Will certainly not be suspected, a bad luck charm for everyone around.
Appearance: A small round shield, commonly used by light infantry to protect from volleys of arrows, or in fight.
History: Owned by a greedy young soldier, he invested into magic before a battle, magic to protect him from any arrows, trusting his sword skill. His hope of defeating the Orcish army and getting a share of their loot failed, as his unit failed. The coward he was tried to flee as his comrades, but was badly wounded by a spear. Dieing and seeing the Orcs coming, killing and looting, he cursed all, the orcs, the magic and his own cowardice, no one shall ever prosper from HIS items, at the least orcs, only the owner could...
So he was killed and so was the magic sealed, when his shield was taken.
Magical Properties:
+2 to defense in hand-to-hand combat (such shields granting normally a +1)
+5 to defense against missiles
-2 to anyone within the same group as the wearer, to checks/saves concerning the whole group, -3 if any orcs are in the group
(last group to feel this effect tried to sneak on a Cave Bear). The effect lasts only in a short radius, say fifteen feet.
The Final Power: If you willingly engage in a fight, but then flee, your enemies get a +5 bonus to hit you, be it with melee or missile/ranged weapons.
Brings Bad Luck, but mostly not directly to the wearer. Can be dropped anytime and is actually useful(to the wearer!), so may not be suspicious for a long time. It would require a really wicked person to use it, if its effects are known.
Removing the curse may require to contact the spirit of the soldier and convince him. This may of course remove all magic effects, even the good ones.
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Use alongside
Submissions that pair well with this one at the table.
Three years and 1800 some odd views and nobody has a comment? Geeze people.
Well, it is not that great, but... you are right!
Quite the standard cursed item. The numbers seem ugly, but at least they give the impression of the pluses and problems associated.
Depending on my mood and need, I would give the item a 2-3 vote. The author should really improve it some day! :D
An item like this one would be hard to detect as cursed, as the wielder gets bonuses from it. I like the "sneaky" nature of the shield: Someone trying to detect its magic would be likely to discover that it is powerfully enchanted without understanding the full nature of its curse.
Of course, if the shield's owner DID figure out the curse, he could arrange for one of his enemies to get it, and "hose" the guy's whole group.
The item should have a limited range of effect, perhaps 15' radius, otherwise, the effect could be awfully potent: "The 1,200 men in your legion have a -2 to their saves, but you're not sure why...."
Of course, it was supposed to be for a small group, just not written there. A radius will do just fine. :)
Thanks for the BUMP!
Dang. Ooooooold sub. I think I see some moss growing over in that corner...
Aaah! Stats! It Burns! It Burns!
Hmm, wonder if we should adopt a generic stat system - ie,
minor - %Percentile 5-10% D20 +1/+2
moderate
etc...
As for the sub, an okay item but I would 'destat' it somehow...
It is easy to simply swap the numbers for "a decent bonus", "major bonus" (or penalty). I have considered changing the writeup, but frankly, there is no particular need for that. It shall stand as an example of old craftsmanship. :)
On the brighter side, I noticed it wasn't linked to the plot/group that originally spawned it. That was fixed. Thanks for the Bump!
I noticed the stats as well, but didn't see them as a serious issue in this case. The shield's description is comprehensible, even if you aren't familiar with those systems that scale in the +1 (minor bonus) to +5 (major bonus) range.
The subs that I have trouble with are those that don't suggest what they mean before they start slinging out obscure spell references and numbers. (E.g.: "This +5 Sling of Seduction gives targetting bonusses equal to the Randy's Smarmy Slingboy spell, but also gives a +5 bonus to Occupation: Courtesan rolls when worn as swimwear...")
Well, I didn't let it affect my vote, though it is my preference that the sub be completely usable without looking at game stats...