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Cursed magic items and dick GMs?

Started by MonsterSlayer, May 28, 2014, 10:39:48 PM

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mcbobbo

Quote from: jibbajibba;754537So curse someone with a blade then never hits its target.
Curse them with a weapon that deals to its wielder what it deals to its opponent. Curse them with a suit of armour that when the last buckle is tied boils the body of the incumbent and burns it away to dust. Curse them with a the kiss of a gypsy or the tender embrace of a shade of a love long lost. But don't curse them with a blade then gets -1 to hit or a girdle that changes their sex.

I agree that setting-wise you'd want to go the debilitating route.  In fact...

Quote from: mcbobbo;754223Okay,  that's a good point.  It really ought to take the PC out of active status to be worthwhile.   Kill or maim or completely disable.  E.g. a Sword of Pacifism.

But is that more or less dickish?   :)

But is that more or less dickish?

Instead of being the wrong gender as a goof, you now have to make a completely new character.

And lets not forget that in the days of old, you started at level 1 more often than not.
"It is the mark of an [intelligent] mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

jibbajibba

Quote from: mcbobbo;754638That's all well and good.  So maybe they don't last 2000 years.

Did Hollywood make them up, then, since they only lasted 200 years?

(You know, the point of the rebuttal?)

Well 200 years was hyperbole.... the reality is the pool of mercury described as featuring in the tomb of the Qin Emperor is unlikely to have lasted 100 years if that much mercury could even be purified.

The point is that tombs with traps and curses were not made up my hollywood but they were largely created by storytellers.

I have as it happens been inside the great pyramid and the tombs at the Valley of the Kings, climbed The towers at Palenque and Chichen Itza, wandered round Knosos, climbed the walls of Ankor Wat and clambered over the temples of Bagan with numerous stops in between.
Try as I might I have never found evidence of anything resembling a decent trap.
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Jibbajibba
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jibbajibba

Quote from: mcbobbo;754641I agree that setting-wise you'd want to go the debilitating route.  In fact...



But is that more or less dickish?

Instead of being the wrong gender as a goof, you now have to make a completely new character.

And lets not forget that in the days of old, you started at level 1 more often than not.

Like I said its all about context. I want my world to be logical and internally consistent.
I would never create an object to render a PC to no longer be able to use their powers. An NPC or monster in my game might under certain circumstances create an item that kills an opponent. The easiest way to do this is usually to create said item them hit the PC with it repeatedly as this is the surest way to make sure it works as designed. However, under some circumstances guile is required but in such circumstances what would changing my target's gender do to lead towards that goal?

Look we can all sit round and try and justify this stuff through some unusual combination of PC motivations and opportunities but like I said a trillion posts ago the reason this stuff is in there is just because it was funny and as a player gotcha. The game didn't need to be consistent and make sense it was just a game it could be trivial and goofy. Trying to retrospectively pretend that it was all part of some elaborate in depth backstory is bollocks.

In my games if you get cursed you will be properly cursed and chances are you will wish that PC was dead if the curse didn't actually kill you. Random shit thrown in for laughs that simply makes you have less fun until you jump through a DM identified hoop to relieve it nah not my thing.
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Jibbajibba
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Mistwell

#123
My 5e playtest group is currently in a living (evil) dungeon where every magic item (beyond minor items like potions and scrolls) the party finds is both a blessing and a curse, in an attempt by the dungeon to lure the players to evil.  The players have to decide if the benefit of the item outweighs the drawback.  My players seem to love it.  For instance, one of them has become overly greedy over a weapon, another overly reckless over a suit of armor.  They love playing up the disadvantage in character, in trying to resist the curse to use the item to fight evil, all while that item itself is trying to stir evil within them.

jibbajibba

Quote from: Mistwell;754646My 5e playtest group is currently in a living (evil) dungeon where every magic item (beyond minor items like potions and scrolls) the party finds is both a blessing and a curse, in an attempt by the dungeon to lure the players to evil.  The players have to decide if the benefit of the item outweighs the drawback.  My players seem to love it.  For instance, one of them has become overly greedy over a weapon, another overly reckless over a suit of armor.  They love playing up the disadvantage in character, in trying to resist the curse to use the item to fight evil, all while that item itself is trying to stir evil within them.

See that is better stuff.

The curse is what the item makes the PCs do to retain it.
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Jibbajibba
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Gronan of Simmerya

In the very first Dying Earth story, Turjan of Mir is trying to create life, and we become acquainted with several of his failures.

Cursed magic items are like that.
You should go to GaryCon.  Period.

The rules can\'t cure stupid, and the rules can\'t cure asshole.

Gronan of Simmerya

Quote from: Exploderwizard;753975If you think cursed items = automatic dick GM then you are a fucking moron.

Welcome to the last 38 years of D&D.  This hobby is full of fucking morons.
You should go to GaryCon.  Period.

The rules can\'t cure stupid, and the rules can\'t cure asshole.

Gronan of Simmerya

Quote from: jhkim;754011Given the defined cost and effort of magic item creation, it seems bizarre to picture someone putting that into creating items like a cursed -1 sword.

Dying Earth is FULL of cursed items and weird ass shit.

Gary Gygax loved Dying Earth.

Step 3 is left as an exercise to the student.
You should go to GaryCon.  Period.

The rules can\'t cure stupid, and the rules can\'t cure asshole.

Gronan of Simmerya

Quote from: Marleycat;754322In otherwords fuck Gygax and his bullshit gender/species change items and even worse 12 year old guy joke items. It wasn't funny then and less so now.

Waa waa waa waa waa.
You should go to GaryCon.  Period.

The rules can\'t cure stupid, and the rules can\'t cure asshole.

Marleycat

Quote from: Old Geezer;754675Waa waa waa waa waa.

You game your way and I'll do the same but thanks for the constructive criticism.:)
Don\'t mess with cats we kill wizards in one blow.;)