Magical Items as Set Pieces

[@masterthedungeon]

For those of you commenting "What about wizards with the Identify spell?", per the Dungeon Master's guide (pg. 138) Identify fails to reveal curses.

[@eldinoor7072]

Not to mention, Identify does not work against the arcane aura spell, which could be infused onto the ring. Or you could write a clause saying 'the Identify spell sees this as a Ring of Satiety, the nearly identical ring that removes the hunger of the wearer and keeps them nourished.'

[@fenixmeaney6170]

Ever notice how only cursed items can't be easily removed? Does that mean a finger trap is a cursed magic item?

[@JarieSuicune]

No, it's just a cursed non-magic item. Unless it also has magic properties, then you're probably doomed to lose at least a few fingers permanently.

[@uninvincibleete]

idk about magic but it's definitely cursed XD

[@asdasd-ty9se]

Nope, only an int/str check

[@orionthehunter55]

I like the idea of giving a ring of hunger to a warforged to stave off hunger when rations run out, since they don't get hungry in the first place so the ring has a "full belly" to project at all times

[@jondw]

from the description we've been given it seems like the body still needs food, it merely project the feeling of that need onto those around the wearer as opposed to the wearer feeling it. If it could project the "full belly" feel, it would more be a comfort thing than an actual benefit of not needing the food, though if moral is a bigger concern then the actual lack of food it would still be pretty good

[@macoppy6571]

The Ring 💍 of Hunger feels like Unseelie magic. Twisting this curse to do "good intentions" will backfire. Also, Fey (light and dark) are antithetical to constructs. Putting the ring on a Warforged might produce a screaming feedback that attracts all Fey in 1 mile radius to stop the noise.

[@Fernando_Cabanillas]

@@macoppy6571 the first part makes sense, the second doesnt within the dnd mechanics or lore. May make some sense in some regional folklores, but also is not universal :/

[@wellhellothere8993]

@@Fernando_Cabanillas whilst it may be exaggerated it does make sense outside of just forgotten realms and main dnd World settings given how other TTRPG handle Antithetical things .i.e in one official DNS module you can destroy something utterly and completely by casting antipathy/sympathy on it yet not wish since its kinda immune to wish

[@Michael-bn1oi]

@@wellhellothere8993 it's not enherently antithical at all though. Fey could be the ones making the artifacts or even the ones who made the warforged. Maybe they are similar to Wraithbone constructs from 40k etc etc. Don't forget DMs answer these questions and whatever you do at your own table doesn't mean anything to anyone else.

[@AndrewJohnson-oy8oj]

Bard: "This is the storied ring The Bane Of Bellhaven." Fighter: "I've never heard of a place called Bellhaven." Bard: "Exactly..."

[@SnowyFoxFox]

"A creature that only the wearer can see" got my imagination going. It'd be fun to have, say, a ring that appears to be a ring of light or something - but after going through a couple of dungeons wearing it, the wearer starts seeing a li'l mouse sitting on his shoulder that lets him know where traps are. The mouse seems really helpful for a few sessions, with the players probably becoming quite fond of it, but then it starts getting occasional things a little bit wrong, and is like "oopsie, sorry. I meant you should step on the OTHER floor tile." Then it starts getting things more and more wrong until it's clearly trying to walk the ring's wearer straight into deathtraps, stifling sadistic little mouse giggles. They can't touch or otherwise effect the mouse - hands, weapons, and spells pass straight through it - and when it appears and disappears is completely outside of their control. It'd be interesting to see whether they could work out that it only appears while they're wearing the ring. ...I think I'm gonna do this. ¬w¬

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Remember to account for player paranoia. The first time Mr Mouse leads them wrong they'll stop listening to it. MAAAAYBE the second time if it's an especially naive player. And particularly grizzled or scarred players won't wait for it to lead them wrong.

[@SnowyFoxFox]

@@aprinnyonbreak1290 Well, that'd be up to the players.

[@adamnevraumont4027]

@@aprinnyonbreak1290 always "roll" for the mouse. It will look like a bad roll the first few times. Remember the goal is "I hate that mouse" not "that mouse got my PC killed".

[@3XC4L1B3R]

"The skeleton in the spike pit is wearing a magic ring." "Cool, I put it on."

[@Captain_A_Grimm]

I'm gonna do that too

[@hugoandre96]

I have a plan about a kid going to some ruins where he was warned not to go near. Finding a cool looking bracelet and showing it to his friends. He doesn't know its magical, but slowly undead will begin to appear. It isn't a cursed item, and the only effect is attracting undead to the wearer, but the undead won't attack them. The undead will attack everyone else, though. So the party has to find the source of what is making the undead come to this town.

[@josephperez2004]

Reminds me of a small4th edition adventure. Essentially, a small obsidian skull that was a part of a greater magical item had a small effect on its own of attracting undead. A group of ghouls eventually found it and took to kidnapping and sacrificing villagers from nearby to the item as an attempt to appease it like a crude totem. This did in fact have a small effect of charging the skull with necromantic energy. The adventure was open-ended on what the group can do with the item, though it leaned against trying to complete the item.

