Help Me Curse My Player

[Dr paradox]

So, my players are exploring a silver mine, ransacked and abandoned nearly eight centuries previously, and they come to a room where, on a whim, I include a bone-handled handaxe left embedded in a termite-eaten workbench. Mostly this is just as an opportunity to give some foreshadowing to the types of monster that overran the area, so I describe the savage workmanship, the grip crafted from cured ligaments, and the head a gnarly hunk of jagged black iron, almost stone-age in appearance -

"The iron is still black? It hasn't rusted?"

Er. Right. Up to this point I'd been very clear in describing the age of everything - the wood is disintegrated, collapsed, or on the verge of collapse, the iron is rusted nearly through, the silver bears a heavy blue patina, the buildings outside have nothing left but the walls and a heap of collapsed stone. I missed this on the axe, and they immediately picked up on it.

"So it could be magical?"

Yes, I decide. It is. It'll probably even have some beneficial effect - but at what price? My player pries it out of the bench in a shower of dust, and for a moment they feel as if the handle was covered in beetles, worms, and centipedes which scuttle between their fingers, but the sensation abates in less than a second. They've got reservations, but they keep it overnight, and use it in a battle the next day. This axe belongs to them - it is bonded.

The thing is, I've got no idea what the beneficial effect is, or what the curse should be. Some variant of the berserker axe is possible, but I was picturing something more on the order of decay, disease, entropy, withering, stuff like that. The weapon was left behind by anthrophagic fey humanoids called Stuhacs, closely aligned with winter and decay, who make a nasty habit of harvesting humanoid ligaments to wrap around their feet as climbing aids.

I'd like to make this a curse that is lived with for a time. Either it doesn't become apparent for some time, or it starts mild and gets worse over time, until the bad finally outweighs the good.

Any ideas? Any cursed items you've used to this effect? 5th level 5e D&D, for what it's worth, but I'm really looking for broader ideas here.

[Imbalance]

The Black Dirge
+2 handaxe
As blood is shed by this axe, it begins to faintly hum. The more killing on its account, the louder the eerie sound becomes until a baleful melody greets all who hear. The song makes it so that the wielder may not hide from creatures with hearing, and attracts those who hunt by sound.
If the axe has been used in a weapon attack to deal damage, for 1d6 hours it makes a constant noise that can be easily detected within 60' in all directions except by those who are deaf. Anyone holding it will have disadvantage on stealth and must make a DC 15 CON save or be deafened for the duration.
Additionally, if the axe has dealt a fatal blow during a weapon attack, until the next dawn creatures within 60' that have tremor sense will always move toward the sound and attack any other creature that is in the way.

Probably a bit sloppy on the wording.

[daryen]

I'd go in a different direction.

I am not familiar with 5e, but the base idea holds regardless of version.

Since it is made by cold loving fey, play on that. It is a +1 weapon (I say +1 because I seem to remember that 5e lowers the bonuses; make it whatever you want) that is cold-focused, kind of like an old-fashioned frost brand. It gives the user an extra bonus when fighting fire-based opponents. It probably lets the user handle cold environments better. The point is to make it work similar to a lower-powered frost brand weapon, so the player thinks they understand what they have.

The curse: Initially, nothing. But, the longer the player has it, the more they bond with it and prefer it. Not only are they more comfortable in the cold, they start to lose the ability to handle heat. They gain weakness to fire. Also, their appearance starts to change and they gain a more gaunt look as their fat drains away. If unchecked, they will eventually look like skin-and-bones with sunken eyes, pallid skin, and white hair. How the transition takes place is up to you.

Of course, it is cursed, so the player will need a remove curse, or equivalent, to get rid of the weapon. Even after the curse is lifted, the transition back to normal still takes a week or two. (Let the player worry it is permanent or partially permanent for a bit.)

[GrayDeath]

No.

Dont curse your players, depending on the state you live in, they might sue you for Maleficum!


If you however mean your greedy little axe-picking PC, well, how about every time he kills someone with this axe, he must roll a D0a gainst the number of beings he killed that day. if he surpasses it, nothing happens. If he rolls exactly the same,, he loses one permanent HP.
If he rolls below, he gains a Skeletal feature somewhere on his body that, if seen, gives him social Disadvantage, but has no other effects until he has 11, at which time he becomes a skeleton himself. ;)
And the axe shouldd be around +1 with say lifeleech effect or increased Damage against heavily wounded beings.

