Item sets: How to explain to players

[EggKookoo]

I'm thinking of creating some item sets for my players (or I suppose their characters -- my players can buy their own stuff). I have ideas for the sets themselves, based on previous high-level characters most of these players ran in years past. The idea is they're now playing in the same world their predecessors did but so far removed in time that their old characters kind of became legendary.

The sets themselves are not the problem. My trouble is figuring out how to communicate to the players that when they find a magic item it isn't just a standalone thing. MMOs handle this pretty easily since each item comes with a stat card, but I don't want to get too game-ish about it. We've never done sets before at my table. I imagine I can have them stumble across one item from the set, which would be a fairly decent item for them at their level at the time. Ok, it's a cool dagger with a black & silver animalistic motif. And then..?

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Is it overkill to build out a quest line for each set? Is it possible to really convey the concept of an item set without some level of metagaming (e.g. explaining to the player that there's a set and letting that percolate down to character motivation)?

[Millstone85]

In a previous thread, someone suggested that one of the perks of an item set could be a shared attunement slot.

What if, when a character attunes to one of the items, they get the feeling that the item is incomplete or lonely?

[nickl_2000]

The identify spell would certainly do it for you. If you don't like that you can do other things like

"The item has a sense of loneliness about it, giving you the feeling that it isn't whole" - This doesn't particularly make someone believe it is part of a set, but it does make them think that it can get more powerful.

You can also have them run into two of the items. When the second item is close to them, the PC attuned to the first item feel a psychic pull towards the second one.


The challenge here is that you are giving a lot of power to a single PC when they get the set. Other players may feel left out when only one person has a set and they haven't discovered any others.

[kamap]

Millstone85's idea is nice and you could give the items a certain look or a distinguishing feature like a mark on it, that reflects back to the previous character.
A character I'm playing now is named Nightbreeze, which is a flower and has that as a sigil. so if any of his items would be made into a set it could have that specific mark on every item.

[hymer]

When I was in your shoes, I made sure to put some foreshadowing in early on. I think I had an amazon legend, whose shield would light up if she raised the companion spear to throw it, blinding the enemy about to get hit. The spearhead was made from a tooth and the shield from the forehead of a dead titan, IIRC. I also generally had some items work better when you knew their history. The sword +1 became a dragon bane once you researched its history of belonging to a wyvern hunter, e.g. And, of course, I used this to highlight parts of the campaign world that would potentially become important in the future. The wyvern hunter's descendants still ruled the barony he had carved out.
The result was that the players were very interested in finding out more about their magical items, studying them directly, and taking them to sages to find out more. So whether through lore skills or through research of some sort, I'd use that to reveal that this item was part of a set.

This doesn't sit too well with 5e mechanics on identification of items, but I think the players could forgive you for that.

[dmteeter]

Have them find a book that talks about the legendary sets wielded by such and such heros

[Unoriginal]

Have a sage, scholar or another NPC who knows about magic items or folklore or history tell them about the story of the item and the ones which are linked to it.

Or have them find info about it when they're researching info for something else.

Or have books about those subjects in the world.

Or you could go "Items of Fate" from the Donjon series and have other people who have a part of the set seek the one the PC has.

Magic items have an impact on the world. It's only normal that the world remember those impacts.

Examples:

As the adventurers enter his apothecary shop seeking healing potions, a spark of excitement light in old Honorius's eyes, his gaze landing on a blade straight out of his mother's stories...

Grateful for the heroes' help, the goblins of Briarpatch give them the promised gold, and a leather-bound travel book titled "the Bear's Journeys", a compilation of songs from different sources about Bear Agaf's travels in search of different magic items

Gortan the Iron never found a weaponmaster willing to train him during his childhood, having grown dirt poor in the worst part of the city. Having joined the army as soon as he could, then became a mercenary, this giant of a man still harbor the desire to be one of the land's most famous fighters. His last employer gave him a magical mace as salary, telling some legend about its previous owner being famous for having other magic items. And in the tavern he is, some merchant just talked about a bunch of punks, one of them having an item that seems to fit his employer's description. Maybe this is the chance Gortan needed?

