Simetra Irertne
2021-02-03, 12:30 AM
I recently started a new campaign, and this sort of just popped into my head (so naturally I immediately spent a couple hours designing on a half-formed idea for a plot-line that hasn't been introduced yet.) I'm still missing items for Gluttony, Lust, and Envy. Any suggestions? Suggestions on balancing the existing items would also be appreciated.
Bow of Vengeance (Wrath) (Requires Attunement):
On attunement, choose one type of humanoid for which you feel a particularly enmity. This bow does 1d6 extra damage to that type of creature. If you unattune and reattune later, your choice does not change.
When you use this weapon to make a ranged Attack against a creature of your chosen race, you can, as a Command phrase, say, "Swift death to you who have wronged me." The target of your Attack becomes your Sworn Enemy until it dies or until dawn seven days later. You can have only one such Sworn Enemy at a time.
When you make a ranged Attack roll with this weapon against your Sworn Enemy, you have advantage on the roll. In addition, your target gains no benefit from cover, other than total cover, and you suffer no disadvantage due to long range. If the Attack hits, your Sworn Enemy takes an extra 2d6 piercing damage (In addition to the extra 1d6 from being of your forsworn race).
While your Sworn Enemy lives, you have disadvantage on Attack Rolls with all other Weapons.
Unattuning to this weapon requires a DC 18 Wisdom save. On a failure, you cannot repeat the save until killing (or helping to kill) a creature of your chosen type.
Philosopher's Stone (Greed) (Requires Attunement, does not take up an attunement slot):
This stone is rumored to grant eternal life and create gold.
During a rest, you can choose not to spend hit dice and instead use the Stone. You gain temporary hit points equal to your lost hit points, as your wounds are filled with gold. While you have at least 1 temporary hit point gained in this manner, you do not age. Unlike regular tempHP, these do not disappear during a long rest, instead dissipating when you receive any form of healing. In addition, your normal hit points are depleted before these temporary HP. If all of your current hit points are in the form of temporary hit points, your skin turns solid gold and your AC becomes 14+Dex while not wearing other armor.
By concentrating on the stone, any willing creature creature can attempt to create gold. Make a DC 17 Int check. On a success, they create a number of gold pieces equal to their modifier + 1d4*(roll-16). On a failure, they create (17-roll) pieces, and their maximum HP is permanently lowered by their level. Failure by 5 or more reduces their maxHP by twice their level. On a 1, the creature turns into a solid gold statue worth their weight (literally). While it remains intact, this can be reversed by a Greater Restoration spell, but every bit of damage sustained while petrified reduces the creature's maximum HP by a similar value upon restoration.
Unattuning to this item requires making the above check, with all listed results. Roll with a -1 penalty for every 10 tempHP you have, rounded up.
Sword of the Exalted Hero (Pride) (Requires Attunement):
This sentient (Neutral Evil) weapon encourages the wielder to take up arms and defend the weak (to show them how inferior they are, and how great the wielder is).
This weapon grants a variable bonus to attack and damage rolls, up to +3, depending on how heroic your actions are, determined by the DM. (Behind the scenes, this bonus is dependent on how visibly heroic the actions are, rather than how heroic they actually are. Slaying a bear in front of an adoring crowd would grant a higher bonus than slaying a gryphon that wasn't bothering anyone).
In addition, you gain advantage on all charisma checks when dealing with NPCs you can claim to have saved or aided in some way.
Unattuning to this weapon requires a DC 18 Charisma save. On a failure, your alignment becomes neutral evil (for game purposes, player is not told) and you cannot repeat the save until some sufficiently heroic act has been completed. (Judged by the sword)
Robe of Rest (Sloth) (Requires Attunement):
This heavy robe is incredibly soft and fluffy. Even when incredibly dirty or soaking wet, any dust or liquid can easily be shaken out.
While wearing this robe, you can choose to take a long rest 8 hours longer than normal. If you choose to do so, the entire long rest is spent in magical slumber (even if you're an elf!) from which you can only be woken through taking damage. Being woken this way nullifies any benefits of resting. After completing such a rest, you have advantage on all ability checks and saving throws until your next long rest. In addition, this rest wipes away all levels of exhaustion.