[Segev]

+1 feybane axe. On a critical hit, it deals an additional die of cold damage. The attuned wielder may declare a hit to be a critical hit before rolling the die, once. This refreshes on a short or long rest. (If this isn't 5e, make it refresh after a certain amount of time, however you want to balance it.) Wounds from this axe always glisten with blood that steams as if in cold air, even on things that cannot bleed.

The black iron is a clue: it was made by these winter fey to slay enemies of another Court. The bone is humanoid (human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling...something mortal and sapient). This and the iron give it mortality and lethality to fey.

Unfortunately, bonded to a mortal, it draws out the mortal's...mortality. He gains resistance to cold damage, and eventually even immunity to environmental cold (per the earlier poster's suggestion). But he also starts to freeze as his mortality is also his life. The axe keeps him moving, keeps him living despite the frost coating his skin, the frostbite he can't feel. Unless it's taken from him, in which case the cold sets in all at once. He can't get warm, and without the axe's protection, drawing his mortality out of him, the lack of warmth starts to become lethal.

Equally unfortunately for him, the axe starts to glut on his mortality after a time. It works just as if it'd been taken from him. This can be solved: the mortality it's built up just has to be flushed. This is achieved by using the critical hit feature. Each time he short or long rests without having used it, he gets colder and colder, until he uses the feature. Describe the relief from the cold as coming from the gush of warm blood from the target. The more times he's "skipped" using it, the more times he has to use it to gain relief. And he has to use it on living creatures other than himself.

[Anxe]

You could play off the insects the players felt. The first time the axe scores a critical hit it releases the curse. Insects explode out of the axe causing a detrimental effect for the wielder and the victim of the crit.

From then on, insects never leave the wielder alone and they can't get rid of the axe. They constantly live with the detrimental effect and the insects also annoy them by eating food and preventing sleep.

[malachi]

Well, there's probably a reason the axe got left behind by the Stuhacs - it pulls energy from tendons/ligaments to fuel its powers, so the curse would involve slowly increasing pain and clumsiness in the wielder's legs - meaning that the Stuhacs discarded the axe because it was destroying their leg-wrappings too quickly.

Some ideas for powers, based on insects:
- It allows the wielder to turn into a swarm of insects as a reaction when hit (giving resistance to non-aoe damage and dealing poison or necrotic damage to anyone that attacks)
- Gives the Cloak of Flies warlock invocation from Xanathar's (keying off of Proficiency bonus instead of CHA).
- As an action, the user turns into a swarm of flies for 1 round (repurpose Gaseous Form for most effects, but increase the speed), but deals poison/necrotic damage to anyone it move through.
- When the weapon lands a killing blow against a living creature, some number of giant maggots (use stats from the MM for a giant centipede) crawl out of the slain body and follow the wielder's directions
- Same as above, but the maggots aren't under the wielder's control - they'll attack whoever's closest other than the wielder
- Advantage to hit and bonus necrotic damage against plants, plant creatures, and vegetable matter (the necrotic dmg is in the form of insects pouring out of the cuts, makes it bad for cutting firewood, but good for cutting through barricades)

[daryen]

You could play off the insects the players felt. The first time the axe scores a critical hit it releases the curse. Insects explode out of the axe causing a detrimental effect full the wielder and the victim of the crit.

From then on, insects never leave the wielder alone and they can't get rid of the axe. They constantly live with the detrimental effect and the insects also annoy them by eating food and preventing sleep.

Honestly, I like this one even more than my suggestion!

[Jay R]

Any curse should be eventually removable, and should be removed before it becomes all they think about.

[Anxe]

Any curse should be eventually removable, and should be removed before it becomes all they think about.

For sure. It becomes a little mini side adventure to get rid of it, or it's just a remove curse spell cast. Depends on the campaign.

[carefull_pick]

Winters Scream

+1 Handaxe

The weapon does an additional 1d4 cold damage per strike. If it gets a killing blow, the damage is an additional 1d6 on the very next strike. If the axe goes more than 24 hours without a killing blow it deals 1d4 to the owner to satiate its thirst. The damage increases by 1 die for every day that it goes without a killing blow.

