Adventurer's Vault.pdf

WILLIAM O’CONNOR
Appendix 1
Magic items are the most tangible signs of a
character’s adventuring success. The PCs’ enchanted
weapons, armor, and implements tell the tale of how
far they’ve come, the challenges they’ve faced, and,
most importantly, that they’ve survived those challenges
and lived to brag about them.
However, as characters advance in level, they can
accumulate a surplus of magic items that become
increasingly less relevant, less useful, and less distinctive.
Surplus items can be sold or disenchanted easily
enough, but a player might want an item his character
earns at 1st level to stay with him throughout
his career. Another might want to alter or increase
an existing item’s power rather than claiming a
brand-new item and abandoning the old. Yet another
character might desire an item with a special history,
or one that provides a built-in roleplaying hook.
The rules in this chapter allow DMs and players to
place and use magic items with greater ease—not just
employing them as treasure and tools, but as memorable
elements of the game world.
UNIQUE NIQUE ITEMS
ITEMS
One of the most time-honored ways of customizing
a magic item in a D&D game is to give it a unique
history. By working together, players and DMs can
create magic items specifically suited for the campaign,
giving them an inimitable quality that no
standard rulebook can match. The deeds of the PCs
then become part of the ongoing history of these
items—possibly even the most important chapter in
their storied existence.
Such an approach to shared storytelling works
best with care and moderation, however. Giving a
notable backstory or a complicated array of unfolding
powers to a select few of the items the PCs acquire can
increase the fun. On the other hand, making every
item a relic with a detailed history and a host of secrets
behind it serves only to make none of those items particularly
special. Make customization choices count by
letting a small number of unique items add to the PCs’
reputation, rather than filling a campaign with items
that compete with the PCs for importance.
History
As with a character, an item’s past can help create a
strong sense of its place in the world. Every campaign
is unique, and magic items tied to people, places, and
myths within the game world can’t help but be distinctive.
When the item’s history becomes relevant to
the campaign narrative, it adds depth to the game.
The history of an item claimed at the climax of
one adventure can provide the impetus for further
adventures. An item that is out of place in its current
setting or in the hands of its former owner can
also serve as a campaign hook. PCs that recover a
magic shield of Pelor from an orc king are likely to
wonder how it got there—and might have a mystery
on their hands that could take the campaign in new
directions.
Characters can uncover fragments of the history
and legends surrounding a unique magic item
with skill checks (most commonly Arcana or History
knowledge checks) or even a skill challenge. Alternatively,
an NPC might recognize the item and relate
its history to a new owner. An account of the item
might be found in lore uncovered during, after, or
even before the adventure in which the item appears.
Sometimes an item’s history is recorded on the item,
and powerful relics and artifacts can convey their
own sagas.
The more common and low-level an item is, the
less likely it is to have an exceptional history. Unless
magic items are rare in your world, it’s fine for a
+1 dagger to be just that most of the time.
CHAPTER 2 | Magic Items
APPENDIX 1
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