Magic Items

Like everything else in Tavern Tales, magic items are intended to be flexible and exciting. Each magic item comes with a description and 3 bulleted options.

Each effect comes with a short lore entry. You are welcome to ignore, change, or use these lore entries as you see fit. Perhaps you can use them as inspiration for developing your own history for the item.

Item Themes

Magic items are organized by theme. This organization system has no mechanical bearing on the game whatsoever. Anybody can use any item, regardless of theme. The items are organized by theme to make it easier for players and GMs to find appropriate items. For example, if the players explore a wizard’s tower and find magic items, the GM can very easily look at the Arcane section for a list of logically appropriate magic items.

Alchemy

Bunsen’s Burner

This strange contraption resembles a leather backpack with tubes and canisters protruding from it. A hose-like attachment complete with buttons and levers juts from backpack’s lower corner.

According to legend…

Emperor Yang’s Teapot

This porcelain teapot is inscribed with ancient symbols. A blue snake-like dragon coils around the pot, its body forming the handle and its mouth forming the spout.

According to legend…

Glass Mosquito

This tiny figurine perfectly resembles glass mosquito. Its bulbous abdomen is large enough to hold a few drops of liquid.

According to legend…

Gourd of Morning Dew

This hourglass-shaped gourd has a rich brown color and a leathery exterior. A silk rope winds around its midsection, offering a convenient attachment point to a belt or backpack. A thick cork is wedged into the gourd’s top.

According to legend…

Hizen’s Gas Mask

Made of black leather, this sturdy gas mask has metal filters jutting out from both sides near the mouth. The outer rims of the glass eyepieces are smudged with alchemical grime.

According to legend…

Madilyn’s Encrusted Kettle

This kettle instills a random potion or poison upon anything cooked or brewed within it. The resulting concoction defies all attempts at identification or analysis. The only way to determine the additional alchemical effect is to use it on a living subject.

According to legend…

Orgada’s Tooth

Any creature struck by this dagger loses 1 life every hour and cannot heal. Absolutely nothing can remove this poison except for the antidote. Also, 1 dose of the dagger’s poison can be extracted every day or so, but the poison loses its potency after a few hours.

According to legend…

Philosopher’s Stone

The possessor can touch the stone to a creature or object and change it into any other creature or object, permanently. Then, the GM changes a law of reality (wood is now magnetic, iron is now poisonous, sunlight turns fresh water into salt water, etc).

According to legend…

Arcane

Akik’s Eye

The possessor can name a place and time and then gaze into the orb to see a cloudy, mysterious vision of it.

According to legend…

Hourglass of Yesterday

The owner can flip the hourglass to go back in time one day. The hourglass doesn’t travel with the owner. It stays where (and when) it was, or goes into the future, or perhaps back to the creation of the universe. Who can be certain?

According to legend…

Fabric of Reality

The cloak can act as a one-way portal between two locations. For about 1 minute, creatures that walk through the cloak reappear at any place and time that the GM pleases. Recharge by leaving it under the blinking stars of the night sky for 3 consecutive nights.

According to legend…

Sunbreaker Kaleidoscope

Looking through this kaleidoscope at a creature or object (an action) causes it to refract into 1d6 mirror images of itself for several minutes. Any action taken against that person has an equal chance of hitting any of the images instead; damaged images vanish. Recharge by looking at the sun through the kaleidoscope, which is spectacular and not harmful to the eyes.

According to legend…

Hindago’s Reading Spectacles

The wearer can read an entire book simply by touching it.

According to legend…

Key to Nowhere

Any door unlocked by this key becomes a portal to and from Nowhere, a small plane of existence about the size of a two-story mansion. It is featureless, its walls are indestructible, and it always has fresh air. If the key relocks the door, the door returns to normal and it opens up to its normal destination. Nowhere can’t be locked from the inside, and only one portal to Nowhere can exist at a time.

According to legend…

Null Equation

Discovering the variables necessary to solve this extremely complicated equation is typically an epic undertaking. Once the equation is solved, the solver can subtract something from the universe. However, the final equation simplifies to “Null = Existence - 2X,” meaning that the equation always subtracts double what is intended. The GM decides what else is subtracted from the universe.

According to legend…

Stubbs’ Dog Collar

Any animal who wears this collar functions as a familiar as per the Arcane trait Call Familiar, loyally serving whoever placed the collar on it.

According to legend…

Talia’s Eternal Blade

The sword is surprisingly light and it floats on water. It is utterly and completely indestructible, no matter what–not even the GM can destroy this weapon.

According to legend…

Artifice

Abyss’s Heart, powerful bow

Lore: The Abyss’s Heart is the gargantuan longbow favored by the Deep Giant Hewl Three-eye, slayer of Eld the Falseheart. Eld was a terrible deep giant king who was infamous for his totalitarian, isolationist reign. Shortly into his reign, he closed the Gates of Darkness for the first time in six hundred years, cutting off the only entrance to the once bustling Deep Giant city of Ocean’s Hollow. Hewl feltthe sadness and confusion of his people and escaped the city to swim the old currents. He did not stop for four days, as was the custom of his people were questing, and on that allotted rest day he was woken by a tickling on his stomach. Tree-Oyster, a gnomish artificer who had survived a shipwreck, had mistaken Hewl for a small barren island and climbed on him for safety. Hewl agreed to deliver Tree-Oyster to his workshop. In return, Tree-Oyster vowed to help Hewl free his people. Having safely returned to his home, Tree-Oyster began work immediately on a weapon that could defeat the cruel king Eld. He used the trunk of a petrified tree to form the limbs of the bow. Then for twelve days without rest, as is custom among gnomes who are inventing, he and Hewl wove the bowstring from blades of irongrass found in the forest. With Hewl’s help, Tree Oyster then strung the bow and they marveled at the ten-foot-tall masterpiece. After a light dinner, Tree-Oyster then performed three important enchantments on the bow. With these enchantments woven, Hewl bid farewell to his new friend and returned to Ocean’s Hollow to complete his quest.

Properties: The first enchantment allows the bow to shrink down to any size so that Hewl could restring it more easily. Information on the second enchantment has been lost, except that it once saved Hewl’s life. The third enchantment transforms the bow into a seaworthy ship large enough to transport two giants.

Bottomless Bag, weak bag

Lore: Bags of holding have been around for so long that nobody is exactly sure who came up with the first one. Was it a clever smuggler? A rich merchant? A bored archmage? Whoever it was, he invented a magic item that is commonly used the world over.

Properties: This container holds much more than would normally be possible–just how much is up to the GM. If this container is ever turned inside out, its magic is forever lost and it becomes a normal item.

Electric Fly, weak automoton

Lore: Electric flies are minuscule, spherical metal constructs. They earned their name due to their erratic flight patterns and their tendency to annoy people with their ceaseless buzzing. Sensible people just use toolbelts to carry around their tools. Gadgeteers and magic item enchanters are rarely quite so traditional. Many magical craftsmen create Electric Flies, which busily buzz around workshops, performing minor tasks for their creators. It’s not uncommon to see an enchanter hunched over a workbench with a half dozen electric flies hovering around him, an obscure arcane tool hanging from each of their tiny hooks.

