Blessed with Suck & Cursed with Awesome

[taltamir]

I am looking for some ideas for curses which are awesome, and blessings which suck.
They can be genuine curses subverted by a creative PC into a boon, or just things that sound like curses but are awesome.

For example:
"Curse": you are sexually attracted to dragons and are compelled to act on it.
The awesome: Dragon laying is a lot more rewarding then dragon slaying. For example:
http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2007..._third_010.jpg

"Curse": sword that, on a nat 1, casts a fireball centered on the wielder, doing the wielder's HD x d6 damage.
The awesome: either gain fire immunity via some creative multi classing, just buy high fire resistance items, or sell it for a ton of gold to someone fire immune.

[TheCountAlucard]

Blessed with Suck... can you say, "Monk Capstone?"

[taltamir]

Blessed with Suck... can you say, "Monk Capstone?"

so so true...
it gives them absolutely nothing in terms of combat ability.
and it does not even actually extend their lifespan, they just don't accrue penalties...
As an "bonus", they become outsiders... outsiders can NOT be resurrected!

[Gralamin]

outsiders can NOT be resurrected!

Without a specific spell in the Spell Compendium

[Keld Denar]

Dust of Sneezing and Choking is a "cursed" item, and is about one of the most OP disables in the game. There is NO SAVE against it. Be a Necropolitan (undead are immune to the stuff) and the dust is the equivalent of a single use "I WIN" button against anything that isn't immune to stunning. That includes Dragons and 99% of classed humanoids...

[Kallisti]

In one game I was in recently, I got a 'cursed' mask that gives me a huge number of bonus HP, +4 dex, int, and wis, and probably othe benefits I don't know about yet. The curse is that the mask makes my personality shift closer and closer to that the angry exiled god who owns the mask. Have I mentioned it moved my mind and soul into a clay statue of the god, which came alive as basically a golem?

It was awesome.

And blessed with suck? Truenamers, monks, CW samurai...

[Meek]

Curse: You can hear in your head people's first impression of you.
The Awesome: Insight in what you can do to make people not hate you. After you've repaired the self-esteem damage taken the second you come into contact with generic haughty jerkass elves.

[Grumman]

"Curse": you are sexually attracted to dragons and are compelled to act on it.

What's with this forum and curses that makes people jump straight to characters getting date-raped by dragons!?

[awa]

more a flaw but commoner/incarnate/necrocarnate+ chicken infested
materiel component pouch draw component has free action 50% to draw a chicken instead = infinite chickens
your soul sucking powers don't care how many hit dice the creature has and grant the benefit all day

never have to worry about food for the all party hell the whole town.

chickens arnt worth much money but you do have an infinite number of them

all for a level of commoner and a flaw

[T.G. Oskar]

Blessed with Suck... can you say, "Monk Capstone?"

Hey, at least they have a capstone. Think about the Paladin, which has...another use of Smite Evil. And a 4th level spell, but by that you might have just ignored your spellcasting or replaced it entirely.

Or even the Rogue, which...gains NOTHING at 20th level. You can cut at 19th level and you'll gain more from it.

it gives them absolutely nothing in terms of combat ability.
and it does not even actually extend their lifespan, they just don't accrue penalties...
As an "bonus", they become outsiders... outsiders can NOT be resurrected!

DR 10/magic is supposed to aid them, but by that moment virtually all monsters have the equivalent of magic weapons (or HAVE magic weapons), so it slowly becomes useless.

Also...have you actually read the Monk's description instead of just hearing "they turn into outsiders"?

Unlike other outsiders, the monk can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

The term "native outsider" was invented for both this class and the Aasimar/Tiefling races. In theory, if you go straight through RAW, they also get proficiency with all Simple and Martial weapons at 20th level (a bit late, but again, it's by strict RAW; they become outsiders, so they are entitled to that and Darkvision 60 ft.)

However, is it the epitome of Blessed with Suck? No, Truenamer gets that dubious benefit. While Wizards get the Cursed with Awesome trophy; they start off weak, but they gain the ability to make the world their own at 17th level, if not earlier.

[PhoenixRivers]

Blessed with suck: You have been selected to herald your god's return to the plane!

the suck? Yeah, he kinda needs your body to do it.

[taltamir]

what about summoning and binding? can they be summoned and bound via normal summoning spells?

What's with this forum and curses that makes people jump straight to characters getting date-raped by dragons!?

ugh, head of the gutter please... why rape? Attracted to dragons in general doesn't mean a SPECIFIC dragon... you can still choose one you are actually compatible you with and like, but would normally not have the COURAGE to approach (for any type of intimacy the dragon has to shapechange into a humanoid, or vice versa, the humanoid into a dragon)...

you are probably gonna be cross with your party setting out to kill a dragon... and might get a very annoyed dragon by seeking them out and bothering them with your pathetic attempts at seduction...

[ericgrau]

so so true...
it gives them absolutely nothing in terms of combat ability.
and it does not even actually extend their lifespan, they just don't accrue penalties...
As an "bonus", they become outsiders... outsiders can NOT be resurrected!

Level 20 monks can. It says quite specifically. The advantage is that spells like the "person" line of spells don't affect him.

