[3.X] Item of -X stat.

[Yael]

I want to be really evil with a teammate who just died because on the first round of our encounter with Dire Bears, just sat there and started reading a book. He died brutally and we all looted him, because who cares?

Now, he apparently revived, we don't know how because we (the party) didn't revive him. But we are not giving his items back, but it's obvious that he'll ask for them.

To make it short, my wizard will plane shift through an Ur'Epona to Carceri, to Brass (Elemental Plane of Fire), to rest, prepare spells and sell/buy stuff because it's way too early and my spells were wasted because of the incompetence of my party.

Back to the initial topic, I want to sell the Belt of Giant's Strenght that I took from our teammate (I have Mercantile Backgroud, so I'll get 3kgp for that one). Now, want to give him a lesson. But I have no access or currently don't know how to get a cursed item of -X stat, just like the reverse of an enhancement, is there any suplement or any book where there could be a ''Belt of **** Strenght +2'' that do the opposite? Resulting in a -X on any stat (more specifically, strenght).

HALP pls?

[Zanos]

This seems like an OOC issue, so I'm going to give the canned respond when IC issues are actually OOC issues.


I suggest you have a chat with this player.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

I dunno of a by-the-books cursed item, but if you want to ruin his day just get an eternal wand of glibness. Enchant a belt with +1 underwater basketweaving (so it's magical), hope he's not actually that good at identifying things, and tell him (with +30 from glibness up) that it's his belt.

Sure, his strength isn't sapped, but with a high enough bluff check the character might end up believing he's getting pumped up by that belt for a longer amount of time. It'll last longer if you coordinate with the DM to avoid metagaming... but your DM is going to tell you something similar to what the previous poster said.

[Yael]

This seems like an OOC issue, so I'm going to give the canned respond when IC issues are actually OOC issues.

Of coure I won't be doing this outside of the roleplay or secretly with the DM, I'll roleplay it, with the player present. Even if he knows it, his reason for just dying there was ''my character's like that'', well my character's like that too, so I'll do it. I'm just trying to get some suggestions about items that could impose penalties (magically, if possible) to his Strength score. Even more, if the Charisma score could be hit, that would be great.

[TuggyNE]

Of coure I won't be doing this outside of the roleplay or secretly with the DM, I'll roleplay it, with the player present. Even if he knows it, his reason for just dying there was ''my character's like that'', well my character's like that too, so I'll do it.

Be the better person, and decide to react differently (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html).

[Yael]

Be the better person, and decide to react differently (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html).

Wow, I should think more about it, you're probably right; however, for future games, it would be nice to surprise the greedy players with cursed items that do not damage that much.

[TuggyNE]

Wow, I should think more about it, you're probably right; however, for future games, it would be nice to surprise the greedy players with cursed items that do not damage that much.

Used judiciously, the DMG's cursed items (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#robeofPowerlessness) can do a half-decent job of that.

[Diarmuid]

Did the player start reading a book, or did the character start reading a book.

If the latter, was reading the book part of some other action that could have actually had an impact on the fight?

[Segev]

Yeah, if it's an issue of the PLAYER annoying YOU, talk to him OOC about it. Don't passive-aggressively (or aggressive-aggressively) take it out on him in-game.

If it was an in-character action and it bothered YOU, again talk to the player and figure out where you both stand on this happening again. He may agree that your plan would "teach his character a lesson" about working with the party.

Only if it was an in-character thing that only bothered your PC in-character, and you think it won't be taken as a sleight by the other player, should you go through with a plan to screw over this other player's character. You do not want to enter into a war of escalating semi-passive aggression. That will ruin both of your fun, and may damage that of the other players, too.

It IS just a game, after all.

[TheMonocleRogue]

I never trust party members that decide to pull a "Gandalf" in the middle of combat by doing arbitrary tasks that require them to use up their actions instead of contributing to the fight. If you want revenge, you could make a cursed book which lowers a stat by 1 to whoever reads it and put it in his possession. Mild enough that it won't disrupt the campaign.

Or you could sadistically put an explosive rune in one of his books. He'll never touch another book again, or play in the same party.

[Diarmuid]

I'm specifically thinking of a character I'm playing who uses Knowledge Devotion and using the Tome of Worldly Memories would require a Standard action if I wanted to use it to boost my check.

No, it's not the most efficient use of an action but it's really no different than a caster spending a round casting a buff.

Not saying that's what happened, but there could certainly be reasons for such an action during a combat.

[Yael]

Did the player start reading a book, or did the character start reading a book.

If the latter, was reading the book part of some other action that could have actually had an impact on the fight?