Properties: Electric flies have flawless flight, allowing them to hover in place. They can follow simple commands such as “Go here,” “Find this person,” or “Hold this candle.” Each Electric Fly has a tiny hook on its bottom, allowing it to carry a payload of about 5 pounds.

Fusion Fingers, legendary gloves

Lore: This pair of metal gloves seems to be made of blazing, molten gold. Once upon a time, there were ten suns. They all rose at once, so no one among them need be lonely. A brave heroine shot down nine before they could burn the earth, and from then on the lonely sun sits in the sky, by itself, forevermore.Once upon a time, nine suns fell from the sky and crashed to earth, cracking their shells like eggs. Molten golden blood streamed from their corpses, blinding all who would look upon it. The blood streamed across the world, forming a great river-belt that spanned its circumference. None could live near it. The earth and stone spirits made the great scaly hide of the world rise and fall, until the sun eggs and its still-streaming blood were hidden beneath the surface, becoming the planet’s core. And it is because the blood mixed with the mud of the earth that you do not go blind when you look upon gold.Once upon a time, there was a smith unlike any you have ever seen or ever will. And she could not see you either, for the smith was born blind. But the smith knew gold and orichalcum to her soul; touching and smelling and tasting and hearing these metals was enough for her to make wonders. The smith found one of the sun-eggs, and made from them a wondrous set of gloves with the power to make anything from everything. The smith made eyes for herself, to her regret. And so it was that the smith spent the last years of her life in madness and sickness, as she put young eyes into an old body.Once upon a time, there were two miraculous gloves. Men killed each other for them. Kingdoms were lost to own the set. Empires crumbled under their influence.Once upon a time, an adventurer found the gloves. The rest of this story? Well, those parts are up to you.

Properties: When worn, the touch of the left glove will reduce any non-living substance to its base matter (typically reducing the object to a lump of clay-like sludge.) The right glove can turn base materials into anything, so long as you can mold the object with only one hand.

Heart Gem, powerful circlet

Lore: One night, the legendary sculptor Myssia awoke from a dream with a clear image of her masterpiece. She immediately purchased a block of marble and set to work, lovingly chipping away at the stone to reveal her vision. She became obsessed with her work, ignoring a mile-long line of suitors in favor of working on her sculpture. She claimed that she was too busy for marriage, but her secret was that she was slowly falling in love with her sculpture. Decades passed, and she finally completed Young Man Drawing Water from a Well, an absolute masterpiece. The already-famous sculptor became a household name as people flocked from miles around to behold her work of art, but it didn’t matter to Myssia. She fell into crushing depression because the one man she ever loved could never love her back. She spent her twilight years working on a secretive project behind closed doors. When she was old and withered, she emerged from her workshop with a glittering golden circlet and placed it on her statue’s head. The statue man of Young Man Drawing Water from a Well came to life, and the two shared a single passionate kiss before Myssia passed away.

Properties: When this circlet (or any other piece of jewelry containing this gem) is placed on a statue, the statue comes to life. Removing the circlet returns the statue to normal.

Mirror Shield, weak shield

Lore: This round, silver shield has been polished to a mirror-like sheen. In some cultures, honor duels are a very serious matter. So when a young blacksmith insulted a powerful archmage by bumping into him on the street, everybody knew that the blacksmith had written his own death sentence. The blacksmith knew he had no chance of defeating the archmage in single combat, so he crafted a shield that would turn the archmage’s own spells against him. His plan utterly failed. The archmage took one look at the shield and immediately deduced that it had some sort of reflective power, so he simply conjured a cloud of poisonous gas that choked the blacksmith to death. The archmage kept the shield as a trophy and as a reminder to keep secret weapons secret.

Properties: If the wielder is the only target of a ranged attack, they can spend 1 advantage to reflect the attack back to the attacker.

Multi-faceted Goggles, powerful goggles

Lore: A famous articer received a strange request to construct a miniscule music box that could fit on the head of a nail, but would still be loud enough to entertain a ballroom full of people. Much to his surprise, building the music box wasn’t all that difficult – in fact, he had to spend more time building specialized tools for the project than he did on the music box itself. He spent more than half of his commission money perfecting a pair of goggles that would allow him to see the tiny music box. When the music box was finished, the goggles became the artificer’s new obsession.

Properties: The goggles have a series of lenses, which can be slipped in front of the eyepieces. Only one lense can be active at a time, and switching them is an action. The lenses grant the following to the wearer:

Pitwick’s ABV, powerful mount

Lore: Pitwick the artificer hated animals. And why shouldn’t he!? They bite, they’re dumb as bricks, and they shit everywhere. His job as an adventurer meant that he had to spend far more time with animals than he would have liked, riding flea-riden horses and feeding stubborn packbeasts. When a horse kicked him in the chest and broke one of his ribs, enough was enough. Pitwick fried the horse with his lightning gun and set about inventing an All Biome Vehicle, a mechanical mount.

Properties: This mount can comfortably hold two people. It has a top speed that’s twice as fast as a horse, all-terrain capabilities, and built-in air conditioning.

Skullcrusher, legendary hammer

Lore: Warlord Thuzurosh Deathbleeder waged bloody war against his foes, leaving a path of carnage and ash as he marched to conquer the world. It was said that he used his bloodthirsty warmaul Skullcrusher to crush the skulls of well over a thousand troops. Thuzurosh eventually met his end at the hands of a brave young knight. As Thuzurosh lay dying, the knight promised to undo all the destruction Thuzurosh had wrought. He took the dead warlord’s hammer and used it to lead the reconstruction efforts. The knight mocked the warlord’s legacy by transforming the feared weapon of carnage into an instrument of hope and unity.

Properties: One smack from this hammer instantly repairs anything (it doesn’t heal damage, though).

Sonic Wrench, powerful wrench

Lore: Left behind by a bizarre interstellar clockwork robot known only as “The Mechanic,” the functions of this omni-tool are as bizarre and mysterious as its origins.

Properties: This device functions as virtually any tool or device imaginable.

Bardic Lore

Apparel Gem, weak gemstone

Lore: Apparel Gems resemble various fake precious stones. Long ago, a merchant was delighted by a troupe of traveling entertainers. The merchant marveled over their acrobatic performances, their sleight of hand tricks, and their bawdy jokes. He was particularly tickled by the bards’ plays and would spend hours watching the talented group perform. Eventually, the merchant commissioned an enchanter to create the world’s first Apparel Gems, which allowed the performers to quickly change costumes between play scenes. It wasn’t long before Apparel Gem knockoffs began popping up throughout the city. The gems’ practical magic proved popular for people from all walks of life: soldiers stored their heavy armor in them during long marches, spies hid disguises in the gems, and noblewomen stored a variety of fashionable accessories in the gems so that they could change their appearance at whim.