As for good cursed items:
Armor of arrow attraction for cheaper +3 full plate. Just get some kind of arrow protection or play with a DM that doesn't send archers.
Dust of choking and sneezing is a broken no save item when used offensively.
The berserking sword, which does what the name says.
And the belt of gender changing, as demonstrated by OotS.

What's with this forum and curses that makes people jump straight to characters getting date-raped by dragons!?

There's a high demand for half-dragons.

[Jade_Tarem]

Bestowing upon a character the wonderful blessing of five free levels of commoner is about as bad as it gets.

As for amazing curses... lycanthropy, while technically a magical disease, is one of the most amazing powerups your (martial) character can pick up - invest a few skill ranks into controlling it and you've picked up a huge ECL boost and a new RP hook. Unless the rest of the party levels a LOT, you'll probably get your money's worth on that one. I once had a player try to get a werewolf to bite him in a game I was running, just so he could catch the disease.

[taltamir]

oh yea.. lycanthropy... Any transformation that doesn't cost XP is awesome, such as becoming a lich... But lycanthropy is technically a "disease".

[The_Snark]

However, is it the epitome of Blessed with Suck? No, Truenamer gets that dubious benefit.

Hey, hey. The Truenamer capstone is one of 2 reasons I would ever consider playing that class (the other one being the Gate utterance)*. I suppose it could be used against you if your enemies forced a friend (or some random person) to say your name and summon you into a trap, but otherwise it's awesome. It isn't spectacularly powerful, but it's really cool.

*Which also comes at 20th level. Not really a fan of low-level truenamers.

[GallóglachMaxim]

oh yea.. lycanthropy... Any transformation that doesn't cost XP is awesome, such as becoming a lich... But lycanthropy is technically a "disease".

If we're going to be fussy here, the FAQ says that in D&D it's a curse which functions like a disease.

[Kaiyanwang]

It isn't spectacularly powerful, but it's really cool.

I agree - I like it, too, and more or less for the same reasons.

[taltamir]

If we're going to be fussy here, the FAQ says that in D&D it's a curse which functions like a disease.

thanks for the clarification... which means it fits "cursed with awesome"...

[Cyclocone]

oh yea.. lycanthropy... Any transformation that doesn't cost XP is awesome, such as becoming a lich... But lycanthropy is technically a "disease".

Actually, Lichdom isn't entirely free:

The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

The +4 LA is also kind of a a bummer... Yeah, lichdom should probably go under Blessed with Suck.

[Chrono22]

My luck would apply as both. About half of my rolls are critical successes or failures. Unfortunately, my critical successes only occur for events that are otherwise irrelevant (such as craft checks, or low dc checks).

[Ostien]

thanks for the clarification... which means it fits "cursed with awesome"...

The only thing is the alignment shift, which if you get cursed by a werewolf kinda is the suck. Though my group has homebrewed out the crappy alignment stuff.

[T.G. Oskar]

The only thing is the alignment shift, which if you get cursed by a werewolf kinda is the suck. Though my group has homebrewed out the crappy alignment stuff.

Well, you can be a Human or Giant Werebear Paladin, and it doesn't matter the alignment shift. Heck, you can return to your original alignment by simply accepting a voluntary change. Plus, you get +16 to Str and +8 to Con, which along with a way to use weapons (such as hybrid form) means you can pretty much worry about Wisdom and Charisma. And you only need a 14 Wis, so...

If you're neutral, you can get to be a Weretiger (or a Wereboar if you like the tusks)

Though, it surely can also be considered Blessed with Suck as you have to take both the level adjustment and the HD of the creature, which makes for some serious dissonance (you'd be a 9th-10th level werebear paladin, for example), and while you can remove the level adjustment if you use the UA rules, you can't reduce the racial Hit Dice (and you're still considered a human as well). So it's a bit of both.

[Blackfang108]

so so true...
it gives them absolutely nothing in terms of combat ability.
and it does not even actually extend their lifespan, they just don't accrue penalties...
As an "bonus", they become outsiders... outsiders can NOT be resurrected!

Quoth the SRD: Unlike other outsiders, the monk can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

[Masaioh]

What's a truenamer, and why is it considered blessed with suck?

[Grumman]

What's a truenamer, and why is it considered blessed with suck?

It's a class from the Tome of Magic, whose "spells" require skill checks against a DC that scales by twice the target's CR. In other words, every level your check goes up by one (from skill points) and your target DC goes up by two.

Either you abuse the game to break the character, or you suck.

[Closak]

For example:
"Curse": you are sexually attracted to dragons and are compelled to act on it.
The awesome: Dragon laying is a lot more rewarding then dragon slaying. For example:
http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2007..._third_010.jpg

...Guilty as charged

*Proceeds to stare dreamily at the ABD*





Curse: You are imbued with a fraction of the essence of an Elder God but gain enormous power from it (Do note that carrying around a part of a lovecraftian entity within your body is rather unpleasant)

[taltamir]

Quoth the SRD: Unlike other outsiders, the monk can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

thanks, i am gonna use this in another thread

[Yora]

Well, you can be a Human or Giant Werebear Panda

Late hours make you read strange things...