Whenever you complete an extended rest, you have a 50% chance of aging a year. While attuned to this robe, whenever you suffer exhaustion, you suffer twice as many levels.
Unattuning to this item requires a DC 14 Con save. Failure results in magical slumber as described above, instead aging 1d4 years.
My campaign so far is with level 3 characters, but I would like the items to be reasonably scalable. I was having some trouble balancing the gold output and hp reduction of the Greed Stone, so any suggestions would be welcome. An effective 1-2 Con Mod drop seemed about right, but gold output in d4 multiples seems very low for high level characters. Maybe I like my overly clever thinly-veiled metaphors too much, but I like the idea that any level of adventurer could be snared by them.
Also, the only reason the Greed Stone doesn't take up an attunement slot is because I intend it for our party artificer, and I don't want to cut into infusion slots. I think it works anyway, though. ("Life and Gold! No strings attached! ...lots of strings attached")
Some common elements to all the items:
Some form of significant (and very possibly permanent) negative effect, which won't be revealed to the players until it affects them.
Some form of unattunement difficulty (They are manifestations of sin, after all.)
The negative effect is long-lasting and long-scope, designed to have more of a creeping horror "what have I become" feel rather than "it'll kill you".
Roleplay wise, the boons granted will be described as far more enticing than they may actually be. Advantage persuading a guard is pretty mediocre, mechanics-wise, but "proclaiming your accomplishments and watching the guard bow in awe" is a great moment (right up until it really, really isn't)
I would prefer not to have more than three of them be sentient, preferably only two. It's more difficult to run, and I think it breaks the subtlety of "too good to be true" items, at least until the side effects make themselves known. It works for the sword because it technically has interests that align with a good character, it's just doing them for all the wrong reasons. Feel free to suggest sentient items though. I need at least one more.
Finally, I would prefer the Lust item to be something mechanics-driven rather than roleplay-driven, and something more interesting than regular lifesteal for Gluttony. Just my preferences, so no need to stick to them. Go crazy. (But please, don't go out and commit the sins in the name of research. That would not be research, that would just be regular sin. ...and that would be wrong.)
Bow of Vengeance (Wrath) (Requires Attunement):
On attunement, choose one type of humanoid for which you feel a particularly enmity. This bow does 1d6 extra damage to that type of creature. If you unattune and reattune later, your choice does not change.
When you use this weapon to make a ranged Attack against a creature of your chosen race, you can, as a Command phrase, say, "Swift death to you who have wronged me." The target of your Attack becomes your Sworn Enemy until it dies or until dawn seven days later. You can have only one such Sworn Enemy at a time.
When you make a ranged Attack roll with this weapon against your Sworn Enemy, you have advantage on the roll. In addition, your target gains no benefit from cover, other than total cover, and you suffer no disadvantage due to long range. If the Attack hits, your Sworn Enemy takes an extra 2d6 piercing damage (In addition to the extra 1d6 from being of your forsworn race).
While your Sworn Enemy lives, you have disadvantage on Attack Rolls with all other Weapons.
Unattuning to this weapon requires a DC 18 Wisdom save. On a failure, you cannot repeat the save until killing (or helping to kill) a creature of your chosen type.
Philosopher's Stone (Greed) (Requires Attunement, does not take up an attunement slot):
This stone is rumored to grant eternal life and create gold.
During a rest, you can choose not to spend hit dice and instead use the Stone. You gain temporary hit points equal to your lost hit points, as your wounds are filled with gold. While you have at least 1 temporary hit point gained in this manner, you do not age. Unlike regular tempHP, these do not disappear during a long rest, instead dissipating when you receive any form of healing. In addition, your normal hit points are depleted before these temporary HP. If all of your current hit points are in the form of temporary hit points, your skin turns solid gold and your AC becomes 14+Dex while not wearing other armor.
