Cursed Item Help

[Kyo003]

So I have an idea for a weapon to give to one of my overpowered players. The player being overpowered because I let him dump his int/wis/cha (6) to max his str/dex/con (18/20 racial)

It's a magical weapon of (type) that has +2 to hit and gives resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, piercing, however it also forces the wielder to take the same damage that has been dealt (halved because resistance). Resistance is gained by wielding said item once, and each wielding gains one use of resistance up to a max of 3, each use expiring after a long rest or 24 hours.

The problem being the player I want to give it to is a Barb so I'm going to need something other than resistance (we can keep the half damage received though).

Also I'm unsure of whether the drawback is sufficient to curb the player, and keep the item from OP status.

Yes I know I can use spell saves and junk to circumvent, but I'm lazy sometimes and don't want to put in that work for every encounter.

[Douche]

I wouldn't use that item.

[Dralnu]

You want to "curb" the overpowered barbarian's power by giving him an item that will make him even more powerful in combat? Uh... what exactly is it that you want to accomplish again?

So look, you don't like how powerful a character is in combat, but you don't want to alter combat encounters to specifically prey upon that character's weakness? Then what you want to do is give the other characters magic item buffs to make them stronger, then just increase the CR of your combat encounters. All done.

Though with my impressions from the first post, I will caution not to start handing out legendary magic items of godlike powers to everyone. Just a +1 or +2 weapon/armor to folks that aren't the barbarian. Don't go crazy.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Foisting a cursed sword onto a character to artificially curb their power is a clumsy fudge that I would strongly discourage.

Targetting one character for special treatment will not go down with most players. The barbarian might feel that you're making it personal, or that you are punishing them for being good at building a character.
Using cursed weapons like this is a cheap 'gotcha' that is not fun for anyone.
Once the character figures out the sword's cursed, they'll just get rid of it and you'll be back where you started.
Throwing amounts of HP damage at a PC that scale based on the amount they're dealing to monsters is dangerous. Monster stat blocks have lots of HP and low damage outputs; PCs have less HP and more damage output. Allowing PC abilities to determine damage dealt to PCs is very dangerous.
It doesn't even make sense. Barbarians already have resistance to physical damage. What's the point of making it a feature of the sword?

[SpawnOfMorbo]

So I have an idea for a weapon to give to one of my overpowered players. The player being overpowered because I let him dump his int/wis/cha (6) to max his str/dex/con (18/20 racial)

It's a magical weapon of (type) that has +2 to hit and gives resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, piercing, however it also forces the wielder to take the same damage that has been dealt (halved because resistance). Resistance is gained by wielding said item once, and each wielding gains one use of resistance up to a max of 3, each use expiring after a long rest or 24 hours.

The problem being the player I want to give it to is a Barb so I'm going to need something other than resistance (we can keep the half damage received though).

Also I'm unsure of whether the drawback is sufficient to curb the player, and keep the item from OP status.

Yes I know I can use spell saves and junk to circumvent, but I'm lazy sometimes and don't want to put in that work for every encounter.

You realize that if all a Barbarian is doing is damage then they really aren't that OP.

Use of tactics, the environment, and challenging enemies is the best way to deal with a character that does HP damage... Just like in 3e and 4e.

Unless you are in a featureless room for all your battles, slowing down martial characters is quite simple.

edit

Also, listen to Ninja_Prawn

[Kyo003]

You want to "curb" the overpowered barbarian's power by giving him an item that will make him even more powerful in combat? Uh... what exactly is it that you want to accomplish again?

So look, you don't like how powerful a character is in combat, but you don't want to alter combat encounters to specifically prey upon that character's weakness? ExactlyThen what you want to do is give the other characters magic item buffs to make them stronger, then just increase the CR of your combat encounters. All done.Not so simple, because that's just going to introduce more problems which I would like to avoid.

Though with my impressions from the first post, I will caution not to start handing out legendary magic items of godlike powers to everyone. Just a +1 or +2 weapon/armor to folks that aren't the barbarian. Don't go crazy. I'm trying to avoid going past +1 until their closer to double digits in levels. My understanding is that 5e was balanced like AD&D were +2 is rare and +3 becomes legendary


Foisting a cursed sword onto a character to artificially curb their power is a clumsy fudge that I would strongly discourage. I didn't say this was an elegant solution which is why I'm asking for advice

Targetting one character for special treatment will not go down with most players. The barbarian might feel that you're making it personal, or that you are punishing them for being good at building a character. Making encounters to target the player is the same. You think maybe this player is going to be just as, if not more pissed about every encounter suddenly having mages with crowd control spells that target him?
Using cursed weapons like this is a cheap 'gotcha' that is not fun for anyone. Which is why I added the pro of resistance that I'm asking for an alternative to. This is not a bag of devouring and "oops looks like you have no equipment anymore"
Once the character figures out the sword's cursed, they'll just get rid of it and you'll be back where you started. Which is the reason for resistance, which I'm asking advice on alternatives
Throwing amounts of HP damage at a PC that scale based on the amount they're dealing to monsters is dangerous. Monster stat blocks have lots of HP and low damage outputs; PCs have less HP and more damage output. Allowing PC abilities to determine damage dealt to PCs is very dangerous. The idea was not to tit for tat the barbs damage, but to make him hesitate into other options than running up and smacking. He will still be able to smack and I don't have to throw monsters with damage so high that it hurts him or one shots everyone else
It doesn't even make sense. Barbarians already have resistance to physical damage. What's the point of making it a feature of the sword? Which is a point I specifically made in my OP.