It could also be fun to have it slowly turn him into a Stuhac the more he uses it. That way he can avoid the damage by killing small creatures (cats, dogs etc...) but then he has a different problem.

[King of Nowhere]

since the axe was the only thing not decayed in the middle of a rotten room, perhaps it manipulates decay to give it to others instead of itself.

the wielder get bonuses at the cost of penalties to everyone around him. say, the axe is draining strenght from other party members, giving it as a buff to the wielder. when the wielder is hit, he won't take damage, but his allies will take the damage he would have (works only if he has at least 2 allies nearby).
the last guy who carried it was killed by his former allies for draining them too much. they then left the axe there, because they knew what it would do.

[noob]

The Black Dirge
+2 handaxe
As blood is shed by this axe, it begins to faintly hum. The more killing on its account, the louder the eerie sound becomes until a baleful melody greets all who hear. The song makes it so that the wielder may not hide from creatures with hearing, and attracts those who hunt by sound.
If the axe has been used in a weapon attack to deal damage, for 1d6 hours it makes a constant noise that can be easily detected within 60' in all directions except by those who are deaf. Anyone holding it will have disadvantage on stealth and must make a DC 15 CON save or be deafened for the duration.
Additionally, if the axe has dealt a fatal blow during a weapon attack, until the next dawn creatures within 60' that have tremor sense will always move toward the sound and attack any other creature that is in the way.

Probably a bit sloppy on the wording.

It is extremely powerful and useful.
It is not a curse it is a blessing.
It also trivialise all encounters with creatures that have tremor sense by automatically mind controlling them into suddenly stopping to use tactics.
The minor penalty of deafening yourself and of having an harder time to stealth is largely compensated by the ability to make dumb all tremorsense creatures.
I mean this axe is a problem only if you are not a mass murderer.

[Fable Wright]

Winter's Hunger
+0 (but magical) or +1 axe.
The wearer begins to feel a gnawing, all-consuming hunger the longer he attunes to this axe, and no matter how much he eats, he never seems to be full. The user's stomach gains the properties of a Bag of Holding (type left up to the DM), and when the user eats a creature felled by the axe, he gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the number of HD that creature had.

If he wraps the ligaments of creatures he's taken a bite of around his feet, he gains advantage on all Athletics checks used to climb objects.

No attunement requirement.

[Anxe]

Winter's Hunger
+0 (but magical) or +1 axe.
The wearer begins to feel a gnawing, all-consuming hunger the longer he attunes to this axe, and no matter how much he eats, he never seems to be full. The user's stomach gains the properties of a Bag of Holding (type left up to the DM), and when the user eats a creature felled by the axe, he gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the number of HD that creature had.

If he wraps the ligaments of creatures he's taken a bite of around his feet, he gains advantage on all Athletics checks used to climb objects.

No attunement requirement.

Winner. I love it.

[Bulhakov]

How about the axe "enjoys" being around decay (especially decaying flesh) and slowly infects the player with its taste?

It will start with some subtle clues - like the smell of a corpse is awful to the whole party, but the axe's owner finds it quite sweet and pleasant.

The owner might also get urges to collect "trophies" - cut off ears, scalps, carve bone. In time the urges grow in strength with frequent fantasies and dreams of corspes, zombies, cutting up flesh, possibly even cannibalism or necrophilia..

Succumbing to any of the urges boosts the axe (increased dmg? additional cold effects?). See how far the player is willing to go to get better bonuses and how the team responds to this ("Dude, we can't walk into that tavern with those smelly goblin scalps hanging from your belt, and OH GOD you cut WHAT of that minotaur!?")

[Tawmis]

+1 Hand Axe - Injects Rot Grub on hit.
So - the sensation of "beetles and centipedes" was actually magical "Rot Grub" entering the owner's flesh.

Now he's cursed to "feed" the parasite in him, or it begins feeding on him.

So every time he hits a monster, it injects Rot Grub into the victim.

So now he's going to have to find something to hit DAILY to feed it, or begin losing 1D4 HP (permanently) if he fails whatever CON DC you want to make it.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

+1 Handaxe

Black Lung (Curse): Once attuned you can't unattune until you get a remove curse. While attuned the character coughs at the end of every sentence they speak. This cough can be heard up to 30' a way easily. This does not harm the attuned character but does give disadvantage on charisma checks. If used to fake an illness, specifically a cough, creatures will believe them unless checked out with magic.

