kind of moments but:

Have the Princess talk the head priest of her patron deity into blessing the party. Give the pc's about 5k in gifts. Things they could sell off if they want to. They are personal gifts from the Princess.

During the Blessing time stops for everyone except the players. The patron deity sends one of his big servants to make a little speech. Give a forewarning about the big fight coming. Tell the players that the servant will visit them again tomorrow and grant them a wish, but they should think carefully about what they will request.

But since you plan on doing 50k, make sure the wish is worth 50k. Normally that would be 2 wishes, but some people will ask for something that is beyond the power of a 'basic' wish. So let it exceed it for up to that extra 50k. If someone asks for something a normal wish could handle, throw in a bonus without asking them.

Easy would be if someone asks for Strength instead of giving them the normal +1 for 1 wish, give them +2 because they get 2 wishes worth.

Also don't be afraid to flat out deny a wish. The servant is offering it to them, but it won't go against its beliefs or anything that takes the adventure away from the party. Mortal affairs need to be handled by mortals. The servant will provide aid here and now, but it won't hold the favor for later. He will provide a scroll of miracle or wish if anyone asks for it, but he won't personally grant that one.