You realize that if all a Barbarian is doing is damage then they really aren't that OP.

Use of tactics, the environment, and challenging enemies is the best way to deal with a character that does HP damage... Just like in 3e and 4e.

Unless you are in a featureless room for all your battles, slowing down martial characters is quite simple.

edit

Also, listen to Ninja_Prawn I'm running 3 to 5 hour sessions starting at 10 pm, which I mention because I'm not running on a full tank after having spent the day with my family prior to "me time". I would like the players to have multiple encounters during each session without killing myself to make each and every one "tricksy" just for one player. Yes simple if you're only ever doing one knock down drag out to cap a session, but that's not what I want to do "every session"

I understand that the player did what he wanted and I'm the one who allowed it. However I'm looking into alternatives that won't kill the rest of the party, make every fight about him, take away his options (oops you been sleeped/blinded/dazed/webbed YET AGAIN, enjoy not having anything to do during combat), or the ultimate step of telling him to "make another character".

[SpawnOfMorbo]

I'm running 3 to 5 hour sessions starting at 10 pm. I would like the players to have multiple encounters during each session without killing myself to make each and every one "tricksy" just for one player. Yes simple if you're only ever doing one knock down drag out to cap a session, but that's not what I want to do "every session"

I understand that the player did what he wanted and I'm the one who allowed it. However I'm looking into alternatives that won't kill the rest of the party, make every fight about him, take away his options (oops you been sleeped/blinded/dazed/webbed YET AGAIN, enjoy not having anything to do during combat), or the ultimate step of telling him to "make another character".

The time and length of the game doesn't really matter. If you can't DM it and put your all into it, why are you DMing? The thing about running games is that you NEED to plan out for each player and challenge them or else, what's the point of being a character in the world if the world doesn't react to my character?

If I'm known for charging wouldn't enemies start to learn about Reswob "The Herzrou" who charges into battle like a demon?

Also, spell conditions wasn't what I was talking about.

You can use spells and stuff if you like, but I'm primarily talking about basic tactics that require very little tricks or misdirections.

Party comes into a room, the room is filled with stacked crates. The pirates (because we are on a pirate ship that is rocking back and forth or on a dock or something) are hiding behind different levels and different areas of the crates attacking the party. The barbarian, being a melee type, will need to climb and jump his way across to different sections. Ranged types can just ready actions for when the pirates leap our to shoot at them.

The barbarian will most likely be really really good at jumping, which he will need to do to more quickly move from one area to another. However this will slow him down without the need for standard difficult terrain or difficult terrain for the sake of difficult terrain.

Give the barbarian some times where he can leap from the top of a stack of crates and absolutely murderlate a pirate who didn't really expect him to jump.

Make the crates easily destroyed by the barbarian or anyone else strength based (when attacking with weapons) this will allow the barbarian, if they get angry about jumping) able to start going directly through the crates to get to pirates or make it where the crates fall (with pirates on top). Others can do this to.

[Safety Sword]

Awesome stuff

This is how you challenge players.

You make interesting scenario-based encounters that make them use up resources (actions are resources) to achieve their goals.

In the scenario SpawnOfMorbo presented you could also have the ship be a lair. As in, it has a lair action of "Roll" or "Pitch". That might cause all characters inside to make a check or a save to avoid some effect.

Pirates, the crafty devils, are quite used to the ebb and flow of ships in a storm and might be exempt or have advantage on these rolls.

In this way you make the combat more interesting without adding too much complexity or targeting a specific player character.

If your Barbarian is destroying your encounters then your barbarian might need specific enemies that counter it.

Pirate sorcerers come to mind.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

This is how you challenge players.

You make interesting scenario-based encounters that make them use up resources (actions are resources) to achieve their goals.

In the scenario SpawnOfMorbo presented you could also have the ship be a lair. As in, it has a lair action of "Roll" or "Pitch". That might cause all characters inside to make a check or a save to avoid some effect.

Pirates, the crafty devils, are quite used to the ebb and flow of ships in a storm and might be exempt or have advantage on these rolls.

In this way you make the combat more interesting without adding too much complexity or targeting a specific player character.

If your Barbarian is destroying your encounters then your barbarian might need specific enemies that counter it.

Pirate sorcerers come to mind.

Thank you, I just came up with that on the spot and was a little worried it came out wrong. :)

But, lair actions, absolutely perfect!

Rolling barrels and crates, net traps with more barrels and crates, and even pirates hiding in the barrels and crates!

Sorcerer with misty step keeps jumping from barrel to barrel Scooby Doo style... All while jumping up and attacking the party as allies engage them too.

After a while the pirate will do something that makes the ship sink, rather the ship go down and take the PCs than let them take the ship. She or He will get away on the pet shark (named bubbles).

