Hi, I am running my second one shot for our usual DMs birthday and had an idea where I would give all my players a cursed item, and the goal of the one shot is to get rid of it. It’s online, so I wanted to lean towards role play opportunity curses- wondered if I could get some feedback on balance- have some items gone too far? Do I need to ramp up others? Should I add a counter benefit to some of the more punishing ones? Thanks!
Cursed Items Table 1- the Loose Laces : a pair of boot laces that refuse to stay tied-subtract 3 from your dex modifier
2- Rhyming Ring : a pair of linked rings, completely identical except one is silver, and the other is a metallic black- you are cursed to speak in rhyme. Failure to do so requires a DC 18 INT save every time you speak or take 1D12 psychic damage
3- Necklace of Eternal Youth: a simple pendant necklace that bears your name- you are stuck in puberty, subtract 1D4 from all skill checks
4- The spiked leather wrist cuff of emotion: a black leather cuff with one inch silver metallic spikes- you are an emo scene kid- your soul is darkness, and you make sure everyone knows it, all light sources dim within a 15 ft radius of you
5- Broach the Subject: an abstract designed broach set with a cloudy grey gemstone- you cannot refer to anyone directly by name, and must instead come up with a nickname for anyone you speak to or refer to in conversation
6- Bands of BO: a matching set of head and wristbands, that were once white, but now have an uneven, yellow, blotchy stain pattern that will never wash out- you experience a truly embarrassing level of body odour- disadvantage on charisma based skill checks and saves, DC10 con save for any creature with a sense of smell who spends more than 30 seconds within a 10ft radius of you
7- the Harpsicorset: a seemingly innocuous, brown leather corset/waistcoat- any sound you make must be sung, trying to avoid the curse by refusing to make noise results in the corset slowly tightening to suffocate you and requires a full minute of song to counter
8- The third I: a diadem with a central jewel that has been designed to look like a red staring eye- You can only refer to yourself in the third person and must add “the” before your name
9- the Fanny Packwards: a hideous purple, puce, and chartreuse pouch with attached belt- you can only walk backwards, moving “forward” is half speed, disadvantage on attacks unless you use half your movement to turn around to face your opponent
10-The honey comb: an amber coloured hair comb with a hexagon inlay- there is a 25% chance any spell (including cantrips or innate magical abilities) instead summons a 5x5 cube of bees in your occupied space that will attack anything, including you, within 10ft of the cube
11- the repeater round: a thick bangle with a checkered inlay- you must say everything twice in order for anyone to hear you speaking, but they will also hear you repeating yourself
12- stol ni lastrianton- a loose knit stole that looks like someone’s first attempt at crochet- when you speak, everyone hears a different language than the one you intended -roll on the random language table to see what they hear 1 Common 2 Dwarfish 3 Elvish 4 Giant 5 Gnomish 6 Goblin 7 Halfling 8 Orc 9 Abyssal 10 Celestial 11 Draconic 12 Deep Speech 13 Infernal 14 Primordial 15 Sylvan 16 Undercommon
13- boots of levitation: white leather boots with a slight heel- only levitates you 1/2 foot off the ground and feels like skating on ice- must pass a DC 15 Dex save or fall and loose half your movement getting back up. Each successful save reduces the DC by 1, each fail increases the DC by 1 - if the DC is ever reduced to 8, you have become proficient in ice skating and no longer need to make saves
14- double jeopardy: a big red button- all sentences must be phrased in the form of a question or take 1D4 psychic damage
15-the rod of alarm: a clear foot long wooden baton that flashes red and blue- the rod plays the Nokia ringtone, and only turns off when there is danger nearby
16-All eyes on You: a golden necklace with a horseshoe pendant that hangs down the back and is covered in eye-like jewels- You get nervous when anyone looks at you, make all ability checks with disadvantage so long as anyone can see you