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

I made an item similar to that, one time. It was an iron ring (like Xena used, not like jewelry) that could trap incorporeal undead, like the genie flask, but sometimes they could temporarily escape. Every once in a while, you'd have a ghost or spectre just *surprise!* pop up and create a little havoc before disappearing just as mysteriously. My poor players were so confused for so long 😂

[@stortrut]

I usually don't like long intro stories, but this one was really well made! Probably my favorite video, I really liked the ideas discussed

[@wolfkniteX]

Thing about making the ring a cursed item that can't come off unless you have Remove Curse, it'll pretty much inform everyone that this ring is bad news and they'll start to immediately try to figure out what it does and try to get it off as soon as they can. By not having the item in question be clingy, they won't realize that this item is going to cause problems until the problem reveals itself.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Do be mindful, players will turn a cursed item into a huge weapon if they can. I approve of doing this, but you have to be aware of it. The "welds itself to the player, is destroyed when removed" template mostly exists to keep a devastating item out of player leverage

[@aliciacordero8399]

On the other hand, having that be a random quirk of an otherwise normal magic item can throw them for a loop; it's all upsides, but because it won't come off they think it _must_ be equally cursed.

[@haroldsaxon1075]

@Alicia Cordero I've done this to a party before. I like my magic items to have a little bit of backstory you see. In this case, an old men's wedding band that can't be removed once put on. After investigating, they tracked the ring back to a minor noble family and an infidelity scandal several generations back. It had no other magical effects and could be removed by any lady baring that families blood.

[@aliciacordero8399]

@@haroldsaxon1075 amazing

[@thepopulargirl1784]

Yeah, that makes sense. The one ring didn't glue itself to the person who had it.

[@mikeharvey7966]

This is a fun scenario! Cursed items that give the PCs interesting (and often dramatic) choices are way more my speed than “your life sucks now, you played yourself” dead-end items. I have a two-part adventure planned where the first part revolves heavily around a magic item and what it’s implications on the world might be! Honestly when I read the video title I got excited for a rundown on using/designing magical item sets that awaken extra abilities when you wear the associated items together, hahah. Though I did like the narrative set piece direction after all!

[@filipahlers6156]

Not really on the same level as the video, but a fun little cursed item I've come up with is the Ring of Attunement. If touched by bare skin, it will automatically teleport itself onto an available finger, instantly attuning itself to you. Beyond that, it does nothing. It is simply an irremovable ring that takes up an attunement slot, ending a player's oldest attunement if need be, and you need to use a curse removal spell to get rid of it.

[@notoriousgoblin83]

That's just a nuisance

[@studentofsmith]

Neat. Once you do get if off you could use it to remove other cursed items that aren't subject to a remove curse spell. Just make the cursed item your oldest attuned item, maybe by deattuning and reattuning two other magic items, then touch the ring. It should replace the cursed item with the ring which *is* subject to a remove curse spell. Heck, that may be why the ring was created in the first place, as a workaround to more powerful and detrimental cursed items.

[@filipahlers6156]

@@notoriousgoblin83 Yes, that's the point.

[@zachrabaznaz7687]

JUST A NUISANCE?! This is *evil* and I'll be using it extensively

[@Zeriador]

Calm down, Satan. I love it.

[@MrCMaccc]

I love this and use them in my game! I basically ask the question "you break into Steve the magic accountant's office. What kind of items are on his desk that makes you feel like he's a real person" Well, he has pictures of his kids. Maybe a few knickknacks, things to remind him of the camping trip he took 3 years ago or when the family went to a touristy city. And tourists by little gag items and gifts, Like wands that spew bubbles, floating rocks, optical illusion toys and more. Maybe a mask that puts an illusion on their face that makes them look like a ogre or a dragon. Magic items are a product, and every product has to be produced somewhere in the world. Be it another plane, or just your local blacksmith. The items, their effects and designs are all determined based on the personality and traits of some random guy out in the world. I have a magic potato in my world that blinks teleports into the future and is capable of hitting you with the force equal to an ICBM. Why? Because some wizard was experimenting to use magic to solve food problems (because in a world with magic being able to make food out of thin air why do people starve?) and was working on fixing the problem when his apprentice drew a rune in time-based spell incorrectly and ended up dying in the resulting accident. The apprentice, who wasn't there at the time couldn't afford to buy the tower so was forced to sell everything to pay off their debts. Thus, TPoDV, The Potato of Delayed Vindication was born when a player in a dark alley bought it from a shady NPC for 500 gold because they were told "it is a weapon that has brought down kings and generals and ended wars" so obviously they had to. They realized they had been ripped off by a silver leaf covered potato, threw it away, I rolled a 3 on a d6 behind the screen and 8 hours later the potato blinks back into existence, having followed them the 25 miles they traveled that day out of town and then hit them for 48 damage, knocking them unconscious only to realize just what this potato was capable of.

[@danielcrafter9349]

This is like "the Butterknife" from WFRP e1 (can't find the full name atm) A mercenary was betrayed by his band and engaged a wizard to make a runic sword that would "cut through anything like butter" The resulting sword gives -3 damage against mortals, ethereal beings, dragons, trolls, orcs and all other creatures But +3 damage against all dairy produce, such as cheese and yoghurt Love a magic item with a history behind it!

[@jasonfurumetarualkemisto5917]

Always give Permanent Cursed items an equal badass or Useful power. Tell your players exactly what it does before they use it. Watch them make incredibly poor life decisions.

