Troll Gloves
It seems to me that monks tend to get the short end of things, item wise. There is not much variety out there, and most of what there is is rather cliche. So, when my players were sent on a job to clear out a troll cave, I created something a bit different.
These are 'Troll Gloves'. They look like the hands of a troll, claws intact. And in fact, that is exactly what they are.
I can give the history to them from my world, and you can use that or create your own. Perhaps this is their origion, and Gus later lost them, sold them, or passed them on..
Sigrin was a strongheart halfling of great ambition. He absorbed every grain of knowledge he could come across, especially that involving magic. His travels eventually led him to Ashmore, where he sought apprenticeship with the Shadowsil. Instead, though, he was sent on a quest with a party of strangers that was basically a fetching errand. Willing to do anything to work with such a powerful wizard, Sigrin ground his teeth and went as instructed. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, and Sigrin did not get his apprenticeship.
So, he decided to continue traveling with those who were once strangers, but quickly becoming friends. His travels eventually led him to the creation of these gloves. They were on a quest to clear out some swamp trolls. There was a monk in the party, Gus, and he was not fairing very well in combat. After a particulary fierce battle, as the party contemplated their next move, Sigrin studied the body of the troll they had just slain. In a burst of inspiration, he saw a way to help Gus. He quickly set to work, cutting off the trolls hands. Using what magic he could, he enchanted them to give the wearer some of the benefits of trolls. It took much of his energy, and the party had to hide in the swamps two days, waiting for his recovery. It was worth it, though, as the gloves later made the difference between a troll's life, or that of Gus.
When I created them for my player, he was still at a rather low level, so the properties are not that great. But this can easily be altered to suit someone of a higher level.
Bonus Damage: 1d8 Slashing damage (That is just minor slashing damage for those of you who do not play D&D :))
Regeneration: 1 hit point per round (A small amount of heath given back each turn)
Penalty: -1 to Charisma (The player will lose a slight amount of charm, and be slightly less likeable.)
These can easily be altered in many ways. The damage can be made lesser or greater, it can enhance strength, etc, etc. The only important thing, I think, is to keep at least one point of regeneration and the charisma Penalty. Those properties are what make them Trollish.
If you like this, check out my Troll Belt for mages...*wicked grin*
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? Responses (13)
I quite like this - that is, it's a good first idea and a nice concept. However...
1) Please don't include stats. Most of us don't use D&D and some people have never used it. Here's an example of how you could put the stat bit better:
a) Grants a small amount of bonus slashing damage.
b) Gives the wearer a small amount of regeneration, similar to but less than that enjoyed by a troll.
c) Makes the wearer duller; he does not seem to 'sparkle' as much in conversation. A minor effect, but he will no longer be as good a diplomat as before. (you may come up with a better way of putting this!)
Also, the backstory, whilst not bad, could be better. Instead of putting 'some generic magic user', why not invent a monk and write about how and why he needed these and asked a magic user to make them. You don't necessarily need much - just a paragraph or two. If you want, you could bring in the issue of how and why a monk (stereotypically holy, honourable, etc.) came up with the idea of cutting off a troll's hands and drying them. Also, it might have been hard to find a mage willing to make such an item - how did he find one? As I say, you don't have to address this - you could do other things - but those are suggestions.
Overall though, not bad - I do like the concept and powers. Hope this comment is of some help.
The reason I left the history is so open is because I prefer to tailor that to fit the party, campaign, and world. I find the players enjoy it much more when it actually relates to them, then some generic history that will not fit every world anyway.
In my game, the gloves were created by the mage in the party as a gift to the monk because he was having difficulty in battle. The Troll is an evil creature, so the monk had no issues using it's own weapons against it, and actually liked that he could use something that was once used by evil and turn it to the destruction of evil.
IMHO, the very best thing you can do as a GM is tailor everything to your PCs. I almost never use standard items in my campaign, and even when I use someone elses idea, I create a new histoy and description to fit the PC recieving it. I include thier name, god, where they got it, anything I can to make it special for them. Makes it hard for me to write a history that will apply to anyone, anywhere. :(
As far as the other ways of putting things, that I can do.
I agree, and you can see my explanation on this in further detail in the bone now submission. But this site is not set up for a quick two paragraph idea and the rest just fill in the blanks. We enjoy as much information as we can, and then choose to tailor what we need or don't like for our particular setting.
-1 for the stats and -1 for not much of a backstory.I like the basic idea though.
The best of the trio, the gloves have some promise, though i think that each item granting regeneration is a bit much, a play could easily swath themselves in repellant troll bit magic items and end up with +3 or more regeneration a turn. Too stackable, and lacking in detail.
It is one thing to leave a submission open ended for adoption into anyone's home campaign, it is entirely another to take something from a video game and drop it in with the most minor of modification.
Actually this is more of a type of item... rather than a single magical item. These are things in the 'enchanter's almanac, moderately accessible enchantments... like +1 weapons and the like. I would polish up the post some then link it to the Class of Items- Weapon codex http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=1163
Vote to be improved when the post is improved.
Ok..ok...I got y'all a back story. Enjoy. :D
A little better but it is still a basic item to me.
A definate improvement. The backstory gives the rest of a feel for the item, where it came from and the reason it was created. In accordance, I have increased my vote for this it from a 2 to a 3.
you've done a great job overall, taking criticism (my b*****ng), and other's suggestions, and improving all three items!
hope to see more from you soon!
It's nice to have a back story for the standard '+1' items. As an individual sub, well, it's not a lot to look at.
Someone should do a 30 of these: 30 Backgrounds to Everyday Magical Items.
I think it would be trivial to add enough downsides to make wearing the entire collection not a desirable thing. I like the simplicity of these.
