Magic Items Dm's thoughts?

[BoutsofInsanity]

Im trying somthing new with my world, I got sick and tired as a player of getting a ring of protection plus 1, or a longsword +1, so I decided to try somthing new. Rather then vanilla items, every item I give out (players find, steal, loot, earn) is an "artifact". So for example, a longsword +3 does burst cold dmg, and at will can extinguish any fire the blade swipes through, this also works on magic fire swords. Im experimenting with making magic items exciting again.

My group I dm for is fairly low op and generally not going to break the game. Im curious to hear yalls opinions on other cool magic abilities to give weapons and rings. My challenge for now is
A magic pirate hat
A magic pendant
A sword
and some bracers. Im curious on everyone's thoughts and ideas on this new system Im attempting in my world.
PLEASE DONT FLAME ME!!!!:smalleek:

[Savannah]

Seems like an interesting idea. I've thought of making items scale with the owner's level in the past, so that the masterwork sword your grandfather wielded would become a +1 sword at the appropriate level and so on, fluffed as the character becoming more familiar and in tune with the blade, so that you don't have the "Ooh, a +1 item! Ooh, a +2 item, toss the last one!" attitude (of course, I'd adjust treasure as needed). Not quite as extreme as yours, but I think it would help with the 'magic items are ordinary' feel of standard D&D. Depending on what you're going for, you might do something similar and make some of the items' uses unlockable with how long the characters use them, so that they'll stay useful for the entire campaign.


PLEASE DONT FLAME ME!!!!:smalleek:

This is the Playground; we don't do that sort of thing :smallsmile:

[Deimess]

First off, a question: How early or how many are you planning on handing out? sounds like the players might (might as in, i'm not sure) get powerful a lot faster if they are frequent, but not become powerful enough if there aren't enough...

Second,

A magic pirate hat
Maybe something black/red-beardy, like a hat that gives the wearer a fear aura and disguise self as a spell or SLA. It might also grant a bonus to Spot, or set the wearer's beard (or something like that) on fire, which could attack like the one on a bearded devil.

I can attempt at others if you like this one

[Knaight]

I'd reccomend minimizing weapons and armor. They work, certainly, but stuff outside of that has more options. Off the top of my head, though likely pulled from something read long ago:

Magma Staff: Its a long obsidian shaft that pours magma out of one end. You can use it to provide heat, you can use it when you need cool stone eventually, you can use it to get rid of water, so on and so forth. In combat, its a clumsy implement that really doesn't work well.

Phoenix Sword: A sword with a hilt and handle that looks like a phoenix. If broken, it explodes in fire, and a tiny dagger comes out of the ashes, that eventually grows to a sword again.

Servant's Cloak: A cloak that looks different to everyone looking at it. If a noble sees it, it will display their court of arms, if anyone else looks at it it will be a simple cloak that looks slightly too ratty to be interested in.

Hat of the Seven Seas: A most useful ordinary looking pirate cap, with several magical effects, outlined below:
The feather in it always points straight north.
Any salt water put in it turns to rum.
When touched to a sail, it repairs it.

Brick Eraser: An oblong chunk of what looks like raw clay, though as hard as a rock. When touched to any piece of fired clay, including bricks, pottery, and sculpture, it causes it to turn into wet and form-able clay.

Null Bracers: A pair of incredibly heavy bracers, that stop whatever they touch, provided that it isn't more than five tons. These can instantly stop incoming vehicles, weaponry made for giants, smaller falling buildings, and small waves.

Glowing Glove: A single left glove, made of brown leather with char marks on the front. Any object gripped in it will be heated over a process of a few minutes until its melting point.

Alchemist's Pendant: This pendant can turn any metal, wood, or glass into the same volume of any other metal, wood, or glass. However, the same amount of material of both the original and transformed substance is needed to fuel the change.

[Cespenar]

Pirate hat "Home": Expands into a ship-size hat that you can board and sail.

Pendant "Second Heart": If you die, keeps you alive for 2 more rounds.

Bracers "Disproportionate Response": If anyone hits you, you gain double their Strength modifier to your attacks against him for 1 round.

"Smart Sword": The round after you hit someone with it, the sword gains the properties necessary to overcome the target's DR, like good, adamantine, etc.

[Zale]

A ship-sized hat would be nice if your boat sank.

Gift of the sea elves: A wooden amulet craved with the face of a sea elf.

+ 4 to Swim.

Also, once a day, this amulet can be used to ignore penalties imposed by armor to swim for an hour. This time does not have to be used consecutively.

