Magic Item Wastage

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Captain_K
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Magic Item Wastage

Post by Captain_K »

What are some typical way to destroy, damage, or alter magic items?

A failed save makes everything on the PC save?

Direct equally powerful damage? A +1 sword is directly hit by a +4 hammer.

Spells such as distigrate

More subtle how to reduce an item in power level or how to take your favorit +1 long sword and get it to be a +3 now that you have money, time and powerful friends.

Just looking for creative or practicle ideas or past stories.
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Grandpa
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Re: Magic Item Wastage

Post by Grandpa »

M&T pg. 316 Destroying Magic and CKG pg. 307

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Go0gleplex
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Re: Magic Item Wastage

Post by Go0gleplex »

Anti-magic zones/creatures (or counter-items that specialize in dis-enchanting objects touched)...puddings/oozes (or some alchemist that has created acid bombs based on such)...large falling rocks (or anvils if in the ACME zone)...shatter spells can do ugly things to gems, crystals, potion bottles, etc...magma is almost always a good option...an extremely powerful calamity level beastie (watching the face of a player when the monster casually bites their 'impregnable' shield in half and treats it like an hors d'oeuvres is funny as heck)...Spells: Acid Rain, Dispel Magic-permanent, Ray of Rust, Rusting Grasp, Rusting Fog, Water to Acid, Falling Star, Hydro-Cutter...Teleport traps that only target PC equipment (into that aforementioned volcano - also known as the ACME disarmament special)...numerous cartoons have some fun ideas that can be used...targeted curses that drain the magic of the enchantment of the item(s) around the victim (or the item itself is the target with the enchantment fueling the curse against the wearer/user...funny as heck when that Remove Curse on themselves doesn't work since it's on a favorite item or what)...Mana/Magic devouring trap (highly useful just outside the big boss' last stand room)...thieves (who want the cash from selling that really powerful item the idiot adventurer is showing off all over the countryside)...and lastly, disease/allergy (had one PC in a group I ran that overdid it on the magic and ended up with a magical allergy that clerics couldn't treat due to the magic-only made it worse-and he ended up with severe incapacitating symptoms anytime he came into direct contact with magic. He eventually got cured, but it wasn't easy and fed a whole 'nother adventure in a magic dead plane.)
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maximus
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Re: Magic Item Wastage

Post by maximus »

I use page 316 in the M&T 5th printing. I just did a quick comparison and it seems as if C&C is better for magic item saves than 1E. That being said, I like Googleplex's ideas above too. Nothing wrong with adding some flavor and some unexpected turns for the PC's.

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Lurker
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Re: Magic Item Wastage

Post by Lurker »

I'm not sure this would work with everything, but I adapted a Hero's Journey on sacrificing shields to block a hit.

The short of it is that if you have a shield and are hit, you can sacrifice i's efficiency to avoid the blow. A shield that gives 2 points to your AC, is damaged by the blow and then only gives 1 point bump to ac. If it is used again to block damage from a blow it gives 0 points to AC so is ruined.

I took that and expanded it for if the attack is magical or uses a magic weapon, then you can sacrifice the magic of a magic shield to block it.

That is as far as I went with the HR. However, if you use that to set the precedence, you could use a magic weapon to sacrifice to block a hit too.

It can force the players to make some hard decisions ... That dragon is going to rend my paladin in two with it's claw attack. Do I eat the hit and trust the cleric to save me, or do I sacrifice some of the magic from my precious giant bane bastard sword to stay in the fight at least 1 more round.

Yeah I like the idea of that.

Go0, GREAT ideas ! I do tend to run lower magic setting, so in general they wouldn't be applicable. However, If I ever do run a higher magic setting consider ALL of those ideas yonked !!!! Over doing magic cause allergy to magic (sort of like developing peanut allergies) I LOVE IT !!!!
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Go0gleplex
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Re: Magic Item Wastage

Post by Go0gleplex »

Yeah...it was back during the 2nd ed. days. We allowed mages to 'over-charge' spells at the expense of a temp CON point loss and a cumulatively increasing save to avoid insta-exhaustion. Basically boosting by a level in power. He did it three times in a row rapid-fire and then blew the second save only to use a recovery item to push thru and failed the next save. He saved the party's butts...but I tagged him for abusing things a bit; hence the magic allergy. Funny...never had another issue with players abusing the house rules much after that either. (evil grin)
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Captain_K
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Re: Magic Item Wastage

Post by Captain_K »

Great input thanks all. I've been offline lately, sorry for the delay in reply and thanks!

BUT since that time, it happened again, but I had nothing to do with it (OK I did not start it willingly). This is funny, sit back and enjoy.

Scene: 3 Players, 2 PCs each, travelling next to a "dangerous swamp" crossing a bridge when the back and long neck of some swamp beast comes out of the muck, weeds parting, the ugly head is slow to rise to attempt to gaze at the party (can you name that old DnD monster now?), the party roles initiative (2d4 +1 if DEX is prime, start at 10 and count down) and just about all go before the swamp beast. This is end of night, so how the first round goes, so ends the fight by extrapolation (it was way late on a work night), some fight to end is better than none.

Gaming aside: I am experimenting with this initiative method to get more exact same second total ties where I make them each think about what they are going to do and not change it when they hear others in the same segment explain their plan. Sometimes I make them rapid fire summarize what they want to do then we go back work out the details. I know some folks take the whole 10 sec round as basically a tie, but we normally do not do this.

Second aside: The mage has THE group magic item, Staff of Evocation (they are nearly 5th lvl), it's at 9th lvl power. I know he is dying to use it, he just got it and I had warned him it was unbalancing and too powerful for our low magic group, but if he played it sparingly the DM (me) might not invoke "What one DM giveth, the next may taketh away!" He was the last DM and randomed the treasure and got this item and as his PC was the only mage, he got the item.

As they were walking cautiously, bows out, shields up, the bridge was good but spooky, single file over the bridge, each was ready to act. Two early PCs nail it with bows a third misses, then comes the 3 PC tie in round 5. Fighter: "I will throw my axe", fighter/cleric elf: " I will shoot my bow also since its 20' into the swamp", mage: "Are you kidding, I'm going to blast it with a lightning bolt!" DM: Let's start with the bow... another hit, its wounded pretty good and thinking this meal is not worth the risk. OK Player One your two PCs are going at the exact same time. What axe are you throwing? Player One: This is out over a swamp, I'll use my magic axe that comes back if I miss or after it hits. Right between the eye! DM: OK roll, and if you hit, damage.... you hit, damage is good, yes STR counts on thrown items. It bites in deep before it will return.... OK your mage nails it at the exact same time with the lightening bolt, roll your 9d6.... 52 points, you blow its head clean off. Roll a save for your magic throwing axe that is in the path. Player One: Wait, my fighter went first and the axe will return. DM: No you had tied initiative which means at the "exact same time" plus you hit it, so it has to be at the target. Roll your save we'll see if the axe, or just the axe head returns, or well nothing returns... sorry, but a 12 will not save the handle and the 6 will not save the head either. Hey I even gave you two saves, magic lightening is nasty powerful stuff!

You should all be thankful you did so well, its gaze is a real killer! Let's call it a night, you make it out of the swamp to the Inn with a great story to tell! Maybe someone there knows where you can buy a good throwing axe (evil grin and total party laugh, OK Player One might have been a little frosty).

Add your funny or epic magic item death story.
Wow, Another Natural One! You guys are a sink hole for luck. Stay away from my dice.

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