[@PhilosoShysGameChannel]

We have a similar item to this in Ta Mando that's called the ring of gab. It makes anyone around the wearer thoughtlessly blurt out scandalous rumors about the wearer in mixed company

[@bestaround3323]

Are the rumors true?

[@PhilosoShysGameChannel]

@@bestaround3323 no! As a matter of fact, they are completely ridiculous. IF you are wearing the ring and go see a fancy, high ranking dignitary at his manor upon being introduced to you his wife will start spinning a rag about how you were flirting with her just two weeks ago while she was in town at the market. You've never met her in your life.

[@PhilosoShysGameChannel]

Victims of the ring will even come up with stories that cannot have been true.. Like telling their partner that they caught you stealing a handbag during a time when they weren't even in the city and you were giving a speech in front of seven thousand people in a crowded stadium.

[@Zirbip]

The Rogue needs to open up a restaurant and rake in the coin. Alignment permitting, of course.

[@dragonivy4779]

only if the rogue is a warforged, or has a ring of sustenance.

[@emeraldcityelicitor2281]

Give that ring to a dragon, and now you have a plague of "living zombies" cannibalizing their way through the local cities

[@chrisconway2445]

It's funny, I misunderstood the title of this video. I read "set pieces" to mean one item as part of a full set like in a dungeon crawling game like Diablo. It got me to thinking about nerfing or homebrewing magic items that can have an enhanced effects once combined as a complete set! Great story about the Ring of Hunger!!

[@jesternario]

Look up Call of Cthulhu's adventure The Secret of Castronegro. It has a lovely creature named Podduck that is VERY helpful for as long as you wear the ring they're connected to. Of course, you can't take the ring off without removing the finger, and you no longer age, and any wounds heal within moments, so he has a VERY LOOOOOONG time to convert you to the dark god he worships, so of course he's going to take his time and be helpful. He has a literal eternity to corrupt you.

[@codymurphy7347]

Here's a simple idea I just whipped up; Ring of the Persuer: causes the weather to occasionally see an illusiory figure that appears to be following them. The figure takes the shape of something the weather fears, and always appears for only brief moments to dart out of sight, such as around corners or under furniture.

[@EveloGrave]

This makes Identify so useful. Also allows the introduction of other curse items later because you primed your players to be less carefree with magic item equipping. Great video as always, thank you.

[@JarieSuicune]

Don't forget, a few Cursed items have properties that defy Identify by giving false information! I loved dropping the Stone of Ill Luck into my party's hands. They Identified it as a Stone of Good Luck (as part of its traits), which gives a +1 bonus to all rolls... but this cursed item actually gives a -1 penalty to all rolls. So I had to apply a secret -2 to that player's rolls to make up for the +1 they were adding. It was a great reveal when they finally found out about it and got it removed!

[@RaethFennec]

As an ARPG player, I was immediately filled with dread that you meant a set of magic items in D&D where you'd gain additional effects the more pieces of the set you wore. "And with that, you find the fifth and final piece of the Arvandor's Glory! To compliment the gleaming plate armor that now resonates with holy power, about to unlock its true power, a shining Longsword inscribed with the Crest of House Arvandor and the very same holy symbol you wear around your neck!" "Uh... I took Polearm Master. And no one else in the party uses Heavy Armor." "Well, sorry, that's what the book says so... if you want that +2 AC and Lay on Hands to recharge on a short rest, you gotta use the longsword."

[@TheTrueArkher]

If your DM can't adjust what the items are to fit the party that's a bit worrisome, ngl.

[@bestaround3323]

@@TheTrueArkher Sorry bud, that's what the book says. Take the longsword or bust. World doesn't revolve around you.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Tape the longsword to a mop

[@Galanthos]

@@bestaround3323 I don't DM games because I want to listen to what some book has to say about things. Especially when it comes to magic items. If I'm putting enough effort into my game to seef the pieces of a legendary set of equipment for my players, I am either going to choose a set that fits a particular player's build, alter the set to fit that build, or give the player the option to A) have the offending item modified to fit them or B) Respec their character to make use of the new item. Or, hey, maybe spread the love. Maybe someone else in the party uses a Longsword, and when the person wearing the armor, and the person wielding the sword stand together, they both gain some amount of the set bonus.

[@danielcrafter9349]

@@bestaround3323 - you must be fun at parties

[@lildemon6816]

For those asking about the Identify spell here’s how I handle it. I use it kinda like dispel magic on more obscure or particularly powerful items. The level of spell or magic used to craft or enchant the item is added +10, then you must roll using Int modifier. You can learn the type of magic and spell level associated even if you fail. That way the gravity of such an odd item is relayed. But its abilities are not. Like for example The One Ring is an artifact, use identify but you’re not a very powerful spellcaster. You’d learn its imbued with incredible power, and has wisps of alteration glittering off its golden band. Now you know you’ve got something incredible. But what do you do with it? I’d allow like historians to obv know of that great legend, or get an idea it might be related, so factoring that in they could learn it may just be The One Ring. Making identify more FUN for DM’s. Just imagine Samwise picking up the ring and using identify per RAW just to be all “omgsgfkfjpk YEET THIS THING MR FRODO” In my example Gandalf could be argued to be using Identify and not passing the check, so he’s pretty heckin sure what it is. Does some research and learns to throw it in the fire. Boom One Ring revealed.