By concentrating on the stone, any willing creature creature can attempt to create gold. Make a DC 17 Int check. On a success, they create a number of gold pieces equal to their modifier + 1d4*(roll-16). On a failure, they create (17-roll) pieces, and their maximum HP is permanently lowered by their level. Failure by 5 or more reduces their maxHP by twice their level. On a 1, the creature turns into a solid gold statue worth their weight (literally). While it remains intact, this can be reversed by a Greater Restoration spell, but every bit of damage sustained while petrified reduces the creature's maximum HP by a similar value upon restoration.
Unattuning to this item requires making the above check, with all listed results. Roll with a -1 penalty for every 10 tempHP you have, rounded up.
Sword of the Exalted Hero (Pride) (Requires Attunement):
This sentient (Neutral Evil) weapon encourages the wielder to take up arms and defend the weak (to show them how inferior they are, and how great the wielder is).
This weapon grants a variable bonus to attack and damage rolls, up to +3, depending on how heroic your actions are, determined by the DM. (Behind the scenes, this bonus is dependent on how visibly heroic the actions are, rather than how heroic they actually are. Slaying a bear in front of an adoring crowd would grant a higher bonus than slaying a gryphon that wasn't bothering anyone).
In addition, you gain advantage on all charisma checks when dealing with NPCs you can claim to have saved or aided in some way.
Unattuning to this weapon requires a DC 18 Charisma save. On a failure, your alignment becomes neutral evil (for game purposes, player is not told) and you cannot repeat the save until some sufficiently heroic act has been completed. (Judged by the sword)
Robe of Rest (Sloth) (Requires Attunement):
This heavy robe is incredibly soft and fluffy. Even when incredibly dirty or soaking wet, any dust or liquid can easily be shaken out.
While wearing this robe, you can choose to take a long rest 8 hours longer than normal. If you choose to do so, the entire long rest is spent in magical slumber (even if you're an elf!) from which you can only be woken through taking damage. Being woken this way nullifies any benefits of resting. After completing such a rest, you have advantage on all ability checks and saving throws until your next long rest. In addition, this rest wipes away all levels of exhaustion.
Whenever you complete an extended rest, you have a 50% chance of aging a year. While attuned to this robe, whenever you suffer exhaustion, you suffer twice as many levels.
Unattuning to this item requires a DC 14 Con save. Failure results in magical slumber as described above, instead aging 1d4 years.
My campaign so far is with level 3 characters, but I would like the items to be reasonably scalable. I was having some trouble balancing the gold output and hp reduction of the Greed Stone, so any suggestions would be welcome. An effective 1-2 Con Mod drop seemed about right, but gold output in d4 multiples seems very low for high level characters. Maybe I like my overly clever thinly-veiled metaphors too much, but I like the idea that any level of adventurer could be snared by them.
Also, the only reason the Greed Stone doesn't take up an attunement slot is because I intend it for our party artificer, and I don't want to cut into infusion slots. I think it works anyway, though. ("Life and Gold! No strings attached! ...lots of strings attached")
Some common elements to all the items:
Some form of significant (and very possibly permanent) negative effect, which won't be revealed to the players until it affects them.
Some form of unattunement difficulty (They are manifestations of sin, after all.)
The negative effect is long-lasting and long-scope, designed to have more of a creeping horror "what have I become" feel rather than "it'll kill you".
Roleplay wise, the boons granted will be described as far more enticing than they may actually be. Advantage persuading a guard is pretty mediocre, mechanics-wise, but "proclaiming your accomplishments and watching the guard bow in awe" is a great moment (right up until it really, really isn't)
I would prefer not to have more than three of them be sentient, preferably only two. It's more difficult to run, and I think it breaks the subtlety of "too good to be true" items, at least until the side effects make themselves known. It works for the sword because it technically has interests that align with a good character, it's just doing them for all the wrong reasons. Feel free to suggest sentient items though. I need at least one more.
Finally, I would prefer the Lust item to be something mechanics-driven rather than roleplay-driven, and something more interesting than regular lifesteal for Gluttony. Just my preferences, so no need to stick to them. Go crazy. (But please, don't go out and commit the sins in the name of research. That would not be research, that would just be regular sin. ...and that would be wrong.)