[sithlordnergal]

Any ideas? Any cursed items you've used to this effect? 5th level 5e D&D, for what it's worth, but I'm really looking for broader ideas here.

I have a question, why does it have to be cursed? Is it because the party is getting a magical item that you weren't expecting to give them?

If so, then don't curse them. Have it be a free magic item, nothing too strong but nothing too weak. Let it do...ohhh, 1d4 additional Necrotic damage. Because from looking at your post, it seems like you're just cursing it just because they picked up on a detail that you missed, and you made a snap decision to make it magical.

I'd say that's something that should be rewarded, not punished. They're paying attention to the world, they're invested and are keeping their eyes and ears open for things that seem off. I'd give me right arm for players like that.

[da newt]

Anthropophagy - the eating of human flesh; cannibalism. - I learned a new word today.

And I'll return the favor with "coprophagy."

[Vorpalchicken]

A +1 axe that deals an extra 2d6 necrotic damage on a critical hit.
Each night as an attuned user that sleeps, that character suffers from nightmares- DC 11 Wis save to avoid exhaustion.
Additionally there is a 1 in 6 chance that 1d6 Shadows will appear nearby and attack (not necessarily the user but possibly the most vulnerable nearby targets. )

[Dr paradox]

Friends, thank you all for the many wonderful ideas. Please keep them coming, if they occur to you. I'd like to take this moment to respond to a couple of responses.


+1 feybane axe. On a critical hit, it deals an additional die of cold damage. The attuned wielder may declare a hit to be a critical hit before rolling the die, once. This refreshes on a short or long rest. (If this isn't 5e, make it refresh after a certain amount of time, however you want to balance it.) Wounds from this axe always glisten with blood that steams as if in cold air, even on things that cannot bleed.

Unfortunately, bonded to a mortal, it draws out the mortal's...mortality. He gains resistance to cold damage, and eventually even immunity to environmental cold (per the earlier poster's suggestion). But he also starts to freeze as his mortality is also his life. The axe keeps him moving, keeps him living despite the frost coating his skin, the frostbite he can't feel. Unless it's taken from him, in which case the cold sets in all at once. He can't get warm, and without the axe's protection, drawing his mortality out of him, the lack of warmth starts to become lethal.

Equally unfortunately for him, the axe starts to glut on his mortality after a time. It works just as if it'd been taken from him. This can be solved: the mortality it's built up just has to be flushed. This is achieved by using the critical hit feature. Each time he short or long rests without having used it, he gets colder and colder, until he uses the feature. Describe the relief from the cold as coming from the gush of warm blood from the target. The more times he's "skipped" using it, the more times he has to use it to gain relief. And he has to use it on living creatures other than himself.

A lot of this is very good. I think I'll nab the draining mortality angle and the cold resistance, but the automatic crit mortality flushing is a little too esoteric, I think.


Winter's Hunger
+0 (but magical) or +1 axe.
The wearer begins to feel a gnawing, all-consuming hunger the longer he attunes to this axe, and no matter how much he eats, he never seems to be full. The user's stomach gains the properties of a Bag of Holding (type left up to the DM), and when the user eats a creature felled by the axe, he gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the number of HD that creature had.

If he wraps the ligaments of creatures he's taken a bite of around his feet, he gains advantage on all Athletics checks used to climb objects.

No attunement requirement.

I dig it. It might be a little too "Me," since I'm a well known lover of Wendigo, but it's also pretty perfect. They even found it near a homebrew monster who can instill a similar curse with a gaze attack, so it links well with that they already know. I'll lay out some calendar dates for the hunger as it grows worse, when the character will start needing double rations, triple rations, quadruple rations, and so on.

Why specify "No Attunement?" aren't cursed items generally attuned?


How about the axe "enjoys" being around decay (especially decaying flesh) and slowly infects the player with its taste?

It will start with some subtle clues - like the smell of a corpse is awful to the whole party, but the axe's owner finds it quite sweet and pleasant.

The owner might also get urges to collect "trophies" - cut off ears, scalps, carve bone. In time the urges grow in strength with frequent fantasies and dreams of corspes, zombies, cutting up flesh, possibly even cannibalism or necrophilia..