17- the Flip Flops: a pair of sad looking, uncomfortable leather sandals- at the beginning of each day, roll 2D6, the corresponding stats are now flipped for the day, if you roll doubles, there is no effect 1 strength 2 dexterity 3 constitution 4 intelligence 5 wisdom 6 charisma
18- the spirit fingers: A pair of white gloves that seems to sparkle when they catch the light- Every time you meet a person or creature for the first time since acquiring the gloves, you are compelled to break into jazz hands. The compulsion is also triggered by any deception, performance, persuasion, or intimidation check, giving you a negative 1d4, but grants +1D4 to all acrobatics checks
19- the ring of truth : a simple, but bright, clean, and shiny gold ring- you must start every sentence with “I cannot tell a lie” and cannot lie or a ringing sound will be activated and will not turn off until the truth is told
20-static socks: a pair of super fuzzy socks- inflict 1d4 electric damage to any creature you touch- 1d12 if they are wearing metal
Back-up possibilities: The remembrall- a blue orb that blinks slowly on and off- You have the feeling you’ve forgotten something.... DC 16 wis save or suffer paranoia madness effect
The ear perks: A pair of platinum ear cuffs- Everyone around you chews/breaths really loudly - all perception checks trigger a second + 1D4 perception hearing check with with a DC 15 1D4 psychic damage
The beau tie: a fetching black bowtie- You must end every sentence with “Hachacha” or take 1D6 shocking damage
The itchy sweater: a lumpy, scratchy, orangey sweater- every hour you must make a DC 13 con save or you have disadvantage on all rolls
Public Mod Note
(GPyromania):
Moved from Bugs & Support to Homebrew & House Rules.
I think items like 'Rhyming Rings' (with rhymes) are fun, but can get tiring if you have to constantly follow the rules. You can add a chance to escape or skip this in some situations to reduce the stress on the player. Visit bruitagegratuit.com for more fun stuff.
Hi, I am running my second one shot for our usual DMs birthday and had an idea where I would give all my players a cursed item, and the goal of the one shot is to get rid of it. It’s online, so I wanted to lean towards role play opportunity curses- wondered if I could get some feedback on balance- have some items gone too far? Do I need to ramp up others? Should I add a counter benefit to some of the more punishing ones? Thanks!
Cursed Items Table
1- the Loose Laces : a pair of boot laces that refuse to stay tied-subtract 3 from your dex modifier
2- Rhyming Ring : a pair of linked rings, completely identical except one is silver, and the other is a metallic black- you are cursed to speak in rhyme. Failure to do so requires a DC 18 INT save every time you speak or take 1D12 psychic damage
3- Necklace of Eternal Youth: a simple pendant necklace that bears your name- you are stuck in puberty, subtract 1D4 from all skill checks
4- The spiked leather wrist cuff of emotion: a black leather cuff with one inch silver metallic spikes- you are an emo scene kid- your soul is darkness, and you make sure everyone knows it, all light sources dim within a 15 ft radius of you
5- Broach the Subject: an abstract designed broach set with a cloudy grey gemstone- you cannot refer to anyone directly by name, and must instead come up with a nickname for anyone you speak to or refer to in conversation
6- Bands of BO: a matching set of head and wristbands, that were once white, but now have an uneven, yellow, blotchy stain pattern that will never wash out- you experience a truly embarrassing level of body odour- disadvantage on charisma based skill checks and saves, DC10 con save for any creature with a sense of smell who spends more than 30 seconds within a 10ft radius of you
7- the Harpsicorset: a seemingly innocuous, brown leather corset/waistcoat- any sound you make must be sung, trying to avoid the curse by refusing to make noise results in the corset slowly tightening to suffocate you and requires a full minute of song to counter
8- The third I: a diadem with a central jewel that has been designed to look like a red staring eye- You can only refer to yourself in the third person and must add “the” before your name
