Thanks for the video! I totally agree that the Rod of Rulership is very much as powerful artifact. The possibility of the magic being broken opens some options for a DM to make this less absolute in some cases, limiting the scope of the Rod. I think as long as the wielder is suggesting / commanding the affected toward a task or action they might take anyway, I'd allow the affected to realize they were ordered after the turn of magic lapses but be fine with the results. I would require language be important and would also make the post-turn reaction hinge of how closely aligned or related the affected are to the wielder: a lawful evil orc is commanding lawful evil orcs would be closely aligned, lawful evil human is commanding lawful evil orcs would not be as close, a neutral evil human is commanding lawful evil orcs would be even less close, etc. Someone diametrically opposed to the wielder would probably rebel as soon as the turn is up. I think this is how to best limit the Rod's affects. I might also require multiple charges be used for repeating the act on a particular subject or group. I'd imagine with likeminded individuals one could utilize the Rod judiciously over the course of months or years to simply nudge a group toward particular actions or results and once the turn is over, the group might be predisposed to simply feel they were acting in their own interests under advisement. Just some food for thought.
Randomly assigned a treasure hoard live, and some low level PCs got this. They could not keep it from the halfling theives guild, however. Must have power to hold power
Thanks for doing this one! I can see this item causing a major headache for our DM who gave it out without realizing what it does exactly. My character currently possesses the item and we discussed using it during a recent brawl with 100+ Bandits. Once I activate it, I fully expect the DM to restrict the usefulness in some way, kind of like a wish.
IF your DM has a good understanding of the Rod’s limitations, he shouldn’t have any problems in limiting potential abuse. (This does not diminish the Rod’s true power or effectiveness.) But, there’s still a good probability that he may overpower its use in role play and give himself headaches.😮
I am running a long term campaign in which my two kids ( 9 and 12 years old) are seeking an artifact which is inspired by the Rod of Seven Parts (they must seek the parts all around the world to assemble the complete staff). My version of this artifact has, amongst other things, the power of a rod of rulership. Thousands of years ago, the gods of Chaos and Law walked the world in their respective avatar and influenced living creatures directly. This brought constant wars in the world between Chaos amd Law. A champion was called upon by the gods of balance: they gave him an all powerful staff of Concordant Opposition which had the power to command whole armies into desertion from their Law or Chaos command. It also had the power to banish the avatars of the gods by touch for 1 million years. In a great war where all the avatars of the gods were present, the Champion banished every one of them with the staff, save one: the highest god of Chaos. This god offered the champion immortality and ascension to godhood, in exchange for the staff. The champion got corrupted and accepted the offer. The god of Chaos, being completely insane, destroyed the staff on the spot and banished himself willingly in the process. The staff exploded and its pieces are located in unknown places all over the world. Now, the first god of Law or Chaos who can get his hands on the complete staff through his agents will be able to reenter the world unchallenged by the other gods and extend his plane into our world (law is a flat empty dimension filled by a blinding light and Chaos is a dimension where no laws off physics are stable ). My players must recuperate the pieces of the staff before the agents of Chaos and law and return it to the gods of neutrality. The highest god of Chaos amuses himself watching the other gods competing for the staff
Rod of Smiting (right below) was always a favorite of mine. Do you need a proficiency slot to use a rod as a weapon? Maybe it is similar enough to a mace? Cheers!
@@oleolsen2304 FWIW, you’re best to treat a rod or sceptre as though it were a footman’s mace. A typical mace is about 2 & 1/2 feet long and weighs about 10 pounds. “Rods are about 3’ long and as thick as your thumb.” - DMG pg 132. Compare it with the Rod of Lordly Might.
It's easy enough to limit this item by simply giving it only a few charges. I believe that the one we found had only 4 charges in it. And it cannot be recharged.
This is ALWAYS an option available to any DM, and this simultaneously limits the EX.P. & G.P. SALE VALUES as well. Each charge of the Rod is worth 160 ex.p. or 700 gold pieces. So, a Rod with 4 charges will give 640 ex.p., or can be sold for 2,800 gold pieces.
