This is my gaming circle minus my ACKS players.
This is my gaming circle minus my ACKS players.
I am such an asshole. Since they're in the big city now, the players really wanted to know if there were any magic weapons for sale. ACKS ain't 3e or 4e though. There is exactly one magic weapon for sale. I rolled randomly to see what it was and...
...it's a cursed -2 sword.
So I told the players there's a weapons dealer/fence who's looking to get rid of a magic sword he's gotten ahold of...cheap. Only 6,000gp when usually a +1 item would be 10,000gp. So far they are not suspicious.
They're going to be so pissed at me. I can barely contain my excitement.
Man, they are so gonna murder you at the table!
ReplyDeleteif they're not suspicious, they deserve it.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that could make this situation even better would be if the sword had a property of something like: once held, it cannot be let go without going through special/magical means.
ReplyDeleteAlex Hakobian cursed swords normally have something that won't let you give the weapon up - having it stick to their hand like some asshole crazyglued the hilt seems a bit much.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! *air guitar*
ReplyDeleteThat merchant is going to have to leave town very quickly. Heh
ReplyDeleteIf someone takes it, they will think the sword is awesome. I will tell them it's a +2 sword. I don't give out AC's in combat, so they'll tell me what they got, then do the math myself and tell them if they hit or not. It should become obvious quickly that the sword is cursed. But the owner will still think it's great and use it in preference to everything else.
ReplyDeleteMadJay Brown, luckily this is a Hangout game!
ReplyDeleteThe character that's taken the bait is the same player who has rolled 1's for hit points his last two levels for his fighter PC AND for his assassin henchman's last level.
ReplyDeleteOuch.
ReplyDeleteI'm talking to the player in our campaign community right now. He's not sure he can afford the 6k, so he's considering murder of the weapons dealer. Which could potentially start a war between the merchant's thieves guild, the Calico Cats, and the henchman's assassins guild, the Blackblades.
ReplyDeleteThis keeps getting better. He's probably smart enough not to do that, but a DM can dream.
Oh, to be a fly on the monitor of that hangout.
ReplyDeleteYou are evil. I love it.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is why as much as I enjoy being a player, it's so much more fun to be a GM much of the time :)
ReplyDeleteI approve of Calico Cats thieves guild.
ReplyDeleteI'll just keep this rolling. He's now getting wise and asking if any of the other party members can glean any other info from what I've given them. He specifically mentioned curses, but he's assuming it can't be cursed because only the creator of a cursed item would be able to sell it. Not sure how he came to that conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with the assumption that the curse kicks in when you use it in combat for the first time. The previous owner had remove curse cast to rid himself of the sword, and no one is currently cursed.
This was pretty rich to begin with, but the players contemplating immoral acts to get their hands on the thing is about the best thing ever.
ReplyDeleteThe previous owner had remove curse cast? Are you sure the previous owner was not murdered trying to defend himself with this cursed weapon? Because what good is a cursed weapon if it doesn't have a history of death and misfortune behind it? Is the current owner careful not to demonstrate how the weapon handles? "Oh, I keep it bundled in these rags, wouldn't want to get a dink in it."
That's good stuff, Larry Lade. Anyone got a good name for this thing? Actually, two names. One the dealer will call it (that he made up and is badass), and it's true, cursed, name.
ReplyDeleteIf the bard goes along to the buy, he could potentially sniff out the con with a lore roll.
Agrivax the Doomblade (false name)
ReplyDeleteDoomblade works either way!
ReplyDeleteFalse name: The Felblade
ReplyDeleteReal: Betulotu the Gravewarden
Agrivax the Doomblade / Agrivax, the Doomed Blade :D
ReplyDeleteStrifebringer . . . it was wielded by a barbarian and is said to be infused with his rage . . .
ReplyDeleteI applaud you, sir.
ReplyDeleteAlexander Macris thank you for making a result of 99 on the chart a cursed -2 sword!
ReplyDeleteYou know, if the players actually go ahead and murder a dude to get the sword, maybe rumors of the nefarious deed spread, and no cleric for miles will be willing to cast remove curse for them.
ReplyDeleteLarry Lade then it's lucky the character in question befriended a cleric of Hextor. He'll help them out...for a favor.
ReplyDeleteOh man I would love to get my plot hooks into a group like that, have fun with them Casey!
ReplyDeleteThey're negotiating for it right now. Trying to bring down the price with another PC's Bargaining proficiency. Gibbs the fence really wants to get rid of this thing, but he can't not negotiate and try to squeeze a few more gold out of these marks.
ReplyDeleteThey did have the party thieves make some Hear Noise rolls for rumor gathering about where the sword is coming from. They were worried it was stolen and the owner would come looking. Both rolls were successful, and they learned that the sword came from a botched tomb raiding expedition and some dwarves had to escort them out of the mountains.
Unfortunately for them, they didn't get the bard involved. I was going to allow a lore roll to know the sword's history.
Oh man, the excitement of getting this in their hands and seeing them (try to) use it is nearly palpable!
ReplyDeleteOh my Grodd. It is done. They bought it. I think the henchman will use it, not the main PC, but still. I have no idea what the in-game reaction to being scammed will be.
ReplyDeleteAll the plusses!
ReplyDeletePlease keep up posted!
ReplyDeleteLast update!
ReplyDeleteHe took it in good humor. He discovered the curse when he drew his bow to shoot but found the sword in his hand instead, then charged a bone golem. So for a minute he just thought it made him a berzerker. After a couple rounds he figured out it also had a penalty. So I told this whole story to the party about rolling the sword randomly and we had a laugh. He did manage to chop up a couple zombies and knock one of the skulls off a skull lord, so the henchman is even more convinced it's awesome now.
For being such good sports I would let the right quest remove the curse and leave the blade a + 1
ReplyDelete* lots of blood sweat and tears getting there though, I am not a total softy.