Magic items that got dumped in a ditch

[Coffee_Dragon]

Sometimes we give out items hoping they'll get players excited, but this fails to happen. Share your stories of the items you thought might have turned into signature items for a character but which just weren't accepted.

The party ran into a bad guy carrying a flashy magic sword and a sentient harp which in his hands had powerful hypnotic powers. After they beat up the bad guy and took the harp into custody, it was going to start off with some low-level spell functionality to be boosted later on, also as a source of information and with a personal agenda that would align with that of the party in a later stage of the adventure. However, the party bard refused to attune to the harp because sentient magical item, and they ended up trading it away along with some other things.

As part of the trade with the harp, a mage sympathetic to the party's cause gave each of them a potentially powerful item with a dormant plot hook and tiers of unlockable bonuses. The druid's item started out as a +1 quarterstaff functioning as a druidic focus and also giving a bonus to initiative rolls. (In due course the staff could have been completed into a very powerful trident capable of shooting energy beams.) However, the druid refused to use it because we've house ruled staffs to be two-handed and he'd have to lose his shield. (I asked him how he handled his druidic focus and apparently he didn't.) Later he tried to push the staff onto the party monk despite the fact that it required attunement by a druid.

[ThurlRavenscrof]

I gave out a pipes of haunting an eyes of charming one time. One player took both of them, then promptly forgot and never used them the whole campaign

[Naanomi]

My party found an intelligent crossbow once that was pretty strong but it was a jerk and wouldn't talk to them usually (still could use its powers) but they hated it and stowed it in the bag of holding for the rest of the campaign

[Cl0001]

I gave out a +1 AC adamantine helmet that had 6 quarter sized indentations in the forehead. They sold it for 500 gold. Little did they know it was a powerful helmet that was simply missing 6 gems. It was modeled after the infinity stones from the marvel comics. Each gem gave a permanent +4 to a star along with other bonuses

[Mith]

I gave out a +1 AC adamantine helmet that had 6 quarter sized indentations in the forehead. They sold it for 500 gold. Little did they know it was a powerful helmet that was simply missing 6 gems. It was modeled after the infinity stones from the marvel comics. Each gem gave a permanent +4 to a star along with other bonuses

That's when you have a BBEG complete the helmet and becomes a Deadly solo encounter.

[Coffee_Dragon]

I gave out a +1 AC adamantine helmet that had 6 quarter sized indentations in the forehead. They sold it for 500 gold. Little did they know it was a powerful helmet that was simply missing 6 gems. It was modeled after the infinity stones from the marvel comics. Each gem gave a permanent +4 to a star along with other bonuses

That's a pretty epic thing when completed if it would allow stats to break the 20 barrier. Did you have them come across any of the stones later on?

[Naanomi]

I gave out a +1 AC adamantine helmet that had 6 quarter sized indentations in the forehead. They sold it for 500 gold. Little did they know it was a powerful helmet that was simply missing 6 gems. It was modeled after the infinity stones from the marvel comics. Each gem gave a permanent +4 to a star along with other bonuses

Ha! I had a set of 'turn this stat to 19' items that the team kept finding on cultists that if anyone wore all of them it would set all their stats to 22... they never tried to wear more than one at once despite clearly being described as a set

[90sMusic]

In the homebrew campaign world I created and run adventures in all the time, there is a character who was a former paladin with an extreme hatred of all things from the lower planes, fiends of all kinds. He has a powerful legendary item from the shadowfell that grants him an assortment of powers including creating magical darkness, seeing through all darkness (including magical) as if it were bright light, being able to shadowstep through darkness, creating a flying steed made of shadows, and even being able to spend his hit dice during a short rest to create minions out of shadow that he uses as scouts to seek out fiends to hunt down and destroy.

So this guy is always in my campaign and players from different parties sometimes interact with him or run across him for various reasons, but during one campaign in particular they had a tiefling in the party who was undergoing a quest to try to become more like her devil ancestors to become more powerful and when this guy found out about it, he attacked the party.

