Curses in D&D suck UNLESS you do this

I once rewarded my sword Coast Guard players with drown a legendary magical Trident from the princes of the Apocalypse module it gave the user plus one to attack an extra 1d8 cold damage resistance to Coal damage the ability to cast dominate monster and the ability to speak Aqua now I'm sure the last one is mostly useless but the other benefits are pretty darn good however there was a catch drown had a flaw it was cursed it would make its wielder curvaceous greedy and Barnacles would form on their skin but that's it nothing too dramatic or crazy certainly no debilitating game mechanics that would prevent the character using it from taking names and kicking butts because that's really what we're all about aren't we and yet my players discussed for all of one minute before they decided to just sell it to a merchant in waterdeep or hold on to it to trade with someone they didn't like you see none of them wanted Barnacles on their skin and none of them wanted to become greedy even though I would argue that they were pretty greedy but you know now you might say that this just my players or just a one-off occurrence or the fact that it was a trident who who uses tridents right however my experience with curses in d d has mostly tracked with that example curses in the game almost always fall flat so today we're going to discuss why curses are a fairly crappy game mechanic in d d and how we can make them better because you know if we don't talk about how to improve them what's the point why curses suck reason number one they are pointless you see if players know in advance about the curse such as using the identify spell or identifying the item over the period of a short rest then they're just not going to attune to the cursed item so if as a dungeon master you allow identify to work or mundane examination to work and identify that an item is cursed you're mostly just hoping and praying that they don't cast that spell or they don't otherwise identify what magic item is before equipping and attuning to it because if they do they're just not not going to use a thing and then the curse is pretty much pointless and the whole Magic item is pretty much pointless of course a clever and experienced dungeon master knows this is the way of things so they are one step ahead of their players they do not allow identify or mundane examination over a short rest to identify that an item has a curse upon it then players don't know until they equip or attune to the cursed item and then they're cursed ah you got them until of course they turn to the wizard who can cast remove curse and just use a third level spell that the wizard gets at fifth level and then the curse is lifted and the item is taken off and untuned and back to where we began of course they could just go into town and pay an NPC to cast remove curse because you know in d d we have lots of gold and not a whole lot to do with it so why not just pay someone to take the Cursed Magic item off for me and then they take it off of course and it's just a temporary speed bump and rather an annoyance to the players reason number two curses suck they are gotcha mechanics I hate gotcha mechanics a classic gotcha mechanic is The Rock's fall you die scenario it's like I got you you're a track I think it just goes off and blows up in your face and you take damage it's like oh take damage oh take damage oh you put the magic item on you're cursed gotcha now as I mentioned traps are a classic gotcha mechanic but at least with traps there are certain things we can do to make them better and far more interesting for our players for instance I have a click rule that basically when somebody sets off a trap I just say click or that the floor moved a little bit or you spotted something out of the corner of your eye and then they have an opportunity to describe what they're going to do in response and based upon what they do they might get advantage and or disadvantage on their saving throw for that track you of course also have the opportunity to spot and disable the track but that's another story for a different day which of course I actually have videos on traps so if you want to learn how to make traps more interesting and fun in your game then I have like a d d trap collection playlist that you can check out reason number three curses suck they don't make the game any more fun or interesting for the game master or players I mean you gotta ask yourself is it fun for the players when they get a curse that they couldn't avoid just boom you're cursed like I don't know is that fun is that interesting and on the converse regarding how easy it is to either bypass Chris items or just remove them and sell them anyway is it fun for a dungeon Masters to slip an item into the game only to have it discarded or sold almost immediately which is basically how I felt when my players didn't give a crap about drown this awesome really cool Trident that they're just kind of like meh we don't want it how to make curses better part of me feels that the real reason we have curses in d d games these days is the same reason we have alignment they've been in the game since the beginning and no one has gotten around to either expunging them or improving them of course Wizards of the Coast is well on their way to getting rid of alignment in fact I'll call it now the sixth edition of d d what they're calling one DND in an effort to not have 5e sales tank will remove alignment from the game you see alignment is a Troublesome mechanic that seems to cause a lot of outrage on social media platforms like Twitter so for sure it's going to be gone however what about curses is it possible for us to cause enough of an uproar about curses for Wizards of the Coast to improve them probably not but that's okay I got you because we're going to go over five ways you can make curses better in D D I hate that whole meme or meme about you got this like you know I just don't like it I'd rather I'd Rather somebody give some meaningful useful advice or help rather than just send a picture that says like you got this because that's not helpful nor encouraging for what it's worth it feels like a cop-out anyway let's let's talk about d d shall we and by the way if you'd like to get the written version of these five different ways you can make curses better including a step-by-step guide for how to create your own curses this