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| Of course it's a good idea! |
A few articles back, I talked
about giving players quests in order to have them gain magic items. A question
was posed to me in the comments which asked how I suggest game masters go about
such a task. This is something that I had to think about, because, primarily,
what can I suggest that has not been talked about by other people? As always,
the best I can do it to present some solutions with which I have had success in
my own campaigns. With that in mind, here are the (admittedly limited) methods
I have used successfully. As a caveat, while most of my ideas are used in the
low-fantasy, sword and sorcery settings that I am personally obsessed with, it
stands to reason that these should work well in any setting. And remember, as
always, tweak these ideas like there is no tomorrow.
Before I dive in, I would
encourage you to read my other posts on magic items in a low-magic setting. The
ideas laid out in those posts directly inform the strategies I will discuss
here and are, in my opinion, necessary components thereof. In case you don’t
have time/don’t feel like going back and reading articles on magic weapons and
alchemical items, allow your humble servant to give you the tl;dr version: 1) Magic
items should have names because they are special; 2) magic items should not be
easily acquired for they are rare; 3) rarer still is the person who can craft
such items; 4) items should have properties beyond bonuses “to hit” and damage;
and 5) the more magnificent the item, the more costly (not necessarily
monetarily) it should be to obtain it.
Hand wave it
Sometimes the easiest way to get something
done is to just do it yourself. Players can be downright unpredictable, and if
the storyline you have written (or a character’s long-term goal) hinges on the
possession of some item or another, it is easiest just to hand wave the thing
and simply give it to the player character. I am not, however, suggesting that
the item be found in the treasure hoard of some normal (or even deadly)
encounter in the course of the normal adventure. That would undermine the very
idea of magic items being difficult to come by. Rather, the Game Master could construct
a narrative in which the acquisition of the necessary item is described.
There are, I think, two ways of doing this.
The first would be to write a well-thought through piece of prose wherein the
event is described in evocative detail. The other way to hand wave this process
is by simply summing up what happened as a short expository speech. This all
depends on the play style of your gaming coterie. Either way, hand waving may
be more efficient, but it is usually not very satisfying.
Blue booking
Similar to hand waving, blue booking
allows the player character to acquire the item in question while allowing the
main narrative of the campaign to continue. This method is especially useful
for groups that are not able to meet often. In order to blue book successfully,
parameters need to be set for the manner of the interaction between Game Master
and player. There should be a time frame established, as well as an agreement
on the depth of writing involved. After all, it is never fun to be the person
contributing a disproportionately large amount of effort.
Blue booking should begin by the Game Master
writing a prologue that involves some information about the quest itself. Then,
the player can contribute a short explanation of his/her initial actions. After
this, the game master explains the first encounter the player faces. The player
writes how his/her character would deal with the situation, and then the Game Master
writes up the next encounter. The key is to not get bogged down trying to write
encounters on a turn-by-turn basis; that way lies madness and frustration.
Because blue booking can take weeks or months at a time, it may be useful to
give the player character the item, advance the main game by an appropriate
length of time, and continue on with the whole party while you and the PC in
question hash out the details.
One-on-one sessions
Assuming you have the time, a one-on-one
session is my preferred method for having a single player go on a quest for a
magic item. Adventuring parties conceivably need to split up from time to time,
and the competent Game Master can come up with plenty of activities for the
various members to do. After all, everyone should have a fleshed out enough
backstory to enable their characters to have goals outside of the main plot.
Perhaps the fighter is going to clear that land for his keep, the magic-user
may actually have time to research that new spell, or the thief may have the
opportunity to get in good with the local Guild. A series of short adventures
could be constructed for each of these characters in order to pass the time, or
(for things like clearing land or spell research) blue booking provides a suitable
means for getting characters through the “down time”.
The main reason to have a one-on-one
session is when the majority of the party wants to keep adventuring, but the
the quest of a certain character is one that is either of a highly personal
nature, or one that other members of the party simply have no interest or
personal stake in. If something like this happens, my advice is to simply allow
it. For instance, in my AD&D game, were I to send the paladin on a quest
for a Holy Avenger, the rest of the party (made up almost entirely of chaotic,
murder-hobos) would have no interest in going along. In this case, I would
provide a separate adventure for the remainder of the party, and have them
establish a rendezvous point for when they are ready to return to the main
plotline.
Sub-plots
The easiest way to incorporate the quest
for a magic item into your game is to simply use it as a sub-plot. Need to get
to Sigil? Perhaps the party must first find a gate key of some kind. Summon a
demon? Have an adventure wherein the player characters quest for the necessary
ritual components. There is not really a wrong way to do this. I, however, tend
to stay away from item quests as sub-plots because, most of the time, the item
being sought after is only important or, ultimately, usable by one character.
If you drag everyone in the party along, there is a good chance the players
might get salty about not receiving magical items of their own. Of course, this
is only a significant problem if you are a low-fantasy junky such as myself.
Strong on his
mountain (er…at his desk),
PJ
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