"Magic Item availability, strength, etc." Topic

Considering the magic item aspect in fantasy role playing games, how do you prefer the flavors and qualities?

Singing swords with personality or just give me my +4 to hit?

"Both!"…is what expect to see in responses, but it actual play, when it is your choice as game master/manager what do you prefer to develop and provide?

Do you find that most of the players just want their bonuses and powers/abilities or do they welcome the fluff behind the bonuses?

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As it seems, I am of the flavor over pluses side of the house.

Having run many games, some with low magic base and others as high magic, with each and every magic item having a name as the process to make it magical draws out some of the conjurer or in some way binds a spirit/soul to the item.

So a +4 sword is not just a +4 sword. Maloer the valiant, as the sword is known, has the fighting spirit of a great knight born hundreds of years ago in a far off land of ice, mountains, and great wolves…the metal is always cold to the touch…Maloer speaks to the sword wielder as any traveling companion or brother in arms would, but in his native language…until the wielder takes the time and effort to learn Maloer's language the sword will be as any other…once a bond has been achieved and the nature of the sword spirit is honored then the sword's magical condition will become evident…if the wielder acts with courage the the sword becomes light as a dagger but strikes with the weight of a great sword, wounds are left burned by frostbite, no mundane metal can resist the edge, and the wielder speaks as a native from Maloer's land with great battle songs which cause fear in those with weak morale.

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So in the end…game +'s or special effects?

If you have never considered this for a game, IMO it does add a quality and a measure of interest that is not normally there.

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A few magic items that I have made available in past games:

magic spoon…Kyle, the spirit of a poisoned food taster who was a life long friend of the royal family, had spent over 50yrs as a taster, was poisoned by purpose to then allow access to the royal family…his desire to protect the king/queen kept his spirit alive and bound to the kitchen, to later be bound to a long handled sliver tasting spoon…the spoon speaks out loud, and often, about the quality, flavors, ingredients, and any potential danger (even a lack of salt :) to any food, drink, etc. that the spoon comes into contact.

(sounds minor I know…but the low level alchemist that found the spoon found out that Kyle could also breakdown the ingredients of potions and could help with the process of making the same…so a lowly 1st-2nd level character could develop very high level potions…the player character went on to develop master level chef skills as well, saving the party twice; once from being trapped in a fairy mound by the king and then from the goblin king…by producing the finest meals they ever had)

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magic shield…Gronk…a hill giant named Gronk Stonetooth was cursed by a witch and was turned to iron…later Gronk's rusty tears caught the attention and interest of a traveling wizard…the great iron form of Gronk had been broken down by the local highlanders so only his head and upper shoulder remained…the wizard worked with a renowned blacksmith to create a shield with this iron, maintaining Gronk's face on the whole of the shield…the shield was then bound by a riddle, only the person who solved the riddle could use the shield…the weight of the shield will always be slightly more then the wielder can bear for more than a moment without solving the riddle…(I don't remember the riddle, it was over 20 yrs ago…but in the end the answer was "greeting", you had to introduce yourself to the shield as a friend)…the shield makes a lot of noise when hungry (often, give him rocks they last longer), can howl and yell as if fully alive, and Gronk bites…when permission is granted by making friends with Gronk the shield is practically weightless to the bearer but hits others as if it weighed 200+lbs…and Gronk bites, as a hill giant…Gronk happily eats rocks, wood, flesh, metal, whatever.

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magic horn…Druien Helmskeeper…spirit of a dwarven hero bound to a spiral rams horn which has purest silver coating the inner horn surfaces…the braver the wielder the greater the effect…the horn would steal the breath of any coward trying to use the horn (knocking them unconscious)…once blown the horn causes fear/terror in the enemies of the wielder (great spy detector as they later found out) and grants the wielder a breaths worth of invulnerability (the length of the following turn or when the horn sound fades)

(horn was found by a knight after he was cursed with immortality and a 10yr old's body, so the only element left to the knight was his man's honor and bravery, which fuels the horn)

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Etc.

So how say you…just straight +'s and abilities…or…as above with a more fairy tale quality to the magic items?

Sorry I got tied up in my own thoughts.

What sort of availability do you prefer for magic items in your game settings?

Are they common as quality crafts items or are there only a dozen in the whole of the gaming world?

I prefer the very rare with pesonality type, but my influences are more Norse and Celtic mythology. I like things like the magic 'halberd' in Njarl's saga. It did'nt help you fight, but warned of the proximity of enemies.