[@JarieSuicune]

Identify is really more of a legal "cheat code" in the game mechanics for spellcasters. It doesn't make a lot of sense (unlike Detect Magic) because you can learn innate and otherwise unknowable details about something via "magic aether/brain powers". That said, I think it is a GOOD (and sometimes necessary) "cheat code", since learning the details of magic items the "proper" way could be both VERY time-consuming and dangerously... dangerous. Both of which are likely to become anti-fun for the players and ruin the game itself.

[@lildemon6816]

@@JarieSuicune yup. I don't much like it but I can see the use in it. So for my table I just tweaked it a little.

[@ShadowDrakken]

"The member with the most monster kills", well, that sure discourages support characters and teamwork

[@CooperAATE]

Some groups like it, I don't judge

[@stortrut]

You could also do things like mvp, the member who contributed the most - which includes healing and support

[@ShadowDrakken]

@@stortrut that makes a lot more sense. And encourages team play a lot more :)

[@indestructiblemadness8531]

@@stortrut I really dont like appraising an individuals work. How much is healing worth compared with damage? Is eliminating only worth the hp it takes? What about getting someone up from 0HP? How do you calculate giving someone advantage, enableing someone to sneakattack, preventing an enemy to attack a vulnerable member by clever positioning? I mean, sure if everybody feels similarly it might work, but it invites people thinking they are not appreciated as much as they deserve. Dissent, grudges, even if they may keep it in to not disturb the peace. I find it easier to say everybody gets the same money, and useful items are lend out to the one with the most use for the item or having the least items overall. It doesnt prevent dissent, but I find it the most agreeable.

[@thatguythere6161]

@@indestructiblemadness8531 There’s also the issue that if someone gets better loot early on in a campaign, it gives them more chances to be the MVP later down the line, giving them better loot again and again

[@enetgrinson8394]

I gave our druid a potted plant that can cast sunbeam once a day, it's gonna be fun

[@dragonivy4779]

I hope that you used the plants vs zombies images.

[@Balcamion79]

Love this idea. It would be a great alternative to "You meet in a tavern "

[@Marcus-ki1en]

Hmmm, imagine an unscrupulous inn keeper or tvern keeper with this ring. Sold out every night!

[@kori228]

ah the benefits of playing Van Richten's Reborn 👍

[@naughtyconklin2519]

@master the dungeon, how do you feel about when a player uses identify on the object, would it still tell the player about the weird effects?

[@lildemon6816]

I use it kinda like dispel magic on more obscure or particularly powerful items. The level of spell or magic used to craft or enchant the item is added +10, then you must roll using Int modifier. You can learn the type of magic and spell level associated even if you fail. That way the gravity of such an odd item is relayed. But its abilities are not. Like for example The One Ring is an artifact, use identify but you’re not a very powerful spellcaster. You’d learn its imbued with incredible power, and has wisps of alteration glittering off its golden band. Now you know you’ve got something incredible. But what do you do with it? I’d allow like historians to obv know of that great legend, or get an idea it might be related, so factoring that in they could learn it may just be The One Ring. Making identify more FUN for DM’s. Just imagine Samwise picking up the ring and using identify just to be all “omgsgfkfjpk YEET THIS THING MR FRODO” In my example Gandalf could be argued to be using Identify and not passing the check, so he’s pretty heckin sure what it is. Does some research and learns to throw it in the fire. Boom One Ring revealed.

[@lukefranklin5]

What good fun

[@GarroGaming1]

I misunderstood the title. Thought it meant a collection of magical items that work together as a set. Not a magical item that's purpose is a "setting"

[@wholesome2399]

Love it, the urge to use the hunger ring is strong haha

[@Marcus-ki1en]

What they didn't tell you was after the ring came off it was like the great pie eating contest from "Stand by Me". Great video, great idea!

[@reesebenson3215]

My players love getting cursed with out expecting it. So long as it is a fun and interesting curse. It can even have dire effects, so long as the there are also benefits. I have a monk player who wanted a the + to hit that a magic weapons gives but to continue be “unarmed” so I made some curse of vengence hand wraps for now they give them what he wants plus to hit and damage but his anger has been more explosive and he puts himself in more dangerous situiations to finish off enemies. One time he even attacked another players summon because he took damage from it. It was fun and interesting and the other players are begining to notice something is wrong.

[@CooperAATE]

What a FANTASTIC concept, thanks a lot!

[@NatsuDragn33I]

.... My dumb ass wondering how this item changes when he gets more of the whole set of items.... realizing at 3:50 that it wasn't a "Set" of magical equipment... it's a "set piece", as in a chance for a small story. *I'm going to go make a dent in the wall*

[@oniminikui]

I DM'd a campaign where I rewarded all players with a magical item that allowed them to see in any darkness (magical and the mundane). The drawback is they started to hallucinate and see monsters where there weren't any (began by appearing in their periphery). Eventually, the monsters they saw were actually each other, and they started to attack each other. It was a lot of fun. It was my first attempt at horror-themed campaigns. The party was hunting some medusae, and they appeared to them in disguise, offering them a means to get passed their deadly gaze.