No one could say the tiefling Falva isn't ambitious. Having found the legendary ring of King Brut a few months back, this skilled fencer has been visiting all the sages, cunning folks, merchants of magic, informants and other libraries of the country that her finances allow, searching for the rest of the monarch's regalia. And words just came back that someone has found one...

High Priest Arman has a problem. Since the chapel near Daughingham has been pillaged, nearly 10 years ago, the church of Apollo has been in decline in the northern region, and as the High Priest is is his duty to fix this. If only someone could find the holy relics of Saint Yorr that were kept here. But they've been scattered to the four winds when the thieves fought each other over their loot and went their separate way. If only he could have a lead on where they are...

[EggKookoo]

Great ideas.

I did see the reference to attunement applying to the entire set. I suppose I could homebrew it so that you can only attune to a piece of the set if none of the pieces are currently attuned, and attuning to one piece prevents attunement of another by another creature. That alone could be a hook -- the character finds a piece but for some reason can't attune to it and learns there's another piece relatively nearby that someone else (preferably a villain-ish creature) has already attuned to. That's a mini-quest right there.


The challenge here is that you are giving a lot of power to a single PC when they get the set. Other players may feel left out when only one person has a set and they haven't discovered any others.

My plan is to have sets for all the PCs, and each will get one piece before any further pieces are revealed. Not all sets will have the same number of pieces but I don't think that will be a problem.

[Kadesh]

Simplest is when attuned to by the same character could get +1 Attunement slot after the first item.

The item could signify it was within range of another item through some sensory feedback - either literally telepathy or imparting of its knowledge, or a something like a glowing rune, making a noise, or heat increase until you attune to it.

Alternatively, it could provide visions of other item locations.

Our DM has done similar with the set items from Diablo, where we were hunting them down, and he provided us each with a daily clairvoyance on the dungeon location. It was then part of our task to find that location by whatevers means necessary.

Say for example, I had a suit of armour: I got visions that lead me to a set of gloves and a helmet eventually. When I equipped gloves, I got Tier 2, and Tier 3 for the helmet and gloves.

The benefits were:
Mithril Mail Shirt: Grants proficiency to those able to cast Animate Dead
- When I cast Mage Armor, I can animate the bones out of the corpses of medium humanoid creatures within 30ft, up to a number no greater than my prociency modifier. While Mage Armour is active, my AC is further increased by a number equal to my Proficiency Modifier.
- While Mage Armour is active and I have animated bones surrounding me, wjener I take damage, the damage is reduced by the number of corpses bones currently animated.
- Enemy creatures within 10ft of me at the start of their turn or the first time they move into the area in their turn while Mage Armour is active and I have animated bones surrounding me take bludgeoning damage equal to the number of corpses animated.

Running as a Grave of Inarius set, for reference.

The gear itself could always show a common link. Say for example, you could have the Druids armour look like it is made from leaves, while the God specific armour shows the same markings of the god.

[jiriku]

The simplest in-world method is for a NPC to recognize the item as a member of a set and communicate that history to the PC.

Something like: "Oh you have Thorgar's shield! I know the legend of this shield. When matched with his belt and breastplate, Thorgar became untouchable in battle. Alas, he was slain with a cup of poisoned wine and his possessions were stolen by the assassin. It's anyone's guess where the belt or breastplate might be now."

Alternately, you can just give this info to a bard PC or to a player with proficiency in Arcana or History. "Your character knows the legend of Thorgar's Bulwark and recognizes this shield as Thorgar's shield. Here, I wrote the legend down for you."

[ImproperJustice]

Dreams and visions are always a good resource for this kinda thing.

[Jerrykhor]

'You found a single magic boot for the left foot. You are very certain that there is another one for the right foot.'

[EggKookoo]

'You found a single magic boot for the left foot. You are very certain that there is another one for the right foot.'

Boots of Limping. I like!

[Arkhios]

In a film noir/dark fantasy setting I run, I made a paired set of swords for my players to find at some point (they haven't found them yet).

When separated, they both act like Swords of Vengeance, but if two different individuals are attuned to them at the same time, those individuals are pulled together by an invisible "tether" that connects the two swords. Once brought together, their curse is suppressed for as long as they are in the possession of one individual. In addition, both swords become +2 swords, and deal extra damage whenever the person hits with both weapons during one turn.

