PDA

View Full Version : Help with custom magic items



ClockworLegend
2017-12-27, 03:21 PM
Trying to create/edit a couple legendary magic items for my party to find. Im having trouble determining how powerful the items will be in game. I keep alternating between thinking the items need buffed or that they at too powerful and need nerfed. Any suggestions would be helpfull.

Zarec's Sin
Wondrous Item, legendary (requires attunement)

The restless spirit the archfiend Zarec is trapped inside this lantern. While holding the lantern, you can command the spirit as a bonus action to shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.

You can speak and understand infernal.

If you fall unconscious within 10 feet of the lantern, the spirit emerges from it, magically stabilizes you with a touch and grants 10 temporary hit points, and then quickly returns to the lantern.

The lantern has 8 charges, you can use an action to expend a number of charges to cast the following spells: Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Spare the Dying (at will); Unseen Servant, See Invisibility (1 charge); Death Ward (2 charges); Revivify, Soul Cage [with the exception the the user only get three uses of the captured soul, the remainder is consumed by Zarec] (3 charges). It regains all charges daily at dawn.

The spirit is bound to the lantern and can’t be harmed, turned, or raised from the dead. Only by traveling to Zarec's home plane in Baator and casting a dispel evil and good spell on the lantern. This releases the spirit of the fiend into the Nine Hells where it will be free to resume its true form and renders the lantern non-magical.



Quiver of Chaos

Wondrous Item, legendary (requires attunement)

An invisible chaotic void surrounds the Quiver of Chaos, preventing attempts to locate it or it's wearer through scrying, divination spells, or perceived through magical scrying sensors.

While attuned to the Quiver of Chaos the wearer’s base speed is increased by 10 feet.

This quiver holds 6 arrows, any arrows fired cannot be replaced until after a long rest. When you draw an arrow from this ornately designed quiver. Roll d100 and consult the following table to discover the effects of the arrow you draw.



1 The arrow was cursed! The arrow fuses to your hand until the curse is dispelled


2 The arrow is a rust monster antenna, if it hits it sticks to the armor of the enemy, giving them -1 to ac if they are wearing metal armor. If the target is a metal construct it takes (8d8) Damage, Its movement is halved, and it has disadvantage on dexterity saves, and attack rolls.


3 The arrow whistles, giving advantage on perception checks to spot the person that fires the arrow. there is no special effect other than that.


4 The arrow has the same effect as the shatter spell.


5-8 The target of the arrow must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15) or the target is banished to the positive energy plane for one round. Creatures that are not Constructs or Undead return at full health. Undead take 4d8 radiant damage while in the positive energy plane. On a successful save the arrow functions as a non-magical arrow.


9-16 The arrow allows the target to regain 1d12 hit points.


17-24 The arrow deals an additional 3d6 fire damage on a hit.


25-32 The arrow has the same effect as the thunderwave spell (save DC 15).


33-40 The arrow has a -4 penalty to attack rolls.


41-48 The arrow has a +4 bonus to attack rolls.


49-56 The arrow illuminates the area it hits, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. All creatures within the the bright light must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of its next turn.


57-64 On a hit, the target of this arrow must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.


65-73 The arrow is jagged, and cuts your hand dealing 1d4 slashing damage to you, and an extra 2d4 to the target.


74-80 The arrow is a flying snake. The arrow has a +2 bonus to attack rolls. On a hit, it deals its normal damage and an additional 3d4 poison damage (save DC 15). The snake remains for 1 minute and obeys your verbal commands.


81-84 The arrow is a mind flayer tentacle. The arrow has a +1 bonus to attack rolls. On a hit, the target must make a Wisdom saving throw, taking 3d8 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. On a failed save, you also always know the target's location for 1 hour, but only while the two of you are on the same plane of existence. While you have this knowledge, the target can't become hidden from you, and if it's invisible, it gains no benefits from this condition against you.



85-88 The arrow has the same effect as the irresistible dance spell (save DC 15).


89-96 The arrow fills a 100 cubic foot area with thick orange smoke. The smoke's area is heavily obscured.


97-98 The arrow creates an antimagic field in a sphere 50 feet in diameter centered on the arrow.


99 The target of this arrow must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be magically polymorphed into a frog for 1 minute, as though it had failed a save against the polymorph spell.


100 The arrow implodes on contact with the target, opening up a singularity. All creatures in a 10 foot radius must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On failed save this deals 10d10 force damage and creatures are pulled into the closest unoccupied space nearest the target of the arrow. On a successful save the targets take half damage and are not pulled.

King of Nowhere
2017-12-27, 05:51 PM
Trying to create/edit a couple legendary magic items for my party to find. Im having trouble determining how powerful the items will be in game. I keep alternating between thinking the items need buffed or that they at too powerful and need nerfed. Any suggestions would be helpfull.


First thing, you should specify which version you are using, and you should ask a mod to move this post to the appropriate sub-forum, because as it is it's confusing.

regarding custom items, my general suggestion is, unless an item is world-breaking, go for it. You can always tweak things later.



Zarec's Sin
Wondrous Item, legendary (requires attunement)

The restless spirit the archfiend Zarec is trapped inside this lantern. While holding the lantern, you can command the spirit as a bonus action to shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.

You can speak and understand infernal.

If you fall unconscious within 10 feet of the lantern, the spirit emerges from it, magically stabilizes you with a touch and grants 10 temporary hit points, and then quickly returns to the lantern.

The lantern has 8 charges, you can use an action to expend a number of charges to cast the following spells: Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Spare the Dying (at will); Unseen Servant, See Invisibility (1 charge); Death Ward (2 charges); Revivify, Soul Cage [with the exception the the user only get three uses of the captured soul, the remainder is consumed by Zarec] (3 charges). It regains all charges daily at dawn.

The spirit is bound to the lantern and can’t be harmed, turned, or raised from the dead. Only by traveling to Zarec's home plane in Baator and casting a dispel evil and good spell on the lantern. This releases the spirit of the fiend into the Nine Hells where it will be free to resume its true form and renders the lantern non-magical.


for a legendary artifact seems rather weak. it does nothing that you couldn't do in other ways, fairly easily. With the possible exceptions of revivify and soul cage, those are spells I'm not familiar with




Quiver of Chaos

Wondrous Item, legendary (requires attunement)

An invisible chaotic void surrounds the Quiver of Chaos, preventing attempts to locate it or it's wearer through scrying, divination spells, or perceived through magical scrying sensors.

While attuned to the Quiver of Chaos the wearer’s base speed is increased by 10 feet.

This quiver holds 6 arrows, any arrows fired cannot be replaced until after a long rest. When you draw an arrow from this ornately designed quiver. Roll d100 and consult the following table to discover the effects of the arrow you draw.

snip

depends. Can you take out an arrow, see what it does, and store it for later? if you can, then you can store a lot of extremely powerful arrows, and the object is obscenely powerful. If you cannot, then the object is too random to really be useful.