[only1doug]

Im trying somthing new with my world, I got sick and tired as a player of getting a ring of protection plus 1, or a longsword +1, so I decided to try somthing new. Rather then vanilla items, every item I give out (players find, steal, loot, earn) is an "artifact". So for example, a longsword +3 does burst cold dmg, and at will can extinguish any fire the blade swipes through, this also works on magic fire swords. Im experimenting with making magic items exciting again.

My group I dm for is fairly low op and generally not going to break the game. Im curious to hear yalls opinions on other cool magic abilities to give weapons and rings. My challenge for now is
A magic pirate hat
A magic pendant
A sword
and some bracers. Im curious on everyone's thoughts and ideas on this new system Im attempting in my world.
PLEASE DONT FLAME ME!!!!:smalleek:

I'm wondering if you've seen the magic item sets from MIC?

Bloody Garb
This item set is prized by Pirates.
wearing items from this set grants the following bonuses
2 items: 3/day may either emit a fear aura (DC 10 +2/ item of set worn) for (2 rounds / item of set worn) or remove fear as the spell.
3 items: waterbreathing (continuous)
4 items: 3/ day Freedom of movement for (1 min / item of set worn)

Set Items:
The Black captains Tricorn
This hat has the ability to be transformed into a Liferaft (5 person capacity) at will, In Hat form the Tricorn can produce sufficient rations and water for 1 person / day. If left in Liferaft form for 12 hours the Tricorn will produce sufficent rations and water to feed 5 people for a day.

The Red Coin
This Amulet is made from a gold dubloon that appears wet with blood (but leaves no stain on clothing).
Wiping "blood" from the amulet onto your clothing can change the appearance of the clothes to any form you desire, Likewise wiping Blood onto your face / body can change your appearance (this item functions exactly like a hat of disguise)

Riggers Bracers
These Bracers are covered with monkey skin and grant prowess with climbing and swinging as well as a small armour bonus.
+2 Armour bonus to AC, +5 to any skill checks related to swinging or climbing that involve ships rigging or trees and vines.

Fishscale shirt
This Shirt seems to be made of gleaming fishscales.
Grants a swim speed equal to 1/2 of your normal land speed

\Set



The Last Cut.
This Cutlass is desired by all most pirates for tales of its edge, so sharp that it is said to cut those who look upon it.
+1 Everbright Vorpal Scimitar.

[LansXero]

http://www.trollandtoad.com/p148077.html

This book is pretty good for the kind of thing you are trying to achieve (as well as ideas for that)

[Xanmyral]

Hope this helps.

Hat of the Depths - A Tricorn hat with a ragged, weathered appearance. Smells of brine and rum.
-Grants the wearer the ability to breath water once a day for three hours. This time need not be consecutive, but it must be in thirty minute increments.
-Gives a +5 to swim checks as long as it is worn.
-The wearer instantly grows a beard, which looks similar to seaweed of the users hair color. If the user already has a beard, it simply changes the look of the hair. It wears off after an hour of removing the hat, unless it is worn constantly for a month, in which case the change is permenant.
-If the hat is worn constantly for a month, the wearer grows gills so they may then be able to constantly breath underwater.

Locked Skulls Amulet - A tarnished silver amulet that has a strange emblem on it, two skulls partially fused together in what looks to be a horrific manner.
-Wearer is able to summon up four human skeletons that follow his/her orders for as long as they are there. This takes a full round action, and may only be done once per day. They last for five rounds per three user HD.
-Gives the wearer the ability to cast Command Undead three times per day, of a caster level equal to the users HD. The save is determined by the user's Charisma Stat.
-The skin of the user grows notably paler when worn, with the occasional scratch that appears on the skin that doesn't heal. The scratches doesn't hinder the user in any way, and aren't able to heal until the amulet is removed, in which the skin regains its natural pigmentation. Effects are permenant after a month of constant wearing.
-If worn for a month constantly, the user gains Command Undead as a SLA usable once per encounter. CL is the users HD, and save is determined by CHA.

Clause on the month thing: The time is cumulative, there may be gaps in between worn times but if the gap is longer then a week the time resets.

All I got for now.

[Kojiro]

Don't have anything to contribute yet, but I'd like to say that even "mundane" magic items, as made with the tables in the DMG, can be more interesting if you give them a special look, name, and/or history beyond "it's a +1 flaming longsword you found in a hole". I do like the attempt to make more unique items though; I'm just saying that you could use the normal ones too, and with the right presentation make them far more desirable than things that are actually better stat-wise.