[@MemphiStig]

"As per tradition, the member of the party with the most monster kills chooses their pile of loot first." That's one way to do it I suppose. I think the best methods I ever saw were in the AD&D PHB, Appendix V (five). However, there is that problem of characters not touching anything magic without casting Identify first (which is smart). I guess if your campaign is different, this would be a good way to let them work it out.

[@probablythedm1669]

"Peasants are made of meat" is just "Peasants are made of XP" with extra cleanup. 😈🤣

[@LuckySketches]

Is that a pot of greed? What does it do?

[@foxross]

The ring that transfers hunger is actually perfect for one of my current games. One of the villains (long term, the PCs are low level at the moment) is attempting to harness the power of a demon whose domain is in pestilence, plagues and gluttony. A person wielding the ring could very subtly sow chaos in a population and then ritually gorge when the day is done. Now the question is, would the hunger be split between nearby people or multiplied to fit and would it affect nearby animals as well?

[@nip3004]

Bind items to your players all they want. And remember, it's not bad luck when a player gets a curse after deciding to use an item without knowing what it does.

[@JarieSuicune]

You still have to be careful. Some cursed items also fill an Attunement Slot, which everyone (except high-level Artificers) only get three of. While it can feel justified, it can also totally wreck the game by being anti-fun for the sake of "realism" or whatever. That's not to say I'll protect my players from their stupidity, but I try to make sure there are options to help make it it not encourage them to either walk out (the game becomes un-fun) or murder their character for the sake of a new one (the character becomes un-fun). If they do something stupid, we work with it rather than just punish them. Unless everyone dies, but that's not happened... yet.

[@nip3004]

@@JarieSuicune please re-read my first sentence.

[@torva360]

Identify will take a lot of fun out of this, but I don't like banning spells. And thoughts for resolving it?

[@spacewizarddragonpuncher2461]

One way is to make it so your cursed items come with some sort of benefit, to tempt the players to use them even if they know about the curse.

[@doubleg281]

I like the idea of stuffing yourself with food before putting it on as a way of warding off hungry beast while traveling. If you couldn't eat another bite neither could the wolfs

[@JarieSuicune]

I don't think it would work that way. It seems like it would just project the hunger you should be feeling to all creatures within its radius... but in addition to any hunger they already feel. It wouldn't replace (or negate) any of their hunger, it can only make the hunger stronger. ie: [Other creature's hunger] = [Their base hunger: 0-10] + [Your hunger: 0-10]

[@doubleg281]

@@JarieSuicune both would be cool magic items. Because it completely overwrite the users hunger to 0 it's not out of the question that it would overwrite the victims hunger to the users true hunger. The true purpose of the ring id imagine would be for a glutinous villain that eats only for pleasure forcing all his minions to feed him and not themselves because they knew they were under the effect of the ring. It mostly depends on if your DM wants a full curse item or a trade off item were it's dangerous but useful

[@PhilosoShysGameChannel]

This was a really good video! Thanks for making it!

[@Mark-ki7ic]

Good video and idea. Taste like Gnome ?

[@DamianDirectly]

This is brilliant

[@Redacted_Ruler]

0:56 Wizard: "I cast identifty"

[@cfalkner1012]

I am 100% ripping this off for my game! I can’t wait to see what happens.

[@d4rk1n9_]

Here's a magic item set piece idea: A ring that if you attune to you get troue sight for a small range but the immense power of the ring is slowly dragging you to the etherial realm. Once you take the ring off you slowly drift either to the matterial realm or the closest realm, if you want your players to go on a rescue mission in the ethereal realm. Identify would fail to recoginize the unintentional effect and it does not count as curse (optional). The ring could be a creation of a powerfull wizard from his younger days, when he couldn't control his vast power or a relic intended for extinct spicies that has strong connection to the matterial plane.

[@GrandmaJesus]

i think a really good way to turn this into a constant "shadowy" antagonist in the campaign is when the player first equips the ring you tell them "you feel full of vitality, more alert and awake than usual almost like youve eaten a really hearty meal. this ring increases your perception by [BLANK] and your health by [both by whatever amount you see fit at that point in the story] you notice you can also remove it whenever you want". this will make them think the explination is just explaining the immediate feeling of their stats increasing and also dispel any worry of it being cursed. but what you can do is the rings hunger affect curse is only when someone has come into contact with the ring but isnt wearing it. so say this is the rogue and they are a "touchy" type of person when they are trying to win someone over in a conversation. what you can do is make a rumor that the guard they were talking to, that noble they wanted a better reward from or that shop keep they were trying to get a deal from has been acting strangely. maybe THEY are under suspicion. this could be a really fun long term thing thats going on in the campaign, a smart player that keeps notes may figure it out after meeting with a few of the afflicted or maybe a player with detect curse figures it out right away but that would be ok too because maybe the players have to decide if having a magic ring is worth it for the effects as long as they take it off while in town. this video really does make me think of some cool ideas lol

[@Chadventure_Animated]

Love this video and love the artwork! Just found you, here's my sub

[@terrortalks3037]

Apparently a lot of people in the comments are ignorant about set pieces. Glad they liked the video anyway

[@blackmage471]

I am so "yoinking" this idea!

