I got a PC who is new to dnd. His first campaign. He joined into our campaign 4 months ago. He has taken to the role playing well. Problem is we started the campaign 2 years ago. So my party has been giving him there old gear etc. I gave him a few things. But I wanna give him something special thats just for his dual wielding samauri Kenji Ito. He currently wields a +2 longsword and +1 shortsword. Homebrew is welcome. I've considered whisper and mist from pinterest. But wanna see what else is out there. Thanks everyonr
What sort of goals or backstory does this player have for his character? Personally, I love to build in personal side-quest for my PCs. It adds to RP and makes them really feel they are part of the world around them.
Since you mentioned weapons, you might have him go on a quest to retrieve an ancestral blade that is linked to his family history or to restore their honor. Alternatively, if the character has a religion, you could use an item that had belonged to a former champion or avatar of his faith.
Does this special item need to be martial equipment? Maybe consider something outside of weapons and armor. An item that has been passed down or was a gift from a mentor might work. A lot depends on what you and your player consider valuable or interesting.
It's a bit Asian-trope-y, but maybe he finds the shards of an ancient blade made of... I don't know, a meteorite? And they need to reforge the blade. However, only one smith has ever been known to have successfully worked with that material and he's retired and now lives as a hermit. He's unwilling to really talk with anyone, let alone reforge the blade.
Something along the way makes him see the necessity of reforging the blade. However, maybe he's too old and refers the characters to another, younger blacksmith with a text describing the process. Maybe this smith pointed them to the old master to begin with.
As for the properties of the blade, I'm not really sure. Maybe it's just a +2 Longsword, but it allows the player to use the defensive duelist feat (reaction to add their proficiency to their armour class.) Representing the sword's ability to act as a zen focus or something.
Alternatively, you could give him a sword that gets stronger as he increases tiers.
Double bladed scimitar, darth maul style, that can break apart into two single scimitars. Perhaps each end of the double bladed scimitar has a unique ability or feature.
Any creature struck by it can not regenerate till the end of the victim's next turn. If the weapon brings it to 0 hit points, the creature can not regenerate by any means. Note, abilities such as Relentless Endurance and/or Undead Fortitude prevent you from reaching 0 hitpoints, so they still work.
I think I have to go with Eriniel on this one. You said you want “something special just for him” and IMHO nothing could ever be more special to a character than something specifically tailored to fit with their backstory. Supercool weapons will always be supercool, but even a regular-cool non-weapon item will feel more special if it really resonates with that specific character in some way, and that will make the player feel special.
It might even just be reuniting the pieces of a family heirloom sun chime (like a wind chime but for sunlight instead of wind just to make it different) that once reconstructed could call forth ancestral spirits that send him on a quest to go get restore the family’s honor by gaining vengeance an gain at the descendants of an old family enemy that took great-great-greatgrandfather’s [________].... Fill in the blank.
You could go with a sword or even a Daishō (the traditional paired swords used by Samurai) but it could be something more unique or just different. Maybe a Mengu and Yodare-kake (the traditional samurai face armor and the attached throat guard) or something else entirely. The thing didn’t actually have to belong to the ancestor, it could have belonged to the ancestor’s enemy that wronged the PC’s family and now it has been claimed from the still twitching fingers of their descendant.
Go into detail about the beauty and craftsmanship of the item. Describe the Mokume Gane (Japanese forge welded metal with a unique patterning reminiscent of wood grain) the jade, the ivory. Describe the intricate carvings that decorate the hilts of the daishō, one side of each hilt a scene of battle, the other an idyllic pastoral scene and an inscription on the tsuba (handguards) that says something like “War only for peace.” Or really describe the strangely horrifying yet disturbingly beautiful visage of the demonic face depicted on the mengu so well that everyone at the table can see it in their minds as if it were sitting right in front of them.
I haven’t mentioned one thing that it does, and it already sounds special, to me anyway. Maybe those swords can summon ancestral spirits like Path of the Ancestral Guardian’s Ancestral Protectors feature, and 1ce/day they can also Spirit Guardians or maybe [Tooltip Not Found]. Maybe the mengu can project the Oath of Conquest Paladins’ Aura of Conquest. Those will mike what you give them cool and powerful, but the rest of it will be what make it “special.” In the immortal words of Dennis Miller, “Of course, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.”
If this character is literally a Fighter – Samurai, it could be really cool to introduce an NPC who sees something special in the Samurai, either potential or a personal flaw that holds him back, and agrees to tutor the Samurai ( best if the Samurai player can recognize the value of this NPC and actively seek to spend more time with them or ask them questions).
At the end, the monk could get either a Feat, access to a spell or two, or maybe even a level in Monk to show his personal growth and how the time spent with this mentor has changed them ( and then the mentor can move on/transcend/die defending the village, etc). In my opinion, this kind of personal growth is very satisfying, and makes it feel like the character themselves is getting more powerful, rather than just finding epic loot. But it all depends on your campaign, and if it leans more towards grittiness and anti-heroes, or more classic fantasy tropes of bloodlines and destiny!
