What have you created for your campaign besides the standard fare in D&D and other books that you were proud of or thought was interesting? Can be elegant or complex. Could be powerful or not. I'll start:
1) Stillness: 500 year old sword with name etched in elvish on the blade. Long Sword +1 that automatically createss a five foot radius silence spell effect.
Lots of positives and negatives that have come up. For example, great for moving silent, but bad for calling for help or casting most spells.
2) Extra Dimensional Tent: Red and blue fabric tent/yurt that is only 8x8, but is actually 40x40 inside. Folds down into a backpack. The rub is that within that tent is ANOTHER door that leads to the Shadowfell.
3) Sickle of Speed: +2 to Initiative, +2 to dexterity saves, +2 to hit and damage, +2 hexes (10 ft) to base movement all apply if the weapon is drawn.
Looking forward to see what you have.
Boon/Bane Coin -- Blessed with a minor "commune" spell, the coin's faces are marked with a X and a check mark, representing NO and YES, respectively. Once a day, the holder can ask a YES/NO question of the coin, flip it, and get an accurate YES/NO answer.
The "Annar" Key -- This magical lockpick gives a thief a bonus to unlock any lock. However, there is a curse as well. When the lockpick is used, the PREVIOUS lock that the key was used upon will be magically Wizard Locked.
Glyph Eraser -- When this non-descript rag is rubbed over a magical glyph, it removes the glyph without triggering its effects. Can be used 2d4 times before becoming useless.
Nice. I like the key and the rag idea.
One of the most significant finds to come out of the haunted ruins of the city of Telmora, Deathreaper is a giant battlebrand, five and a half feet in length. Wrought of some black glossy metal and engraved with fell runes of annihilation, the only color on the blade is the well-worn silver wire wrapping the hilt. Through some eldritch sorcery, it is light as a willow wand in the wielder's hand ... but that is not all. When waved over the wielder's head, Deathreaper erupts in dark violet flames (which somehow do not burn the wielder), and the runes on the blade sear with stabbing blue radiance. The howls of dozens of voices split the air, screaming in horror and anguish, eternally damned. It is said that to die on Deathreaper's point is to have your immortal soul destroyed, sucked into the blade for all time, to join the chorus of the hell-caged and be seared in the unholy flame of the brand.
The warrior-mage Thenestre, who found the sword, is now a feared man. Standing taller, standing prouder, the power of Deathreaper fills him with its blazing might. It is said that as long as he carries the sword he is invincible, and that even if he is parted from the blade, it will fly through the air to his defense ... and find his foe. And drink.
*
*
*
*
*
That's the shtick, anyway. As a warrior, Thenestre is nothing much. As a mage, he's a decent weaver of illusions and tolerably good at minor summonings. As an adventurer, he's quite a con artist. Reading of the adventures of a legendary champion bearing a hell-forged black soulsucking sword, he wondered whether he could do one better. "Deathreaper" is, with the help of a dwarven confederate, a few layers of enameled foil over a core of pinewood. A little engraving took care of the "runes of annihilation" (which came out of the Big Little Book of Wyzardry, 4491 edition), and a couple of enchanted illusions takes care of the lighting and sound effects. Well, everyone knows that Thenestre was assisting Master Thormor on the dig in the northern part of the Old City ... or at least they believe it when Thenestre tells them that he was.
Thenestre can whip the sword around with the best of them, and light as it is, he makes it look easy. He bolsters it by summoning "bodies" which he artistically disguises with illusion to have large holes in them and features contorted in horror, claiming that they were rascals who tried to steal from him. He hasn't had to do more than brandish it since -- many a brave warrior, bold enough against mortal steel, wants no part of a dark destroyer forged in the very Fires of Hell itself! And now Thenestre is "somebody," a renowned adventurer, someone who doesn't have to buy many of his own drinks, someone who can run up tabs at the tailors and the taverns, someone who gets his share of the women attracted to the Dark Anti-Hero.
Adventure hooks:
1) Sooner or later, there'll be some up and coming punk stickjock who wants to prove how bad he is by taking down the "legendary" Thenestre! And maybe he'll run before the full fury of Deathreaper ... and maybe he won't.
2) Sooner or later, there'll be some up and coming punk thief who wants to prove how bad he is by stealing the "legendary" Deathreaper! And maybe he'll go down before the anti-theft illusions Thenestre sets (most nights, when he remembers, when he isn't too drunk, when he's not occupied with the groupie de jour) ... and maybe he won't.