[@MalekitGJ]

So i made a Deteriorating Bracer. It sets your AC to 15, it's cursed, and every time you get hit it will "deteriorate" and apply a -1 to the AC. If it reaches -10 stack (AC 05) it will finally break apart. It was supposed to be used by our Bard/Wizard, but the tank had to try it. Already got hit once.

[@VisonsofFalseTruths]

A concept I play with in all my games is "demi-cursed items." Magic is volatile and messy; binding it to a static object requires complex rituals, expensive reagents, and intricate inscription. Over time and in the right conditions, as with anything, those methods can begin to fail. This can weaken the power of a magic item, in the best case; reverse the effect in some way, or even change it entirely. After many hundreds of years without proper care, a flying carpet might now only hover just slightly off the ground. A flaming sword might now only glow, granting a small amount of light but not scorching its victims. A ring of spell storing might instead DEVOUR spells, simply consuming (without any sign or other effect) any spell cast upon it. Such an item is never "cursed" in the traditional sense of being unable to remove or dispose of it. The identify spell returns the original nature of the item, but something is always just slightly off. My groups don't use the "stare at it really hard while everyone breaks for tea" method of instantly identifying it on a short rest: we use Intelligence (Arcana) checks in lieu of that, where the roll takes an hour and requires proficiency in the skill to attempt and the DC is 15+the item's minimum level to craft (based on the item's tier, chart found on DMG 128). The role is made by the DM, and on a failure the player simply might get the wrong idea of what it does or might simply not learn anything, DM's choice. On a success they gain the same information as via an identify spell. The only way to SURELY determine what a given object really does is by combining multiple methods; either an identify spell or arcana check combine with experimentation.

[@tomisabum]

I've been toying with the concept of 'lesser vestiges' based on the vestiges from the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting to similar effect; my take is that 'true' vestiges were intentionally created, while lesser vestiges are more like byproducts or anomalous consequences from direct divine (be they 'bad or good' gods) interaction in the past or even powerful divine spells and rituals. Objects that are infused or coalesced unintentionally that produce 'curse like' effects with mixed boons but can easily be removed or halted...though if worn or kept in function, can have 'milestone' effects. A fun take on the concept of cursed objects, though I've been rightly accused (affectionately) of just making DND setting SCP objects.

[@nGuy1901]

Huh. I thought this video was going to be about items that make a set, for instance, the Invulnerable Coat of Arndt, the Sword of Arndt, and the Boots of Arndt. The actual video was still interesting; just ... different than I expected.

[@Althemor]

Why am I thinking about this, I'm not even playing ttrpgs... How would the other PCs staying hungry work, unless you outright tell them "you're still hungry"? I can see how a ring of dieting (you don't notice your hunger, it doesn't affect anyone else) would work, but how do you convey the effect on others without giving everything away immediately?

[@celebrim1]

As a GM, my first question is, "What is the play you envision this adding to your table?" Like, neat trick and all, but really this doesn't do anything except waste the party's time. The whole thing is concept without execution.

[@avengingblowfish9653]

The ring is a cool story, but it seems like it would be incredibly difficult to pull off in an actual game. 1. Hunger is not something that is usually addressed in most games, bringing it up will instantly draw a ton of attention to it. The rogue being the only one not affected by the hunger is a pretty obvious "mystery". I can't imagine a party not thinking to take the ring off immediately unless the DM is being so subtle with the details that they will never figure it out. 2. Telling the party that they gorge themselves takes away player agency and in my experience, I find it incredibly rare to find players willing to "go along" with acting out a curse or anything else with negative consequences for purely RP purposes. Even more so, if the players don't know exactly what's going on. 3. Once the players solve the mystery of the ring... then what? There doesn't seem to be any stakes or rewards from this scenario. The benefits of not being hungry just aren't that great in D&D where it's trivial to make a survival check or just cast the Goodberry/Create Food spell. I realize that this is just one example to illustrate a broader topic, but a more practical example would be more useful.

[@orionar2461]

How would any of this work mechanically? Having the party be forced to eat more would make things obvious, and the person would start suffering from exhaustion. This works narratively, but mechanics have no good support for this. This seems to be a thematic problem in several of your videos.

[@gmjjjones]

This is great because it emphasizes the biggest thing: Talk to your players! I had a really good idea for a time jump 300 years back and it wouldve been a great narrative surprise, but I ended up asking because going back meant giving up a lot of things they built in the world. Everyone agreed to it and the mission leading in was great! Hopefully we can stick the landing now that we're here 😅

[@JarieSuicune]

There is a huge point against the ring as being self-destructive: It does nothing to prevent eating. It only relocates your feelings of hunger. ie: you can still eat (just like anyone else who can eat while not feeling hungry). In fact, doing so would allow you to wear the ring and control its effects on the populace around you! So, any person with this ring would have to be ridiculously stupid to let themselves starve far enough that it was causing significant problems for themselves. They can still eat without any problem, they just won't feel hungry. It also doesn't (to our knowledge) affect their feelings of "fullness", only hunger (unless the DM treats those as two sides of the same coin of relativity, such as hot/cold or fast/slow), so they can also know when to stop eating to avoid overeating.

