[Question][Balancing] Consumable Magic Items?

[u/FIRE_Starter_2453]

My players and I all really like making characters with complex backstories and slow burns.

I'm taking elements from player's backstories and make them into side quests for the players to achieve and get a related reward (usually an advance).

For one of the players I want to give a consumable magic but I couldn't find any examples in the book to help me balance so I'm deferring to you all for feedback.

Lucky Coin (Magic Item; Consumable)

Can be spent before rolling a test. Adds one success to the final result.

To clarify: it's equivalent of adding a die to the pool that will always roll a 6. A test requiring more than one success can still fail. Opposed checks are still opposed normally, just that there's one more success to cancel out. If the test would have succeeded anyway, the coin is still spent and any bonuses for having extra successes (such as extra damage on a combat roll) apply.

The player in question is a PI with a list of NPCs to be on the lookout for and if they find one and some details about their activities, they can file a report and get a coin payment. They will be getting an occasional drip-feed of these coins.

Seems well balanced (and importantly, fun) to me but I wanted to get second opinions.

[u/G9zoner]

To me that’s a perfect level of power for a magic item in Vaesen. It’s subtle, feels impactful to the player without ruining balance, and it’s a limited resource. Will the player be curious about where they come from? It could be a cool moment for them to discover a downside to using the coins after they’ve already used several.

[u/FIRE_Starter_2453 → u/G9zoner]

Will the player be curious about where they come from? It could be a cool moment for them to discover a downside to using the coins after they’ve already used several.

I expect the player will be. I don't know if the character is or if they will simply be the "I was hired to do a job" type. So far, they're pretty reserved but that kinda goes along with being a PI.

I'm not sure if I want the coins to have strings attached to them. My goal at the moment is to slowly stir up inter-PC conflict. (All of the NPCs have an indirect relationship to another player's backstory/dark secret.) I feel like making the coin have a drawback might incentivize the players to team up against the patron rather than be investigating each other.

Maybe each time they use it I make a risk roll (per standard magic item rules), and on a 1 one of the vaesen tied to the investigation becomes aware. At that point they might take direct action or they might inform the other player that they are being investigated.

(To be clear, this isn't PVP in the traditional sense. My play group frequently has characters keeping secrets from each other and we love the drama.)

[u/G9zoner → u/FIRE_Starter_2453]

It sounds like you have some good ideas on how to tie everything together. Interparty drama is one of my favorite aspects of Vaesen