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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Asking for possible curses



Kejgar
2017-09-19, 09:58 AM
My players had recently fought a necromancer and the necromancer fled so they got to search his tower for magic items. Although most the magic items I rewarded we're from the book, I gave out 3 custom ones I hadn't plan much for. I would prefer them to be cursed because they were used by dark magic users to create an undead army. The first was a fiendish ritual book from a cultist that I suppose could act like Ritual Caster feat but I want it to be more original. The second was from a crystal orb that imprisoned the soul of an ancient necromancer that died when the orb shattered. Inside was a scorched locket the was infused with the raw essence of his soul, so it couldn't act like a phyla trey or anything. This one already has some magical benefits but I want it to have an interesting curse. The third was a bronze bracelet with gemstones that was found in a safe. I have no idea what to do with it but a curse would be nice.
Thanks for any contribution, I am new to the world of homebrewing Magic items.

aimlessPolymath
2017-09-19, 10:15 AM
With literally no experience in creating 5e magic items, these are my ideas:
The ritual book gives the Ritual Caster feat for the purposes of creating undead. However, its curse (and a fair heaping of pro-undead propaganda throughout its pages) comes with a mistrust of the living: Spellcasters using a positive (i.e. buff spell) when both undead and living allies are available must make a Wisdom save. If they fail, they must cast it on the undead if possible. Living creatures aren't worthy/competent enough to deserve my magic! Maybe some kind of persuasion penalty vs the living, too? Maybe it gives you the special ability to use Persuasion checks on nonintelligent undead to some extent ("rampage that way, please")?

The locket gives whatever magical benefits it normally grants. However, in addition to being difficult to remove (Charisma save), its powers twist the user towards being more like the lich it came from- the user gains a +1 bonus to his ability bonus for all ability scores where the lich had a higher bonus than him, but a -2 penalty to all abilities for which the lich had a lower bonus (-1 if his bonus was only one point lower)

The bracelet is, uh, light powered, maybe? It can emit brilliant light, like a torch or laser beam? But in the dark, it starts feeding on the "light" of the user, draining him over time. It isn't explicitly cursed, but the user could find himself fatigued or hp drained with no apparent source, especially after days where it was used a whole lot. You can take it off, but then it doesn't charge over time. A higher than normal Arcana check reveals the design flaw. It just got tossed in the safe because it wasn't particularly useful for undead.

This might need to be translated into 5e language.