[@justinsinke2088]

The idea of "the DM shouldn't engineer bad luck to cause harm to players" is a philosophy I often extend to things like character dice, in that my general philosophy is that characters should only die heroically or due to their own stupidity/recklessness. Essentially, if a player is going to meet their end, it's going to be by their own deliberate choices in knowing that they're taking a risk or doing something stupid because they think they have plot armor; I'll give you some grace for acting in a reasonable manner and the dice just weren't agreeable that day, but I won't pull my punches if you start behaving like I won't have characters suffer consequences for their actions.

[@AnimeNPC.]

I’ve been playing almost 20 years with multiple groups. I’ve never heard mvp gets to choose. Most groups have a Pirate mindset. Everyone splits the coin and if you want the item discuss it and give your coin share.

[@mercurion08]

Subs, YES! Ty.

[@skydog4034]

Our monk just married a puppet... for the second time. The puppet is a halfling who just looks like a puppet because his dad is a chaos demon. He is... very into murder... and the monk sees nothing wrong with this. He isn't a cursed magical item he's just a guy who can speak to her telepathically and urges her to kill. But we bought him in a magic item shop where every other magic item was cursed and my character almost died because of the ring she bought. I love this stupid puppet

[@VermilionMage]

"forcing bad luck"? If they don't pay to get the magic item identified, that's just their greed screwing them over. It's not the DM "forcing" anything on them. It was their choice not to get a guarantee.

[@seaborgium919]

I like the idea of having an abundance of low level curses - like this ring of hunger, with how easily it's managed- being like. a young enchanter wizard trying things out, and is trying to be edgy and evil lmao (Toss them in an old collapsing wizard tower, a bunch of weird curses. and then maybe find the wizard locked in something and they can chose whether or not to free them)

[@Madhattersinjeans]

This item described in the video is interesting. You could sneak into X enemy camp while invisible from a spell or ability put the ring on for X hours, take it off have some food, then put it on again. Rinse repeat to destroy the camp from the inside out over the course of a few days or weeks. I suppose you could even have evil NPC's do this to friendly towns and villages could be a fun little detective thing. This idea came to me from a game which has stealthy enemies who do exactly this, spread hunger and disease in the province they're hidden in. They're called hunger demons or something. The counter in the game is the patrol with lots of troops to flush the spy out. But re-enacting this in DnD could be much more interesting. The idea of using basic human functions as a curse might come from a few Greek myths as well. So if you want more ideas you could do worse than go into a history book to see how the myths did it.

[@ianmorse9381]

This Ring of Hunger could destroy whole towns in a matter of days. This is the kind of magic that small wars are fought over. Imagine if you will, the cunning courtesan gives this ring as a gift to a lower noble of a rival kingdom shortly before said kingdom is to host a grand banquet. When the trick is discovered it would be an act of war, but the rival kingdom will have all of its movers and shakers incapacitated or worse and the royal vaults dangerously empty.

[@kutalyl7153]

If there's a ring of hunger, should there be an equivalent ring of constipation? (just asking)

[@michaelmcnamara1839]

Love this idea! Wondering though: How do you get around the smart-arse wizard with an "identify" spell?

[@theprinceofawesomeness]

in my homebrew world i actually have a -5 wooden spoon. it's the remnants of a sword, it's hilt that was supposed to be a god artifact to spite a Dark Lord who took posession of it, cursed it and "destroyed" it. this spoon when killing the Dark Lord will undo all evil he done. the "sword" can't be fully destroyed and thus the wooden spoon

[@gregkaye5583]

My ad&d centaur cleric watched as a skull was put in a font which came out as a living person. I got my centaur to dive in and he instantly died. That's fair. The font did something uber positive to the first item of a type that was put in it and then uber negative things to items of that type thereafter. We just didn't figure it out and my character took a huge risk. The PC with the skulls happened to be able to reincarnate my character but, with all posessions destroyed and no materials to reference, he came back as a troll. Honestly it would have been better to reroll the character but it was a great and memorable encounter. I'd prefer my character hadn't been so stupid but I'm glad the GM didn't fudge the situation.

[@mr.outlaw231]

Honestly, the Ring of Hunger seems like a counter to hunger-based aggression, such as the traditional flesh-eating zombies. If the Ring of Hunger overrides the sense of hunger in a target with the sense of hunger of the wearer, a person who is satisfied could easily cause eternally ravenous individuals to finally feel a sense of peace. What this will do depends on the creature, but the Ring of Hunger actually seems like a good item... as long as you remember to take it off from time to time.

[@7pearlsofwinter381]

What about players who use detect magic and identify? How could I create a story for magic items with players who always have these spells prepared?

[@acriticaloversight]

“They don’t want to pay appraisal costs, so the rogue puts on the mysterious ring, confirming that it isn’t cursed.” Because of course, urgent curse removal is a lot cheaper than appraisal fees, right?

[@eldinoor7072]

Imagine giving this ring to a Flind. Gnolls normally are always hungry and will ravenously eat. A gnoll army blessed with the ring of hunger could make everyone feel so insatiably hungry, that it drives them mad or weakens them if in the ring's aura for too long.

[@mandocomando9444]

These are good ideas… if only every party in existence DIDN’T have identify and detect magic and high arcana. At least all the ones I’ve played with did.

