Tuesday Magic Item – Hoard Coin

“Hunting the thief who stole a set of decorated tankards seems a little . . . low of a task for us, my friend,” said Voddick pacing his taller friend.

“True but it may help us make a reputation in this town,” replied Gollaon.  “And . . .”

“The owner of the tankards is very attractive,” sighed Voddick.  “Yet, you are not wrong, we need to build a reputation for competence in this town.

“Any ally is a good ally.”

Hoard Coin

These coins are always made of the most precious of metals, usually gold, and ofter have a dragon’s head on one face and a dragon in flight on the other.  Along the edge is occasionally listed a motto such as “For greed all of nature is too little.”  The first of these items was said to have been created by a dragon who was annoyed by people who moked their “greed” and desire to “hoard” when people were just as bad.

The coin is a trap, to be triggered, it need to be placed somewhere where it is obvious owned (a marked box, a purse with a mongram, a chest with a “this belong to Bruno” sign, usw).  Once some one takes it from such a place without the permission of the owner of the coin, its curse triggers:

The person who took the coin is now obsessed with acquiring and keeping (“hoarding”) the whatever physical item they most desire.  (Usually, this will be quite obvious, but, if not, discuss it with the effected player.)  Whenever they have an opportunity to gain a new object for their “hoard”, they must make a Will save (DC 21) to resist trying to acquire it and if they fail the save by 10 or more, they will be compelled to use any means necessary to acquire the item.  (Items that are exceedingly difficult to transport or are guarded by impossible defenses may give a circumstance bonus of up to +4 to this save, but must be asked for before the roll is made.)

The items gathered for the person’s personal hoard are to be kept and cherished, not used, not shared with others, not sold.  To do any of those things require a Will save (DC 31) and only one such attempt can be made in a day.  (If said items are vital to saving the life of the character or a loved one or completing a great goal, they may gain a circumstance bonus of +4 to this roll.)

If anyone steals from their hoard, the cursed person is compelled to seek to get the item back or gain restitution if the item has been damaged or destroyed, this can be resisted  but not easily (with a Will save, DC 33).

Breaking the curse via magic is difficult as it is as covetous as the greed it creates and the largers the person’s hoard has become, the more difficult it is to banish.  (“That is a nice collection of decorated tankards on your mantlepiece” no penalty, “You have a room for your decorated tankards?” -4 to attempts to break the curse, “Why do you have an entire warehouse filled with decorated tankards?” -8 to attempts to break the curse.)  The other method is to return the coin to its original owner with a sincere apology (if this is done, the DC of the saves is reduced by 10) and as long as the cursed person genuinely works to try to avoid hoarding, the curse will slowly ebb away and vanish (the save DC will drop by 1 each month and when the primary DC drops to zero, the curse is lifted.

Aura moderate enchantment and necrourgy; CL 17th
Slot none; Price 5,000; Weight —
Construction Requirements
Craft wondrous item, bestow curse; Cost 2,500

For D&D 5E:

Wondrous item (coin), rare

First two paragraphs as above.

The person who took the coin is now obsessed with acquiring and keeping (“hoarding”) the whatever physical item they most desire.  (Usually, this will be quite obvious, but, if not, discuss it with the effected player.)  Whenever they have an opportunity to gain a new object for their “hoard”, they must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 17) to resist trying to acquire it and if they fail the save by 10 or more, they will be compelled to use any means necessary to acquire the item.  (Items that are exceedingly difficult to transport or are guarded by impossible defenses may give advantage on this saving throw, but must be asked for before the roll is made.)

The items gathered for the person’s personal hoard are to be kept and cherished, not used, not shared with others, not sold.  To do any of those things require a Wisdom saving throw (DC 25) and only one such attempt can be made in a day.  (If said items are vital to saving the life of the character or a loved one or completing a great goal, they may gain advantage on this saving throw.)

If anyone steals from their hoard, the cursed person is compelled to seek to get the item back or gain restitution if the item has been damaged or destroyed, this can be resisted  but not easily (with a Wisdom saving throw, DC 27).

Breaking the curse via magic is difficult as it is as covetous as the greed it creates and the largers the person’s hoard has become, the more difficult it is to banish.  (“That is a nice collection of decorated tankards on your mantlepiece” no penalty, “You have a room for your decorated tankards?” disadvantage on any attempts to break the curse, “Why do you have an entire warehouse filled with decorated tankards?” disadvantage and -1d4 to the roll on any attempts to break the curse.)  The other method is to return the coin to its original owner with a sincere apology (if this is done, the DC of the saves is reduced by 6) and as long as the cursed person genuinely works to try to avoid hoarding, the curse will slowly ebb away and vanish (the save DC will drop by 1 each month and when the primary DC drops to zero, the curse is lifted.

Notes: It is a dragon-themed item and a curse in one!

As usual, this is the sort of curse you want to give to someone who will enjoy playing it up.  “What happened to that decorated tankard Lorenso had?”  “I have no idea, who would want to take such a silly thing?” “Come to think about it, the last inn we visited said that someone had stolen two of their decorated tankards.” 

Items like this are to encourage roleplaying and create adventure (“A ruby encrusted tankard you say?”) not to punish the player, the character maybe, but not the player.

Image Welsh Red Dragon Challenge Coin found at Rowan Valley Tactical website and used without permission.