month we published a cursed Arcanum a practical guide to hexes and curses in January and February 2023 it is available exclusively to all 15 and above DM layer patrons and then in March it will move over to the DM layer store but I am going over all the information in this video right here so you don't gotta go buy it you can just take notes and get it for free number one expand the use of curses first of all we don't have to just curse magic items but you can also Place curses where traps would typically go and then enemies and NPCs could also Place curses on the characters themselves via magic or witchcraft I think we can really just get more imaginative about how we place and introduce curses into our games and instead of having curses just be some throwaway thing that we put on a magic item that's probably just going to be discarded or sold we could have curses be more Central to Adventure or even the entire campaign if we want curses could be important and impactful to the plot and what's going on in the world number two make curses more challenging and interesting to remove casting remove curse to remove a curse is uninteresting and boring it adds nothing to the game besides an easy way out however excitement in the game often comes from overcoming challenges and adversity not from quick and easy solutions for instance there's a dungeon to clear out and the player is like oh cool I create 100 skeletons and send them out to do the deed and then the dungeon master is just like oh okay cool that's great the dungeon has been cleared out that was a fun adventure anyone want to play like Katan or risk now so making curses more difficult to remove is going to add adversity and challenge it's gonna make things more interesting than just a simple remove curse spell and we're going to give examples of how to make curses more interesting to remove in just a little bit when we get into the idea of having different severities of curses number 3. curses should have an upside now the curse itself is usually a hall negative but there should be an upside which is usually the benefits of the magic item the curse is cast on or they may have looted a tomb and gotten lots of treasure and then gotten cursed by the ancient Spirits guarding the Tome tomb those two words are so hard now this upside whatever it happens to be should balance out the downside of a curse this is the idea of ying and yang give and take a screw job all by itself sucks but getting something really awesome but having there be consequences that must be dealt with is great first they balance each other out psychologically for the players making it easier to accept and second doing this introduces drama and challenges into the game which is one of the foremost jobs of dungeon Masters by the way if you're finding the information in this video useful please give me a thumbs up and let us know in the comments about the best most interesting curse you've seen in a game or about a curse that really really sucked number four 4. Target different parts of a person with curses there are three different types of curses you can put on someone the first one is curses of the body these are curses that purely affect the physical being of an individual they make them physically weaker slower or feebler typically these curses are not going to have effects on the mind in fact many who create such curses want their victims to fully understand what is happening to them the next is curses of the Mind the opposite of a curse of the body these curses purely affect someone's mind adult thoughts befuddled decision making and the like are the common goals of a curse of the Mind fortunately these curses rarely affect one's body as well making particular less brilliant adventurers as the ideal Patsy for such a curse leaving the rest of the party all the better for it and the third one is curses of the Soul these are the vilest of all curses at least in my humble opinion when they are placed on a living being it corrupts and harms their very Soul the literal essence of what makes them who they are the cruelty and Malice that must be poured into such a curse are incomprehensible and the ultimate effect of such a curse is often damnation for its unfortunate Vic now we will be giving examples of each types of curses here as we go into the different severities of curses number five make different severities of curses curses should not be one size fits all in fact as we delve into the topic of curses we're gonna find several different types of curses different severities that can be applied and the first is hexes these are the lowest form of curses that can be removed by casting remove curse or another trivial manner such as just waiting it out because they'd only lasts so long and it goes away you know seven years of bad luck for instance that's probably that sucks a lot but anyway it goes away eventually just ride it out and then you have basic curses these Grant disadvantage in some way or another maybe not the game mechanic of disadvantage but they give you a disadvantage on something they make something harder for you but they're not terribly debilitating now removing them though is not as easy as casting a remove curse but it's not too terribly hard either as an example let's talk about the tongue of the snake this is a basic curse of the body that can inhabit any vessel another words you can put on a magic item or something else while affected by this curse you have a snake-like tongue this causes everything you say in any language to sound like you are hissing with particular emphasis on the letter s whenever it appears in your speech if you are talking to a creature that is not evil aligned you have disadvantage on Charisma persuasion and intimidation checks to influence that greed however you have an advantage on all Charisma deception checks when trying to influence the same creatures new flaw I find my pattern of speech to be quite amusing and try to show it off whenever possible removal of the curse this curse can only be removed by drinking the blood of a Great Serpent a Great Serpent can be interpreted many ways ultimately any snake-like creatures such as a sea serpent or Medusa that is at least CR level 3 is an appropriate choice for a Great Serpent okay now the next severity of curse is the intermediate curse these Advance Beyond merely being an inconvenience as is the case with basic curses