Cursed Dice of (Mis)Fortune [PEACH] - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Cursed Dice of (Mis)Fortune [PEACH]

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Geer_
Apr 04, 2011 22:57:34 Hi folks,

I'm planning on putting a set of Dice of Auspicious Fortune as treasure in a campaign I'm running. However, said dice will be found inside a pyramid, and we can't go having treasure in a pyramid without at least some of it being cursed, now can we? ;) Anyway, here's what I'm thinking for starters:

-The curse takes effect the first time someone rolls the dice. That character is then cursed until he/she dies or the curse is somehow lifted. The cursed player will still be affected even if someone else rolls the dice later. (So no simple discarding of the dice or giving them to someone else!)
-Whenever a character rolls a 1 on one of the dice, the highest number on that die fades almost completely away. If at some point in time the player then rolls that "disappeared" number, the value is not stored in the die. Instead, the player takes necrotic and psychic damage the the tune of 30 minus the faded number that was rolled.

In essence, the curse thus becomes worse the longer you use the dice. The longer the you use them, the smaller the numbers that can get stored, and the more damage you are likely to take.

I was hoping to get people's opinions on this curse, and maybe possible ways to add stages to the curse, in the spirit of the Dungeon 182 "Curses" article. (Damage escalation perhaps? Can't be prevented by resistances?) I was also hoping to get suggestions on how the curse can be lifted (as in the article), apart from the Remove Affliction ritual.

Thanks!
#2
alitain
Apr 05, 2011 7:01:01 Well I personally LOVE the Dice of Auspicious Fortune, so a shame to see them cursed...then again cool idea I may have to steal it I've been wanted to screw with my group and give them a cursed item for awhile. My first attempt failed because the player with the cursed item changed his character and thus, "lost" all the items...grr.

Sorry detracted from point. First question I have is what level your players are? The reason I ask this is because 30 could really suck. Not initially, since the first time it'd be 30-20, but it could if they continue using the dice. I would maybe just do a set amount, like a 1d10+ their wisdom mod damage or something. What you have isn't really all that bad, I just see it as totally sucking if they continue using them for long. Also, does to curse affect anyone else who uses the dice after the first person? Or is it meant to just curse one person and that's it?

I like though the idea of the highest number fading. Question though what if the first time they roll the dice, they land on 20? Do they not get the 20 since it's suppose to fade? Or would it store that result but fade after that, thus being unusable from then on? Also in terms of writing it out, I would say simply the highest number disappears. It just sounds...I don't know odd reading the curse and it saying the number "fades almost completely away" like it's still kinda there but yet unusable. It just makes clearer sense to me at least, for it to disappear entirely. Then there wont be any confusion.

There's also the issue of the keeping track of the numbers faded, I just know from experience with my crew it's entirely possible to forget to right something down or whatever, then next time they may have forgetton that say the 18 has disappeared, and so on. So just something to remember.

Alright, so as for having this curse staged? Not exactly sure, but I have one suggestion. Since the "curse" part is based on them rolling the dice and landing on the disappeared numbers, thus incurring the damage, I see the curse being about compelling the person to roll the dice.

Thus I would maybe have it something like this;
Stage 1:
Stage 2: Have the dice make an attack against the cursed one's Will. The attack bonus I would make depending on level of the players, and don't tell the players of course what that bonus is. Anyway if the attack succeeds the player is compelled to roll the dice. If there's multiple people cursed, then it makes an attack against each person in succession.
Stage 3: I was thinking something along the lines of Golem and his Precious. The character is very possessive of the dice, and gets angry, possibly attacking anyone tries to take them. The only problem with this is that it will instantly cause a huge mess with the party, let alone if there's two or more players cursed who end up in stage 3. Even just one person in stage 3 and another in stage 2 will cause a big problem. But would be fun =).

I think stage 2 would work really well with the idea of the cursed Dice, stage 3 might be a little much and I can't think of something simple enough for stage 1 aside from maybe it causes them to burn through their Dice rolls quickly. Meaning they have to use up all three of their Dice rolls in the next three d20 rolls. But then there's basically no positive to even using the item if they have to potentially waste the rolls. Though I guess you could say they're forced to use the Dice rolls on their next d20 rolls if the roll is less than any of the Dice rolls.

Example, because I probably am not clear. Say a player rolls 18, 12, 7 as their Dice rolls. Stage 1 which they would automatically be at once they roll the Dice, would make them use those rolls the next time they rolled a d20. So if say they have to roll Streetwise for info gathering as their soonest d20 roll, and roll say a 12. They would be forced to use the 18 in it's place even if the 12 was fine enough.
Then if their next d20 was say a 16 for a jump across a chasm, they wouldn't be forced to use one of their Dice rolls because the only numbers they have left are 12 and 7, thus the 16 is high than both of those. But if they then after that, during combat, rolled an 11 on say at at will, they would have to use the 12.