Recurring villain!

[Safety Sword]

Thank you, I just came up with that on the spot and was a little worried it came out wrong. :)

But, lair actions, absolutely perfect!

Rolling barrels and crates, net traps with more barrels and crates, and even pirates hiding in the barrels and crates!

Sorcerer with misty step keeps jumping from barrel to barrel Scooby Doo style... All while jumping up and attacking the party as allies engage them too.

After a while the pirate will do something that makes the ship sink, rather the ship go down and take the PCs than let them take the ship. She or He will get away on the pet shark (named bubbles).

Recurring villain!

If we weren't actually a half a world away, I think you and I would have a great game together SpawnOfMobo :smallbiggrin:

[SpawnOfMorbo]

If we weren't actually a half a world away, I think you and I would have a great game together SpawnOfMobo :smallbiggrin:

Well if you are in Europe, give me about 4 or 5 years, that's when my wife will be applying for her post-doc over there...

But I totally agree, the pirate sorcerer adventures would be grand!

[RickAllison]

On an unrelated note, it might be best to avoid using red writing. On this site, it's generally used to indicate someone is using their moderator voice, and it is handy for the community to have the instant knowledge of "red=cut the crap". It is not a rule (as far as I know), but more common courtesy.

[Safety Sword]

Well if you are in Europe, give me about 4 or 5 years, that's when my wife will be applying for her post-doc over there...

But I totally agree, the pirate sorcerer adventures would be grand!

Unfortunately I live in one of the European colonies. Australia.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Unfortunately I live in one of the European colonies. Australia.

Damn, wrong way...

[Kyo003]

The time and length of the game doesn't really matter. If you can't DM it and put your all into it, why are you DMing? The thing about running games is that you NEED to plan out for each player and challenge them or else, what's the point of being a character in the world if the world doesn't react to my character?

If I'm known for charging wouldn't enemies start to learn about Reswob "The Herzrou" who charges into battle like a demon?

Also, spell conditions wasn't what I was talking about.

You can use spells and stuff if you like, but I'm primarily talking about basic tactics that require very little tricks or misdirections.

Party comes into a room, the room is filled with stacked crates. The pirates (because we are on a pirate ship that is rocking back and forth or on a dock or something) are hiding behind different levels and different areas of the crates attacking the party. The barbarian, being a melee type, will need to climb and jump his way across to different sections. Ranged types can just ready actions for when the pirates leap our to shoot at them.

The barbarian will most likely be really really good at jumping, which he will need to do to more quickly move from one area to another. However this will slow him down without the need for standard difficult terrain or difficult terrain for the sake of difficult terrain.

Give the barbarian some times where he can leap from the top of a stack of crates and absolutely murderlate a pirate who didn't really expect him to jump.

Make the crates easily destroyed by the barbarian or anyone else strength based (when attacking with weapons) this will allow the barbarian, if they get angry about jumping) able to start going directly through the crates to get to pirates or make it where the crates fall (with pirates on top). Others can do this to.

Because in my hubris I figured 12 years of consecutive DMing experience was more than enough to jump back into the saddle after 5 years of no more imaginative stimulation that excel spreadsheets or trying to figure out if the childrens crying is poopy diapers, hunger, or lack of sleep. Not working so well when the gears are rusty and the GM style being low prep/high improvisation.

Plus I was the only one with experience behind the screen, and or willing to run for a group of 14 spread across the globe with the kind of schedules that mean I usually only get 2 to 6 person sessions.

I appreciate the example, unfortunately I'm running some old school modules as crutches until I'm firing on all cylinders and "tactics" so far have meant tpks in the last 2 sessions. (I have 10 flasks of oil, me too!; let's all run away in opposite directions that aren't the exit after waking up this entire kobold colony)


This is how you challenge players.

You make interesting scenario-based encounters that make them use up resources (actions are resources) to achieve their goals.

In the scenario SpawnOfMorbo presented you could also have the ship be a lair. As in, it has a lair action of "Roll" or "Pitch". That might cause all characters inside to make a check or a save to avoid some effect.

Pirates, the crafty devils, are quite used to the ebb and flow of ships in a storm and might be exempt or have advantage on these rolls.

In this way you make the combat more interesting without adding too much complexity or targeting a specific player character.

If your Barbarian is destroying your encounters then your barbarian might need specific enemies that counter it.

Pirate sorcerers come to mind.

I hadn't thought about area hazards/lair actions. Thanks.


On an unrelated note, it might be best to avoid using red writing. On this site, it's generally used to indicate someone is using their moderator voice, and it is handy for the community to have the instant knowledge of "red=cut the crap". It is not a rule (as far as I know), but more common courtesy.

What color is recommended? I was trying to avoid abuse the quote function, and the tedium of it on my part.

[RickAllison]

What color is recommended? I was trying to avoid abuse the quote function, and the tedium of it on my part.

Totally understandable. Blue seems to be accepted as sarcasm, and a few other colors have long-standing, but very specific usage. Honestly, avoiding red (for mods) and blue (for sarcasm) are the only things you would even need to worry about, and even blue is more so people don't think you're being facetious rather than courtesy. Excellent topic, by the way.