It was intended to be a plot-hook, as I have placed the other sword in the possession of a certain villainous individual, while the other is in a secret location the players may be able to stumble upon.

There's also a specific method to lift the curse for good, and it's related to the sword's past, and how they came to be cursed in the first place.

The previous owner of the swords was one of the region's great heroes of old, who was felled in battle against overwhelming odds. When overcome by his foes, in his death-throes he inadvertently bound his soul into the swords by swearing that vengeance would be exacted upon his enemies, either in this life or the next. The tether that connects the swords is the hero's soul itself, and if the players manage to find a way to free his spirit, he will grant the players a boon, in addition to lifting the curse of course.

[Pelle]

'You found a single magic boot for the left foot. You are very certain that there is another one for the right foot.'

I love doing the same with Sending Stones. Find one on the body of a dead adventurer outside some gate in a dungeon, what happened to the other?

I don't think you need to telegraph that the items get a bonus when combined, as long as it is clear that they belong together.

[EggKookoo]

I don't think you need to telegraph that the items get a bonus when combined, as long as it is clear that they belong together.

That's actually the core of my problem (well, maybe "challenge" is a better word). I want to convey that the pieces they come across have connections to other parts in the set, but I don't want QUEST FOR ALL THE SETS to become the focus of the game.

[Pelle]

That's actually the core of my problem (well, maybe "challenge" is a better word). I want to convey that the pieces they come across have connections to other parts in the set, but I don't want QUEST FOR ALL THE SETS to become the focus of the game.

Then you need to make them stand out from normal versions, to make it easy to recognize when two items share a background. You find a dagger of a particular design, and then later find a similar one, likely made by the same smith according to the rune inscriptions. You find a helmet laquered with pink paint, and then later a matching breastplate. Relating for example an axe and a shield is harder and can be more contrived. Yes, now the real challenge may be stopping the players from dropping everything they hold to go looking for more parts.

[TristanLeo]

Have the item set be Semi-Sentient or watched over by the spirit of the creator/ Notable wielder.
If the weapon is sentient, it could hum or express a desire to go a certain direction. Perhaps the party are given 2 quests, the item may hum or resonate with the choice that draws it closer to it's other parts.
If it's watched over by it's creator/ Notable wielder, perhaps it's not immediately evident that it's special, but a particularly heroic deed or noble act might stir the spirit into revealing itself and discussing the truth in the hopes that the wielder once again puts the equipment to good use.

[EggKookoo]

After thinking more about this, I have an approach that might work to create a sense of increasing power with a set. Along the lines of superiority or inspiration dice, what about giving set dice to a set of items?

Set dice: Each item in a set grants one or more set dice. These dice can be used as part of various features of the set, as described by each item. Set dice are cumulative and go toward an overall pool. While they are granted by individual items, their use is not limited to those items but can be applied to any item in the set. A creature can only have dice from one set at a time, even if the creature possesses items from more than one set. There is no limit to how many set dice can be used at once. Any spent set dice are restored after completing a long rest, until all items in a set are equipped by a single creature, at which point set dice are restored after completing a short or long rest.

So the general idea is, you get, say, a weapon that grants one d6 as its set die, and you can use that die to add to the damage. Once you use the die, it's gone until you finish a long rest. Then you get another item from the set that grants another d6, and has a feature that uses it. Once you have those two items, your set dice pool is 2d6 and you can apply the dice to either item's "set die" feature. So you could add 2d6 to the weapon's damage, or apply both d6 dice to whatever the second item's set die feature is. While it's true that if your set has five items your set die pool is 5d6. That can seem pretty powerful, but you can only use each die once between rests, and by the time you get all five pieces you're probably a tier 3 (possibly tier 2) character and a one-time use of 5d6 isn't so bad.

The boost to getting the dice back after a short rest is kind of like a capstone ability to encourage the collection of the entire set. But generally this makes each piece in the set become more powerful as you acquire them, and for the most part means it doesn't matter which order you find them in (in terms of power).

So, for example, something from my upcoming campaign. Just playing around with this now but unless I'm missing something that would make it utterly broken, I'll flesh it out for a bunch of sets geared toward the different classes my players are thinking about using.