Am I making sense with my example? That's the best I could think of for a stage 1. It's not entirely that strong, which is the point of a stage 1 curse, but it does affect them. Kinda like the Dice are wanting the person to use up the numbers as quickly as possible, to get them to enjoy the effects of them, and thus more open to using them more.

As for a way to remove the curse aside from Remove Affliction, that one's kinda hard. My though is that they have to contact the originator of the curse. That would mean a little side quest possibly where they have to discover who was the one who started the curse. And if that person is dead, then they'll have to summon his spirit from beyond, if they're alive then they have to track them down and that person can remove the curse, though I would say on a condition of removing the curse the players lose the Dice. Though it'd be funny to let them keep them, and see if anyone would be crazy enough to use them again and get cursed, haha!

Hope my post helps some, honestly cool idea I want more cursed items in 4th ed.
#3
Geer_
Apr 06, 2011 21:51:52 Hi, Alitain, thanks for your comments.

My players are currently level 9, approaching 10. That's why I wanted to start at 10 damage, since that seems about paragon tier auto-damage (i.e. from a level 11 item). The intention was to have only one player be cursed. Perhaps another player could roll the dice, and maybe even get the benefits, but only one would be subject to the curse. That's fairly easily changeable, though. The main point is to make sure that the original person who rolls is still cursed even if they no longer have/use the dice.

A point of clarification: The highest number doesn't fade if they roll that number (e.g. if they roll a 20), rather the highest number fades (and only on that one of the three dice) if they roll a 1. So, no issue with the same number fading as they rolled, at least until the very end when the die goes completely blank. Our group won't have trouble keeping track of faded numbers, since we're using MapTool, and I can just code that in.

I don't think the escalation in damage will be too great/fast. The dice can only be rolled as a daily, so essentially once per extended rest. There's just over a 14% chance of the curse hitting every time they roll (i.e. rolling a 1 on at least one of the dice), and it takes a minimum of two rolls before damage is even possible. If things do unexpectedly become too severe, I'm planning on letting the players have the option of not rolling all three dice if they choose. They won't be able to store anything that way, but they also won't risk any damage. Or at least, they'll have that option during Stage 1.

I really like your "Gollum's Precious" idea. A quick nitpick: The dice have been given errata to only work with attack rolls, and the choice to use a stored value must be done only before the roll is made. A stored value can also only be used once per encounter. But still, being forced to burn the values as quickly as possible is nice. It can be explained in several neat ways. For example, like you said, the dice somehow "want" to be used. Alternatively, the use of the dice is somehow quite pleasurable / intoxicating, and thus continued use of the dice is actually physically and mentally addictive. They can maybe forego rolling/using the dice (or some the dice, as said above) in the early stages of the curse, but face an attack vs. Will or a saving throw or something later on.

A possible backstory, maybe related to removing the curse: Someone made the dice as a lesson on the dangers of gambling. Unfortunately, something backfired, and while they punish (damage) the victim for continued use, as intended, they also enhance the "thrill" or "pleasure" associated with the risk as well.
#4
alitain
Apr 07, 2011 1:15:12 Gotcha, gotcha.

You do make a point about the damage, and I must have missed the part where the highest number only disappears when the person rolls a 1. Though if that's the case I don't see it happening much. I have had the Dice on a few characters, and use them all the time and I don't think I've rolled a 1 once. Not saying that what you have is bad, just honest curiousity on how many times it'll happen. I may be just lucky though I've rolled single digit plenty of times.

Huh, didn't know about the errata. Well I only use them for attack rolls anyways but I have used multiple numbers in battle all the time. And didn't know it had to be declared before. You know that just takes the effectiveness out of the item. Not all of it, but enough to make me irritated with Wizard because they always nerf stuff till it because pointless or barely usable. Oh well, it is what it is.
#5
Neutronium_Dragon
Apr 07, 2011 16:17:49 It's probably simpler if a 'blank' face result simply drains a healing surge rather than worrying about specific damage values or having the die make an attack against its user.

In any case, as long as the user can simply discard the die rather than being FORCED to roll it each day, it's a reasonable curse because it provides a benefit at a (potential) cost, and the decision is entirely with the player as to whether he wants to risk it. The cost is also noticeable without being crippling.