9- the Fanny Packwards: a hideous purple, puce, and chartreuse pouch with attached belt- you can only walk backwards, moving “forward” is half speed, disadvantage on attacks unless you use half your movement to turn around to face your opponent
10-The honey comb: an amber coloured hair comb with a hexagon inlay- there is a 25% chance any spell (including cantrips or innate magical abilities) instead summons a 5x5 cube of bees in your occupied space that will attack anything, including you, within 10ft of the cube
11- the repeater round: a thick bangle with a checkered inlay- you must say everything twice in order for anyone to hear you speaking, but they will also hear you repeating yourself
12- stol ni lastrianton- a loose knit stole that looks like someone’s first attempt at crochet- when you speak, everyone hears a different language than the one you intended -roll on the random language table to see what they hear
1 Common
2 Dwarfish
3 Elvish
4 Giant
5 Gnomish
6 Goblin
7 Halfling
8 Orc
9 Abyssal
10 Celestial
11 Draconic
12 Deep Speech
13 Infernal
14 Primordial
15 Sylvan
16 Undercommon
13- boots of levitation: white leather boots with a slight heel- only levitates you 1/2 foot off the ground and feels like skating on ice- must pass a DC 15 Dex save or fall and loose half your movement getting back up. Each successful save reduces the DC by 1, each fail increases the DC by 1 - if the DC is ever reduced to 8, you have become proficient in ice skating and no longer need to make saves
14- double jeopardy: a big red button- all sentences must be phrased in the form of a question or take 1D4 psychic damage
15-the rod of alarm: a clear foot long wooden baton that flashes red and blue- the rod plays the Nokia ringtone, and only turns off when there is danger nearby
16-All eyes on You: a golden necklace with a horseshoe pendant that hangs down the back and is covered in eye-like jewels- You get nervous when anyone looks at you, make all ability checks with disadvantage so long as anyone can see you
17- the Flip Flops: a pair of sad looking, uncomfortable leather sandals- at the beginning of each day, roll 2D6, the corresponding stats are now flipped for the day, if you roll doubles, there is no effect
1 strength
2 dexterity
3 constitution
4 intelligence
5 wisdom
6 charisma
18- the spirit fingers: A pair of white gloves that seems to sparkle when they catch the light- Every time you meet a person or creature for the first time since acquiring the gloves, you are compelled to break into jazz hands. The compulsion is also triggered by any deception, performance, persuasion, or intimidation check, giving you a negative 1d4, but grants +1D4 to all acrobatics checks
19- the ring of truth : a simple, but bright, clean, and shiny gold ring- you must start every sentence with “I cannot tell a lie” and cannot lie or a ringing sound will be activated and will not turn off until the truth is told
20-static socks: a pair of super fuzzy socks- inflict 1d4 electric damage to any creature you touch- 1d12 if they are wearing metal
Back-up possibilities:
The remembrall- a blue orb that blinks slowly on and off- You have the feeling you’ve forgotten something.... DC 16 wis save or suffer paranoia madness effect
The ear perks: A pair of platinum ear cuffs- Everyone around you chews/breaths really loudly - all perception checks trigger a second + 1D4 perception hearing check with with a DC 15 1D4 psychic damage
The beau tie: a fetching black bowtie- You must end every sentence with “Hachacha” or take 1D6 shocking damage
The itchy sweater: a lumpy, scratchy, orangey sweater- every hour you must make a DC 13 con save or you have disadvantage on all rolls
What a great free ringtone theme. Thanks for sharing on the forum.
Download the list of free phone ringtones from the website: https://sonnerie.tel/
These are hilarious, i'm actually dying of laughter rn, i'm definitely saving some of these for later
Another you might consider is "The Most Blessed Trinket of all", the effect is that the holder is forced to speak in sarcasm.
I think items like 'Rhyming Rings' (with rhymes) are fun, but can get tiring if you have to constantly follow the rules. You can add a chance to escape or skip this in some situations to reduce the stress on the player. Visit bruitagegratuit.com for more fun stuff.
So for #6, what happens to those who fail the con save? Poisoned condition?