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pukunui
Seeker
63 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Feb 2016 : 22:03:19
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Hi folks!
In the days of, Harpers got magic pins. Have any of the other factions ever had anything similar?
I know that 5e's factions don't give out magical knick-knacks for AL play, but as I'm running a home game, I thought it might be fun to bring back the old magic Harper pins (I've got two Harper PCs in my Tyranny of Dragons campaign). But then I got to thinking that it wouldn't be fair unless I also had similar items for the other PCs (one is a member of the Lords' Alliance, while the other is with the Emerald Enclave).
In 5e, the factions' insignia are as follows:
Harpers: pin
Emerald Enclave: leaf clasp
Lords' Alliance: signet ring
Order of the Gauntlet: pendant
Zhentarim: stamped coin
If no such magic items for the other factions have ever existed previously, does anyone have any good suggestions for some?
The Harper pins of old worked like a ring of mind shielding (without the soul-storing part), plus sometimes also granted things like resistance to lightning damage and immunity to magic missile and the like.
Thanks in advance!
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11695 Posts |
Posted - 14 Feb 2016 : 01:11:01
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| The Cult of the Dragon had something for summoning dragons when they were in need. Ring maybe? |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2383 Posts |
Posted - 14 Feb 2016 : 22:44:14
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Amulet of Draconic Might
Ring of Dragons
Tome of the Dragon (copies, at least)
Dragon's Tooth
[Evil] Dragon Armor |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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moonbeast
Senior Scribe
USA
522 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2016 : 12:25:59
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The OP was talking about 5th Edition Player factions. He wanted ideas for awarding faction insignia trinkets (magical) to deserving factioned PCs. The Cult of the Dragon is a villainous faction, and hardly considered a "Player-Character faction".
Although I suppose it could become a Player faction if the DM was crazy enough to allow a band of nasty Evil Adventurers (assassins, Thayan necromancers, evil wizards, Zhent thugs, Drow crazies, etc) whose mission is to wreak havoc on Faerun while worshipping vile evil deities. But then again, if I had been one of those Player-Characters, the campaign would end quickly as my Assassin character would probably murder my co-adventurers (in their sleep) and steal their loot and magic items and then sacrifice their intestines to Cyric. Because that's what evil characters do.
Pukunui: I'd go with the existing insignias you listed, e.g. the Zhentarim stamped coin. And then just bestow minor magical effects to each item, but it has to be similar in power to the Harper's pin. IMHO I would not award these items at Faction Rank 1. Just about any 1st-level character can easily attain Faction Rank 1 by doing a couple small missions/errands that benefits a faction. At Faction Rank 1, I don't even consider them a full member of the Faction. They are merely an "honorary member", more like a "Friend of the Faction". If they do enough for a faction that they can score faction points to earn Rank 2, then they really are dedicated to what the faction stands for. Thus I might start awarding such (minor) magical insignias at Rank 2.
P.S. — I'm actually starting up a 5th Edition campaign game, and plan to use the 5th Edition Player Factions myself. But mine is a private (home) campaign, not an Adventurers League campaign. I will also be adding 2 extra Player Factions (but they use the same mechanics as the 5 other official 5e factions).
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1477 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2016 : 12:30:17
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And moonbeast is why I never let Chaotic Evil characters at my table.
Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul were evil, and yet they worked together successfully. |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4429 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2016 : 14:32:50
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In 4e if you took the Harper theme, you received a magical pin that had various encounter-based abilities drawn from the item. You got to choose from: Lliira's Grace (miss with an attack, roll a 1d6 and add the result to the attack roll); Mielikki's Endurance (take damage, reduce the damage by 5 + 1/2 level); or Tymora's Luck (fail a saving throw, reroll save with a +2 bonus). Once chosen, you cannot change your decision. You get to choose a second one at 5th level and the third one at 9th level. So by 10th, you can use any of 3 that you might need.
It was a pretty cool theme and something that my players really enjoyed. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7969 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2016 : 19:14:33
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The Flaming Fist mercenaries have Greenstone Amulets, I think.
Many Faerunian priests make use of blessed magical items (mostly weapons, lol) which are unique to their organizations. Claws of Malar, Icemaiden hatchets, Dawnspeaker maces, Moon's Hand flails, etc. These items tend to require special devotion and function as symbols of rank or authority or accomplishment within the priesthoods, so the faithful tend to be very aggressive about preventing outsiders from using them.
Some magical schools or academies issue signature items or spells (or spellbooks) to their students. These aren't really Realms-specific, but are often outlined in adventures which can be set within the Realms.
The Red Wizards apparently once collectively drew upon the power of a powerful artifact, retroactively mentioned in the 2E FRA. They arguably still possess many faction-specific magical items, primarily their tattoos and infamous red robes. I imagine that few others would dare wear these robes and impersonate Red Wizards.
Elves and drow and even dwarves might also be considered "factions", each of these (racial) groups certainly possesses many unique and sundry magical trinkets which are generally unavailable (sometimes entirely unuseable) to outsiders. As do their demihuman priests and mages. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4429 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2016 : 20:53:39
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| Order of the Gauntlet is a faction devoted to the Triad and Torm in particular. I'm not sure if Pendant is the best item and if I were apart of the organization and a follower of Torm, an actual Gauntlet would be pretty cool. |
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Faction Magic Items