Succumbing to any of the urges boosts the axe (increased dmg? additional cold effects?). See how far the player is willing to go to get better bonuses and how the team responds to this ("Dude, we can't walk into that tavern with those smelly goblin scalps hanging from your belt, and OH GOD you cut WHAT of that minotaur!?")

I really like this one from a writing perspective, though it's a bit difficult to enforce or encourage - my players are pretty dedicated Good alignment. They just can't stand doing evil things, even in character, even during a one-shot where they asked to play evil characters. Maybe I'll include it as a flavor element on top of the more tangible mechanical effects.


I have a question, why does it have to be cursed? Is it because the party is getting a magical item that you weren't expecting to give them?

If so, then don't curse them. Have it be a free magic item, nothing too strong but nothing too weak. Let it do...ohhh, 1d4 additional Necrotic damage. Because from looking at your post, it seems like you're just cursing it just because they picked up on a detail that you missed, and you made a snap decision to make it magical.

I'd say that's something that should be rewarded, not punished. They're paying attention to the world, they're invested and are keeping their eyes and ears open for things that seem off. I'd give me right arm for players like that.

They are excellent players, and my dearest friends.

I understand your concern! But no, this certainly isn't meant to be vindictive. Indeed, for the kind of player this is I think they'd be intrigued at the possibility of roleplaying through the curse. Mostly I'm keen on cursing this axe because I haven't used a cursed item before, and because I've sufficiently foreshadowed how awful this thing is that it doesn't feel like a "Gotcha!" trap. I mean, it being cursed seems like a fair assumption based on the heebie jeebies from picking it up, right?


Anthropophagy - the eating of human flesh; cannibalism. - I learned a new word today.

And I'll return the favor with "coprophagy."

Did you just tell me to eat sh!t??

It's good to have Anthrophagy in your tool belt. It helps curb the constant pedantic conversation of "Are the orcs really cannibals if they eat us?"


Here's what I'm thinking right now:
THE LASH OF WINTER

This +1 Handaxe deals an additional 1d6 cold damage on a hit. As an action, once per hour, the attuned creature can extinguish all non-magical flames within 30 feet. An attuned creature has a noticeably increased appetite, though not outrageously so, and they find that there is no limit to the amount of food they might eat - they will never be entirely full, or regurgitate due to overeating. If the attuned creature eats any part of a creature killed by the axe, they gain temporary hitpoints equal to the number of the creatures' hit-dice.

Over time, the effects of the axe on an attuned creature grows more severe.

1 WEEK: The attuned requires twice as much food to survive.
1 MONTH: The attuned requires three times as much food. They gain advantage on constitution saving throws to avoid harm from cold environments or cold-based spell effects.
3 MONTHS: The attuned requires four times as much food. Their stomach becomes equivalent to a Bag of Holding, capable of containing up to 500 pounds of objects, which can be swallowed or regurgitated as an action. Objects must be able to fit through the Attuned's mouth.
5 MONTHS: The attuned requires five times as much food. They gain resistance to cold. Their body temperature becomes noticeably lower, and their eye color changes to a stark and icy blue.
7 MONTHS: The attuned requires six times as much food. They gain the ability to extinguish magical flames, such as a Wall of Fire or a Flaming Sphere.
9 MONTHS: The attuned requires seven times as much food. They become immune to harm from cold based environments. They have disadvantage on constitution saving throws to avoid harm from hot environments or fire-based spell effect. Their flesh become waxy and they have no body heat, and they are extremely uncomfortable in temperatures warmer that 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They tend to tremble and shake despite not feeling cold, and their teeth take on a sharper quality.
11 MONTHS: The attuned requires eight times as much food. Their stomach becomes equivalent to a Bag of Devouring, and their mouth will now expand up to two feet in order to accommodate objects.
13 MONTHS: The attuned requires nine times as much food. They become immune to cold damage. For every hour they spend in temperatures greater than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, they must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw with disadvantage or take a level of exhaustion. Their skin becomes frostbitten and black in places. Their teeth become jagged fangs, and they gain a strength-based improvised bite attack that deals 1d4 damage and might cause a bitten creature to be pulled into the Attuned's stomach.

Every two months the attuned character's hunger increases.