They ended up killing him and they found that shadowy artifact that would've made one of them very powerful if they had used it, especially a rogue type character, but they were so scared of it being cursed they didn't want to even touch it. They ended up digging a hole and pushing it down into the hole with a sword because they were so paranoid about touching it.

I found the whole thing rather funny.

[90sMusic]

My party found an intelligent crossbow once that was pretty strong but it was a jerk and wouldn't talk to them usually (still could use its powers) but they hated it and stowed it in the bag of holding for the rest of the campaign

Haha, that reminds me of a sentient sword I put in my game named Ghandi. It is a +5 vorpal sword but it is a pacifist and refuses to fight. Anytime you try to swing it, you have to beat it in a charisma contest to try to make an attack with it, otherwise it manages to stop you. There is a way, much much later in the campaign, where it is possible to make this weapon work all the time but so far, no one has discovered how to do so. Usually they consider it to be a trash weapon and sell or discard it.

[Cl0001]

That's a pretty epic thing when completed if it would allow stats to break the 20 barrier. Did you have them come across any of the stones later on?

It raised the cap as well so it was uber powerful and unfortunately they got mad at me like 2 sessions later because my campaign "lacked direction and motivation". So they never saw it's true power. And I did everything but straight up tell them that it was a really powerful item.

[Arcangel4774]

My dm gave me some enjeweled sword. I had to make a save when I picked it up (at level 3) so I wrapped it in clothe and stowed it away until level 5. We leveled slowly doubley so because we were all new, and wed play every other week By that point the dm forgot about it and had to dig up papers on what it did. Apparently it sapped the enemies strength to boost my own. Apparently It can backfire but it hasn't yet.

[Vaz]

Are you called Grog?

[Sigreid]

There's a running theme in this thread that makes me happy. Apparently lots of people hat sentient magic items as much as I do. As soon as I know a magic item has a will of its own, I have no use for it.

[Talwar]

There's a running theme in this thread that makes me happy. Apparently lots of people hat sentient magic items as much as I do. As soon as I know a magic item has a will of its own, I have no use for it.

Every sentient magic item I've encountered has been a first-class jerk.

[mephnick]

You really need to be obvious with weapons that unlock further powers. That's cool that it will eventually free cast cone of cold in 5 levels and all...but right now all I see is a sword with a bit of cold damage and I need the cash.

[90sMusic]

You really need to be obvious with weapons that unlock further powers. That's cool that it will eventually free cast cone of cold in 5 levels and all...but right now all I see is a sword with a bit of cold damage and I need the cash.

That is life though. You don't know what a weapon might do in the future anymore than you know the future fate of any random NPC you encounter. Some DM's don't like to make everything obvious and spell out everything to their players because it makes it that much more interesting if they discover things for themselves. Maybe you sell the best weapon in the game for beer money. That's just a consequence you'll have to live with. Maybe one day if you ever realize it, you can go on a quest to try to recover it.

[Corran]

That is life though. You don't know what a weapon might do in the future anymore than you know the future fate of any random NPC you encounter. Some DM's don't like to make everything obvious and spell out everything to their players because it makes it that much more interesting if they discover things for themselves. Maybe you sell the best weapon in the game for beer money. That's just a consequence you'll have to live with. Maybe one day if you ever realize it, you can go on a quest to try to recover it.

This sounds suspiciously similar to a trust exercise.

[furby076]

This sounds suspiciously similar to a trust exercise.

Rule of thumb: i trust the dm to make a fun adventure. That is all.

[Tanarii]

Rule of thumb: I expect the DM to make an adventure that challenges me. That is all.

The hard part about 'fun' is its so different for everyone.

[Zanthy1]

That is life though. You don't know what a weapon might do in the future anymore than you know the future fate of any random NPC you encounter. Some DM's don't like to make everything obvious and spell out everything to their players because it makes it that much more interesting if they discover things for themselves. Maybe you sell the best weapon in the game for beer money. That's just a consequence you'll have to live with. Maybe one day if you ever realize it, you can go on a quest to try to recover it.

