I want to give the PCs in my Tyranny of Dragons campaign each a customized little magic item as a "gift" of sorts.
There are four PCs: a dwarf wizard, an elf rogue, a human fighter, and a goliath druid.
The wizard's best friend is a silver dragon, and he has an amulet made from one of the dragon's scales. In another thread, I've been brainstorming ideas for what exactly it might do, as my wife (who is playing the wizard) would like it to have some kind of magical property. At the very least, I am thinking I will give it the sentinel minor property, keyed to dragons, which was my daughter's idea.
The fighter has an heirloom greataxe. I'm thinking it would be fun to make it so it's actually magical but perhaps the PC doesn't realize it yet. I'm not sure how to work that realization into the story yet, but I'm toying around with ideas for that too. One idea would be to make it kind of like an eldritch knight's bonded weapon (this PC has the champion subclass) - namely, that she can teleport it into her hand so long as it is on the same plane of existence as she is. Does that sound decent, or would that be stepping on the toes of the eldritch knight's ability too much?
The druid is focused on shapeshifting into a bear (to the point that the player has it that he can't shift into anything else). I'm thinking maybe I could give him a kind of bear totem that would let him have the Aspect of the Bear trade (improved carrying capacity and such) from the barbarian totem subclass. Would that be too powerful? Maybe it's only usable once per day or something.
Last but not least the elf rogue. He's an arcane trickster. I'm not entirely sure what to give him. Maybe just boots of elvenkind or something?
Anyone got any better ideas for magic item gifts? Anyone got any ideas on how to introduce them, especially since some of the items are already in the PCs' possession?
Thanks!
Maybe have the amulet give a permanent Resistance to Cold Damage?
Nothing's coming to mind for the others at the moment, but if you're looking to give the axe a small magical property, look at the legendary items and check out their Minor Magical Effects. Apply one to the axe and have it happen when he's not prepared.
The Arcane Trickster could use a Cloak of Elvenkind to help him sneak around and generally not be noticed. If you make him attune to it, it could also provide a Silent Image effect.
The picture I've got in mind is him with his enhanced Mage Hand going to work on a locked door while he is wrapped in the Cloak and looking like just a drunk sleeping it off.
Give the Druid a totem(s) that opens up Polar Bear, Dire Bear, Kodiak Bear, Grizzly Bear, Cave Bear, (Cubbie Bear 
) &c as he reaches the appropriate levels. When the over-powered Assassin team (at the Inn) prepares for a basic black Bear and actually gets a twice-the-size Kodiak in their face...
Besides the "Masterwork" quality on the Axe, open up a permanent Elemental Weapon ability, perhaps based on what he kills with it. The Golden Stag could do this instead of giving you a +1 Longbow.
transcendantviewer wrote:
Minor update:
I've settled on having my wife's PC's dragon scale amulet function like a ring of warmth. So while he is attuned to it, he has resistance to cold damage and can withstand cold temperatures as low as -50 F. She also asked that it grant a minor psychic connection between her dwarf and the dragon such that the dragon can sense if the dwarf is alive or dead.
In terms of the noble fighter PC ... I've worked out with the player that her character hails from Baldur's Gate. We'll be going there next session. I'm not sure of the details yet, but I thought it would be fun if, while in her home city, she could discover that her axe is actually magical. I was thinking that the reason it's never registered as being magical before is that its magic is either suppressed, masked, or depleted. I need to come up with some fun little vignette where she can recharge or unlock her greataxe's magical powers.
In terms of specifics, though, I'm thinking of just giving it the thrown weapon property, sort of like a dwarven thrower. So she'd be able to throw it with a range of 20/60, and the axe flies back to her hand immediately after the attack. I'm not sure I want it to do any extra damage, though, as being able to deal 1d12+Str damage at range is already pretty powerful.
Now I just need to find minor magical items for the druid and the arcane trickster.
For the druid, since his player has gone with a bear theme, I was thinking maybe some kind of bear totem that lets him use speak with animals at will but only with bears. That might be a little too minor compared to what the others get, though. It's a bit of a shame that there aren't many magic items thematically appropriate for druids in the 5e DMG. What about an item that lets him talk while wild shaped, even if the shape wouldn't ordinarily allow for talking? That way he can continue to communicate with the party even while in bear form.
As for the arcane trickster, maybe some kind of magic bow? Or something along the lines of boots of elvenkind or something.