Properties: The gem can hold an entire suit of clothing–from a full suit of plate armor to a single sock. The wielder simply needs to hold the gem and say a command word (typically “fill” or “empty”) to either compress an article of clothing into the gem or to eject the article of clothing out of it.

Echo, weak bottle

Lore: This simple glass bottle appears to be empty. At first touch, however, it is immediately clear that this bottle is not as it seems. The surface vibrates slightly, as if resonating from a loud noise. A skilled bard hoped to unlock the secrets of song by studying the music of sea sirens. The only problem was that he couldn’t listen to their captivating music without falling under their spell. So, he did the next best thing: he convinced an air elemental to take up residence in a small glass bottle. With the bottle in tow, the bard plugged his ears and recorded the sirens’ song so that he could later study their haunting melody in safety.

Properties: The bottle records sound at all times. The owner can uncork the bottle to have it play back any sound that it has recorded.

Spellsight Cowl, weak cowl

Lore: This is a simple leather cowl made of supple brown leather. It is connected in the front with a silver clasp fashioned to look like an open eye with the phrase “See, and Know” inscribed in draconic runes in the eye’s pupil. With solemn care and tremendous sadness, the faculty and students of the Alatzen Arcane Academy buried Savris the Sage. Savris was beloved by students and revered by his peers for his insight into Arcane magic. Unbeknownst to all of them, the archwizard they had buried wasn’t Savris at all, but a bard by the name of Vissar. Decades before, the young gambler had cheated at a game of cards and ended up with an enchanter indebted to him. Vissar had the enchanter create this cowl thinking that he could use it to pickpocket magic items from unwary mages. He was spotted by the first mage he attempted to rob, so he quickly told a lie. Vissar explained that he recognized the magic item (he had used the cowl’s magic to identify the item) and simply wanted a closer look. The mage was impressed that a commoner knew so much about magic, so they started talking. Vissar (who quickly came up with the alias “Savris”) stunned the mage with his insight of magic items and spells. In reality, Vissar was simply describing the magic that the cowl allowed him to see. The mage invited Vissar to make a presentation at the nearby academy. A few dozen clever lies later, Vissar had secured tenure at the wizardry school. He didn’t know a single spell (and he never bothered to learn), but his ability to read magic made him appear like a genius to his colleagues. Vissar, otherwise known as Savris the Sage, taught at the academy for 46 years until he passed away. A statue dedicated to the Sage can still be found on the grounds of the Alatzen Arcane Academy.

Properties: Whenever the wearer sees a spell or magic item, the GM must tell him an interesting, relevant fact about it.

Well-Wishing Whiskey, weak alcohol

Lore: This whiskey has a smooth finish and a warm, golden scent. This whiskey is distilled from an ancient wishing well that grants people luck when drunk. It is especially popular among students at the Wizard Academy during exam time.

Properties: When a group of people propose a toast and drink a round of this whiskey, the drinkers become imbued with good luck. Each drinker can increase a single roll that relates to the toast within the next day or so.

Beast

Bird Figurine: Crow Pinions, weak figurine

Lore: The Crow Pinion is a small dirty wooden figurine, that of a crudely-shaped blackbird. Its eyes are glass gems, pupiless; gazing into them feels like falling into an ocean’s black depths. In its tail is a hole, through which one may string a lanyard or band. When you hold it to your ear, you can hear the faint beating of a heart. Nobody knows where the Crow Pinion came from; you hear it may have drifted down from the far North. It has some magic in it, but without its enchantment the figurine is worthless.

Properties: You have safe fall 10. The wooden bird animates in the presence of fresh meat, and will attempt to feed. When it eats enough (GM’s discretion), it transforms into the magic item Magpie Feathers.

Bird Figurine: Magpie Feathers, weak figurine

Lore: The Magpie Feathers take the shape of two leather wrist-bands, both set with plumes of black feathers. At your command, they transform into a long pair of silky shining black wings, twice as long as a man’s arm. In your pocket is a crudely-carved blackbird’s head, which resembles a raven. The former wooden figurine swooped down at your moment of need, gripped its little talons onto your back, and grew into its new shape.

Properties: You have safe fall 15. When you speak the word “Up”, you can glide. The bird’s head sings to you when you move in the direction of the Temple of Simurgh. If you reach the temple and overcome its challenges, the figurine transforms into the magic item Rook Talons.

Mark of the Spider, weak figurine

Lore: This metallic figurine of a spider is roughly 3 inches in diameter. Its body has red streaks, and the legs are thin and black. This strange item was unearthed in the ruins of what historians believe was a cult’s temple. The exact origin of the figurine have been lost to history, but the vivid hieroglyphs etched into the ruins might shed light on the mystery. The hieroglyphs tell the vivid story of a hero who was blessed by a spider goddess. The hero eventually violated the most sacred dogma of the spider goddess, so the goddess physically ripped her blessing from the hero’s body.

Properties: When placed on a person and left undisturbed for several seconds, the figurine will animate and bite the person. For about a day, the recipient of the bite will have a tattoo of a spider appear somewhere on their body. Their skin will feel tingly, and may choose to have whatever touches their skin adhere to it until they choose to release it. Increase rolls to maintain grapples. The user may climb walls in this way.

Bird Figurine: Rook Talons, powerful figurine

Lore: The Rook Talons take the shape of a pair of moccasin-styled shoes, patterned with stylized clutched talons. At your wish, a set of black-feathered wings materialize under your arms, and an articulated pair of steel-toed boots over your feet. Mounted on the big and small toes are two very long and articulated curved claws, and curved spurs on your heels. In your pocket is a crudely-carved blackbird’s head. Set in its wooden head are two dark grey eyes, with black irises. The Magpie Feathers led you to a temple dedicated to the Simurgh. After braving some of its dangers, you were rewarded with clawed shoes, which allowed the Magpie Feathers to evolve into its third form. You don’t know what the bird’s plans are, or what will happen when the journey is complete.

Properties: You have safe fall 20. After you sing the 34th Hymn of the Blackbird (work with the GM to determine what that is), you can fly and and hold items with the talons on your feet. The bird’s head now speaks in monosyllables, and finds many inane things funny. Sometimes, when it falls silent, tears swell in its eyes. When you sleep, you dream of reaching a mountain at the roof of the world–taller than anything else–and leaping from its summit. If you do so, the item transforms into the magic item Jackdaw’s Beak.

Bird Figurine: Jackdaw’s Beak, powerful figurine

Lore: The Jackdaw’s Beak takes the shape of a ebon fabric belt, with an oversized brass buckle. Worked into the metal is a stylized bird’s head. At your will, a soft suit of feathery scales envelops your body. Over your head is a helmet shaped like a beak. Two arm’s length in span are your black wings, and you may retract them whenever you wish. The raven head at the belt buckle speaks with a soft, silvery voice, and asks that you call it “Corax.” Jumping off the Mountain of Neverwas and flying to safety caused Corax to rediscover its voice and its intelligence. It is now a boon companion of yours. It promises you the power of a very specific god, found in an impossible place, attained only after accomplishing seven impossible things before the day’s first meal.

