A player places the emotional value of his spear in Dungeons & Dragons higher than the actual skill and refuses to equip a more powerful weapon. His dungeon master appreciates this attitude and wants to reward him for it.
What makes the spear so important? The dungeon master Leytra reports to the Dungeons & Dragons community on Reddit that one of her players has never stopped opting to keep his simple and rather unremarkable spear rather than replace it with another weapon. The spear has no special properties and is nothing more than a simple weapon in the campaign’s story that the adventurer bought from a blacksmith at the very beginning. But that’s exactly what makes the spear so indispensable,
“All the others have switched to magical items, but he has rejected every found item because his character is attached to his spear, because it’s his,” explains the dungeon master, “He has accompanied him through all the shit that has happened.”
The dungeon master greatly values this attitude, as it is really great for role-playing and narrative. However, she wants to do something to reward this commitment and eliminate the mechanical disadvantage that the rather humble spear brings due to its simplicity. As far as the rules are concerned, she doesn’t care, because she would “homebrew it to hell and back’ to make it worthwhile for the story.
Characters don’t have to be the only ones who can level up in Dungeons & Dragons
How can the dungeon master upgrade the spear? For the Dungeons & Dragons community, homebrew is not a foreign concept. It is not uncommon for dungeon masters to create and invent their own rules, which can lead to very special and personal moments with the group’s agreement.
The open-mindedness of the dungeon master allows the community to take many approaches they can borrow for their campaign and spear:
Players suggest giving the spear to a cleric or a blacksmith who can make it magical and allow a +1 bonus to attacks and damage rolls. If this should be something more spectacular, it could also happen through the blood of a powerful defeated opponent, whose power flows into the spear.
Regardless of how she decides, the community already seems excited about her approach as a dungeon master, as does HeySpudEyeSeeYou:
“I generally think this mechanic is great. Instead of buying equipment in the typical old magic shop, the players’ gear simply ‘levels’ with them.”
Why is this just right for the dungeon master’s campaign? From the dungeon master’s description, it seems that for the player, it is not too important to be the most powerful in combat; otherwise, the spear would not have remained the main weapon for so long. It is evident from the explanation that the entire group along with the dungeon master places a greater focus on role-playing – an important aspect that should be discussed in a so-called Session Zero.
Considering the preference for role-playing and narrative decisions, it makes sense to elevate the sentimental value to the true power of the spear. The community recognizes this as well:
“This weapon has simply been perfectly primed for further development, gathering ‘experience’ together with the player and thus creating its own legend,” explains Commercial-Formal272. But feypop also explains why the dungeon master’s approach sounds perfect: “Modesty, patience, sentimentality, and care must be at the center. A spear is just a spear. It is the time we devote to it that makes it special.”
Just as the player was rewarded for his outstanding commitment to role-playing, this can, however, backfire. Based on another dungeon master’s experience, every player in his campaign deserves a reward, except for one – and that is his own fault: Player faces the consequences of his actions in Dungeons & Dragons and is the only one not to receive important rewards, causing despair for the dungeon master
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