Help me adjust my cursed item set

[PhoenixPhyre]

Note: I've imported 4e's "bloodied" condition (at half health or lower). It has no other meaning other than as a marker/trigger for other effects.

This is designed as a high-risk/high-reward cursed item, something that the creating culture would want to scatter among the different tribes and only reassemble in great need (since for them it would make a powerful, uncontrollable warrior. The effects are cumulative as the number of pieces grows.

Beast-hide Panoply
Wondrous Item Set, rare (requires attunement shared for all pieces)
This set of equipment consists of a cloak of animal hide, roughly sewn together, a mask of hide and bone, boots of hide and sinew, and gloves missing the fingertips. All the pieces fit tightly except the cloak, which hangs to the ankles and twitches as if alive. All the pieces are blood red and occasionally weep drops of blood-like fluid.

The effect of the panoply grows as each piece is added. The effects do not depend on the specific pieces worn, merely the number worn concurrently.

When one piece is attuned, the wearer’s speed increases by 10 feet and they have advantage on perception checks made to find hidden creatures.

When a second piece is worn, the wearer also can extend claws. These claws allow the wearer to climb without spending extra movement or an ability check, even across slick surfaces. Additionally, when the wearer attacks with a one-handed weapon and has a hand free, they can attack with the other as a bonus action as if with a finesse weapon, dealing 1d6 + DEX/STR damage on a hit.

When a third piece is worn, the wearer gains resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage caused by non-silvered or non-magical weapons. Additionally, whenever the creature makes a death saving throw, they no longer critically fail on a 1, treat an 8 or higher as a success and a 19 or 20 as a critical success.

When a fourth piece is worn, the wearer regains hit points equal to their proficiency bonus whenever they damage a creature with a weapon attack.

Curse: This panoply is cursed with bloodlust. Whenever the wearer is made bloodied or when it bloodies an enemy, the wearer must make a Charisma saving throw against a DC that varies (see below). On a failed save, the wearer must immediately use its reaction to make an attack against the nearest creature (friend or foe) it can see. If there are no targets in range, it must use its reaction to move up to its speed directly toward the nearest creature.

The DC for this saving throw depends on the number of pieces worn. With 1 piece worn, the DC is 10. For every piece above that, the DC increases by 2 (to 16 for all four pieces).

[Man_Over_Game]

Overall, it's a bit too powerful.

Simplified, it's:

1 Piece: movement increased and can find hidden creatures.

2 Pieces: Enhanced climbing, basically gets the monk's unarmed attack bonus

3 Pieces: Basically get barbarian rage-esc defenses, and you almost never fail death saving throws (you can't die).

4 Pieces: Regain health when you attack things (works with the 2 piece bonus)

Penalties: When you or your enemy hits half health, spend a reaction to hit something nearby.
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Here's the issues I see. The set works too well with itself, as the 2-4 piece abilities all synergize. Combined, and you're basically stronger than getting 3 levels into Barbarian.

In addition, the "curse" can be more beneficial than negative. Consider this:

You take 10 damage, but your resistance cuts that to 5. You are now 2 less than Bloodied, and your ability activates. You're using a melee/tank focused set and you're bloodied, so you're likely in melee combat. You roll to save (can you opt to fail?), and you fail. You make your attack against a nearby target, regenerate 3 health, and after your turn, someone else bloodies you and you repeat this.

Your "punishment" is getting a free attack and regaining some health. If I'm the tank and I'm bloodied before entering melee combat, this curse won't be the reason that we get into a TPK.
Even if the punishment was worse, the benefits definitely outweighs almost any con of this set.

What I'd recommend instead is that each piece has its own minor benefit that all synergize, but also have their own curses, which also synergize.

The final concern is the attunement requirement. You can only attune to 3 magical items at a time, and this set uses four. If it counts as one item, it's definitely overpowered, but it's not possible to be used as is without doing so.

[Lalliman]

+1 to what Man_Over_Game said. In fact, I don't see the curse ever inflicting any serious problems. Your allies will know not to stand within 5 feet of you during battle. The worst that could happen is that you're forced to move in a direction you didn't want to go, but you won't even provoke opportunity attacks for it because if an enemy is close enough to attack you you'd almost certainly be moving towards them instead. I'm not sure how to fix it though. Making it movement followed by an attack would make it more dangerous, but only slightly. You might need a Berserker Axe style can't-stop-fighting mechanic to make the curse actually dangerous.

I also want to add that the death saving throw effect is needlessly complicated for what it does. You might as well just give advantage. It might also be suitable to add that this effect doesn't apply if you were brought to 0 HP by a silvered weapon.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Thanks both of you.

As for attunement, I'm thinking making it take up 2 attunement slots for the set and toning down the power of each piece.