Properties: The armor that appears at your command acts as light armor. You have safe fall 25. When you feel the laughing wind deep in your heart and speak its name, you can fly with no limits to your maneuverability and hold items with the talons attached to your feet. Increase all rolls you make to snatch items with your feet. Corax is an intelligent, erudite, and witty companion, and may be at times somewhat coarse and childish. If you complete seven impossible things before your day’s first meal (the GM decides what that means), the item transforms into the magic item The Raven.

Many-Sided Coin, powerful coin

Lore: This golden coin shows an animal on each side. A king under the attack of a much greater force requested advice from the wisest men and women of his kingdom. The combined efforts of his blacksmith and the village sensai resulted in a unique coin that could fill its wielder with the power of a great beast. The king ordered that his mages and blacksmiths forge hundreds of these coins and distribute them to his soldiers, each coin bearing a different animal. Despite the help of this unique tool, the invaders overwhelmed the army and slayed the king.And to the victor go the spoils. The leader of the invading force gathered all of the coins from the dead soldiers and melted them down to form a single, all-powerful coin.

Properties: The coin shows an animal on each side. Whenever the user flips the coin, they become infused with the power of whatever animal landed face-up for several hours. It’s up to the GM to decide how that power manifests (extra finesse from a cat, the ability to breathe water from a fish, the ability to roar like a lion, etc). Then, both faces on the coin change to show a different pair of animals. These bonuses don’t stack. The coin contains hundreds, possibly even thousands of natural and supernatural creatures, so it’s rare for a user to see the same animal more than once.

Bird Figurine: The Raven, legendary figurine

Lore: The Raven return to its form of a small, crudely-shaped wooden figurine of a blackbird, with a hole around its tail to hold its leather cord. When you raise it to your ear, you can hear the strong and steady heartbeat of someone who has found itself.When you clutch the Raven in your hand, muster your intent, and speak the word “Fly,” you become one with the Raven, its feathers merging with your flesh in a glorious and mystical transformation. Your plumage is soft like black velvet. Your wing feathers are a bright and glossy obsidian. Your full wingspan touches the edges of creation. Your black eyes can lead you wherever you want to go. You are the trickster-god reborn, but also yourself. Finally reunited with itself, the Raven makes it known that it was once a divine trickster with plumage of pure white, who fooled the gods. But What-Would-Be-Raven tricked the Titans into investing their power into the sun, the moon, and the stars. When the titans realized they had been weakened, the angry giants cut What-Would-Be-Raven into five pieces and threw the remains at the sun, scorching its feathers pitch-black.Now that you have all five pieces, the figurine sighs, and tells you that it is tired of life as a fragment. It wishes to be whole again, and asks that you serve as it’s avatar, its binding agent, it’s vessel.If you would accept, you gain this legendary magical item, and some long-forgotten divine authority. If you refuse, What-Is-Now-Jackdaw deems that suicide is better than living in splinters, and flies into the sun to burn one last time.

Properties: Becoming the Raven, you instantly succeed with grand style any roll that involves snatching away something from someone. You will never take falling damage, no matter how high you fall. You can out-speed, out-maneuver, and out-fly anything that travels trough the sky, with absolutely no effort at all. You can survive any environment.

Command

Helm of Oleg Thunderspeaker, powerful helmet

Lore: Oleg was not a good fighter. Born with a crooked spine and bad legs, he could have easily died young and alone. Luckily, what he lacked in physical strength he more than made up for with a booming voice. He initially gained mild local fame by singing battle hymns before landing a spot at the right hand of his clan’s grand general. Whenever a scuffle would break out near Oleg’s mountain home, he would stand near the peak of the mountain and bellow down the general’s orders to the troops below. For decades, soldiers swore that Oleg’s commands sounded like thunder had learned to speak.

Properties: When the wearer speaks from on high, their voice travels for miles and thunderclouds gather.

Wrath of the Fallen Conqueror: Hateful Helmet, weak helmet

Lore: This bronze helmet shows the visage of grotesquely detailed face (multitudes of scars, bulging eyes, crooked teeth, etc). Long ago, an army stood as the last line of defense against a warlord bent on conquering the world. The army succeeded, but the wrath of the conqueror was too great to vanish into the afterlife. Fragments of his spirit spilled into tools of war that littered the bloody battlefield.This helmet contains the conqueror’s spirit–his ability to size up an enemy.Legend has it that if a single person wields all 3 items, the conqueror will be reborn.

Properties: At the start of each combat, the wearer can select a creature. The GM must reveal one of the creature’s qualities.

Radiant Dawn / Twilight Crown, powerful helmet

Lore: This mutable helmet’s only constant feature is a silver crown, cut to resemble suns rising and setting over mountains. When touched by the first light of dawn, the helmet becomes platinum and shines with a soft light. When the dark of night sweeps over it, the crown becomes cold, polished obsidian. Hedbarog, a fierce and mighty queen, ruled the Grey Keep, the first bastion between civilisation and the demon caverns of Bolboroth. Each day, she led her troops against the forces of evil that boiled from the cold heart of the earth. Each night, she kept vigilant watch against their insurgence. Her devotion inspired an ancient spirit, who granted her immortality so long as she held her keep against the terrors of the night. His gift came in the form of a platinum helmet whose mere presence uplifted the soul and strengthened the arm. Hedbarog’s immortality allowed her to amass great power and her watch against the demon hordes soon became an extermination. As the Grey Keep’s need for protection lessened, Hedbarog began to age again, her work almost done. Terrified of the ravages of time, she devised a plan to introduce new terrors for the wardens of the Grey Keep to battle. By night, she raised the forces of evil up again to crash against the keep’s walls, and by day she stood atop its walls and rained death on her nocturnal allies. But the spirit’s gift was soon corrupted and Hedbarog’s power left her, consumed by the greed that had gripped her heart. All that remained was the helmet, sustained by the pure magic of the spirit and the fearful will of Hedbarog.

Properties: When touched by the light of a dawning sun, the helmet becomes Radiant Dawn. It glows softly. All those who see it know its owner to be good and true and the forces of good will be attracted to its benevolent power. It causes yourself and allies within a far distance to be immune to terror. When touched by starlight, the helmet becomes the Twilight Crown. All who see it know its owner to be cruel and wicked and the forces of evil will be attracted to its malevolent power. When the wielder critically hits with an attack, he terrifies the target for 1d6 turns.

Wrath of the Fallen Conqueror: Bloody Bastion, powerful shield

Lore: The Bloody Bastion is a heavy shield, pointed at the base with a crown of spikes at the top. The shield is several feet tall and has a frame of wrought iron. The back of the shield is a smooth piece of metal marred only by the handles. When it is active, the shield’s front warps and splinters into wooden arms. Between the arms is an ominous black hole that boils with raw hatred. Long ago, an army stood as the last line of defense against a warlord bent on conquering the world. The army succeeded, but the wrath of the conqueror was too great to vanish into the afterlife. Fragments of his spirit spilled into tools of war that littered the bloody battlefield.This shield contains the conqueror’s mind–his insatiable bloodlust. Legend has it that if a single person wields all 3 items, the conqueror will be reborn.

