magic weapons for a stereotypical fighter

[dragsvart]

my players are going to be exploring the tomb of a stereotypical fighter and im drawing a blank for some interesting things for them to find, namely magic items. the party is low leveled so +3 swords are out, does anyone have any thought on what kind of (magical) items a stereotypical (strong and not too bright) fighter might end up entombed with?

[Ninja_Prawn]

my players are going to be exploring the tomb of a stereotypical fighter and im drawing a blank for some interesting things for them to find, namely magic items. the party is low leveled so +3 swords are out, does anyone have any thought on what kind of (magical) items a stereotypical (strong and not too bright) fighter might end up entombed with?

Thought #1: they might be buried with prizes they've taken from defeated enemies, which could be literally any item you like.

Thought #2: they would certainly be buried with their weapon and shield, so pick a type of weapon for them. Roll for it, if you like.

Thought #3: if this was a famous fighter, they probably had one signature item that gave them a unique trick. Looking at the uncommon magic items, I'd go for either some kind of ring, a bag of tricks or a rope of climbing.

Thought #4: use all of the above to make sure there is one item for each of your PCs. If you've got a fighter, they'll take the weapon. Use the 'prize' to put a wand in there for your wizard or magical instrument for the bard.

[dragsvart]

I'm mainly looking for one or two interesting items to throw in. the tomb has been ransacked before so most of the stuff would be gone except for a few things in a hidden room or two (such as the fighter's favorite bag of tricks or such). I'm not aiming to give everyone a magic item, just throw something interesting for them to find along the way.

[Once a Fool]

Why don't you just use the history, quirks, and properties tables ( or whatever they're called; I'm AFB at the moment) in the DMG to just make sure each +x item they do find is unique and flavorful?

[Once a Fool]

I'm mainly looking for one or two interesting items to throw in. the tomb has been ransacked before so most of the stuff would be gone except for a few things in a hidden room or two (such as the fighter's favorite bag of tricks or such). I'm not aiming to give everyone a magic item, just throw something interesting for them to find along the way.

You could just pick a wonderous item--especially one that has no obvious reason for being there, like a folding boat.

[Ninja_Prawn]

You could just pick a wonderous item--especially one that has no obvious reason for being there, like a folding boat.

Ok, so there's a locked door labelled 'treasure vault'. The door's too heavy to force and a DC of like 20 to pick - and it sprays you with poison gas every time you fail. When they finally get in, the room is mostly empty, just assorted rubble and splintered wood, with a hole in the wall where some graverobbers tunnelled in. They even left the pickaxes and shovels behind.

The PCs spend a while doing investigation checks and the only thing they find is a folding boat, which the robbers didn't bother with... because the tomb is like 500 miles from any major body of water!

[Once a Fool]

But the real mystery is how it got there in the first place!

[dragsvart]

But the real mystery is how it got there in the first place!

an adventurer comes across a magic item or two throughout their career that they really enjoy despite not having a direct combat us (like a +1 sword). it makes sense that when they die they would want to be entombed with those items.

[Once a Fool]

an adventurer comes across a magic item or two throughout their career that they really enjoy despite not having a direct combat us (like a +1 sword). it makes sense that when they die they would want to be entombed with those items.

Which suggests that the deceased fighter had a reason to be unusually attached to the folding boat. Plot hook!

[dragsvart]

Which suggests that the deceased fighter had a reason to be unusually attached to the folding boat. Plot hook!

maybe it was his first magic item, maybe it just tickled his tomato to find a boat in the middle of a landlocked desert during a ten year drought. maybe his grandmother gave it to him after winning it in a poker game with 2 of tiamat's heads, a modron in a trench coat, and a goblin named Nut...

[Once a Fool]

Or maybe it was a cursed folding boat and he simply wasn't capable of parting with it.

The point is, things that stand out as out of place add depth to the game. I would aim for that when placing magic items.

[dragsvart]

Or maybe it was a cursed folding boat and he simply wasn't capable of parting with it.

The point is, things that stand out as out of place add depth to the game. I would aim for that when placing magic items.

that's exactly what I'm trying to do

[Once a Fool]

that's exactly what I'm trying to do

And I wholeheartedly approve.

[dragsvart]

And I wholeheartedly approve.

the whole reason for this thread is to get input from others who might point out a good option that I might otherwise not think of

[Ninja_Prawn]

So we're agreed on the folding boat? It's a good choice that empowers your party to do things and go places they couldn't before, so they should enjoy that.

Now all it needs is a name!