Even at name level it's kind of crazy - nothing with less than 12 HD has any chance to resist the effect. That's basically any chromatic dragon (reds top out at 11 HD as I recall), and given the minimum number of HD/levels affected is 200 you could affect at least 18 of them, assuming you end up in a situation where there are that many within 120 feet of you. The saving grace for the campaign is that a charge only lasts for 10 minutes, but that doesn't keep it from totally upending encounters which are intended to be climactic. This rod might be ripe for the same type of remedies applied to the most powerful spells - perhaps it ages the user with each use, as they retain some of the gravitas the rod bestows on them.
@@azabaro The Rod is limited in that any command which goes against the creature’s nature can potentially break the effect. It is also limited by the area of effect (12” radius = ~45,000 sq ft). Dragons also have special improved saving throws (MM pg 31), so that a red dragon could be considered as having as many as 22 hit dice. Creatures which are Exceptionally intelligent or greater (15+) are also entitled to saving throws - red dragons are exceptionally intelligent. So, yes, the Rod is powerful, but there are many potential limitations to that power. As Tony mentioned, it harkens back to table top gaming days where one could potentially command an enemy unit to retreat. As a DM, the thing I like to keep in mind is the player potential to be indiscrete in the exercise of this great power. That opens up all kinds of role playing opportunities. Such a PC will quickly become a marked man, as virtually everyone else (especially the real rulers who don’t want competition) will wish to relieve him of the item. And the news could potentially spread like wildfire. So, the PC better have their own fortress or stronghold to retreat to if they want to start acting like a ruler! Generally, about name level is where most characters gain the option to construct a stronghold.
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Thanks for the video! I totally agree that the Rod of Rulership is very much as powerful artifact. The possibility of the magic being broken opens some options for a DM to make this less absolute in some cases, limiting the scope of the Rod. I think as long as the wielder is suggesting / commanding the affected toward a task or action they might take anyway, I'd allow the affected to realize they were ordered after the turn of magic lapses but be fine with the results. I would require language be important and would also make the post-turn reaction hinge of how closely aligned or related the affected are to the wielder: a lawful evil orc is commanding lawful evil orcs would be closely aligned, lawful evil human is commanding lawful evil orcs would not be as close, a neutral evil human is commanding lawful evil orcs would be even less close, etc. Someone diametrically opposed to the wielder would probably rebel as soon as the turn is up. I think this is how to best limit the Rod's affects. I might also require multiple charges be used for repeating the act on a particular subject or group. I'd imagine with likeminded individuals one could utilize the Rod judiciously over the course of months or years to simply nudge a group toward particular actions or results and once the turn is over, the group might be predisposed to simply feel they were acting in their own interests under advisement. Just some food for thought.
Love these videos - keep them coming!
I enjoy all of Page121 Tabletop Roleplaying Games videos 🎉🎉
Randomly assigned a treasure hoard live, and some low level PCs got this. They could not keep it from the halfling theives guild, however. Must have power to hold power
Excellent video. Liked and Subscribed.
Thanks for doing this one! I can see this item causing a major headache for our DM who gave it out without realizing what it does exactly. My character currently possesses the item and we discussed using it during a recent brawl with 100+ Bandits. Once I activate it, I fully expect the DM to restrict the usefulness in some way, kind of like a wish.
IF your DM has a good understanding of the Rod’s limitations, he shouldn’t have any problems in limiting potential abuse. (This does not diminish the Rod’s true power or effectiveness.)