[@jeremigaezki3618]

Ring of Hunger is perfect assassin's tool. Just eat before a social meeting with a target and let him eat himself to death. Edit as an afterthought: even done in a spur of a moment you can last without food couple of days easliy but your target wont last eating non stop for 12h. (Depends on how strong the urge to eat is. Might allow Save roll after some time to stop eating and leave)

[@Kajiyaification]

heres how it will work at your average table, you find a ring, spellcaster: i cast identify. Oh its cursed well sell it to a temple or whoever else and leave the place theyve been to. Or youre not playing the spell by raw and your players get mad that you didnt tell them everything the item did even thou the spell says so. And youre just bsing your party. Nice theorteical idea that probably never works anywhere thou.

[@MahoganyDesk]

I like this ring of hunger! And I have a bit of a horrifying idea as to why it's a cursed item but still removable. When you talked about controlling a kingdom with this ring, what if the ring was made for a revolutionist to take down the ruling elite? They get a job as a servant and when the king holds a massive banquet, inviting all of the nobles to join, the revolutionist puts on the ring and helps serve the food, knowing that it will never be enough. I don't want to go into too many details, but I could see the revolutionist withering away as the days roll on and the people effected by the curse turn to more desperate measures. Maybe the revolutionist had friends who made sure to bare the nobles in - helping what servants they could escape. The whole point is that this person willingly took on the curse's side effects all to end the current form of rule.

[@JarieSuicune]

There is a huge point against the ring as being self-destructive: It does nothing to prevent eating. It only relocates your feelings of hunger. ie: you can still eat (just like anyone else who can eat while not feeling hungry). In fact, doing so would allow you to wear the ring and control its effects on the populace around you! So, any person with this ring would have to be ridiculously stupid to let it themselves starve far enough that it was causing significant problems for themselves. They can still eat without any problem, they just won't feel hungry. It also doesn't (to our knowledge) affect their feelings of "fullness", only hunger (unless the DM treats those as two sides of the same coin of relativity, such as hot/cold or fast/slow).

[@MahoganyDesk]

@Jarie 水栓(Suisen) Oh, that's actually a good point. Guess if anyone goes with my idea, then they'd have to tweak the curse.

[@joshtr-sd3mr]

@@MahoganyDesk Not necessarily. It just means that your revolutionist can snack on occasion to keep up appearances and to see the job to the end. Also, he can use the opportunity to go on a poisoning spree.

[@MahoganyDesk]

@@joshtr-sd3mr Oh, damn, you're right! That's devious!

[@euansmith3699]

"Peasants are made of meat." 😄😄😄😄😄 Thanks for another funny and interesting video.

[@talwaldude148]

Wizard My GUY what's up use Identify that's why you need a wizard with identify and or legend lore

[@faaax2390]

Imagine using that ring to force an evil diplomat into eating poisoned food, or slowly lure a creature out of a cave, or calm down a pack of hungry beasts. You could also just use it to be an inconvenience to unfriendly people. I love this kind of idea so much

[@andrewszigeti2174]

The obvious place to find that ring is on a starved corpse. See if the players remember where they found it when they 'determine' it's a ring of sustenance...

[@blakereid5785]

When I was a younger man I would thing that a cursed item that makes your hair fall out was funny…not anymore. That’s horror, now.

[@officialcathandu1491]

My dumb ass thought you meant Set-piece as in like an MMO and was confused for the entire video lol.

[@delphydallon217]

"As per tradition, the member of the party with the most monster kills chooses their pile of loot first"... Not really how you want to do it if you don't want to see your parties turining into a bunch of minmaxer who hate each other (and ban any idea of support character at the same time).

[@gearsfan6669]

even as an item for the players to actually use I can think of another use for that ring of hunger, say you are doing a massive war campaign and you have to deal with an enemy encampment but you're low on resources (hence why you would need to deal with it), your party has enough rations to last a week for each party member, you set up camp close enough to the enemy base for easy access to it's walls but far enough that the rest of the party won't be effected by the ring, have one character who is already a light eater go to the base and equip the ring and only eat every 2-3 days (long enough for the hunger to be immense but not so much that they will resort to cannibalism), you make the enemy burn through their rations which then puts them in a weakened state from over eating allowing for the party to come in and easily clear it out

[@ZenFr0g]

My players would just go "I spend a short rest to attune to it. I know everything it does" in regards to the ring. Metagamey as hell but part of the DnD rules

[@tentative_flora2690]

As someone who generally doesn't feel hunger anyways, I wouldn't notice at all. It's so hard to know when I should eat.

[@andrewspears8891]

*Sticks magical ring on finger.* Well, it's not cursed. Great plan.

[@WaterTheBoy]

A wizard without Identify? No Detect Magic? Nonsense.

[@tymera]

The craftdwarfship on this video is of the highest quality :3

[@minimoose7890]

That story/example magic item was hysterical, clever, and cute. Thanks for the video!

[@burnttacoconspiracy5786]

The *best* Set Piece magic item is the Happy Fun Ball, hands down.

[@pantsuchan968]

I was really confused at first because I thought this was a video about sets of magical item, not as a plot piece. A fantastic story none the less.

[@samkibbey6321]

Forget that wizard, if I'm the rogue it's still my ring. I might not wear it, but that is a government toppling item used right

[@stephenadams8712]

Instead of a binding curse make the items effect addictive so the player has a need to use it even though it can harm the player, party or world

[@aajjeee]

I would go a step furether and call it a ring of empathy where others feel what you do (in this case, hunger)