3) Sooner or later, Master Thormor -- or someone else familiar with the Telmori site -- might come into town and recall Thenestre as a minor assistant who didn't merit anything beyond the antique emerald brooch that was his share of the loot, and three weeks' pay ... certainly no ancient artifact sword. Of which none were recovered, not in working order, anyway. (Alternately, a researcher of the period might know, or uncover, that no such weapon is recorded in the annals of the Triolini Empire.)
4) There are real dark forces in the world. Forces which covet the power of Deathreaper, and seek to take it for their own. (They might even hire the party to do it, and might not react well to being told "Oh, yeah, we stole the weapon you wanted, but gosh, it's a fake, here it is.")
Fallen Idol: there was once a great lighthouse head shaped like an eyeless lion-headed man. The head is now fallen but if prayers are addressed to the King in Splendour light still pours out of the empty eye sockets of the lion's head, bright enough to burn at short range.
My players had a great time with this one, the lion's head is boulder-sized so it's hard to move around. They rolled it onto some enemies and later set it up as a prayer-mounted gun turret at their home base.
Quote from: Vic99;896417What have you created for your campaign besides the standard fare in D&D and other books that you were proud of or thought was interesting? Can be elegant or complex. Could be powerful or not. I'll start:
1) Stillness: 500 year old sword with name etched in elvish on the blade. Long Sword +1 that automatically createss a five foot radius silence spell effect.
Lots of positives and negatives that have come up. For example, great for moving silent, but bad for calling for help or casting most spells.
2) Extra Dimensional Tent: Red and blue fabric tent/yurt that is only 8x8, but is actually 40x40 inside. Folds down into a backpack. The rub is that within that tent is ANOTHER door that leads to the Shadowfell.
3) Sickle of Speed: +2 to Initiative, +2 to dexterity saves, +2 to hit and damage, +2 hexes (10 ft) to base movement all apply if the weapon is drawn.
Looking forward to see what you have.
Cool magic items, but I can't resist (https://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/494733791_vSJvi/0/2100x20000/494733791_vSJvi-2100x20000.jpg).
Bone of the Fallen God - This +50 large (x2) two handed sword was ground from the femur of a god slain in the first strife. It is a sword of god slaying and inflicts slaying criticals against gods.
Philosophical Goad - This implement, designed for the herding of large animals is forged of pure philosophical truth. It can be used to tame and control deities. It is said that only seven were made as there were only seven deities left at the time of their forging.
Hellseed - What men call demons are actually the exiled gods of the Trolls, most of these are bound, sleeping in Hell Spikes which float in the heavens above the earth. For each Hell Spike there is a Hell Seed, which when planted sprouts a tree of vapor and fire that calls down and awakens its Hell Spike. It is said that there were 666 Hell Seeds but two have been planted so there may only be 664 at this point though the veracity of the claim itself is questionable.
The Stopwatch: 5e D&D: A magic shield with no inherint bonuses, but a few abilities that become apparent when used as a Warlocks pact weapon. A round shield with a central hourglass emblem and clock hands that move only when its been activated. Instead of numbers there are concentric circles of various time divisions around the edge. Known abilities being limited use of Haste, Slow, and the three types of "Hold" spells via charges. And usable as a weapon.
The Iron Maiden: BX D&D: A suit of Plate +3. Usable only by males. Makes the wearer look like a beautiful scantily armoured woman of same race. The suit is not cursed. But its fantastic AC makes it a tempting offer despite the embarrassment it inevitably incurs. Suspected that Gnomes crafted these as more than one has been discovered so far. Either that or a very bored Spectre.
Falling Star: AD&D: A morning star made from a meteor. The ball part was covered in flame patterns and functioned exactly like a Flametongue Sword. Mind flayers hate the thing for no known reason and will attack the wielder to the exclusion of all others. Mind flayers though can not touch the weapon or use their powers on it. So it is most often discovered near its former users skeleton.
Shelter Seeds: Gamma World, BX and Spelljammer: An elven(or biotech) invention. When planted the seed grows into a tent complete with a bed, some fruit enough for three days meal, and a biolume lamp. Planting several seeds together makes a larger tent to house more people. The tent withers after three days unless watered with pure or blessed water. (In GW the tents were radiation proof.)
Swiss Army Bugs: Gamma World and Spelljammer: A colony of roaches that bond with the user and obey mental commands to link together to form any basic non-powered non-weapon tool. A shovel, a crowbar, hammer, wrench, screwdriver, scissors, fork, lockpicks, etc. Defaults to a 2 meter long staff. They eat scraps, and the users hair.
Quote from: Omega;896700The Iron Maiden: BX D&D: A suit of Plate +3. Usable only by males. Makes the wearer look like a beautiful scantily armoured woman of same race.
You're very, very twisted human being. Upvote. :cool:
The Goblin Ring, a black iron ring that gives the wearer all the abilities and penalties of being a goblin. Able to see in darkness, speak goblin speech, but -1 to all rolls in bright sunlight.
The ivory cup, reners any liquid placed in it non-toxic and potable. It does not change the taste, texture, or appearance of the liquid in any way.
For Exalted 2nd Edition.
The Crown of Thunders (reworked as I don't like the canon version)
http://daystarchronicles.blogspot.com.ar/2010/06/crown-of-thunders-artifact-na.html
The Five Vizier's Staffs
http://daystarchronicles.blogspot.com.ar/2010/06/these-five-unique-starmetal-staffs-were.html
Eldrith Sphere of Ancestral Wisdom
http://daystarchronicles.blogspot.com.ar/2010/06/eldritch-sphere-of-ancestral-wisdom.html
A Bladeshooter. The sword hilt had a pair of small blades you could affix to it. The wielded could fire one or both of them as magical daggers before engaging. Pretty sure I stole this from some movie I cannot remember, but I thought it was cool.
Quote from: cranebump;896707A Bladeshooter. The sword hilt had a pair of small blades you could affix to it. The wielded could fire one or both of them as magical daggers before engaging. Pretty sure I stole this from some movie I cannot remember, but I thought it was cool.
The Sword and the Sorcerer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDvuBY97cD4), from 1982.
I once created a huge number of ter'angreal for a now-defunct WoT MUX, but the one I liked best was a stones board linked to a giant repeater on an island far to the west. Any move made on the board was displayed as a hologram on the repeater. In the Age of Legends, stones was a spectator sport.
Quote from: Ravenswing;896441One of the most significant finds to come out of the haunted ruins of the city of Telmora, Deathreaper is a giant battlebrand, five and a half feet in length. Wrought of some black glossy metal and engraved with fell runes of annihilation, the only color on the blade is the well-worn silver wire wrapping the hilt. Through some eldritch sorcery, it is light as a willow wand in the wielder's hand ... but that is not all. When waved over the wielder's head, Deathreaper erupts in dark violet flames (which somehow do not burn the wielder), and the runes on the blade sear with stabbing blue radiance. The howls of dozens of voices split the air, screaming in horror and anguish, eternally damned. It is said that to die on Deathreaper's point is to have your immortal soul destroyed, sucked into the blade for all time, to join the chorus of the hell-caged and be seared in the unholy flame of the brand.
The warrior-mage Thenestre, who found the sword, is now a feared man. Standing taller, standing prouder, the power of Deathreaper fills him with its blazing might. It is said that as long as he carries the sword he is invincible, and that even if he is parted from the blade, it will fly through the air to his defense ... and find his foe. And drink.
*
*
*
*
*
That's the shtick, anyway. As a warrior, Thenestre is nothing much. As a mage, he's a decent weaver of illusions and tolerably good at minor summonings. As an adventurer, he's quite a con artist. Reading of the adventures of a legendary champion bearing a hell-forged black soulsucking sword, he wondered whether he could do one better. "Deathreaper" is, with the help of a dwarven confederate, a few layers of enameled foil over a core of pinewood. A little engraving took care of the "runes of annihilation" (which came out of the Big Little Book of Wyzardry, 4491 edition), and a couple of enchanted illusions takes care of the lighting and sound effects. Well, everyone knows that Thenestre was assisting Master Thormor on the dig in the northern part of the Old City ... or at least they believe it when Thenestre tells them that he was.
Thenestre can whip the sword around with the best of them, and light as it is, he makes it look easy. He bolsters it by summoning "bodies" which he artistically disguises with illusion to have large holes in them and features contorted in horror, claiming that they were rascals who tried to steal from him. He hasn't had to do more than brandish it since -- many a brave warrior, bold enough against mortal steel, wants no part of a dark destroyer forged in the very Fires of Hell itself! And now Thenestre is "somebody," a renowned adventurer, someone who doesn't have to buy many of his own drinks, someone who can run up tabs at the tailors and the taverns, someone who gets his share of the women attracted to the Dark Anti-Hero.
Adventure hooks:
1) Sooner or later, there'll be some up and coming punk stickjock who wants to prove how bad he is by taking down the "legendary" Thenestre! And maybe he'll run before the full fury of Deathreaper ... and maybe he won't.
2) Sooner or later, there'll be some up and coming punk thief who wants to prove how bad he is by stealing the "legendary" Deathreaper! And maybe he'll go down before the anti-theft illusions Thenestre sets (most nights, when he remembers, when he isn't too drunk, when he's not occupied with the groupie de jour) ... and maybe he won't.
3) Sooner or later, Master Thormor -- or someone else familiar with the Telmori site -- might come into town and recall Thenestre as a minor assistant who didn't merit anything beyond the antique emerald brooch that was his share of the loot, and three weeks' pay ... certainly no ancient artifact sword. Of which none were recovered, not in working order, anyway. (Alternately, a researcher of the period might know, or uncover, that no such weapon is recorded in the annals of the Triolini Empire.)
4) There are real dark forces in the world. Forces which covet the power of Deathreaper, and seek to take it for their own. (They might even hire the party to do it, and might not react well to being told "Oh, yeah, we stole the weapon you wanted, but gosh, it's a fake, here it is.")
Most excellent, though I'd be tempted to name it "the Gazebo sword":D!
The dust storm scroll. Rules wise this was a scroll of dust devil (AD&D 2e spell 2nd level IIRC) but in game it was a cone of sandpaper you'd place on the ground and spin to cast the spell which it would basically grow into. The players thought it was cool
Thunder and Lighting: Paired daggers, once electric, one thundering. Once per day when pushed together created a thundering electric blast.
It's one of them wicked gizmos:
The Ring of Penultimate Entrapment.
When worn, the ring teleports the user and everyone who touches him to a small pocket plane resembling a small, Eden-like valley a few dozens square miles long. The views are idyllic, everything is "just perfect". There's no shortage of awesome food and quality drinks, and while the scenery changes a bit (just to counter boredom), there's always a permanent element: nice, Rivendell-like manor that might accommodate up to 50 guests at once. It features quite a bunch of entertainment - there's a library filled with interesting tomes, small arena, rooms containing board games (well, war games, highly addictive), a series of workshops and forges with no shortage of typical materials, etc, etc. There are also some servant-creatures living there, it's an unique, peaceful species that telepathically communicate with all who travel there and change their shapes according to visitors' sexual desires and aren't shy from fulfilling all their wishes (no judgment here). In fact the interaction with said creatures might prove to be useful from the psychological perspective: one might learn that the sources of his problems come from desires he/she is afraid of. This might become a small sublot on its own.
It takes a day of stay to fully recover from typical wounds and "recharge one's batteries" so to speak. All typical wounds heal rapidly and there's also the possibility to regrow lost limbs (or organs) if one were to spend a month/limb there.
Now, here's the catch:
- An hour spent inside the pocket plane equals a day of outside-world's time. Careful with time management - spend too much time inside and you might miss an important event, like the rise and fall of a kingdom. ;)
- Nothing from the inside might be taken outside, however any thing "fixed" or "repaired" there might be taken back and works as intended.
- There's no shortage of things that might be taken inside and stored - they won't go anywhere, food won't deteriorate. Things that take time to complete (i.e. potion brewing) works only if there are guests inside.
- The only means to reach the plane is to wear the Ring.
- The only way to exit it is to take off the Ring WHEN TOUCHED by all who touched you when you went inside. Meaning: no leaving anyone behind, either you leave all together, or nobody leaves the place.
- You can use the Ring only once per day (outside-world's time), but you can stay inside indefinitely (look below).
- Each day spent inside equals +1 Entrapment point/player character.
- Each time you enter (as a wearer or not) the plane equals +1 Entrapment points.
- Each time you exist the plane equals +2 Points.
- Starting from 50 Points each time your characters suffer a bad luck, get sever wounds, fall ill, etc, they feel very strong urge to travel to the plane. It takes the test of Willpower (or relevant Attribute) reduced by a percentage of Points (for example, if Willpower is of 1-100 range, then reduce it by 1 per 10 Entrapment points) to resist the urge.
- Starting from 100 Points, each attempt to leave the place requires relevant test, fail meant that NOBODY in your group may leave the place for the rest of the day and equals immediately bonus +5 Points for the one who failed and +1 for everyone else.
- Amass 1000 Points and you're prohibited to leave the place. Ever. You will, in fact fight anyone attempting to drag you out of it and if successfully abducted, you will spend some time attempting to go back, and, if you fail, you will die of sorrow. This might be prevented if there's help available - some mental asylum, good care, etc.
- While you don't age physically during your stay, you age mentally and quite rapidly. The more time you spend inside, your intelligence, curiosity, wisdom and similar attributes deteriorate. Not because something sinister drains you, but because you simply become fed up with the outside world, treat it as something dirty, dangerous, bothersome and eventually forget about it and allow yourself to be driven by simplified motivation, cycles of eat-enjoy-sleep. No matter what race you come from (long lived or near immortal), you eventually die. It happens peacefully - you fall asleep and don't wake up.
- When the last "guest" dies, the Ring will return to the world and spawn at "random" place.
History:
- Long time ago, a certain Lich decided he won't be bothered by those damned adventurers again, so he sent his accomplice to do sort of research. She joined the band that pestered her master and spent some time adventuring with them, only to learn that their deepest desires stripped off sophisticated elements are very simple: to be well fed, safe, not bothered by the big world.
- She returned to her master with her observations, and thus the Ring was created. It's single purpose was to provide a tempting prison for GOOD characters (from the perspective of a Lich, evil is manageable, it might be bought, manipulated into willing cooperation), one relying on the best weapon in Lich's arsenal: outliving its enemies.
- While made by certainly evil and powerful being, the Ring can't be considered evil, because all it does is to fulfill the most basic needs sharing by the majority of human beings. Even the Entrapment points aren't curse or anything similar - they represent the inner urges, survival instincts and other factors that produce man's thirst for peace, happiness and safety. The only real threat - the time flow - can't be considered "evil" either, it's there "only" to provide certain conditions required for rapid healing. All in all, no matter how researched and studied, there's no way for either the Ring or any element of the pocket plane to come out as "a trap" or "dangerous". It's really what it is, an idyllic Eden.
- Even when its creator is since long truly dead and forgotten, the Ring shows up here and there, as a highly sought award, an artifact of unmeasured value. It's often called "The Solace", "The Haven" or even "The Ring of Eden". It was used by knights and sorcerers, generals and sheikhs, the majority of which disappeared without a trace (which shouldn't be worrying at all, since, heck, disappearing without a trace is part of adventurer's life). So far, nobody managed to see the Ring for what it is: a prison. If someone understood that, his opinion was disregarded and forgotten.
- The Ring shouldn't ever come into play too early, it's something player(s) have to earn "hard way", a gift from a grateful/hateful NPC (respectively an ally who doesn't understand the true purpose of the device, or a trickster enemy who realizes it all too well). Initially, it should be used as means to recover from wounds, great alternative to healing potions and other recovery options and a portable storage device.
- The Ring is supposed to be "bulletproof" device, so feel free to add additional elements according to your players' wits, or make sure there's some backdoor if you want them to escape. Do bear in mind that it's the equivalent of delayed "rock falls, everyone dies".
Oh, one observation: at some point there might be a discussion with players insisting that their PCs are above such a meager needs as "safety". Calmly remind them that they aren't their own PCs and while they might play RPGs to escape the boredom of "safety", their characters are probably raised in a violent and dangerous world and they might develop different opinions regarding what's truly important in life.
In short: yes, you're bored by that. But your character isn't and in that conflict you lose. And that's the true evil of this tiny, shiny device.
Enjoy. :D
That ring idea is good. How many times did you use it? How much game time before the party was trapped/died?
The Scrotum of Vecna!
Despite its artifact-level magical aura, it doesn't have any real powers, but it has duped many annoying power gamers into castrating their characters.
Quote from: JesterRaiin;896837Oh, one observation: at some point there might be a discussion with players insisting that their PCs are above such a meager needs as "safety". Calmly remind them that they aren't their own PCs and while they might play RPGs to escape the boredom of "safety", their characters are probably raised in a violent and dangerous world and they might develop different opinions regarding what's truly important in life.
In short: yes, you're bored by that. But your character isn't and in that conflict you lose. And that's the true evil of this tiny, shiny device.
Enjoy. :D
Well, to be fair, there were quite a few characters who found "safety" boring and went on to adventure, despite being raised in quite violent places. If anything, I find that players have a harder time relating to
those:D.Quote from: Xavier Onassiss;897012The Scrotum of Vecna!
Despite its artifact-level magical aura, it doesn't have any real powers, but it has duped many annoying power gamers into castrating their characters.
That's called "missing an opportunity", I believe;).
I made a couple of interesting ones in Dark Albion, and also a ton of crazy/goofy magic items that have shown up in my DCC campaign.
Would you describe one?
Quote from: Vic99;898232Would you describe one?
Well, the best one is probably the Lance of Mithras, which has been split into several parts, each of which has a separate power and is found in a different location in the world. These locations were based on legendary references to places where pieces of the 'spear of destiny' were said to have been located in the 15th century.