Properties: When the wielder defeats a creature, the shield animates and devours the defeated creature’s body. The defeated is dead forever, period.

Wrath of the Fallen Conqueror: Avenging Axe, legendary axe

Lore: This gnarled battle axe has a notched, blood-stained edge. Long ago, an army stood as the last line of defense against a warlord bent on conquering the world. The army succeeded, but the wrath of the conqueror was too great to vanish into the afterlife. Fragments of his spirit spilled into tools of war that littered the bloody battlefield.This axe contains the conqueror’s body–his godlike strength.Legend has it that if a single person wields all 3 items, the conqueror will be reborn.

Properties: When the Avenging Axe rings with the shouts of a thousand dying men, the blows of a roaring army, or the full force of nature’s fury, it will grant its bearer the ability to perform one feat of strength on par with cleaving a mountain in twain.

Dragon

The Arbiter, powerful sword

Lore: This long iron blade that has been tempered in dragon’s breath, giving it a crimson sheen. The hilt and handle are crafted out of dragon bone. Red shimmering scales cover the sheath of the blade. Even the mightiest dragons have to start their treasure hoard somewhere. One young red dragon made the fatal mistake of targeting a small kingdom to the north–he challenged the kingdom’s greatest champion to a deathmatch, and was promptly cut down. The champion forged this sword from the dragon’s corpse to let all other dragon’s know: this land is protected.

Properties: The wielder can do all of the following:

Elements

Blast Stones, weak stones

Lore: These are rough, grey stones with slightly glowing red hairline cracks. Blast stone ore was first discovered in the Dwarven Ordukr Mines. The miners initially thought the strange glowing veins were a new type of gemstone and eagerly began mining it. When the miners struck the vein with their pickaxes, however, the ore exploded and caused a disastrous cave-in. Since then, miners take considerable care when extracting blast stones. Mining blast stones is incredibly dangerous, but the popularity of blast stones among militarily forces and adventurers ensures that there will always be a high demand for this highly unstable stone.

Properties: When blast stones experience a sharp impact, it explodes and deals damage to everything in a blast centered on its space. The damage dealt depends on the size of a blast stone. A handheld stone about the size of an apple deals 1d12 damage. An entire barrel full of blast stone ore could potentially be enough to destroy an entire castle wall.

Lightning Bolt, weak crossbow Bolt

Lore: This humble crossbow bolt is made of weathered metal. The head of the bolt is jagged, like a lightning bolt. Amused by his own clever pun, a storm mage enchanted this crossbow bolt with the fury of a thunderstorm.

Properties: When the bolt hits something, it unleashes a loud thunderclap that sounds identical to real thunder. The sound can be heard for miles in all directions if it’s used in the open air. All creatures in a blast centered on the point of impact are deafened for about 1 day.

Splashdown, weak arrow

Lore: These arrows have shafts made of hard coral and sharp seashells for heads. These arrows were created by the merfolk specifically for underwater use. Over the years, the merfolk have perfected their design with liquid propulsion magic.

Properties: When fired underwater, the arrow flies like a normal arrow would over land. When fired in open air, it spurts out water and changes directions erratically.

Seabringer, legendary trident

Lore: This trident is roughly 6 feet in length with a handle of dark wood and three prongs of red iron. In the beginning, the planet was a barren wasteland full of hot ash and lakes of lava. Some primordial entity (scholars still debate whether it was a god, a titan, or some other cosmic force) struck the earth with the Seabringer. Instantly, the haze of ash that blanketed the planet transformed into rain clouds, thus beginning a years-long storm that filled the planet with endless oceans.

Properties: Plunging the Seabringer into the earth causes a catastrophic hurricane centered on that spot. The storm will continue for several days and cause extreme flooding. The storm actually summons water from elsewhere in the universe, so every use of this trident permanently increases the planet’s sea level by a few inches.

Faith

Eye See, weak bow

Lore: Eye See is made of human bone; that fact alone tends to unsettle people. Then there are the smiling and winking faces inscribed in rings on the grip. Bowyers look at Eye See with disbelief; human bone has nowhere near the tensile strength or flexibility to bend the way a bow needs. And yet, it does. Eye See’s arrow-heads are concavo-convexes, within each carved a glyph of a heavily-lidded eye in the midst of blinking. Once, there was a seer known as Seimoor. Seimoor was an asshole; she drank, chased skirt, kicked people for no good reason before running away, and she generally only used her foresight for trivial things like betting on horseraces and making lewd jokes. When blight and extinction came to the land by way of the Second Sun, Seimoor went to the Lady Knights and told them to kill her and make bows and arrows of her bones. She had foreseen their coming quest, and knew that her powers would be a great boon to them. When asked why Seimoor couldn’t just come with them, she professed a childhood dream of becoming a bow. Not an archer or a fletcher; just a bow. Many profess that when she laid her head on the chopping block, Seimoor grinned. The asshole.

Properties: When someone fires one of Eye See’s arrows (with the bow), he immediately goes temporarily blind. Within a split second, his vision is replaced by that of the glyph in the arrow as it speeds to its location. When the arrow stops, the shooter’s vision returns to normal instantaneously. The bow comes with 2d6 arrows, which can be recovered after they’ve been fired.

Lightbringer, weak longsword

Lore: The pommel of this sword resembles a golden sun, with the rays of light extending left and right to create the hilt. A longer sun ray stretches downward to form the grip, and the longest ray streaks outward to form the cruel edge of this golden longsword. The Temple of Dawn strove relentlessly to banish the world of evil creatures that lurk in the shadows. The members of the church performed their duties exceedingly well, so much so that they attracted the ire of a powerful group of vampires. Late one night, the vampires infiltrated the temple and slaughtered the sleeping inhabitants. They then set the temple ablaze in one final cruel act before retreating into the darkness. The priests’ golden holy symbols melted in the heat of the flames and gathered into a mass of molten gold as bright and hot as the sun itself. When the sun crested the next morning, the Lightbringer was born among the ashes of the fallen temple.

Properties: The wielder can have the blade emit light as bright as a torch. The light counts as sunlight.

Unbroken Flail, powerful flail

Lore: The haft and the spiked head of this flail are wrought of black iron. The chain is made of some sort of silvery, unidentifiable metal. Long ago, a powerful angel passed judgment on an ancient evil, condemning it to 1000 years of imprisonment for a heinous crime. The angel constructed an unbreakable chain to bind the foul creature, and for a full millennium the chain fulfilled its purpose. The angel valued justice above all else, so he was forced to release the ancient evil after it had served its term. The legend doesn’t state what happened to the angel or the ancient evil, but for unknown reasons that unbreakable chain somehow found its way into mortal hands. It now serves a similar purpose, helping adventurers lock away powerful evil entities.

