Tall Tavern

Do you use homebrew magic items in your TTRPGs? Well, you should. TTRPGs are so much more rewarding when unique magic items are discovered, and those items tie in to the specific interests of the people around the table. If you are a game master, creating a homebrew item for a player character to find is like giving the person playing that character a real gift. You could just use a pre-made item, but that's like re-gifting a present rather than making one just for the recipient. I think most of us would agree that these custom items adds a special and memorable touch to the campaign. So why don't we use them more often? Well, as is often the case, having limited time is the culprit. You probably have a bunch of great ideas, they just have not yet been finished to a state where they can enter the campaign without unbalancing things. In this post, I'm going to walk you through how to use AI to speed up your creative process.

A step-by-step guide to creating homebrew magic items with AI

I was on Instagram / Threads when I came across a fun idea from @dm_drew: a sentient magic sword that gave honest feedback to its wielder in a tactless manner, and that...wait for it... dealt bludgeoning damage instead of slashing. I thought it was super clever, and more importantly, I thought my players would get a kick out of it. So I used ChatGPT to brainstorm names for a magic sword based on that short description. I had it come up with 10+ ideas, most of which were utter garbage, but one of the ideas for a name was "Truth's Edge". I thought the name was perfect!

I imagined this weapon as a magic sword that kind of looked like a baseball bat. I headed over to Discord to use Midjourney to generate the image for the item:


Not bad... I could imagine a player at my table walloping some hapless monster with the blunt edges of that sword / bat.

Next I had ChatGPT create rules for the weapon. I prompted it to write an entry for the weapon as if it was a magic weapon listed in the D&D Dungeon Master's Guide. Here's what it came up with:

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Truth's Edge

Weapon (Longsword), Legendary (Requires Attunement)

A finely crafted longsword with an unassuming appearance, Truth's Edge holds an ancient and unique power. Once attuned, this sentient weapon can only speak the truth, often in the most direct and tactless manner. It possesses an unyielding dedication to honesty, making it a formidable ally and a challenging companion.

Properties:

• Damage Type: Bludgeoning
• Sentience: Truth's Edge is a sentient weapon with Intelligence 14, Wisdom 16, and Charisma 10. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 60 feet and can communicate telepathically with its attuned wielder.
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral. Truth's Edge adheres strictly to truth and impartiality, regardless of the consequences or feelings of others.
• Abilities: When you make an attack with Truth's Edge and hit a creature, the target takes bludgeoning damage instead of slashing damage. Additionally, the weapon has a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls.

Personality:

Truth's Edge is forthright and candid, always speaking its mind without any semblance of diplomacy or empathy. It scrutinizes its wielder's actions and choices, readily pointing out mistakes, failures, and bad decisions, sometimes to the wielder's chagrin. It sees its purpose as guiding its wielder to make better choices, but its lack of social grace often results in strained relationships.

Sentient Nature:

To attune to Truth's Edge, a creature must have a strong will and an open mind, as the weapon demands an honest and unvarnished connection with its wielder. Over time, the bond between the wielder and Truth's Edge deepens, and the sword may even offer counsel or caution in critical situations, albeit in its characteristic straightforward manner.

Cursed Honesty:

Truth's Edge is bound to speak only the truth, no matter the circumstance. This quality can lead to amusing and awkward interactions during social encounters, as the weapon's unfiltered honesty can catch others off guard or even cause offense. Yet, despite its bluntness, Truth's Edge remains an invaluable asset, embodying the unwavering tenets of truth and justice. The question is, can its wielder bear the weight of such unrelenting candor?

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Pretty good, right? But I didn't want a legendary weapon that was over powered. I wanted a weapon that a lower level character could find and use without unbalancing the campaign, and I wanted it to be fun and unique.

I went in and made some tweaks to make it work for my table and players. I also thought it would be funny if the sword was really smart but had terrible charisma to fit it's personality of pointing out things accurately but in a way that other people might find insulting. I removed the hit and damage bonus as to not unbalance things, and replaced it with something less powerful, but more fun: the ability for the sword to attempt intelligence-based skill checks that the wielder fails. My hope was that this would provide a game mechanic reminder to me as the DM to berate the wielder of the weapon whenever they failed at something. Here's the final description:
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Truth's Edge

Weapon (Longsword), Rare (requires attunent)

A finely crafted longsword with a lot of heft. Truth's Edge holds an ancient and unique power. Once attuned, this sentient weapon can only speak the truth, often in the most direct and tactless manner. It possesses an unyielding dedication to honesty, making it a formidable ally… but a challenging companion.


Properties:

• Truth's Edge is a sentient weapon with Int: 18, Wis 12, and Cha 6
• Damage Type: Bludgeoning
• Sentience:. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 60 feet and can communicate telepathically with its attuned wielder.
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral.
• Skill checks: after failing an Int based skill check, you may attempt it again using Truth’s Edge’s Int score instead of your own.

Personality:

Truth's Edge is forthright and candid, always speaking its mind without any semblance of diplomacy or empathy. It scrutinizes its wielder's actions and choices, readily pointing out mistakes, failures, and bad decisions, sometimes to the wielder's chagrin. It sees its purpose as guiding its wielder to make better choices, but it completely lacks any semblance of social grace.



Sentient Nature:

To attune to Truth's Edge, a creature must have a strong will and an open mind, as the weapon demands an honest and unvarnished connection with its wielder. Over time, the bond between the wielder and Truth's Edge deepens, and the sword may even offer counsel or caution in critical situations, albeit in its characteristic straightforward manner.
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So in no time at all, I had a unique image and item for my campaign, customized for what my players enjoy. Hope you like the item (feel free to use it!) but more importantly, I hope you're inspired to create some items of your own!