Leveling Character Heirlooms

[prilynyuo]

I am running my first full Campaign, a "New World" with lots for the Players to uncover and a lot more I can make up as I go. ;p

For a character "gift" I want to give them each a customizable heirloom which will level with them and reveal as-yet-unknown bonuses, abilities, general random stuff for a little gameplay levity (like "a button appears on your mystical ladle which dispenses enough muffins to feed one person for 4 meals/week"). I also have some ideas as to helping character classes, like a rogue earring that will aide in hide checks, or trap sense.

The biggest problem my limited experience affords me, is how to scale the items so I don't give them a nerf sword to fight the dragon. I am not so concerned about breaking my game, since the players are all relatively new and can afford to be treated gently.

Any suggestions, feedback, or resources are welcome.

[Prince Zahn]

Well, given what your inquiry is, this may be more appropriate for the roleplaying games section.

As for the question itself: do you use 3.X? A freer game? It may help to know.
I'll assume you're using 3.X and say "Why not look into the Weapons of Legacy supplement - at least the parts where they discuss how the magic items in it scale in power and how to make them yourself?"

The items in there also have a tremendous amount of lore, which can be used for plot hooks, side quests, and more reasons to explore if you feel the need to it.

Hope that helps!

EDIT: regardless of what system you use - practice makes perfect, so if you feel a party member's item is a bit weak on one level, try to reveal a more powerful ability on the next opportunity where he gets new powers, or give him opportunities where that particular ability shines.
Since you said overpowering isn't an issue for you - if a person does get that kind of power, consider scaling everyone's power accordingly and up the ante.
My two-cents.

[Rainbownaga]

The best option is to stick to the recomended wealth-by level (and npc equipment by level) from the DMG.

Figure out how much they'd be spending on their weapons anyway, deduct this from the treasure they would be getting and use it to buy the abilities that actually matter in combat (keen, wounding, energy enhancements, etc)

Things like producing muffins, while potentially potent weapons in the hands of creative players, should probably count as a freebee.

If your new to the game you'll probably end up with difficulty balancing encounters anyway (glass jawed ogre mage or suprisingly deadly, minmaxed level 1 orc barbarians :smallfurious:) so if you want to boost the power of the sword by an extra +1 its not going to be too much of a gamebreaker anyway.

Weapons of legacy are cool, but mostly traps

[Draconi Redfir]

Way i see it, the best course of action would be an automatic bonus increase every five or so levels (so +1 magic sword first, then +2, then +3 etc.) and every now and then throw in some small magical thing that's neat, but not overly powerful.

Say for example it's an axe. At first it's just a +1 axe, then its a +1 axe that deals extra damage to plant monsters. Then it's an axe that deals extra damage to plant monsters, and can absorb and release one litre of any liquid at any time. Then it can change the material the blade is made out of as a standard action... that kind of thing.

Let the PLAYERS make the weapons cool, that axe could absorb some poison and turn into a silver weapon or something of the sort, heck do you read Goblins? One character found a sword that copies any non-organic material it comes into contact with and turns the blade into that material. Touch it to the floor, its made of stone. Touch it to a magic ring; it now has the same properties as the magic ring.

The character however did something totally unseen that turned the weapon into something just plain awesome, and the DM likely had to think up the new rules for the weapon on the spot. That's something you should look for i think, if the players do something awesome with a small quirk that you didn't see coming, then you are doing it right.


Some random small quirks that might be interesting.

Can only damage plants
Can create one cup of any liquid that doesn't destroy the container
returns to the user when thrown
phases through anyone with X class unless the will it to contact them
can turn any plant into stone at a touch
turns metal into ants
becomes a tiny animal on command
turns invisible when in contact with water
can be consumed by the owner and drawn out of the stomach sword-sallower style with the properties of whatever was last eaten
has a small chance to summon rats when used
orbits the character when let go of, it's speed depending on how fast it was moving when released
aaand lets saayy... becomes the bane of the first thing it comes into contact with. (i.e. touch it against a stone, it deals extra damage to stone and nothing else. but if you had touched it to a human, it would have dealt extra damage to humans.)

Just little things that make the item unique you know? it may seem useless, but the players will find a way to make use of it.