Properties: The chain of this flail is unbreakable. When you make a Very good attack against a creature with this weapon, it can’t move for 1d6 turns.

Martial

Scroll of Grasping Iron Eagle Talon, powerful scroll

Lore: The exotic symbols on this long, thin scroll detail the Grasping Iron Eagle Talons technique. The only problem is that the scroll language has been lost as well, so its secrets are forever sealed away in obscurity.

Properties: This scroll is thin and long like a bandage, which enables it to be wrapped around a person’s hand. If that hand is used to grab onto something, absolutely nothing can break that grip unless the user chooses to break it.

Nature

Rainkeeper’s Staff, weak staff

Lore: This wooden staff is nearly identical to a length of driftwood. Its dark color and cracked surface suggests that it is several hundred years old, at least. Druidic runes cover its surface, with the rune for “Purity” etched near the bottom. When the staff is near water, the runes begin to glow a pale yellow. One of the most popular druidic legends is the tale of Purity, a beautiful maiden of the forest and one of the first true druids. As a young girl, she saw the unparalleled beauty of nature and felt within herself a need to protect it. As she grew older, she found that plants would react to her presence, and that she could calm the rage of any beast. It is said that she pulled the staff from a knot in a great tree and traveled the world teaching people to revere nature and its gifts.To this day, druids teach that Purity ascended after death to become a spirit of nature. Her name now represents one of the fundamental tenants of druidism: man is guest in the house of nature, and to sully it is an ultimate disrespect.

Properties: This staff will purify any water into which it is placed. Impure water is drawn up through one end and will flow from the other, free of any toxins, magical or otherwise.

Occultism

Eye of Night, weak gemstone

Lore: The Eye of Night is an oval-shaped stone made from the darkest obsidian. The color is the purest black, and the glossy surface reflects light like a mirror. The reflections are strangely distorted, as it seems to reflect shadows rather than light. In the same way that a person can fall sick from a dark plague, so too can a ray of light become infected by shadow. This is what happened with the Eye of Night–a sunbeam was corrupted by shadow when it struck a dark obsidian rock. The stone absorbed the light and twisted its warm, golden rays into cold shadow.

Properties: This is an obsidian stone that is about the size of a human eye. The possessor of the gem has the colors of his eyes inverted (black to white and white to black). He sees light and dark in reverse–he sees dark areas as if they were well lit and illuminated areas if they were dark and shadowy.

Blooddrinker, legendary sword

Lore: This curved blade has a slight red tint to it. The blade is serrated with cruel barbs. The black-red iron seems to pulse with an unnatural hunger. Living things have trace amounts of iron in their blood. When a cruel demon lord discovered this fact, he immediately set about collecting enough bloodiron to craft a blade. He had to drain countless bodies–thousands, possibly even millions. Forged in a sea of boiling blood, Blooddrinker exists only to consume the blood of the living.

Properties: Creatures with blood that are damaged by this weapon bleed, which doesn’t stop until the affected creature loses all of its life. The blade is sentient and endlessly bloodthirsty. If the wielder does not satisfy the blade’s thirst for blood, it will cause the wielder to bleed.

Psionics

Adorinel, the Legacy Circlet, weak circlet

Lore: This silver circlet is made out of hundreds, possibly thousands of interwoven strands of hair-thin silver. The strands gather at the front of the circlet to create a symmetrical, organized, yet incredibly complicated knot. An elven community was struck by a terrible plague that gradually turned the infected insane. It was an affliction of the mind, so young psion Casrae Starheart was the only one who wasn’t affected. She watched in horror as her friends and family became sicker and sicker before eventually descending into madness. With no cure available, Casrae resolved to preserve the minds of her kin: she took a masterfully crafted elven circlet and infused it with her psionic energy to create a holding device for conscious minds. She then placed the circlet on each villager. Even though they would soon devolve into madness, the collective knowledge of Casrae’s people would be forever stored in Adorinel, which means “legacy” in elvish.

Properties: Anyone who wears this circlet immediately has his mind copied and uploaded into the circlet. This doesn’t affect the wearer in any way. Each day, the circlet randomly selects one of the minds stored in the circlet. The wearer of the circlet can telepathically communicate with that mind. There are hundreds of minds currently stored in the circlet, each one with a distinct personality and knowledge specialty.

Savagery

Bleeding Cloak, weak cloak

Lore: The creases of this gruesome leather cloak occasionally ooze blood. A great soldier returned home and found that his family had been mutilated by savages while he was away. In a state of blinding rage, he found those responsible and tore the flesh from their bones. The rest can only be assumed.

Properties: The wearer has 5 soak. Submerging the cloak in blood overnight regenerates lost soak.

Blade of Cursed Rituals, powerful dagger

Lore: This weapon is a carefully carved stone knife, stained permanently with blood. A dull, far-off drumming is heard whenever it is held. The drums have started again. From my hiding place, I can hear everything–the crackle of the bonfire, the chanting, and the cries of those soon to be killed. I tremble as the words come into focus. They’re calling my name. A scaled hand pulls away the cloth that hides me and yanks me out, the Shaman offering me up for the crowd’s inspection.The din of the Saurek rises to a crescendo as they lay their slitted eyes on me, and I am certain that my time has come. There are a hundred Saurek in the crowd, but I care not for them. Atop an altar before me, squirming in vain against his bindings, is their sacrifice.The Shaman lifts me high above the altar, and I can feel a hundred and one pairs of eyes upon me. He plunges me down. The sacrifice is made. I thirst for more.

Properties: This sentient blade is cruel, vain, and bloodthirsty. It communicates to its wielder through emotional impulses and drum-like beating, often increasing the sound of drum beats to a feverish intensity when it is about to spill blood. The dagger has the rending keyword for free. When the blade takes the life of a worthy creature, attacks made with it roll +1 damage die, stacking. However, each stack makes the wielder increasingly bloodthirsty. Washing the blood from the blade ends both effects.

Scabbard of Boling the Pummeler, weak scabbard

Lore: Barbarians have never been known for their manners. So when Bolin the Barbarian was hungry, he killed a horse that was asleep in the stables and dragged it to his camp to eat. Unbeknownst to Bolin, the horse belonged to a local wizard. The mage gathered his allies and went to confront the horse-eater. Bolin drew his sword, but a spell from the mages disintegrated it. Thinking they had already won, the mages began laughing and taunted Bolin. The barbarian may not have had a weapon, but he still had his scabbard. The mighty warrior wielded the scabbard like a club and began pummeling the unarmed mages. Bolin beat eight wizards to death that night, thus earning him the title “Bolin the Pummeler.”

Properties: Roll +1 damage die against wizards, mages, and other magical entities.