Eclipse

Eclipse (trickery, knowledge) was a dark trickster, known for his sadistic sense of humor. Eclipse's pranks typically were not meant to teach the subject a lesson, as they were almost always lethal. Instead, the victim's fate served as a warning to others.

In person, Eclipse was most often a lean male elf (or possibly half-elf) of dark complexion and long, wild hair. However, he was an expert in altering his appearance, even sometimes doing so magically before others' eyes. Those who interacted with him often had difficulty recalling the details of his appearance afterward.

Followers of Eclipse encourage people to fall prey to their own foolishness. While generally not as unrelentingly lethal as their patron, his followers still show little mercy for those who, in their estimation, are deserving of their own fate.

Shadow Claw

Weapon (shortsword), set (Eclipse, requires set attunement). Set die: 1d6

The Shadow Claw is a steel and black shortsword with a lupine motif. The blade is subtly curved to resemble a wolf's fang, and the handle is wrapped in gray fur. The overall design is light but aggressive. The flat of the blade has three parallel etches near the crossguard on both sides that look not unlike stylized claw marks.

Shadow Striker: If you attack with the Shadow Claw while in darkness or dim light, you gain a bonus to your attack and damage rolls equal to one half of your proficiency bonus (round down). Whenever you use this feature and your attack is successful, you can add your set dice to the damage roll.

Duskwrap

Wondrous item, set (Eclipse, requires set attunement). Set die: 1d6

This wide cloth and leather belt appears to be simply made at first glance, but close examination reveals a smoke or cloud motif embroidered on the cloth sections. The leather trim has a circular embossing pattern running along the edge. Over the course of roughly thirty days, the circles gradually "fill up" (becoming solid circles) and "empty out" (becoming rings or empty circles). This change is too slow to observe in action.

Dusky Defense: If you take damage from any source while you are in darkness or dim light, you can opt to receive no damage instead. You must take a short or long rest before using this feature again. Alternately, if you take damage (under any lighting condition) that reduces you to below one-half of you maximum hit points, you can use your reaction to roll your set dice and recover an amount of hit points equal to the result, up to your maximum.

Scarsplints

Wondrous item, set (Eclipse, requires set attunement). Set die: 1d6

These leather bracers have a feral design to them. Dense short charcoal fur covers the padding along outside of the forearm. The backs of the hands sport authentic, if cosmetic, wolf claws. The shape of the bracers and of their straps and buckles is organic and irregular, suggesting more something of sinew and tendon than manufactured fastenings.

Defense: While wearing the Scarsplints, you gain +1 to your AC as long as you are not incapacitated.

Loss of Heart: When you make a melee attack and score a critical hit, you can hear a faint, distant howling -- and so can your target. The target has disadvantage on saving throws made to avoid being frightnened by you. This effect lasts until the end of your next turn.

Claw Strike: When you make a successful unarmed attack, you may add your set dice to the damage incurred. The claws on the back of the bracers magically extend and inflict this extra amount as slashing damage.

Dagger of the Mind

Wondrous item, set (Eclipse, requires attunement). Set die: 1d6

This four inch long, silver ornamental dagger is gleamingly beautiful, so much so that a creature looking closely at it and catching its own reflection tends to stare, mesmerized. It is not durable or sharp enough to use as a weapon, and has a loop mounted at the pommel so it can be hung around the neck on a chain.

Recall Revision: You can attempt to erase yourself from the thoughts of a creature. Use your action to select one creature you can see within 30'. That creature must succeed with a WIS check, DC equal to 8 + your STR or DEX modifier (your choice) + your proficiency bonus, or lose all memory of you up to that point. You must hold the Dagger with at least one free hand, as you are "conducting surgery" on the target's mind. The creature need not see you, and using this feature does not cause you to lose hidden status if you have it. Regardless if its check is successful, the creature becomes immune to further uses of this feature until after it completes a long rest, at which time any memories obscured by the Dagger return (possibly including that you modified them).

Iron Will: You resist psychic damage. In addition, whenever you make a CHA, WIS, or INT check or saving throw, you can add your set dice to the result of your roll.


Any thoughts?