How about... Rick's Agreement (courtesy of the Seventh Sanctum random ship name generator)? Adds an element of mystery and intrigue. Who was Rick? What did he agree to? What does that have to do with the boat?

[dragsvart]

So we're agreed on the folding boat? It's a good choice that empowers your party to do things and go places they couldn't before, so they should enjoy that.

Now all it needs is a name!

How about... Rick's Agreement (courtesy of the Seventh Sanctum random ship name generator)?

maybe, im still open to other ideas if you have any (or if anyone else has any as well)

[darkscizor]

The fighter happens to have a few clearly marked Potions of Healing sitting on a secret room's dusty shelf. Whether they're still drinkable or not is up to you, and I'd suggest using the mixed potions random effect table in the DMG if a PC drinks one.

[dragsvart]

The fighter happens to have a few clearly marked Potions of Healing sitting on a secret room's dusty shelf. Whether they're still drinkable or not is up to you, and I'd suggest using the mixed potions random effect table in the DMG if a PC drinks one.

that would be interesting, especially as the partly lacks anyone who can heal their wounds...

[Ninja_Prawn]

The fighter happens to have a few clearly marked Potions of Healing sitting on a secret room's dusty shelf. Whether they're still drinkable or not is up to you, and I'd suggest using the mixed potions random effect table in the DMG if a PC drinks one.

DM: "You drink the potion. It tastes kind of... stale. You see thick, grey fur grow all over your hands and arms."
PC1: "Help! I'm turning into a monster!"
DM, to other PCs: "He looks normal to you."

[dragsvart]

DM: "You drink the potion. It tastes kind of... stale. You see thick, grey fur grow all over your hands and arms."
PC1: "Help! I'm turning into a monster!"
DM, to other PCs: "He looks normal to you."

*evil DM laugh*

[Once a Fool]

Ooo! How about a pen that can scribe on its own, but only love letters? Oh, and a stack of unsent love letters.

Bonus points if the pen is actually in love with the intended recipient.

[Ralanr]

Ooo! How about a pen that can scribe on its own, but only love letters. Oh, and a stack of unsent love letters.

Bonus points if the pen is actually in love with the intended recipient.

This and the folding boat idea I support.

Also Maybe some darkvison goggles. Would make sense if the guy didn't have darkvison.

[Once a Fool]

Perhaps a shroud that prevents (or greatly slows) the decay of any corpse it covers? Which would certainly have been tossed aside or unceremoniously replaced during a previous ransacking.

[Once a Fool]

Or a Ring of Skeletal Butler Control. Grants control over, but not creation of, skeletal manservants.

[Elbeyon]

Throw away or sell the boat. Boats are nothing but trouble.*

*Player tip of the day.

[dragsvart]

Throw away or sell the boat. Boats are nothing but trouble.*

*Player tip of the day.

my players wont like that. one of them has been asking for a boat (or ship rather) since he was first introduced to d&d...

[Elbeyon]

Well, hopefully you don't make him regret it by forcing sea monsters upon him like so many other dms. He might just end up regretting it when the monsters of the deep start being annoying with all their water specializations.

[Seruvius]

Turns out the Hero was actually rather cowardly, but the secret chamber contains his secret weapon, his ring of heroism (like ring of jump, but constant immune to fear effect of the heroism spell, along with say 3 temporary hitpoints).
Maybe there is also some small sneaky weapons he could use in a tight situation, say a magical flick-knife or something. Nothing special, just magical and gives +1 damage, but has some strange carvings on it that can be used as an adventure hook.

[JAL_1138]

Tooting my own horn a bit, here, but I put this one up over on the Mostly Useless Magic Items homebrew thread if you're just looking for somwthing interesting to find rather than a major magic item reward:



Cup of Last Comfort: This badly-dented tin cup from an ancient legionary chaplain's field kit holds about 8 ounces of liquid. Any drink administered to a dying creature from this cup tastes pleasant, dulls all pain, and makes the imbiber vividly remember their happiest moments until the imbiber either dies or is healed by other means. It has no other effect, and does not affect creatures for whom death is not imminent.

[dragsvart]

Tooting my own horn a bit, here, but I put this one up over on the Mostly Useless Magic Items homebrew thread if you're just looking for somwthing interesting to find rather than a major magic item reward:

a very good thread that is, and I've already included an item from it in the tomb. I'd like to add something that might be slightly more that mostly useless for my players.

[Once a Fool]

How about a backscratcher that always hits exactly the right spot--and doubles as a set of thieve's tools?