Items with backgrounds

[Mike Miller]

Basic premise, I want each of my players to inherit an item with a background and I am stuck on having good stories. (Unnecessary info, D&D 3.5e)

I am not great at creative writing with no prompts. I tried to use stories I am familiar with, but I am hitting some writer's block. I am hoping I can gain some inspiration from you all for these items. So far I have picked out the items for each character based on player feedback.

A druid will receive boots. I think I have the most for the druid. The boots will have belonged to an ancient druid who was the sole survivor of a dragon attack on the druid grove. Something something powerful wild shape and therefore boots make the PC stronger. I need to flesh that out, but at least I have something.

A skillmonkey (who is a dark creature) will receive a cloak. I want to involve some lucky rogue as a previous owner somehow.

A psion will receive a staff. I have no idea for this one yet.

An illusionist will receive a headband. I was thinking some gnome magician created this to boost his magic.

A cleric will receive a necklace. I have nothing for this one either.

A martial artist will receive gauntlets. I was thinking to go with the founder of a branch of martial arts owned the gauntlets and infuaed them with part of his soul when he died.

If anyone has ideas or item names, that would be great. My main goal is to break my writer's block. I don't need full backgrounds, just ideas. (Although I do enjoy reading backgrounds if you enjoy writing them)

[Coretex]

Have you ever played the Baldur's Gate computer games?
Almost every item (except for the generic +1 weapons, and even many of those) has a story attached to it.
Bracers belonging to an old pit fighter; rings given by a king to his retainers; A sword wielded by a mighty warrior who drove out the gnolls from *place*.
It is definitely worth looking to those for inspiration. But also, look to your world. Not every item needs to have belonged to a famous or powerful same-class-as-recipient.
Any story where that item can conceivably have played a role is open to use.
Gloves: A farmer was wearing them and got killed by a necromancer's attack. The necromancer then perished over the same spot and some of his power got imbued into the gloves.
A Dagger: The ignoble dagger plunged into the back of *famous Archmage* by an assassin. It might have some magic power, but mostly it is remembered for the chaos that the land was plunged into following that fateful night.
A Shield: Once the wheel of a trading cart. The caravan was ambushed and one of the hired hands, a half orc by the name of Bruce, ripped off the wheel and used it to bludgeon the attackers to death. He carried it forevermore as he moved up the ranks, eventually starting a mercenary guild to protect caravans like the very first.

Pick an item -> Look at how people use it -> pick one interesting incident (probably the inciting one eg. the one where it became magical) -> profit.

Have fun with it too. Not every item has to be tied in with world shakers or world shaking events. Depending on your setting there are loads of excuses to make an item magical. Heck, how does anyone know the story attached to the item to start with? Maybe there is lots of rumour and mis-information about this item, everyone thinks it was wielded by the representative of some god who made it magical, but actually a wizard just worked hard to make it ages ago.

Edit:

A skillmonkey (who is a dark creature) will receive a cloak. I want to involve some lucky rogue as a previous owner somehow.

A psion will receive a staff. I have no idea for this one yet.

An illusionist will receive a headband. I was thinking some gnome magician created this to boost his magic.

A cleric will receive a necklace. I have nothing for this one either.

A martial artist will receive gauntlets. I was thinking to go with the founder of a branch of martial arts owned the gauntlets and infuaed them with part of his soul when he died.

And to be more directly helpful:

Cloak: A piece of fabric on its way to be made into a gown for some lady, the seamstress was ambushed in an alley. She panicked, and in blind fear threw herself to the ground under the dark cloth. After a few moments she was surprised to notice that no-one had yet attacked her. She kept the fabric, disappearing into the night after fashioning it into a cloak. Since then the cloak has been rumored passing through the hands of many a rogue who recognized it's value. But who can say, no-one has seen them to be sure.

Staff: was a branch of a tree that was awakened, Given as a gift to some druid friend. (the wood is semi-sentient, that's how it has powers useful to a psion)
Or it was crafted for an order of monks way back when. They were called the 12 Pillars of Time and each held a staff like this one. etc

Headband: My last character actually had a headband that was the phylactery of a lich (he didn't know it at the time). It became a part of a quest to destroy it, but not before it had made my rogue an Arcane Trickster.
Or it was the sash worn by a knight as he jousted for the affections of the ladies. He was powerfully ugly, but he had a friend who created this sash to give him a chance with the ladies. At least, until he took it off.

Necklace: Gifted to the head priest of the church. The necklace was supposed to have a power that protected and brought wealth to the church. But the church fell into ruin and the flock scattered when undead surrounded and destroyed the whole town. After a group of Paladins cleared the area it was determined that the necklace was cursed and had caused the catastrophe. Rather than see it destroyed, the High Priest was determined to cleanse it of its curse and turn it into the blessing it was meant to be.
Or, once a simple string. It was used to bind the hands of some holy man. Many a pilgrim has treasured it in the years past (like pieces of the true cross), some adorning it with jewels and others even casting protective magics. Who knows if it actually had some value of its own any more.

Gauntlets: I'm partial to the pit fighter example from Baldur's Gate. But also, A knight who, when disarmed in a fatal confrontation, punched through the BBEG with these gauntlets. They both died there, the knight with his gauntletted fist buried in his enemy.
Or it was the life's work of an orc craftsman. Terrible in taste and skill, he was nonetheless determined to make some gloves that he could finally use to show up his brother. He traveled far and wide to learn from the very best in the world, but every one of them kicked him out in disgust after all of their efforts failed to produce even one iota of value in him. Finally, the last craftsman, so horrified at the work that the orc had produced, killed the orc and made him into a fine pair of gauntlets. To honour the last words of the orc: "make... gauntlets..."

Gosh these Gauntlets are macabre

[Sam113097]

I think that magic item backstory should really be decided by the players. After all, they'll be the ones possessing and using the things, so it helps if they can describe their own item and form a bond with it. One of my favorite RPGs is Dungeon World due to the amount of player control and input it allows. When a player creates a fighter in Dungeon World, this is what he or she decides about the fighter's weapon (I remove the mechanics for clarity):

This is your weapon. There are many like it, but this one is yours. Your weapon is your best friend. It is your life. You master it as you master your life. Your weapon, without you, is useless. Without your weapon, you are useless. You must wield your weapon true.
Choose a base description...:
Sword
Axe
Hammer
Spear
Flail
Fists

Choose two enhancements:
Hooks and spikes
Sharp
Perfectly weighted
Serrated edgeds
Glows in the presence of one type of creature, your choice
Huge
Versatile
Well-crafted

Choose a look:
Ancient
Unblemished
Ornate
Blood-stained
Sinister

The fighter in a game I run had an almost comical love for her sword, because she had designed it and it felt uniquely "hers". Perhaps magical items should be similar?