and turn into something a little more dangerous often these curses have the potential to indirectly threaten the life of the person who is affected by it though it is rare that the curse itself would directly threaten one's life and at this point removing the curse gets even more complicated and challenging as an example let's talk about the curse of repetition this is an intermediate curse of the mind that can inhabit any vessel whenever the affected creature attempts to use an action or bonus action it must succeed on a dc-14 wisdom saving threat and a failure the creature is unable to take a new action and must repeat the last action it performs if it is not possible for the creature to repeat the previous action it does nothing once the creature has succeeded on the saving throw it does does not need to make another one for one hour new flaw whenever I am writing or speaking people tell me that I am repeating sentences on a regular basis even if I don't notice it myself removal of the curse the curse can only be removed by forging a contract of absolute order such a contract can be made by beings native to mechanus the hells or the celestial Mountain inappropriately a powerful being should be contacted to make this contract with though it needn't be as powerful as a diva or a pitfiend and then moving along our levels of severity we have the advanced curse these are extraordinarily dangerous to be afflicted with and always present mortal danger for those unfortunate enough to be afflicted in fact those curses at the upper echelons of this tier of power may even cause death due to the curse now typically these curses attempt to compel some behavior from those Afflicted and attempts to disobey result in extreme punishment by the curse this isn't to say that compulsion is absolute merely that the curse will seek retribution for Disobedience and of course as to be expected these curses are much harder to remove as an example let's look at the desire of the hells an advanced curse of the soul that can inhabit an any unknown vessel the cursed creature feels a compulsion within them to harvest souls and condemn them to an eternity in the hells this compulsion emanates from a flame that now Burns within the creature's blackened heart a Hellfire that only they can control if the creature did not already know the produced flame cantrip they know it for as long as they are cursed when the creature casts produce flame it creates Hellfire instead of regular flame should the cursed creature fail to harvest at least three Souls at every week in this way they must succeed on a DC 20 wisdom saving throw or have their constitution score reduced by two until they harvest at least one Soul should the creature fail this saving throughout three weeks in a row or five times total they're instantly engulfed in Hellfire and have their soul condemned to the same fate as their victims new flaw I want to lash out in rage whenever I see someone act happy or pleased with themselves if I cannot be happy they cannot and they should die for it removal of the curse removing the curse can only be done by one who Ventures within themselves this is intended to be an adventure that sees the creature and any companions they wish to bring enter the cursed creature's Soul they will need to discover a way to do this typically either a rare Magic item or a powerful Mage and then defeat the Blackness that now exists within the creature's soul and the final level of severity the most extreme curse is the true curse true curses are you Rarity in the world only a tiny handful of them have ever appeared throughout the annals of History these curses can only be created by beings of nearly incomprehensible might in fact the weakest such being that I've ever heard being capable of casting a true curse was an ancient Lich notably the Lich cursed an entire continent in an effort to take their souls into his Factory it was a truly horrendous event that required incredibly powerful adventurers to put an end to it now that should give you an idea of the scope of what we are referring to with true curses these are cataclysmic events when they appear and Legendary Heroes make entire careers out of defeating the exact nature of a true curse varies from casting to Casting but they all share one common feature the very existence of those affected by them is at risk when cast as in the case of the Lich noted above the souls of everyone on the continent were the target of the curse true curses are only intended to be used as a campaign defining event or possibly even the basis for an entire campaign they should have wide reaching implications for the world as a whole and cannot be used in combat or by accidentally equipping a random magic the mechanics behind a true curse will be used as a part of the setting rather than something that affects the gameplay itself now removing true curses is exceptionally challenging and involves at least an adventure or a series of adventurers to accomplish okay so you might be asking yourself that's great that's all wonderful I love the severities thing but when should I be giving these different levels of severities of curses to my players like when it is appropriate in the game what level should I give them at so for hexes I recommend giving them at tier one levels one to four basic curses come into play at tier two levels five through ten intermediate and advanced curses are tier 3 levels 11 through 16. and then true curses are a tier 4 occurrence levels 17 through 20. remember if you'd like to get a cursed Arcanum includes a step-by-step guide for how to create your own curses you can become a dealer Patron at the link below or pick it up on the DM layer store or you can click right here to learn about five mistakes you're probably making with poison in d d and what to do instead and until next time let's lay some big fat juicy curses on our players wonderful characters

Channel: the DM Lair

Views: 31,491

Keywords: d&d, d&d 5e, dnd, dnd 5e, dnd 5th edition, dungeons and dragons, dungeons & dragons, rpg, role-playing game, roleplaying game, dungeon master tips, DM tips, dungeon master advice, DM advice, the dm lair, luke hart, dnd curses, rpg curses, dnd blood curses, dnd improving curses, dnd game improvement, dnd how to be a better game master

Id: uhboVQ0UJ94

Length: 17min 53sec (1073 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 26 2023