Treasure Award/Magic Item Set Design

[Knyghte.Fall]

The party recently survived a very difficult battle with multiple water elementals and a fairly powerful (for them) mage. The party consists of three low level characters (Barbarian, Druid and Rogue, all level 3).

I've come up with the following two items:

Agathys Bracers: Once per short rest, you can invoke the power of these bracers to cast Armor of Agathys at 2nd level.

Ice Dagger: Treat this weapon as a normal dagger. Once per long rest, the dagger becomes an Ice Knife and is the equivalent of a 2nd level casting of the spell.

I'd like to come up with a third item, water/ice-themed, that has some sort of utility function/effect.

When a person has two of the three items, they are granted the ability to cast Absorb Elements at 2nd level once per long rest.

What would be a good power/feature for having all three set items? Another use of any of the 'lesser' features?

As these items are part of a set, they only cost one attunement "slot", regardless of how many items in the set they have. Note, in order for the set powers to work, the bearer must still spend time attuning the set items. In other words, a player can't just hand the dagger to another player and have the second player be able to use the Absorb Elements feature.

Thoughts?

[Metamorph]

How about the Water Elementals feat waterform or being able to speak aquan?

Don't you think that 'just' 1 slot might be a bit to cheap if there is a possibility for an additional set bonus?

[CantigThimble]

How many magic items are you planning on loading this party up with? Most parties I've been in only had a handful of interesting magic items between them and loading all of them up on one person would have been kind of unfair to everyone else. Encouraging that seems like a bad idea.

[UrielAwakened]

Don't listen to them this sounds fun.

You could do something like Control Water for one of the additional items. And then if you have all three, the ability to summon a Water Elemental once per day seems fine.

I'd drop the effect for having two items though. Just seems excessive. Sharing an attunement slot is enough of a reward for having two.

[Metamorph]

Do not get me wrong. I also like the idea of sets and I also use them, but as it was told before it could be depressing if you just give one player a whole set and do not drop magic items again for weeks.

Furthermore if they are level 3 this is a huge boost of power and possibilities, but the attunement so you are not like in 3.5 someone who has so many magic items that he forgets some of them or gets absurd power through the sheer mass of items.

Due to this, I would also give those things one more required attunement slot (if one of those items wouldn't need attunement I guess I would take it away from the dagger).

@UrielAwakened:

I completly agree that those items sound great and could be fun, I just want to show that this could raise problems in the future. If there are more sets like this or generally even better items then this set, it seems fine none the less.

In the end it depends on the campaign setting, how often you give out magic items and most important: Do you think your players will love those (whoever will get them) or will they start fighting each other? If you are okay with it just drop those items ;)

[UrielAwakened]

I mean ideally you want to space out when these items are acquired, rather than giving them to the party consecutively. Dropping them once every 2-3 levels is the best approach.

Also you have to be generous with items in general in your campaign for such an idea to work which I assume is the case here.

[Vogie]

Another option is once all of the items are combined, they can transform into a single slotless trinket, or the other 2 items can be combined into the first (for example, the Agathys Bracers can magically hold the Ice Knife, then summon it as a bonus action; or an Ice Knife that allows the player to cast AoA, et cetera).

Potential Water/Ice Utility items

Ring of hydration: This ring continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment, and cast Create/Destroy Water once per short rest
Whaleskin Armor: This Hide Armor gives the wearer water breathing and a swim speed equal to their swim speed and the ability to dash as a bonus action while in the water.
Circlet of the Deep: This amulet allows the wearer to cast Commune with Nature as a Ritual
Divining Rod: This Rod provides Advantage on Wisdom (Survival) Checks for finding bodies of water, grave sites, & metal deposits, and allows the bearer to cast Control Water, Speak with Dead, and Stone Shape (each) up to once per Long rest
Riverstaff Ring: When you submerge the hand wearing this ring into at least 1 gallon of water, you draw out a quarterstaff or club made of your choice of either animated water or ice. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. It deals 2d8 cold damage on a hit. If a staff form is chosen, it has the finesse property; if a club form is chosen, it has the light property. The weapon turns back into a puddle of water if you draw it again or if you let go of the weapon.
Quicksand Cloak: The exterior of the cloak is an extradimensional space filled with water and sand. Each time a creature of the wearer’s size or smaller attempts to grapple the wearer, it must succeed at a DC 15 Dexterity save or fail at the attempt and be engulfed by quicksand . Every round it’s trapped in the extradimensional space, the trapped creature must make a Athletics check (DC 15) to climb out, landing prone adjacent to the wearer. A creature that fails its Athletics 5 or more submerges and begins to drown. A creature that succeeds at the initial save grapples the wearer normally, and doesn’t need to save again unless the wearer escapes and the creature tries to grapple the wearer again.
RimeStaff: This staff allow you to substitute any magical damage type, other than psychic, with either cold damage on spells you cast. Once per turn when you roll damage for a spell that deals cold damage, you can reroll the damage dice and use either total.

[Knyghte.Fall]

Holy cow, these are great ideas!

I intend to be somewhat generous with magic items during the campaign. We play weekly and average one permanent magic item every 2 weeks. There are three party members and each member has one permanent item at week six of the campaign. There will definitely be better items down the road. Also, as no one has Identify, it's likely it'll be a while before they figure that the items are part of a set.


I'd drop the effect for having two items though. Just seems excessive. Sharing an attunement slot is enough of a reward for having two.

Agreed.


How about the Water Elementals feat Waterform...

Actually, for the Rogue, that could be hella fun! Pour yourself through/under/around a door/portcullis or across a moat...

Rather than quote the entirety of Vogie's post, let me just say, I think these are all very cool items/ideas and I'm taking all of them ;). My favorite from the list if the Circlet of the Deep, with the Riverstaff Ring as a close second!

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions!