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21

I wrote up a few magical torches.
The idea being that some magic shops would sell “odds and ends” in a box by the door, things they never spent the effort to identify, or did and found it not worth pricing very highly.
These would include consumables that basically also have a random effect (these are like rough drafts of item enchanters, or maybe just sat around and the magic has gotten a bit stale.)
Torches, potions, mundane items and the like.

Torches:

Ghostfire Torch - cool blue flame, emits no heat, causes no damage.

Dousing Torch - once lit, the torch pulls itself violently towards the nearest source of water in which to douse itself.

Key Torch - once lit a glimmering key of bronze appears in the flame, can be retrieved take 1d4 fire damage, if torch extinguished the key vanishes.

Trailing Torch - leaves behind a faint glowing trace of the path of the torch for 20’. The trail slowly dissipates after 1 minute of the torch going out.

Mirror Torch - everything the torchlight falls on is projected 50’ ahead in a blurry illusory duplicate.

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22

Also, I figured Healing Potions are a magic item, why shouldn’t they all be different from each other, maybe some with more surprising affects as well…

Unexpected Effects of Healing Potions

  1. You glow from within, making your vascular structure clearly visible for the next 30 minutes. Enemies will attack you first in combat.
  2. You find it difficult to speak and your skin becomes dry and chalky. You have to yell to be heard and gain resistance to non magical weapon attacks for 30 minutes.
  3. Cold spreads through your body healing minor wounds and causing your breath to crystalize in ice. The frosty breath causes Disadvantage on Persuasion checks for 30 minutes.
  4. You sweat profusely and your eyes/nose start to run. You find it difficult to manipulate small items. Disadvantage on checks to hold onto small items or use tools for 30 minutes.
  5. As the liquid makes its way to your stomach, a golden glow is emitted from your mouth while open. Opening your mouth casts dim light in your immediate area for the next 30 minutes.
  6. As soon as the stopper is pulled, the red liquid rushes to the top in a foamy spout, lyou quickly drink it down and a tingling spreads through your body. It is impossible to drink this without being noticed.
  7. As the stopper is pulled, the liquid instantly evaporates in a cloud of red mist, you inhale deeply and catch the faint scent of sweet flowers as your muscles feel rejuvenated and relaxed.
  8. You upend the bottle and a clumpy red liquid slowly pours out. With a little chewing you get most of it down and feel as if you just ate a 3 course meal.
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23

I generally systemised my magic items along the veins of a Magic Sword character class I wrote way back in the day. This was really a NPC class where a fighting man could take a sword, horse, and/or armour as a henchman and have it earn experience and become a heirloom item. Whilst I don’t use this method any more it did form the basis of how I design magic swords, and most magic items are based around this same sort of system. It is craftsmen that make make magic weapons in my game - enchantments are only temporary (and tend to break whatever they are act upon when they expire, unless that is a masterwork item (effectively a +0 magic item)…

One category of magic swords are the Bane Swords. These are the classic +1/+3 swords of OD&D, except because I use class-based hit point damage they do double damage (remember that back in the day the damage die was d6, so this change keeps the same average damage of the weapon). They are considered Magic Swords of the Fourth Rank (requiring a 5th level craftsman).

Anyway everyone knows how a bane sword is made - you perform the final temper of the blade in the living essence of the targeted creature. Of course if you don’t actually know what you are doing you will probably end up with a bad or broken blade, or one whose target is not what you want… For example using an orc warrior named Grash to temper the blade might result in the bane of orcs you intended, or possible a bane of warriors or a bane of Grash.

These are naturally cursed items because of how they are made. Having a bane blade in a party results in a -1 reaction from the affected creature, even if it is sheathed. Actually drawing the bane blade results in a -3 reaction from the affected creatures. Something to consider when one is carrying that bane of dragons you found in that heavily charred and partially melted part of the dungeon.

There is a way of making a greater bane weapon that does not have this affect but this is considered a Magic Sword of the Third Rank and needs to be forged in a Death-aspected elemental forge by at least a 7th level weaponsmith. Not a trivial undertaking.

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24

The Hexenfleur is a natural magic item, in that it is a delicate yellow-flowered plant that is often found near the site where destructive weather control magic was used. They tend to emerge in the next spring, along with other flowering plants. There will be 1d6 six-petalled flowers on each plant (but generally only one plant at any event). Druids and herbalists can preserve the flower as a dried herb, or even transplant it to a pot.

When the dried flower is worn in the lapel, it gives a saving throw of +4 against weather-aligned magic, including lightning bolts and lightning strikes. However each time a save is made, the dried flower loses a petal. A properly preserved hexenfleur starts with 6 petals; a found magic item will have 1d6 petals left. After all the flower petals are gone the flower no longer gives a bonus to saves.

As a living plant it extends this protection to everyone and everything in a 10’ radius. However it is a very fragile plant and ill-suited to jarring and shock, which will cause it to lose 1d6 petals from each flower each time. When all six petals are lost it loses all save bonuses. It will naturally lose it’s petals at the end of summer, but if properly cared for it will bloom again in spring with another 1d6 flowers.

Note that attempting to farm these plants with weather magic have been noticeably unsuccessful (and rather damaging to the environment).

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25

Oh man, I really like this idea!

This is an interesting concept as well-- I like how you filled in some practical gaps in how the blades were forged and how their presence would affect the world.

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Reccosa Waykey

The Reccosa Waykey is made of a semi-transparent blue crystalline material that twinkles in the faintest of light. Shaped like a traditional skeleton key and about 4 inches long, it is not intended to unlock any mechanical lock. It is a Waykey, and with it, access to the Reccosa Microverse is possible.

Reccosa Waykey

This waykey was once owned by Thalaman Reccosa, a elven necromancer, until it was acquired by the band of adventurers known as the Ears and Beard Brigade.

Waykey

A Waykey is a magical item that is used to pierce the planar veil revealing an opening to a Microverse. Each key is associated with one specific microverse, although each microverse may have multiple keys.

Typically the key is pressed against a solid surface large enough for a circular aperature of at least five feet across to form. A wall makes a fine surface for this purpose. When the key’s activation word or phrase (its “keyword”) is spoken, a bright light appears at the point of contact. The light begins to spread in a circle revealing the aperture to the associated microverse.

Waykey can take any form, and each is unique.

Microverse

A Microverse, aka, a nook or pocket dimension, is a minor Plane of Existence within the greater multiverse.

Nooks have a finite volume ranging from tiny (a few feet across) to gargantuan (many miles wide) and can be used to securely store anything that fits. The space can be any shape but is often spherical, cubic, or some other Platonic polyhedra. Nooks can be assumed to have gravity that operates perpendicular to the “floor” plane which itself is at a right angle to the aperture.

It is theorized an infinite number of nooks exist, but very few are known.

Access to a microverse and the items stored within is usually gained by using a Waykey which can conveniently open an aperature on any solid surface large enough to support it. The aperture is typically a five foot circle which opens slowly over the span of 1 minute. As it opens, bright, arcing lights flash around its expanding circumfrence accompanied by loud crackling noises of magical energy and often the whistling of air as it rushes through to balance the pressure on both sides.

Physical objects can pass through the opening in either direction while the aperature is open as long as they fit through the opening. The perimeter of an open aperature is clearly framed by scintilating light.

An aperature remains open until closed by speaking the keyword again. Opening a second aperature will cause the first to close. When an aperature closes, it snaps shut instantly. Any item traversing an aperature when it closes will be severed in two, no saving throw.

Microverse apertures can only be opened from the outside. No one knows what happens if a waykey is used from within its associated nook.

While a nook is sealed, no air can enter or escape. The only light in the nook is that which is brought in from outside.

Living creatures within a sealed nook will eventually run out of breathable air unless other provisions are made. This can happen very quickly for tiny nooks. Food, water and waste containment are also problems that need to be addressed for prolonged stays.

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27

This is really imaginative. I know a druid who would love this.

Thanks for sharing!

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28

This was a good idea @nonenothing.

@Todd did you get enough submissions to discuss on Friday?

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29

This will certainly be a great start? Will it take up the whole hour? Who knows! But keep them coming! If, for some reason, our cups runneth over, we’ll build up a backlog for the next stream! :grin:

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Here is a more stereotypically ‘epic’ magic item (even though I like the Arming Sword of Leadership better).

If you can become its controller the Cauldron can be used to cause a HUGE amount of damage. But it’s going to be very difficult to move and if it spills, its going to destroy everything within 50 feet.

Cauldron of Lightning
A shallow copper bowl 5 feet in diameter and 1 foot deep. It balances delicately on a base only 5 inches across. The cauldron is filled with an unbearably luminous blue-white liquid (lightning). The liquid fills the Cauldron to within an inch of its top. In pre-history this exceptionally powerful weapon was created by, or came into the possession of, the figure known as King Rig. With it Ring Rig united the Stamm and later attempted to resist the expansion of Urna the Great in the Substratum Wars. After King Rig’s defeat and death, the Cauldron was entombed with Rig’s body in a secret location. The cauldron weighs 450 lbs.
(Priest—Old Way) Res: 125% ID: -50
• Anyone touching the Cauldron suffers 5d10 lightning damage. Anyone with any amount of Stamm ancestry that touches the cauldron may take 2 Wil checks. If they pass both, they become the Cauldron’s Controller.
• While touching the Cauldron, its controller may use one of the following abilities 1/round.
Lightning Blast: 1 target 4d12+40 damage, Range: 200’, Speed: d10
Lightning Cone: Cone 60’ long, 40’ wide, 4d6+20 damage, Range:0, Speed d10
• If the liquid (lightning) spills from the cauldron everyone within 50 feet suffers lightning damage proportional to the amount of lightning that spilled. The base damage is 4d12+40, multiple the result by the percent of the liquid lightening that spilled (if 15% of the lightning in the cauldron spilled, multiply the damage by 15)
• If all the lightning is spilled from the cauldron, the cauldron is dispelled and no longer functions.
• Currently 92% of the lightning remains in the cauldron.

If you can become its controller the Cauldron can be used to cause a HUGE amount of damage. But it’s going to be very difficult to move and if it spills, its going to destroy everything within 50 feet.

I had a whole campaign planned that centered on this item. The idea was that the party would find the Cauldron in King Rig’s tomb in the first adventure. But the tomb was built around the cumbersome magic item, with 2’ wide passages such that the cauldron is impossible to remove. It’s 5 feet across.

As low level adventures the party wouldn’t have any way to get the Cauldron out of the tomb (that I could think of) besides hiring a bunch of laborers and dismantling the tomb. But while the party was arranging that a resurgent Stamm kingdom (bad guys) would invade and the tomb would end up behind enemy lines.

The whole campaign would be dealing with the Stamm invasion, and their virtually indestructible demigod-like king. The party would remember the Cauldron of Lightning from so long ago and decide to go behind enemy lines, recover the Cauldron, and use it to kill the ‘evil’ god-king.

What a great story! Except of course that didn’t happen. What actually happened was, in a moment of desperation during the first adventure one of the PCs flipped the Cauldron over before they had a chance to investigate it. Doing so dispelled the Cauldron, vaporized the PC and the body of King Rig, so well as destroyed everything in the room that would have told the PCs about the Cauldron and its history…

The campaign ended up being great. I just can’t ever learn that lesson to not plan ahead.

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31

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Thanks everyone for the magic item contributions!

Next up, how about we try a favorite place:

  • what is it?
  • where is it?
  • what’s it’s story?
  • what made it special/memorable?
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My favorite location in my current hex crawl is an oxbow lake, which the locals call The Oxbow Lake. It’s 10 miles away from the campaign hub of Brushside (which was named by Todd himself, thanks). The lake is on one of the natural paths from Brushside to the wilderness where the hex crawl proper happens.

I have a one-page document I used during play. Keep in mind it was meant for me to use not for publication. But I think it is pretty understandable --except, of course, for the game mechanics of my made-up system.

Mechanically all you need to understand is that;
The main bad guy in the Oxbow Lake is Grundlefin. He wouldn’t be a challenge for 4 or 5 low-level adventurers. Except that he is underwater, and fighting in or under water is extremely difficult in my system. The water striders on the other hand are only as smart as insects and could be killed easily if the PCs are careful and attack from a distance. But they could also be a major problem if a PC ended up fighting 2 or 3 without support.

I couldn’t figure out how to upload the one page, so here it is posted to my RPG website.
SecretBlog

All my goals for the location came to fruition. Which is probably why it’s my favorite in this campaign. Here are the high points;

  1. The party kept coming back. The way its treasure recovery works the party was chased off by Grundlefin several times (recovering some money each time). At first it was a primary adventure site for the whole party, but after the first few trips it became a location where PC would go when only 2 people could attend a session. When the party finally went back in full force and defeated Grundlefin it was still a challenge because of the addition of the zombies (which are tougher than zombies in most RPGs).
  2. The party interacted with the location by experimented with it. At different points they; rented a boat to bring with them to get further into the lake with being IN the water, they figured out how to use Summon Swarm spells to kill all the water-strider eggs decimating their population, and they even constructed a diving bell and tested it before using it in the last encounter.
  3. The location ‘changed’ over time. Because the party took so long dealing with the location 4 other adventurers died in the lake and ended up as zombies in the final encounter. Which prevented it from being too easy even though the PCs where higher level then they ‘should’ have been.
  4. Dealing with the location changed the world. When the demon Grundlefin was finally killed (and a few small nearly goblinoid liars were cleared), the area become safe. Later when the party walked pasted the Oxbow Lake people were building a dock and starting to go out on the lake. Players liked seeing that.
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33

We played in the Eberron setting for a few years and I spent so much time thinking about the different locations the players were moving through.
Their homebase was an Orphanage in the lower slums I had a lot of fun fleshing out.
We had about 8 npc orphans, an automaton metalscrapper they rescued who helped out taking care of the kids along with a retired character who kept in contact with the rest of the adventuring party.
They first arrived when the Orphanage was under the sway of some dream creatures, they wiped em out and saved the kids then kept donating money and asking about the place.
They entered a race and won for the district, spread the cleric’s religion to some kobolds. Returned a lost glove to a kindly widow of the war. Oh and almost got half the kids killed when one of the PCs past caught up with them, of course at the doors of the Willowick Academy. That campaign seems unlikely to resume, but they have a deed to a property a few levels up in the city which they debated cleaning up and moving the orphanage to the new building, however of course they need to clear out the monstrous squatters and traps set by the criminal element that had been using it as a facility to produce narcotics. They’ve long since fled, but oozes have taken up the dilapidated manor and most of the traps remain readied. :slight_smile: good times

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34

I think that’s a really important element. Good or bad, the stuff that happens should affect the larger world.

Who was it that said, “the oozes shall inherit the earth?” A wise man, I am sure.

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