If my players ever neglect an item or a NPC that I worked hard to create, or has potential to be plot relevant, I always make sure it comes back. Oftentimes against the party, but I've had times where the party sold a magic book they did not want (wanted cash for blackjack and hookers), and later the book turned up in the arms of an NPC archmage quest giver. The players felt silly, but it was a good laugh.

Alternatively, I had a new player join a campaign at higher levels and had him start off with a rejected magic item.

[MrStabby]

There's a running theme in this thread that makes me happy. Apparently lots of people hat sentient magic items as much as I do. As soon as I know a magic item has a will of its own, I have no use for it.

Too often sentient weapons are just an excuse for a lame DMPC. Hard to inflict that on players if they keep it in a bag and never let it out.


I have given my players access spells before, spells that seemed to me to be powerful for their spell level. As it was the Wizard didn't memorise it because it didn't appear in any of the online Wizard guides he had read. The paladin didn't use his because he only ever used spell slots for smiting enemies. The Druid didn't want to use any spell that conflicted with his conjure animals spell.

[Sigreid]

Too often sentient weapons are just an excuse for a lame DMPC. Hard to inflict that on players if they keep it in a bag and never let it out.


I have given my players access spells before, spells that seemed to me to be powerful for their spell level. As it was the Wizard didn't memorise it because it didn't appear in any of the online Wizard guides he had read. The paladin didn't use his because he only ever used spell slots for smiting enemies. The Druid didn't want to use any spell that conflicted with his conjure animals spell.

For me it's that what I want my character to do, who he chooses to fight or not fight, if he chooses to fight or charm is not something I want up for negotiation with his equipment. The Gandhi sword listed earlier is a fine example of an item that will wind up abandoned on a beach somewhere or something. I don't care if it's the only item capable of killing the demon prince that is after me. The first time it interferes with my decision, it's gone.

The spell thing seems a little weird to me. I play a lot of casters and while I do have a spell load out that could be considered my favorite, I do acknowledge that for the preparation casters a huge bit of their power comes from flexibility. And for following guides? I may read them to see if I'm missing something, but I'm not playing my character for whoever wrote them.

[Tanarii]

Given one of the (probably many) inspirations for sentient swords was Elric of Melnibone's sword, it's hardly surprising they were originally designed as almost as much of a curse as a blessing.

[Sigreid]

Given one of the (probably many) inspirations for sentient swords was Elric of Melnibone's sword, it's hardly surprising they were originally designed as almost as much of a curse as a blessing.

Considering that particular sword was guaranteed to kill everyone you love, I'd call it far more of a curse than a blessing.

[Vaz]

Or even the One Ring, which had some rudimentary form of sentience. "The Ring wants to be found."

[Naanomi]

Lilarcor from BG2 was a fun intelligent weapon though, he and Minsc hung out together for a long time in my first play through

[Scathain]

Too often sentient weapons are just an excuse for a lame DMPC. Hard to inflict that on players if they keep it in a bag and never let it out.


I have given my players access spells before, spells that seemed to me to be powerful for their spell level. As it was the Wizard didn't memorise it because it didn't appear in any of the online Wizard guides he had read. The paladin didn't use his because he only ever used spell slots for smiting enemies. The Druid didn't want to use any spell that conflicted with his conjure animals spell.

Oh my god, this is exactly why I don't homebrew spells anymore. I understand that not everyone has the desire to playtest my material, or even memorize new spells but this would happen in ALL MAGE PARTIES. I used to expand spell lists with new and borrowed spells from other lists all the time, but stopped because nobody cared to use them.

C'est la vie.

[Slipperychicken]

Is the moral of the thread that I need to use every dumpy little +1 sword for multiple levels in the hope that it might turn out to be the superweapon wielded by my PC's dragon-slaying illegitimate grandfather?

[mephnick]

Eh. I cast Identify, tell me what it actually is.

[Fach]

Is the moral of the thread that I need to use every dumpy little +1 sword for multiple levels in the hope that it might turn out to be the superweapon wielded by my PC's dragon-slaying illegitimate grandfather?

No, the moral is that DMs have to be careful with how they introduce magical items to players.