Now, it's worth keeping in mind that this sort of 'Dice of Varyingly-Auspicious Fortune' should be worth less than the standard one, so it probably shouldn't be counted against the normal treasure allotment, or if it is, count it as half the normal value.
#6
Geer_
Apr 10, 2011 13:38:39 I like the idea of losing a healing surge on a blank face, so I'm going with that. It makes the "damage" scale nicely with level, too. The player could also end up taking damage equal to their healing surge value if none are left. That in general shouldn't happen, though, since most often they should be rolling the dice just after an extended rest.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Geer_ Apr 04, 2011 22:57:34	Hi folks, I'm planning on putting a set of Dice of Auspicious Fortune as treasure in a campaign I'm running. However, said dice will be found inside a pyramid, and we can't go having treasure in a pyramid without at least some of it being cursed, now can we? ;) Anyway, here's what I'm thinking for starters: -The curse takes effect the first time someone rolls the dice. That character is then cursed until he/she dies or the curse is somehow lifted. The cursed player will still be affected even if someone else rolls the dice later. (So no simple discarding of the dice or giving them to someone else!) -Whenever a character rolls a 1 on one of the dice, the highest number on that die fades almost completely away. If at some point in time the player then rolls that "disappeared" number, the value is not stored in the die. Instead, the player takes necrotic and psychic damage the the tune of 30 minus the faded number that was rolled. In essence, the curse thus becomes worse the longer you use the dice. The longer the you use them, the smaller the numbers that can get stored, and the more damage you are likely to take. I was hoping to get people's opinions on this curse, and maybe possible ways to add stages to the curse, in the spirit of the Dungeon 182 "Curses" article. (Damage escalation perhaps? Can't be prevented by resistances?) I was also hoping to get suggestions on how the curse can be lifted (as in the article), apart from the Remove Affliction ritual. Thanks!
#2 alitain Apr 05, 2011 7:01:01	Well I personally LOVE the Dice of Auspicious Fortune, so a shame to see them cursed...then again cool idea I may have to steal it I've been wanted to screw with my group and give them a cursed item for awhile. My first attempt failed because the player with the cursed item changed his character and thus, "lost" all the items...grr. Sorry detracted from point. First question I have is what level your players are? The reason I ask this is because 30 could really suck. Not initially, since the first time it'd be 30-20, but it could if they continue using the dice. I would maybe just do a set amount, like a 1d10+ their wisdom mod damage or something. What you have isn't really all that bad, I just see it as totally sucking if they continue using them for long. Also, does to curse affect anyone else who uses the dice after the first person? Or is it meant to just curse one person and that's it? I like though the idea of the highest number fading. Question though what if the first time they roll the dice, they land on 20? Do they not get the 20 since it's suppose to fade? Or would it store that result but fade after that, thus being unusable from then on? Also in terms of writing it out, I would say simply the highest number disappears. It just sounds...I don't know odd reading the curse and it saying the number "fades almost completely away" like it's still kinda there but yet unusable. It just makes clearer sense to me at least, for it to disappear entirely. Then there wont be any confusion. There's also the issue of the keeping track of the numbers faded, I just know from experience with my crew it's entirely possible to forget to right something down or whatever, then next time they may have forgetton that say the 18 has disappeared, and so on. So just something to remember. Alright, so as for having this curse staged? Not exactly sure, but I have one suggestion. Since the "curse" part is based on them rolling the dice and landing on the disappeared numbers, thus incurring the damage, I see the curse being about compelling the person to roll the dice. Thus I would maybe have it something like this; Stage 1: Stage 2: Have the dice make an attack against the cursed one's Will. The attack bonus I would make depending on level of the players, and don't tell the players of course what that bonus is. Anyway if the attack succeeds the player is compelled to roll the dice. If there's multiple people cursed, then it makes an attack against each person in succession. Stage 3: I was thinking something along the lines of Golem and his Precious. The character is very possessive of the dice, and gets angry, possibly attacking anyone tries to take them. The only problem with this is that it will instantly cause a huge mess with the party, let alone if there's two or more players cursed who end up in stage 3. Even just one person in stage 3 and another in stage 2 will cause a big problem. But would be fun =). I think stage 2 would work really well with the idea of the cursed Dice, stage 3 might be a little much and I can't think of something simple enough for stage 1 aside from maybe it causes them to burn through their Dice rolls quickly. Meaning they have to use up all three of their Dice rolls in the next three d20 rolls. But then there's basically no positive to even using the item if they have to potentially waste the rolls. Though I guess you could say they're forced to use the Dice rolls on their next d20 rolls if the roll is less than any of the Dice rolls. Example, because I probably am not clear. Say a player rolls 18, 12, 7 as their Dice rolls. Stage 1 which they would automatically be at once they roll the Dice, would make them use those rolls the next time they rolled a d20. So if say they have to roll Streetwise for info gathering as their soonest d20 roll, and roll say a 12. They would be forced to use the 18 in it's place even if the 12 was fine enough. Then if their next d20 