Magic helms, magic swords, etc I would even slip one into a historical scenario, but the effect is psychological-"Ulf has a magic helmet given to his great-great grandfather by a Troll wife, he feels himself invulnerable and gets +2 on morale rolls and his men are 'stubborn' if within 6" " kind

Good stuff!

I like the Earthdawn system for magic items (although it does mean that each one takes a while to make). The items step up in power as the user learns more about it's past and undertakes quests (from the simple "learn the weapons name" to the ridiculous destroy the dragon/horror other immensely powerful creature that killed the previous owner).

The problem is the players generally lose interest in the fine details after the first couple and are then only really interested in the power.

So to me, flavour over simple +es

Nice examples. I am all for +'s but I do prefer flavor, interaction, and some measure of potential rather than just +'s.

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I remember a luck of the Irish war club, Pádraig…fun…it sang Irish folk songs while in battle (and while host was drinking at the pub) and provided +1 to hit and damage for every successful strike without a miss…1st swing hits, 2nd swing +1 and hits, 3rd swing +2 and hits, 4th swing +3 and hits, 5th swing +4 and misses, 6th swing no bonus, etc.

If the battle/fight ended and the club was charged with bonuses then it constantly sang lewd Irish bar songs as if drunk until used again.

It was funny but the user was quite skilled and hit most often, he ended up being a nightmare in a fight.

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How about the powerful magic sword that is basically a vorpal sword, any hit is a critical hit…but the sword is lawful good, completely, with a code against killing innocent or good alinements…if the sword is used to kill the innocent or other good then the wielder will be shown the killing in full detail over and over and over any time they close their eyes, rest, or sleep if the sword is within reach…each act of evil creating stronger and more alarming daymares and nightmares, if the wielder has any humanity then insanity and death from lack of sleep is a sure thing…separation from the sword is the only cure…if the same person picks up or comes within range of the sword then the visions start again, even if the sword is being used by good for good at that time.

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The little man in the jar…a tiny little genie bound to a small fancy jar, he will answer any single question once per sunrise or sunset (only during the events)…but the genie is devious and loves to lie as much as possible, so he will answer the question with as much misdirection as the question allows…so basically a google function with a twist…be careful for what you ask for…in the end when casually asked if he could grant wishes he said "no"…so the owner traded the genie away for a sack of coins, then the new owner who was another player who knew what the other had asked posed this question "would you grant me one wish of my choosing" "yes, and then I am free"…you get what you ask for, sometimes :)

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Fyrmire the Firebrand…a cold iron rod with an icon of a flat dragon at the tip…this iron rod has the spirit of a drake within the core, the drake traded life to be bonded with the iron rod after being enslaved and tortured…the wizard offered to set the drake free with eternal life within the iron, allowing the drake's spirit form to live within the spirit realm, the iron rod being an anchor to the material plane…the iron rod becomes red hot in the presence of evil, any wounds caused against evil causes the contact point to burst into flames causing damage each round until extinguished, if used to brand an evil subject then the wound will burst into flame with each evil act after that point…the drake speaks with the wielder but no others…any evil hand that touches the iron rod bursts into flames

(the iron rod was bequeathed to a frontier elder and feudal lord to allow the local goblins a chance to live among the forest people without threat or fear…the area became a haven for criminals looking for a second chance…act without evil and the brand stays cool…and yes if you commit an evil act while branded and put the flame out, the skin and flesh is magically damaged and heals slowly…by the way, those branded can not lie or the brand burns)

Rare and powerful, just like magic in general. An alchemist may be able to crank out two dozen or so potions of moderate potency in a year (with effects that are often of dubious worth), but things like weapons, rings, etc, are items that most characters may only encounter once or twice in their career. By extension, wizards are also rare and powerful (and feared and respected). These models approximate traditional legend better than the 'sword+2, speak with furniture 3 times a day' variety, and give a better game/story IMHO. Any device used as a source of wonder (magic, heros, fantastic lands, prophecy, divine intervention, fate, wizards, dragons, talking rabbits, etc…) becomes stale and boring if used as the common place. An excellent example (again, IMHO), is the use of the light saber in the Star-Wars films/cartoons: In the original movies, a light saber duel was a special and therefore climactic moment, now (when every other character is spinning around a glow-stick and kung-foo-fighting), such duels have become nothing more than another drull and predictable interlude in the story. If everybody has a 'sword+2 of oaf slaying', then normal swords soon become pointless, etc… When the characters encounter magic they shouldn't yawn and check their equipment lists.