Cursed items and Remove Curse

[Segev]

I am torn between what I, as DM, think is interesting and worrying that I am being unfair.

When a PC is attuned to a cursed item, they suffer the curse, obviously. They cannot, per the rules I was able to find, de-attune the item without "breaking the curse, such as with remove curse." When they break the curse, does that let them stay attuned to the item and is the item no longer cursed? Or does that just let them de-attune the item and get free of the curse, but becoming attuned again renews the curse?

[Sigreid]

My read on it is remove curse lets them be free of the attunement and the curse. If they for some reason attune the item again, they get the curse again.

Cursed items are bad things to be avoided, not exploited. That said, there are some cursed items that are good enough to put up with the curse for a while.

[cutlery]

I am torn between what I, as DM, think is interesting and worrying that I am being unfair.

When a PC is attuned to a cursed item, they suffer the curse, obviously. They cannot, per the rules I was able to find, de-attune the item without "breaking the curse, such as with remove curse." When they break the curse, does that let them stay attuned to the item and is the item no longer cursed? Or does that just let them de-attune the item and get free of the curse, but becoming attuned again renews the curse?

I'd think it depends on the curse. For some items, the curse could be strong enough it takes a Wish spell, or Remove Curse followed by Greater Restoration to fully remove the effects. The Remove Curse might cleanse the item, or simply deactivate it long enough to be removed/deattuned.

I guess it depends on the curse - is it interesting, or is it a simple negative?

A curse that makes the wielder unable to flee once blood has been spilled (or they are incapacitated) is interesting, and creates some plot tension, too, and I think that would be the sort of curse that is big enough to take more than Remove Curse to fix.

[Unoriginal]

I am torn between what I, as DM, think is interesting and worrying that I am being unfair.

When a PC is attuned to a cursed item, they suffer the curse, obviously. They cannot, per the rules I was able to find, de-attune the item without "breaking the curse, such as with remove curse." When they break the curse, does that let them stay attuned to the item and is the item no longer cursed? Or does that just let them de-attune the item and get free of the curse, but becoming attuned again renews the curse?

It allows them to deattune, but the item is still cursed and the curse would reapply if the PC reattuned to it.

[OldTrees1]

Others have explained that remove curse merely deattunes the item.

However a good cursed item should be a mixture of pro/cons. Which explains why remove curse does not cleanse the item.

[Sparky McDibben]

Afk right now, but WebDM has a great episode on this. Listen for when they start in about the Catastrophe Die.

[JackPhoenix]

Depends on the item. Shield of Missile Attraction curse you when you attune to it, but you can break the attunement without removing the curse. Used in the missile magnet monk. Or break the curse without removing the attunement, and the curse is applied only when you attune to it.

[Segev]

One of the cursed items I am specifically thinking of is...

...the Staff of Striking that cosmetically changes the attuned wielder into a goat beastman. Goat head, hair all over, three fingers and toes to an extremity. No mechanical impact.

I think this is interesting and without real penalty enough that remove curse, given my druthers, would just permit de-attunement.Choosing to stay attuned or re-attune would re-curse the wielder, in my preference as DM, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't being unfair to players who went to the trouble of getting remove curse if I didn't say the item was de-cursed.

[OldTrees1]

One of the cursed items I am specifically thinking of is...

...the Staff of Striking that cosmetically changes the attuned wielder into a goat beastman. Goat head, hair all over, three fingers and toes to an extremity. No mechanical impact.

I think this is interesting and without real penalty enough that remove curse, given my druthers, would just permit de-attunement.Choosing to stay attuned or re-attune would re-curse the wielder, in my preference as DM, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't being unfair to players who went to the trouble of getting remove curse if I didn't say the item was de-cursed.

RE that spoiler. Remove Curse only deattunes the item. If it could cleanse the item, that would be a plot hole. Since the players learn about the cursed previous owner.

[Unoriginal]

You could say that rather than Remove Curse, there is someone who knows how to "reforge" the item without the curse while keeping the other powers.

Would probably require a quest for the ingredients and the like, like for crafting a new magic item.

[AttilatheYeon]

One of the cursed items I am specifically thinking of is...

...the Staff of Striking that cosmetically changes the attuned wielder into a goat beastman. Goat head, hair all over, three fingers and toes to an extremity. No mechanical impact.

I think this is interesting and without real penalty enough that remove curse, given my druthers, would just permit de-attunement.Choosing to stay attuned or re-attune would re-curse the wielder, in my preference as DM, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't being unfair to players who went to the trouble of getting remove curse if I didn't say the item was de-cursed.

Who wouldn't want to be a bipedal goat!? I wanna make a halfling monk who uses that staff.

[Segev]

I mostly just wanted to sanity check myself because what's "rule of cool" to the DM might not be actually fair ruling. Sounds like it is a fair ruling, though, so that's what I'm sticking with. }:)

Thanks, all!

[Sigreid]

Frankly, that item as described is totally worth living with the curse to have the item until you find something better.

[Chronos]

How bad that curse is depends on your campaign. Is this a world where anything but humans and maybe halflings is looked on with suspicion? Or is this a world where a loxodon, a yuan-ti, and a triton walk into a bar?

[greenstone]

In my game, curses survive loss of attunement. If Bêlit attunes to an item, then gets cursed, then she is cursed. Whether or not she breaks the attunement doesn't matter.

If Juma attunes to that item, removing Bêlit's attunement, then now Juma and Bêlit are both cursed.

Curses are supposed to be nasty.

I also rule that remove curse does not necessarily break the attunement.

If Juma attunes to a cursed item, then gets the cursed removed, then he is now living dangerously. Sure, he has a nice item, but if that item ever gets too far from him then he loses attunement. Attuning again will curse him again.

[Chugger]

There are guides on how to make a "spear of backbiting build" - especially good for AL, cuz if one character gets it, he can trade it to some other character you have or make - so you know you can get it.

[Vogie]

Another option, if the Curse is a big part of your game, Remove Curse could either show all the steps needed to actually remove the curse, or just show the next step in removing the curse.

Note, you can do the same thing if the arc or campaign is based around a poison or disease.

[Sigreid]

Another option, if the Curse is a big part of your game, Remove Curse could either show all the steps needed to actually remove the curse, or just show the next step in removing the curse.

Note, you can do the same thing if the arc or campaign is based around a poison or disease.

I actually like the idea of remove curse being a divination spell that tells you how the curse may be broken, but actually breaking the curse can be a minor or major undertaking, maybe even with just a window of opportunity for breaking it. In western mythology, a year and a day is a pretty thematic timeframe.