was say a 16 for a jump across a chasm, they wouldn't be forced to use one of their Dice rolls because the only numbers they have left are 12 and 7, thus the 16 is high than both of those. But if they then after that, during combat, rolled an 11 on say at at will, they would have to use the 12. Am I making sense with my example? That's the best I could think of for a stage 1. It's not entirely that strong, which is the point of a stage 1 curse, but it does affect them. Kinda like the Dice are wanting the person to use up the numbers as quickly as possible, to get them to enjoy the effects of them, and thus more open to using them more. As for a way to remove the curse aside from Remove Affliction, that one's kinda hard. My though is that they have to contact the originator of the curse. That would mean a little side quest possibly where they have to discover who was the one who started the curse. And if that person is dead, then they'll have to summon his spirit from beyond, if they're alive then they have to track them down and that person can remove the curse, though I would say on a condition of removing the curse the players lose the Dice. Though it'd be funny to let them keep them, and see if anyone would be crazy enough to use them again and get cursed, haha! Hope my post helps some, honestly cool idea I want more cursed items in 4th ed.
#3 Geer_ Apr 06, 2011 21:51:52	Hi, Alitain, thanks for your comments. My players are currently level 9, approaching 10. That's why I wanted to start at 10 damage, since that seems about paragon tier auto-damage (i.e. from a level 11 item). The intention was to have only one player be cursed. Perhaps another player could roll the dice, and maybe even get the benefits, but only one would be subject to the curse. That's fairly easily changeable, though. The main point is to make sure that the original person who rolls is still cursed even if they no longer have/use the dice. A point of clarification: The highest number doesn't fade if they roll that number (e.g. if they roll a 20), rather the highest number fades (and only on that one of the three dice) if they roll a 1. So, no issue with the same number fading as they rolled, at least until the very end when the die goes completely blank. Our group won't have trouble keeping track of faded numbers, since we're using MapTool, and I can just code that in. I don't think the escalation in damage will be too great/fast. The dice can only be rolled as a daily, so essentially once per extended rest. There's just over a 14% chance of the curse hitting every time they roll (i.e. rolling a 1 on at least one of the dice), and it takes a minimum of two rolls before damage is even possible. If things do unexpectedly become too severe, I'm planning on letting the players have the option of not rolling all three dice if they choose. They won't be able to store anything that way, but they also won't risk any damage. Or at least, they'll have that option during Stage 1. I really like your "Gollum's Precious" idea. A quick nitpick: The dice have been given errata to only work with attack rolls, and the choice to use a stored value must be done only before the roll is made. A stored value can also only be used once per encounter. But still, being forced to burn the values as quickly as possible is nice. It can be explained in several neat ways. For example, like you said, the dice somehow "want" to be used. Alternatively, the use of the dice is somehow quite pleasurable / intoxicating, and thus continued use of the dice is actually physically and mentally addictive. They can maybe forego rolling/using the dice (or some the dice, as said above) in the early stages of the curse, but face an attack vs. Will or a saving throw or something later on. A possible backstory, maybe related to removing the curse: Someone made the dice as a lesson on the dangers of gambling. Unfortunately, something backfired, and while they punish (damage) the victim for continued use, as intended, they also enhance the "thrill" or "pleasure" associated with the risk as well.
#4 alitain Apr 07, 2011 1:15:12	Gotcha, gotcha. You do make a point about the damage, and I must have missed the part where the highest number only disappears when the person rolls a 1. Though if that's the case I don't see it happening much. I have had the Dice on a few characters, and use them all the time and I don't think I've rolled a 1 once. Not saying that what you have is bad, just honest curiousity on how many times it'll happen. I may be just lucky though I've rolled single digit plenty of times. Huh, didn't know about the errata. Well I only use them for attack rolls anyways but I have used multiple numbers in battle all the time. And didn't know it had to be declared before. You know that just takes the effectiveness out of the item. Not all of it, but enough to make me irritated with Wizard because they always nerf stuff till it because pointless or barely usable. Oh well, it is what it is.
#5 Neutronium_Dragon Apr 07, 2011 16:17:49	It's probably simpler if a 'blank' face result simply drains a healing surge rather than worrying about specific damage values or having the die make an attack against its user. In any case, as long as the user can simply discard the die rather than being FORCED to roll it each day, it's a reasonable curse because it provides a benefit at a (potential) cost, and the decision is entirely with the player as to whether he wants to risk it. The cost is also noticeable without being crippling. Now, it's worth keeping in mind that this sort of 'Dice of Varyingly-Auspicious Fortune' should be worth less than the standard one, so it probably shouldn't be counted against the normal treasure allotment, or if it is, count it as half the normal value.
#6 Geer_ Apr 10, 2011 13:38:39	I like the idea of losing a healing surge on a blank face, so I'm going with that. It makes the "damage" scale nicely with level, too. The player could also end up taking damage equal to their healing surge value if none are left. That in general shouldn't happen, though, since most often they should be rolling the dice just after an extended rest.