The thought of cursed items really brings emotion out in some people. Certain DMs just grin evilly and think of new and interesting ways to mess with the players. Some players hate them believing that all magical items should be beneficial. Other players secretly enjoy them as they present another type of challenge for their character. To some DMs though the items are more of a pain since the DM has to remember their abilities as the PCs will never be able to learn what the true item can do until its to late. Cursed items are not an easy thing to use and incorporate well in the game. Someone might want to just come up with a few of the more advanced concepts in the d20 game and write about those. But this is about the cursed items and about the fun they can lead a party to.
Athenaeum Arcane: Cursed Items is a PDF by Mark Gedak and published by Ronin Arts. Mark has had his hand writing for a few different companies I have noticed so he seems to be a writer on the rise. Ronin Arts is of course the PDF Company with over two hundred products out there covering a wide variety of topics and games. This fifteen page PDF is nicely laid out. The book is black and white and as long as one doe not print the cover it takes up very little ink. The cover is full color with mostly brown and a picture of a rather sad looking woman. It really fits for the topic of cursed items. The book is book marked and really easy to reference and use.
The book in concept is very simple. It lists new cursed magical items. Each is fully described and nicely detailed. None of the items are what may be referred to as campaign enders. The cursed items will be problematic and might take a while for the players to figure out. Those kinds of mysteries can really be something great in a campaign and create the type of stories that people talk about for years afterwards. Each item has a Bardic Knowledge DC associated with it as well as a very complete history and description that includes the false aura the cursed item provides. There are ten new cursed items in here along with a few extras at the end of the book that are referenced with the items like a template or a spells.
Druids Vengeance is one of my favorite items in the book. I like the history that allowed this weapon to become everything the owner once believed. This weapon is great for killing animals and at the same time the animals will be none to happy with the welder of the weapon. It is one of those cursed items that can easily and slowly be seen a she animals are just growling or react badly to the owner of the spear. Depending on how often normal animals are encountered, this item could be mildly annoying to down right deadly to the owner.
Harp of Heroes is another very interesting item and a lot different then the types usually found. This harp is of fine quality and has some magical abilities in it. However, when a past hero is spoken of, that hero is called back from the lands of the dead and wants to hunt down the person using the Harp. This is another item that the curse can slowly be realized over many sessions and the confusion of what is actually bringing these heroes of old back can make for a nice side adventure for the players.
Not all the items are things that I would use though. The Nobles Cloak is a Cloak of Charisma but if the user tries to woe the opposite sex they can get really damaged. It can offer some good role playing as the character may just stop talking to that one gender all together. So, like all things even ones I do not particularly like will have some good uses for people.
This collection of cursed items is really nice. It will offer a few good choices for someone wanting cursed items and will hopefully offer the game a new level of complexity and mystery. But as always know the people that might use these items for some people just react badly to any and all cursed items.