Thievery

Pickpocket’s Glove, weak glove

Lore: This elbow-length glove is made of coarse leather and appears to have been stitched together by an amateur. Set into the palm of the glove is a small golden coin bearing the seal of some unknown kingdom. Dellehan was a down-on-his-luck thief. He lacked the grace and subtlety essential to his trade, and as a result he spent most of his time in jail. When the constable told him his next slip-up would earn him an appointment with the headsman, Dellehan swore to himself that he’d never get caught again. For a time, Dellehan did indeed manage to get away with a few handfuls of coin. Everything changed when he slipped his hand into a wizard’s pockets. He pulled out a single coin that was unlike anything he’d ever seen–it bore strange symbols, almost more like magic runes than a kingdom’s official seal.Unfortunately, the constable spotted Dellehan’s crime. Dellehan fled, gripping the coin tightly in his hand. Dellehan was shocked when the constable stopped, looked past him, swore under his breath, and ran into another alley.After some experimenting back at his den, Dellehan found out that the coin was some sort of invisibility charm. He realized he could use it to his advantage and become a master thief, scourge of merchants and nobles alike. Keeping track of such a small object would limit his ability to practice his craft, so he opted to sew it into a glove. Dellehan set about stitching the coin into the palm of an old leather glove he liked to wear. But without any knowledge of magic, Dellehan had no way of knowing that his actions would forever change the coin’s magic. The coin’s newly limited magic would now only apply to his arm.Of course, old habits die hard. Even with a magical glove aiding his craft, Dellehan was eventually caught and executed. His glove has been changing hands (so to speak) ever since.

Properties: When the wearer firmly presses their fingers into the coin, the gloved arm becomes invisible. An illusory copy of the arm takes its place.

Whisper, weak hood

Lore: This plain leather hood has subtle etchings around the brim. The hood hangs over the wearer’s face, obscuring it in shadow. For a magic item so deeply rooted in deception, can anybody be truly certain of its origins?

Properties: When the wearer hears someone’s voice, they can perfectly replicate that voice for the next day or so. This effect ends prematurely if anybody sees the wearer’s face.

Tracking

Cuervo, the Hunter’s Companion, weak bow

Lore: This is a simple oaken hunting bow adorned with raven’s feathers as decoration. This bow was named for the raven that followed around a hunter throughout his time in the wilderness. The bird would scout ahead and return to alert the hunter to danger or assist in tracking prey. Eventually, the bird died and the hunter kept some of his feathers as an adornment on the bow. Despite the loss of his companion, until the end of his days the hunter could always rely on his friend’s spirit to help guide the way.

Properties: The bow has 1d6 feathers attached near the handle. The wielder can pluck one of the feathers to summon Cuervo, a spirit raven. The bird is extremely intelligent and can perform tasks given to it by the bow’s owner. Cuervo turns back into a feather after about 1 hour abroad. When the last feather is destroyed, the wielder of the bow gets a last glimpse of the raven landing on the shoulder of an ethereal figure before they both wander off into the mists.

Forager’s Hand, weak glove

Lore: This thick leather glove is of exceptional quality. A leather strap along the back of the wrist ensures that it stays on securely. The back of the glove bears the outline of an apple in thread. This glove was likely used by a forest-dwelling tribe to make long voyages possible without concern for food. Hundreds of pounds of fresh fruit could be dehydrated and stored away without the worry of it rotting over the following months. Any source of running water meant a veritable feast for the tribesmen, as contact with water would cause the dehydrated snacks to inflate and become plump and juicy once again.

Properties: When the glove comes in contact with fruit, the fruit shrinks and becomes dehydrated. Fruit dehydrated by the glove will stay fresh indefinitely, and any contact with water (saliva doesn’t count) will cause them to rehydrate and return to their original forms.

Wayfinder’s Brooch, weak brooch

Lore: Nothing about this brooch appearance suggests a deeper power, except for perhaps the odd coloration of the feathers used in its creation. Several iridescent feathers are affixed to a ring of entwined fibers, each one perfectly pristine. Druids often tell the story of Ahnsal and Carwen, two deities that fell in love but could never be together. Ahnsal was a handsome winged god of the skies, often depicted with avian features and a crown of iridescent feathers as wild and untamed as the skies. Carwen was a beautiful (but wingless) goddess of the forest who captured Ahnsal’s heart.Whenever the two lovers met, they created violent storms that brought untold destruction. Floods crashed through the forests, winds ripped ancient trees from the ground, and lightning tore the skies asunder. Seeing that their union could only bring destruction to Carwen’s beloved forest, they agreed to part ways. It is said that Ahnsal created a pendant that would rain down feathers wherever he flew, so that Carwen would always know if she stood where he once flew.

Properties: If the wearer likes, he leaves behind himself a trail of magical feathers. If moved, the feathers will magically return to their original position, carried on mystic winds. The feathers last for a week or so.

Transformation

Three-Faced Mirror, powerful mirror

Lore: This silver hand mirror is ornately engraved on both sides; one side bears a frowning mask, while the opposite bears a smiling one. There doesn’t appear to be an actual mirrored surface, despite its shape. Among the noble houses of Everstone, no ghost story is known by more or talked about by fewer than that of Rosetta Walsh. The Walsh family was one of the most influential of the noble caste of Everstone, and their estate on the edge of town was as much a home as a tourist attraction. That was, of course, until it caught fire in the dead of night. In the ensuing blaze, every member of the Walsh family passed–except for one: Rosetta Walsh. Rosetta was scarcely over twenty years old, and until now, had only been a footnote in the Walsh legacy. She was betrothed to a young man of House Everstone, Rorick. In the aftermath of this tragedy, it was expected that the marriage would fall through. Rosetta seemed to take things–rather well, however, and she insisted the marriage continue as planned. As heir to the Walsh fortune, she would pay for the arrangements herself. Over time, Rorick would sense that something had changed in Rosetta. She spoke less and less of her dreams, and more of her desires. Immediate, calculable gains rather than long-term happiness. This wasn’t the Rosetta he knew. On the day of the wedding, when the two were exchanging their vows, Rorick took Rosetta’s hand and asked, “Are you the real Rosetta Walsh?” Rosetta’s face paled, and he knew in an instant that it was an impostor. In a flash, he drew a small blade from his pocket and ran the woman through. In front of a shocked audience, Rosetta’s young face melted into that of an old crone, and she died on the church steps.

Properties: After turning the object three times, a mirror appears on the side facing the bearer. The bearer takes on the physical appearance of whomever they think about while gazing into the mirror. This does not change stats or traits–only the user’s appearance.

Titan Amulet, powerful necklace

Properties: The wearer is twice as large as normal.

Lore: This ring-shaped amulet is made of a milky blue gemstone. A thin gold chain loops through the hole in the center. The chain emerging from the front of the amulet is twice as thick as the chain entering the hole in the back of it. There have been many star-crossed lovers through history. When a giant and a human fell in love with each other, it seemed like their love story was destined to end in tragedy. Rather than bemoaning their fate, the giant beseeched his kin to forge a magic item that would unite him with his love. Moved by his passionate plea, an enchanter forged this amulet, which would increase the woman’s size to that of a giant. With this amulet, the giant and the human woman were able to live a happy life together. The amulet has since been passed down through the ages and has lost a considerable portion of its magic.

