PDA

View Full Version : Random Histories for Magic Items



Immonen
2011-07-27, 08:26 PM
So I had this idea a few minutes ago.

Depending on the campaign setting, magic items are either something that you can get from the local magic shop, or ancient artifacts of great power, with names and everything.

Given the second one, such items should have a history and a legend behind them befitting the item. However, it's rather hard to come up with those on the fly while writing up treasure in the dragon's lair/ lich's tomb/ wizard's tower.

So, there should be some method of creating random histories, as an aid to DMing such a setting. My idea: for each effective +1 bonus an item has (or spell effect, in the case of staffs, rods, rings, wondrous items, etc.), one card is drawn from a typical playing card deck. Each card corresponds to a major event in the item's past, ex. a great hero wields it against a dragon, it defends its previous bearer from a basilisk's gaze, it's used to slaughter a village, and so on. This would result in minor items having boring/ short lives, while the truly epic and legendary items like Nine Lives Stealer would have long and interesting pasts.

Thoughts? Suggestions for a table? Death threats?

wiimanclassic
2011-07-27, 09:02 PM
Sounds like a good idea. Maybe apply some effects based on the history. Minor things like a small chance to prevent being turned to stone if you get that basilisk gaze one.

Welknair
2011-07-27, 09:07 PM
Maybe apply some effects based on the history. Minor things like a small chance to prevent being turned to stone if you get that basilisk gaze one.

I concur. If you have a Ring of Protection +4 with the story about protecting its previous bearer from petrification, you can bet the PCs are going to try to use it for the same thing. And they will be quite peeved if it doesn't work.

But it shouldn't be an extra enchantment. Perhaps in the second case, magic items grow more powerful as time wears on and they acquire interesting unique abilities?