So I’m working on a campaign where the players go down into the nine hells. Under Asmodeus’ order a bunch of competing adventurers are looking for 7 artefacts - Masks of Power - that are planned to use against Asmodeus then the material plane. A new race of elves unique to the abyss have forged the masks in an attempt to summon Vecna and destroy the devils.
I plan to make my campaign a mix between politics and hack & slash, and have the players interact with demon lords and arch-devils. I also plan for them to use the masks at certain points but I’ll make it very clear that they should not be used regularly. I’m running it from Lv1-10 and plan to work it into Vecna: eve of ruin at the end.
I’m not sure if the artefacts are too powerful. I plan to show the players that they shouldn’t be used except for dire situations. For example:
Wrath mask-
effects: Upon attuning to the mask you gain +2d4 to your strength. You gain proficiency in strength checks and your unarmed strike does 3d12 damage.
Once attuned, you must make a DC 20 strength check once per long rest. If failed, you fall to the floor in uncontrollable rage and attack the first thing you see. This doesn’t stop until a DC25 strength check, upon which you rip off the mask & are unatunned to the mask. You can attempt this check once per turn.
Makes sense but I think I’m going to up the DC every time the mask is used/per rest. That way once it hits a certain amount it will definitely activate and the only way to reset the DC would be some side quest. That one is probably the most powerful but I’ll definitely nerf the buffs + use an action/Bonus Action to activate them
So I’m working on a campaign where the players go down into the nine hells. Under Asmodeus’ order a bunch of competing adventurers are looking for 7 artefacts - Masks of Power - that are planned to use against Asmodeus then the material plane. A new race of elves unique to the abyss have forged the masks in an attempt to summon Vecna and destroy the devils.
I plan to make my campaign a mix between politics and hack & slash, and have the players interact with demon lords and arch-devils. I also plan for them to use the masks at certain points but I’ll make it very clear that they should not be used regularly. I’m running it from Lv1-10 and plan to work it into Vecna: eve of ruin at the end.
I’m not sure if the artefacts are too powerful. I plan to show the players that they shouldn’t be used except for dire situations. For example:
Wrath mask-
effects: Upon attuning to the mask you gain +2d4 to your strength. You gain proficiency in strength checks and your unarmed strike does 3d12 damage.
Once attuned, you must make a DC 20 strength check once per long rest. If failed, you fall to the floor in uncontrollable rage and attack the first thing you see. This doesn’t stop until a DC25 strength check, upon which you rip off the mask & are unatunned to the mask. You can attempt this check once per turn.
Any advice?
The players will almost certainly try to figure out a way to get around any penalty you add to these items since they are so incredibly powerful.
Makes sense but I think I’m going to up the DC every time the mask is used/per rest. That way once it hits a certain amount it will definitely activate and the only way to reset the DC would be some side quest. That one is probably the most powerful but I’ll definitely nerf the buffs + use an action/Bonus Action to activate them