I'll probably add a "berserk" clause to the curse like the berserker's axe except that the end clause would be "until you are incapacitated" instead of "starting turn with no creatures within 60 feet that you can see or hear." Looking at the Berserker's axe, I'll also raise the save DC (that one's 15 base).

The goal for this is to have something that the party has to decide whether to keep (and risk bad things happening) or give back to the tribe(s) that made it, knowing that it will turn a warrior into a berserk fiend. Unless they go out of their way to find all four pieces, they're unlikely to get more than 2 (one they're about to find and one that the friendly tribe has).

[ATHATH]

caused by non-silvered or non-magical weapons
Shouldn't that "or" be an "and"?

I support Lalliman's "Advantage on death saving throws" suggestion.

Yeah, the "curse" is really a benefit. Heck, I'd consider attuning to just one piece of the set for the curse ability a decent option (if no better magic items were available), especially on a Rogue (preferably one that can easily waffle between bloodied and non-bloodied) that can get off-turn SA damage with that curse's Reaction attack.

[PhoenixPhyre]

New version:

Changelog:
** requires a flat 2 attunement slots
** 1 piece now only gives movement bonus
** 2 pieces now only gives the attack option (not the spider-climb)
** 3 pieces now only gives the resistance (and reworded a bit)
** 4 pieces unchanged
** Curse now matches Berserker's Axe except it only ends if incapacitated, with DC starting at 14 +2 per piece beyond first.

Beast-hide Panoply
Wondrous Item Set, rare (requires 2 attunement slots regardless of number of pieces worn)
This set of equipment consists of a cloak of animal hide, roughly sewn together, a mask of hide and bone, boots of hide and sinew, and gloves missing the fingertips. All the pieces fit tightly except the cloak, which hangs to the ankles and twitches as if alive. All the pieces are blood red and occasionally weep drops of blood-like fluid.

The effect of the panoply grows as each piece is added. The effects do not depend on the specific pieces worn, merely the number worn concurrently.

When one piece is attuned, the wearer’s speed increases by 10 feet.

When a second piece is worn, the wearer also can extend claws. When the wearer attacks with a one-handed weapon and has a hand free, they can attack with the other as a bonus action as if with a finesse weapon, dealing 1d6 + DEX/STR damage on a hit.

When a third piece is worn, the wearer gains resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage caused by weapons that are not either silvered or magical.

When a fourth piece is worn, the wearer regains hit points equal to half their proficiency bonus whenever they damage a creature with a weapon attack.

Curse: This panoply is cursed with bloodlust. Whenever the wearer becomes bloodied or bloodies an enemy, the wearer must make a Charisma saving throw against a DC that varies (see below). On a failed save, the wearer must use its action on subsequent turns to attack the nearest creature, moving as necessary and using all available attacks (including Extra Attack). This state of bloodlust only ends when the wearer is incapacitated.
The DC for this saving throw depends on the number of pieces worn. With 1 piece worn, the DC is 14. For every piece above that, the DC increases by 2 (to 20 for all four pieces).

[Man_Over_Game]

With these changes, that's definitely a lot more in-line and frustrating to deal with.

My one gripe is the fact that it'd be a pain to deal with as a player, since I don't get any decisions if I hit half health or if I hit an enemy to half health. I basically just hope my friends have Sleep? And don't attack anything that's small (or I'll bloody it in a single hit).

[PhoenixPhyre]

With these changes, that's definitely a lot more in-line and frustrating to deal with.

My one gripe is the fact that it'd be a pain to deal with as a player, since I don't get any decisions if I hit half health or if I hit an enemy to half health. I basically just hope my friends have Sleep? And don't attack anything that's small (or I'll bloody it in a single hit).

It's supposed to be frustrating to deal with. Another option would be for your friends to beat you unconscious. In actual play I'd probably let it subside if there's nothing to kill around them for quite a while.

I'd rather they just give it back to the people who made it (or destroy it). It's a little bit of a lesson to not be so loot greedy. It also fits the area where they are--it's a demon-infested, screwed up city where they're fighting spider-demons on behalf of mutated cat people (who made the set out of demonically-altered beast skin in the first place, like the horror-type were creature).

[Man_Over_Game]

That's a fair point, I keep forgetting that this isn't an item that's intended to see use. I'd say this is a good finished product.

Although, as a player, I'd totally be packing a higher level spell slot just for Sleep and letting you do all the heavy lifting. I just have to be further than you than the nearest bad guy.

[PhoenixPhyre]

That's a fair point, I keep forgetting that this isn't an item that's intended to see use. I'd say this is a good finished product.

Although, as a player, I'd totally be packing a higher level spell slot just for Sleep and letting you do all the heavy lifting. I just have to be further than you than the nearest bad guy.

And that's a valid use. If they can figure out to do that, great!