Undeath

Eye of the Reaper, weak monocle

Lore: This monocle has a dull gold rim. There’s a single hairline crack that begins at the edge of the lens, and snakes its way inward just before the center of the glass. Necromancers rarely work together, but once in a blue moon a group of like-minded necromancers will unite towards a common goal. Keeping track of everyone’s undead minions is a logistical nightmare – after all, it’s practically impossible to distinguish one animated skeleton from another. Fed up with constant mix-ups, one necromancer created this eyepiece.

Properties: When the possessor views an undead creature through this monocle, they learn all of the creature’s qualities. They may also ask any question about the undead creature, which the GM must answer honestly.

Book of Captured Shadows, powerful book

Lore: This is a large, spiral bound tome with blank, ash-grey pages. A bone-feather quill is attached to it. After discovering the bloody aftermath of a battle between his people and dragon-kin, a soldier stumbled upon a corpse of a little girl with a sketch book and quill in her hands. The man was overcome with grief and drew a sketch of the carnage, hoping to forever capture the tragedy so that future generations would never forget what happened here. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice the young girl’s blood on the quill. Ash settled onto the pages as he drew, infusing his macabre drawing with the rage and anguish of his slaughtered brethren. The soldier drew as if possessed, eventually filling the entire book in an endless tableau of carnage. The last page showed nothing but tortured faces–some he knew and some unknown. To his horror, a dark and twisted shadow began to emerge from the pages. A cold, distant voice rang in his head, “Thank you. Now, we shall seek our vengeance on those who wronged us.” With that, the shadow collapsed into the soldier’s shadow, infusing him with their power. The newly born shadebeast set off to seek terrible vengeance against those who had wronged it.

Properties: If the wielder uses the book and quill to draw the aftermath of a death, the souls of the unavenged will spill into the page. They will grant the possessor a fraction of their power (a boost to stats, temporary trait, knowledge of the enemy, etc. The GM decides what they grant, and how long the bonuses last.

Warfare

Amputator, weak rapier

Lore: The long, thin blade of this rapier is criss-crossed with dozens of knicks and scrapes. The hand guard is simple in its design–a smooth metal dome protects the wielder’s hands from incoming strikes. The half-elf Sasha Orellum had something of a dilemma: she was short. That normally wouldn’t be much of a problem, but Sasha had dreams of mastering the art of fencing. She was a skilled fighter and was incredibly agile, but her short arms put her at a severe disadvantage against her much taller adversaries. What good is speed and precision when your opponents can strike you long before your rapier even reaches their bodies? So, Sasha rethought her strategy. If she couldn’t reach her opponent’s chest before getting hit, she’d aim for the next best thing: their hands. She invented a fighting style that focused entirely on disarming her foes. She became so good at it that the other fencing students jokingly called her sword “Amputator” for its ability to disarm other fencers. Sasha went on to become a grandmaster fencer at her academy, and her famous sword remained on display for years after her death. The sword was eventually awarded to an adventurer as part of a job well done. Now, it goes from swordsman to swordsman, bestowing wielders with a fragment of Sasha’s talent.

Properties: When you make a Good attack or better with this weapon, disarm the target.

Bulwark, weak shield

Lore: This tower shield is made mostly from stone and greatly resembles a castle wall. It seems bigger from behind than it appears from the front. The Bulwark was created from the wall of a fortress after a young prince claimed he’d never leave the walls of the keep. The prince, a pacifist, was never particularly effective on front-line assaults. He did become quite fond of his fellow squad members however and always did his best to prevent any of them from coming to harm. After he retired at the end of a long career he passed on the shield, which was said to carry on some of his will.

Properties: Whenever the wielder spends advantage to decrease an attack, the attack is also decreased against all other targets of the attack.

Gladius, weak shortsword

Lore: This sword is about as average as it gets. The leather grip is slightly worn but comfortable, the metal of the blade is neither dull nor shining, and the edge is adequately sharp. This weapon would look perfectly at home at the side of any rank and file soldier. Originally, nothing about the Gladius was special. It was just a simple sword crafted by a simple blacksmith. A soldier took the Gladius to war and used it to kill his enemies. That soldier died, so the Gladius found itself in the hands of another warrior. That soldier also used the Gladius to slay enemies before dying in battle. And so it went, battle after battle after battle. Ten battles became a hundred, and a hundred battles became a thousand. This blade has taken countless lives and has been wielded by a near endless line of warriors. Simple though it may be, the Gladius is one of the most successful and reliable blades in history.

Properties: The wielder gains as a temporary trait 1 random combat trait that the previous owner had. Once the wielder loses the Gladius (it’s given away, lost, stolen, etc), he can no longer benefit from its magic effect again.

Summer Cloak, weak cloak

Lore: This cloak is a thick oilskin smock, with a button-on hood and fleece lining. The front of the smock has a covered pocket sewn into it and while it feels normal from the outside, the pocket is always pleasantly warm within. The pocket has an opening about a foot across and is as deep. Summer Cloaks are one of the few magic items that are mass produced. Military organizations (especially those stationed near the frigid north) order Summer Cloaks en masse from local pyromancers. Commander Darian Blackspire, the lord commander of the Northsworn Army, once went on record saying that Summer Cloaks are twice as valuable as a sword. “I’d sooner have my men fight barehanded and warm,” he said, “than watch them freeze to death clutching to a hunk of metal.”

Properties: The interior of the cloak maintains a pleasantly warm temperature.

Thud’s Skullcap, powerful helmet

Lore: This ancient iron helm is dented, scratched, and rusted. It is dome-shaped and has two iron bands bolted across it in an X-shaped pattern. There are two holes in the helm, each about as wide as a thumb. One hole is at the top of the helmet and the other is above where the wearer’s right ear would be. Nobody knows the history of Thud. All anybody knows about the ill-fated warrior is that he showed up in a small village one day wearing a full suit of armor, bleeding from a head wound. He was completely incoherent, but the locals managed to get the man to a healer. It was there that they discovered that a shard of some strange, unidentifiable metal had pierced all the way through the helmet and the man’s skull. The healers tried to remove the shard, but they almost lost their lives–the man would scream in agony whenever anybody tried to touch it and he would lash out violently. Since they were unable to remove the shard, they simply left it in and waited for a moment when the man would let them operate. That day never came. Somehow, the wound healed around the metal shard still embedded in his head. The man, whom the locals named Thud for his tendency to bump into objects, had obviously lost part of his mind from the injury. He had no memory of his former life, he was a complete idiot, and he could barely speak more than one word at a time. Fortunately, he was still a capable warrior. He relentlessly protected the people of that small village against invaders and he was instrumental in fighting back a goblin invasion… all with a metal shard sticking out of his brain. Thud eventually died of old age. The entire village attended the simple-minded warrior’s funeral. Nobody ever learned his real name or where the bizarre metal shard came from, but everybody from that small village was thankful that they had known Thud.

Properties: The wearer has +5 toughness and -3 mind. After the helmet is removed, the effects gradually wear off over the course of about 1 day.