But, there’s still a good probability that he may overpower its use in role play and give himself headaches.😮
I am running a long term campaign in which my two kids ( 9 and 12 years old) are seeking an artifact which is inspired by the Rod of Seven Parts (they must seek the parts all around the world to assemble the complete staff). My version of this artifact has, amongst other things, the power of a rod of rulership. Thousands of years ago, the gods of Chaos and Law walked the world in their respective avatar and influenced living creatures directly. This brought constant wars in the world between Chaos amd Law. A champion was called upon by the gods of balance: they gave him an all powerful staff of Concordant Opposition which had the power to command whole armies into desertion from their Law or Chaos command. It also had the power to banish the avatars of the gods by touch for 1 million years. In a great war where all the avatars of the gods were present, the Champion banished every one of them with the staff, save one: the highest god of Chaos. This god offered the champion immortality and ascension to godhood, in exchange for the staff. The champion got corrupted and accepted the offer. The god of Chaos, being completely insane, destroyed the staff on the spot and banished himself willingly in the process. The staff exploded and its pieces are located in unknown places all over the world. Now, the first god of Law or Chaos who can get his hands on the complete staff through his agents will be able to reenter the world unchallenged by the other gods and extend his plane into our world (law is a flat empty dimension filled by a blinding light and Chaos is a dimension where no laws off physics are stable ). My players must recuperate the pieces of the staff before the agents of Chaos and law and return it to the gods of neutrality.
The highest god of Chaos amuses himself watching the other gods competing for the staff
Rod of Smiting (right below) was always a favorite of mine. Do you need a proficiency slot to use a rod as a weapon? Maybe it is similar enough to a mace? Cheers!
@@oleolsen2304 FWIW, you’re best to treat a rod or sceptre as though it were a footman’s mace. A typical mace is about 2 & 1/2 feet long and weighs about 10 pounds.
“Rods are about 3’ long and as thick as your thumb.” - DMG pg 132.
Compare it with the Rod of Lordly Might.
It's easy enough to limit this item by simply giving it only a few charges. I believe that the one we found had only 4 charges in it. And it cannot be recharged.
This is ALWAYS an option available to any DM, and this simultaneously limits the EX.P. & G.P. SALE VALUES as well.
Each charge of the Rod is worth 160 ex.p. or 700 gold pieces. So, a Rod with 4 charges will give 640 ex.p., or can be sold for 2,800 gold pieces.
Is there going to be a JumpPoint for 2025? The Games Plus event was a blast !
After reading the description in the DMG years ago I have always avoided giving this item out. It seemed like it would unbalance the whole campaign.
It can be managed, but it’s completely inappropriate for characters below name level.
Even at name level it's kind of crazy - nothing with less than 12 HD has any chance to resist the effect. That's basically any chromatic dragon (reds top out at 11 HD as I recall), and given the minimum number of HD/levels affected is 200 you could affect at least 18 of them, assuming you end up in a situation where there are that many within 120 feet of you. The saving grace for the campaign is that a charge only lasts for 10 minutes, but that doesn't keep it from totally upending encounters which are intended to be climactic. This rod might be ripe for the same type of remedies applied to the most powerful spells - perhaps it ages the user with each use, as they retain some of the gravitas the rod bestows on them.
@@azabaro The Rod is limited in that any command which goes against the creature’s nature can potentially break the effect. It is also limited by the area of effect (12” radius = ~45,000 sq ft). Dragons also have special improved saving throws (MM pg 31), so that a red dragon could be considered as having as many as 22 hit dice. Creatures which are Exceptionally intelligent or greater (15+) are also entitled to saving throws - red dragons are exceptionally intelligent.
So, yes, the Rod is powerful, but there are many potential limitations to that power. As Tony mentioned, it harkens back to table top gaming days where one could potentially command an enemy unit to retreat.
As a DM, the thing I like to keep in mind is the player potential to be indiscrete in the exercise of this great power. That opens up all kinds of role playing opportunities. Such a PC will quickly become a marked man, as virtually everyone else (especially the real rulers who don’t want competition) will wish to relieve him of the item. And the news could potentially spread like wildfire. So, the PC better have their own fortress or stronghold to retreat to if they want to start acting like a ruler! Generally, about name level is where most characters gain the option to construct a stronghold.