Overcomplicated? Probably. But I run a game with a lot of downtime, so these effects are likely to pile on faster than you'd imagine. I would say thirteen months will have passed after another two or three adventures.

Thanks for the help, folks! Keep it coming.

[Fable Wright]

Why specify "No Attunement?" aren't cursed items generally attuned?

Generally speaking, yes. A huge drawback to cursed items is that they are attuned and can't be unattuned, which is... honestly just frustrating as a player to deal with.

So what if you had an item that grew a curse without attunement? It takes up no slots, but on the flip side, Remove Curse can't break its attunement. You will continue to hunger long after you've swapped to another weapon. You can fill your slots with attunements to spec your character as you desire based on available party loot, and then you get to explore the curse and its upsides/drawbacks on their own merits, rather than being locked into them indefinitely.

Also, because items with effects like this without attunement are incredibly rare, and that gives the player an incentive to keep the curse of their own volition, which can lead to interventions by other party members, and make it more likely you see the full 13 month effects of the curse play out.

[MrStabby]

Critical hit on a 19 or 20.

On a critical hit the extra damage die deals necrotic damage and transfers that much strength from the victim to the wielded (max of 25 strength) until the end of a long rest. The wielder loses that HP and their HP max is reduced by this amount till the end of a long rest.

[Sirithhyando]

I was thinking to make it like the frostbrand.
For the curse part, everyday at dawn, roll a d20. On a 18+, the axe summon a fey who was searching for the axe since long ago.

The silver mine had a double fonction. One was to be a tomb for the axe. Now that it has been removed, its previous owner wants it back.

Oh, and everyday the axe fail to summon a fey, it lowers the chance by 1. So it summons on a 17+ the day after, then 16+ and so on.

[TrashTrash]

Here's what I'm thinking right now:
THE LASH OF WINTER

This +1 Handaxe deals an additional 1d6 cold damage on a hit. As an action, once per hour, the attuned creature can extinguish all non-magical flames within 30 feet. An attuned creature has a noticeably increased appetite, though not outrageously so, and they find that there is no limit to the amount of food they might eat - they will never be entirely full, or regurgitate due to overeating. If the attuned creature eats any part of a creature killed by the axe, they gain temporary hitpoints equal to the number of the creatures' hit-dice.

Over time, the effects of the axe on an attuned creature grows more severe.

1 WEEK: The attuned requires twice as much food to survive.
1 MONTH: The attuned requires three times as much food. They gain advantage on constitution saving throws to avoid harm from cold environments or cold-based spell effects.
3 MONTHS: The attuned requires four times as much food. Their stomach becomes equivalent to a Bag of Holding, capable of containing up to 500 pounds of objects, which can be swallowed or regurgitated as an action. Objects must be able to fit through the Attuned's mouth.
5 MONTHS: The attuned requires five times as much food. They gain resistance to cold. Their body temperature becomes noticeably lower, and their eye color changes to a stark and icy blue.
7 MONTHS: The attuned requires six times as much food. They gain the ability to extinguish magical flames, such as a Wall of Fire or a Flaming Sphere.
9 MONTHS: The attuned requires seven times as much food. They become immune to harm from cold based environments. They have disadvantage on constitution saving throws to avoid harm from hot environments or fire-based spell effect. Their flesh become waxy and they have no body heat, and they are extremely uncomfortable in temperatures warmer that 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They tend to tremble and shake despite not feeling cold, and their teeth take on a sharper quality.
11 MONTHS: The attuned requires eight times as much food. Their stomach becomes equivalent to a Bag of Devouring, and their mouth will now expand up to two feet in order to accommodate objects.
13 MONTHS: The attuned requires nine times as much food. They become immune to cold damage. For every hour they spend in temperatures greater than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, they must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw with disadvantage or take a level of exhaustion. Their skin becomes frostbitten and black in places. Their teeth become jagged fangs, and they gain a strength-based improvised bite attack that deals 1d4 damage and might cause a bitten creature to be pulled into the Attuned's stomach.

Every two months the attuned character's hunger increases.




I love the body horror aspect!

Maybe add a vocal cue near the beginning, around the 5 month mark along with the cold resistance and lowered body heat, because when you're cold, your vocal cords contract slightly and can cause a croak or break in your voice. They also contract when out of use for a long period of time, which is why your voice sounds different when you've just woken up. Maybe have it start out as just a "morning voice" that begins to take a long time to go away, then ends up becoming their normal voice.