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I got a PC who is new to dnd. His first campaign. He joined into our campaign 4 months ago. He has taken to the role playing well. Problem is we started the campaign 2 years ago. So my party has been giving him there old gear etc. I gave him a few things. But I wanna give him something special thats just for his dual wielding samauri Kenji Ito. He currently wields a +2 longsword and +1 shortsword. Homebrew is welcome. I've considered whisper and mist from pinterest. But wanna see what else is out there. Thanks everyonr
What sort of goals or backstory does this player have for his character? Personally, I love to build in personal side-quest for my PCs. It adds to RP and makes them really feel they are part of the world around them.
Since you mentioned weapons, you might have him go on a quest to retrieve an ancestral blade that is linked to his family history or to restore their honor. Alternatively, if the character has a religion, you could use an item that had belonged to a former champion or avatar of his faith.
Does this special item need to be martial equipment? Maybe consider something outside of weapons and armor. An item that has been passed down or was a gift from a mentor might work. A lot depends on what you and your player consider valuable or interesting.
It's a bit Asian-trope-y, but maybe he finds the shards of an ancient blade made of... I don't know, a meteorite? And they need to reforge the blade. However, only one smith has ever been known to have successfully worked with that material and he's retired and now lives as a hermit. He's unwilling to really talk with anyone, let alone reforge the blade.
Something along the way makes him see the necessity of reforging the blade. However, maybe he's too old and refers the characters to another, younger blacksmith with a text describing the process. Maybe this smith pointed them to the old master to begin with.
As for the properties of the blade, I'm not really sure. Maybe it's just a +2 Longsword, but it allows the player to use the defensive duelist feat (reaction to add their proficiency to their armour class.) Representing the sword's ability to act as a zen focus or something.
Alternatively, you could give him a sword that gets stronger as he increases tiers.
Double bladed scimitar, darth maul style, that can break apart into two single scimitars. Perhaps each end of the double bladed scimitar has a unique ability or feature.
I like a Weapon of the grave.
Any creature struck by it can not regenerate till the end of the victim's next turn. If the weapon brings it to 0 hit points, the creature can not regenerate by any means. Note, abilities such as Relentless Endurance and/or Undead Fortitude prevent you from reaching 0 hitpoints, so they still work.
I think I have to go with Eriniel on this one. You said you want “something special just for him” and IMHO nothing could ever be more special to a character than something specifically tailored to fit with their backstory. Supercool weapons will always be supercool, but even a regular-cool non-weapon item will feel more special if it really resonates with that specific character in some way, and that will make the player feel special.
It might even just be reuniting the pieces of a family heirloom sun chime (like a wind chime but for sunlight instead of wind just to make it different) that once reconstructed could call forth ancestral spirits that send him on a quest to go get restore the family’s honor by gaining vengeance an gain at the descendants of an old family enemy that took great-great-greatgrandfather’s [________].... Fill in the blank.
You could go with a sword or even a Daishō (the traditional paired swords used by Samurai) but it could be something more unique or just different. Maybe a Mengu and Yodare-kake (the traditional samurai face armor and the attached throat guard) or something else entirely. The thing didn’t actually have to belong to the ancestor, it could have belonged to the ancestor’s enemy that wronged the PC’s family and now it has been claimed from the still twitching fingers of their descendant.
Go into detail about the beauty and craftsmanship of the item. Describe the Mokume Gane (Japanese forge welded metal with a unique patterning reminiscent of wood grain) the jade, the ivory. Describe the intricate carvings that decorate the hilts of the daishō, one side of each hilt a scene of battle, the other an idyllic pastoral scene and an inscription on the tsuba (handguards) that says something like “War only for peace.” Or really describe the strangely horrifying yet disturbingly beautiful visage of the demonic face depicted on the mengu so well that everyone at the table can see it in their minds as if it were sitting right in front of them.
I haven’t mentioned one thing that it does, and it already sounds special, to me anyway. Maybe those swords can summon ancestral spirits like Path of the Ancestral Guardian’s Ancestral Protectors feature, and 1ce/day they can also Spirit Guardians or maybe [Tooltip Not Found]. Maybe the mengu can project the Oath of Conquest Paladins’ Aura of Conquest. Those will mike what you give them cool and powerful, but the rest of it will be what make it “special.” In the immortal words of Dennis Miller, “Of course, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.”
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If this character is literally a Fighter – Samurai, it could be really cool to introduce an NPC who sees something special in the Samurai, either potential or a personal flaw that holds him back, and agrees to tutor the Samurai ( best if the Samurai player can recognize the value of this NPC and actively seek to spend more time with them or ask them questions).
At the end, the monk could get either a Feat, access to a spell or two, or maybe even a level in Monk to show his personal growth and how the time spent with this mentor has changed them ( and then the mentor can move on/transcend/die defending the village, etc). In my opinion, this kind of personal growth is very satisfying, and makes it feel like the character themselves is getting more powerful, rather than just finding epic loot. But it all depends on your campaign, and if it leans more towards grittiness and anti-heroes, or more classic fantasy tropes of bloodlines and destiny!