Specifically, he stated that his character would use his first move action to walk away from the encounter while he took out from his pocket a book, then he sat on the ground and opened that book so he could start reading it. I should clarify that he's a Barbarian, and one of the only true melee fighters on the party (the other being a Paladin of Slaughter mounted on a boar wielding a flail, resembling Sejuani frrom League of Legends), and a Spiked Chain Fighter who is not very used to D&D mechanics and took one of the most difficult ways to play fighter...


I'm specifically thinking of a character I'm playing who uses Knowledge Devotion and using the Tome of Worldly Memories would require a Standard action if I wanted to use it to boost my check.


That's an interesting point of view, but no. He stated that he was just reading a book while the other party members would take care of the encounter, ''I am fabulous after all.'' Also he's a barbarian, and no Knowledge Devotion feat taken.

As the wizard, I ended summoning a Huge Fiendish Monstrous Centipede (SMIII) to scare those Dire Bears with 100+HP, we all looted the barbarian and resumed our journey. I should say that our party is evil-composed. Not that we all are evil, but our actions will take us there.

[Lightlawbliss]

... I should say that our party is evil-composed. Not that we all are evil, but our actions will take us there.

what is he? there could be some interesting combos depending on his alignment. (like an timed trap of a corrupt spell)

[Yael]

what is he? there could be some interesting combos depending on his alignment. (like an timed trap of a corrupt spell)

Don't quite sure, but I'm almost certain that he's CE, because he's aiming for becoming a vampire, and his base class is Barbarian (I would assume him to be CE)...

[Segev]

Have you asked the player why he had his front-line, illiterate fighter walk off from a fight to read rather than participate in the game?

Why didn't the DM send a combatant to take down the undefended back of the fool walking away from combat?

[Diarmuid]

Based on this new information, there could be a lot of reasons for him doing what he did.

- Perhaps he was hoping some of the other party members would get killed by the bears and he would get to loot their corpses.

- Possible he knows that casters of the same level completely outshine his ability to do just about anything so why bother putting himself at risk.

These are just a couple things I could see an Evil type person doing. Now, if I were doing the same thing and playing evilly, I certainly wouldnt have sat down to read my book between the bears and the party. So either he didnt really think his action through, or the DM didnt like his tactic and went out of his way to have the bears attack the sitting down guy rather than the people actively trying to kill them.

Either way, someone didnt really think what they were doing all the way through. Playing Evil pretty much always ends up with someone's feelings hurt and someone hiding behind "that's what my evil character would do'. It just doesnt seem that anyone can envision evil people doing anything other than murdering, stealing, or plotting to murder and steal.

That's mostly why I dont bother playing Evil campaigns.

[Rastapopolos]

Why would your evil characters tolerate the presence of someone who is such a liability? Most good partys would politely tell this guy to leave... Selfish evil people would keep all his stuff and slit his throat for good measure (blood makes good spell components after all :smallamused:)

I think it might be time to have a talk with this guy OOC and tell him he's made a completly disfunctional character and to roll anew...


Hells BARBARIANS CANT EVEN READ

[Zweisteine]

Hells BARBARIANS CANT EVEN READ
Unless someone teaches them (i.e. skill points).

[Rastapopolos]

Indeed... That was mostly said for rule of funny... other point still stands though... Why would you bring this character along to share your loot (and in the meta, XP) when he refuses to help... Hes made an adventurer who doesnt want to adventure... a Barbarian who refuses to fight...

[Diarmuid]

Was the adventure started with the group having known each other and assumedly worked well together previously, or were some random evil people tossed together with a theoretical "common goal"?

In the former, someone should have asked "is this how your guy starts all fights?", and in the latter, there's really not much else to be done.

[erikun]

For the mechanical side of things:

Opposite Effect or Target (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#oppositeEffectorTarget) (cursed item) is a general type of cursed item that just reverses the bonuses with penalties. Robe of Powerlessness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#robeofPowerlessness) is a specific item for a -10 STR and -10 INT. Bestow Curse (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/bestowCurse.htm) can place a -6 on any ability score, and can probably be placed on an item without too much trouble.

[Snowbluff]

The Arms and Equipment Guide has it's own set of cursed items. A Belt of Cat's Strength is a +6 Belt until he faces a foe who is an equal or higher challenger rating, which will turn it into a belt of -6 Strength.

[Yael]

The Arms and Equipment Guide has it's own set of cursed items. A Belt of Cat's Strength is a +6 Belt until he faces a foe who is an equal or higher challenger rating, which will turn it into a belt of -6 Strength.

OMG
That's it!!!!

A friend of mine told me something about an item that did the same that Giant's Strength, but reversed it when facing an enemy stronger!
This is it!!!!
My revenge is complete!!!! (if I decide to take on revenge, of course.)