[blackjack50]

It may seem simple, but it might be particularly terrifying to an elf: aging. This is a very simple curse. Just take your characters and start giving them little issues here and there. Anything with vision checks starts to slowly get harder. Hearing too. Physical challenges. Muscle soreness. Weight gain. Graying. Random injuries from very mundane things. It is so simple...yet it could very easily mean the difference between success and failure. lol.

[opaopajr]

Keep it simple and the stakes lower; this is a bit of improvisation spilling into mechanical whimsy. Too strong and it feels like punishment for curiosity, or can overwhelm your campaign by accident. No real such issue in the reverse, as even Trinkets can be an incentive to adventure. :smallcool:

Play up the insects and fey logic, but keep it manageable. :smallsmile: example:

Pageboy to the Flies
Handaxe, magical
Allows attuned to Speak with Maggots and Flies, sensing what they have sensed within their lifetime. In return they expect nourishment for their next young. These flies (or their phantasms) follow you, as you suffer delusion that the world is rotten and covered in maggots... until you offer a Ritual for nourishment to the flies.

Not strong, not weak, just colorful background. :smallcool:

[cullynthedwarf]

Here's what I'm thinking right now:
THE LASH OF WINTER

This +1 Handaxe deals an additional 1d6 cold damage on a hit. As an action, once per hour, the attuned creature can extinguish all non-magical flames within 30 feet. An attuned creature has a noticeably increased appetite, though not outrageously so, and they find that there is no limit to the amount of food they might eat - they will never be entirely full, or regurgitate due to overeating. If the attuned creature eats any part of a creature killed by the axe, they gain temporary hitpoints equal to the number of the creatures' hit-dice.

Over time, the effects of the axe on an attuned creature grows more severe.

1 WEEK: The attuned requires twice as much food to survive.
1 MONTH: The attuned requires three times as much food. They gain advantage on constitution saving throws to avoid harm from cold environments or cold-based spell effects.
3 MONTHS: The attuned requires four times as much food. Their stomach becomes equivalent to a Bag of Holding, capable of containing up to 500 pounds of objects, which can be swallowed or regurgitated as an action. Objects must be able to fit through the Attuned's mouth.
5 MONTHS: The attuned requires five times as much food. They gain resistance to cold. Their body temperature becomes noticeably lower, and their eye color changes to a stark and icy blue.
7 MONTHS: The attuned requires six times as much food. They gain the ability to extinguish magical flames, such as a Wall of Fire or a Flaming Sphere.
9 MONTHS: The attuned requires seven times as much food. They become immune to harm from cold based environments. They have disadvantage on constitution saving throws to avoid harm from hot environments or fire-based spell effect. Their flesh become waxy and they have no body heat, and they are extremely uncomfortable in temperatures warmer that 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They tend to tremble and shake despite not feeling cold, and their teeth take on a sharper quality.
11 MONTHS: The attuned requires eight times as much food. Their stomach becomes equivalent to a Bag of Devouring, and their mouth will now expand up to two feet in order to accommodate objects.
13 MONTHS: The attuned requires nine times as much food. They become immune to cold damage. For every hour they spend in temperatures greater than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, they must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw with disadvantage or take a level of exhaustion. Their skin becomes frostbitten and black in places. Their teeth become jagged fangs, and they gain a strength-based improvised bite attack that deals 1d4 damage and might cause a bitten creature to be pulled into the Attuned's stomach.

Every two months the attuned character's hunger increases.



Overcomplicated? Probably. But I run a game with a lot of downtime, so these effects are likely to pile on faster than you'd imagine. I would say thirteen months will have passed after another two or three adventures.

Thanks for the help, folks! Keep it coming.

I like it. I personally think the bite attack should come earlier. A fore shadowing that the bag of holding isn't what it seems perhaps and possibility bigger damage. A d6 rather then d4 at first. Every 4 months have the bite increase a bit more. Also look up an old 3.5 ability called swallow whole. The justification of allowing it is as his bite is getting bigger he is counting as size category larger, when he hits "huge" he can swallow whole something two categories smaller. Just a thought. Enjoy.