Items of Power: Part 1

Items of Power

Enchanted things are scattered throughout the realm. Most are lost to time, stumbled upon by intrepid adventurers in the horde of a troll, or vault of a deceased old wizard, on the corpse of a knight, or long hidden beneath the underbrush, these magical items can be rings, mirrors, weapons, armor, scrolls, staves, and sometimes specific items, valued by the enchanter or simply loved or hated so much that over time the emotional connection changes it. Some magic items even develop a personality and on rare occasions develop the ability to express it. Enchanted things are effectively priceless.

Arthur Rackham

Weapons

Magic weapons are strengthened and valuable. Many have an ability that manifests in a particular way.

Aglac: The epic of Synne includes many tales about the warrior woman. On her quests, Aglac is often her favorite tool for dispatching foes. Seldom told is the story about when she took Aglac from her father and turned it on him. Drain up to 1d6 Life in addition to damage on a successful hit. Spend 1 Power per Life drained this way.

Anmod: Found in the forest by the baron of Keth and passed down his line, Anmod is noted as much in local legends as in history. It is said that its blade is tempered with wyrm’s breath. Anmod grants its wielder a random knightly art at the start of each combat encounter.

Hraezla: When Hraezla sings, foes hear doom, doom, doom. It is one of three famous artifacts in the Vára Saga. When Hraezla is turned on an enemy it becomes shaken. The target is allowed a Will resistance check, DC 15. If it fails by 5 it is frightened instead. The target cannot be immune to this effect.

Konok: Fashioned in the time of fear, Konok is a bastion of tenacity and hope. Over three longs days, Etel the Brave led her people to the Benes Heights with only Konok and a dozen able bodied villagers. Her achievement is immortalized in a series of tapestries that grace the halls of Fér nobility. Konok cannot be sheathed while undead are near. Double any ability modifier bonus to resistance checks against undead abilities and spells that target you.

Reithi: Lo’ steel alight, if I should doubt, in blackest night, thine creeping end, banish the blight, nigh comes the dawn. Reithi bursts into fire in spells that produce cold or darkness effects and negates the effects in a 10 ft. radius.

Scyppend: A relic of Storgeard in the time of Aerden and the free kings, Scyppend wrought Flameheart and Spellbrand and other great weapons. All things are malleable under its heavy blows. Scyppend ignores material hardness and shapes metal without needing to heat it in a furnace.

Armor
 
Armor includes suits of armor and shields. Magic armor is stronger and many times more valuable than normal armor. Some suits of armor have an ability that manifests in a particular way.

Endrthaga: This iron shield never rusts. It is plain, unremarkable except that on its flatness it bears no mark or indentation, not even a rivet. When Endrthaga is hammered with a mallet or heavy object, its clamor frightens away fae creatures. The effect allows a Will resistance check DC 10.

Hundred Hands Shield: This wooden shield is painted with a wreath of hands on a green background. When struck (an enemy strikes and misses and you are not Flat Footed) the hands move and grasp the weapon. Immediately roll opposing Strength checks, if you succeed you wrench the weapon away from your foe. Later you can easily draw out the weapon from the shield. If too many weapons are attached to the shield the Hundred Hands Shield becomes useless to you.

Strazar: Maetrian war masks are famous, even in the human world, but Strazar is famous even in Maetra. The king bestows Strazar upon a worthy warrior before important battles. Once donned, its wearer gains Temporary Life equal to its Power.

Potions

A potion is a liquid purposefully mixed and endowed with a spell-like effect. The entire potion must be consumed otherwise only a fraction of the effect imparts on the drinker (usually in terms of the duration of the spell).  

Demon’s Draught: The Demon’s Draught is a potion of black sludge. How it came to the world is a mystery. Pouring it out is like pouring out tar. Draining its entire contents transforms you into a fiend, though no one’s every tried. Consuming only a portion of the draught kills the drinker.

Liquid Light: At rest, the bottle appears to contain a dull-colored liquid, like old milk. But aggravated, the vial produces a profound light. If poured out, the liquid concentrates into a slender vertical door, shimmering with pure light. It is a gateway into the Aether. If one were to drink Liquid Light instead, then a powerful theurgy spell becomes a part of the drinker.

Vial of Darkness: Within the glass jar is a roiling cloud, absent of light. Pouring it out floods a space 100 ft. in radius and 10 ft. high in utter darkness. The darkness consumes all light. It cannot be extinguished, but it can be coaxed back into a vessel with the right tools. If one dares to drink it, they become a shadow and exist as such forever.

Rings

Rings are powerful magic items. They are some of the rarest things in the world. Rings are a circular band worn on the finger with a passive spell-like power.

Bertalan’s Shroud: Bertalan the amazing. Bertalan the sweet spoken. Bertalan the thief. Bertalan’s Shroud renders one invisible in shadows for as long as they do not move.

Ring of Discretion: Leane, first ruling queen of Storgeard was said to have such a ring. When she tired of parties she would don the ring and slip from notice. Those in the vicinity apply only ½ the result of their Perception checks to notice the ring wearer. Only when speaking (or garnering attention) can the wearer be unerringly noticed.

Valak’s Rings: Valak prominently wore three silver rings. In them he invested a part of himself. When worn, the wearer gains immunity from one of the following: any resistance check based on Intuition, Dexterity, or Strength. With time the wearer also gains some characteristics of a Noble, to the point that the wearer becomes a thrall (the process cannot be reversed, but it can be stopped).

Scrolls
 
A scroll is a spell magically inscribed on parchment so that it can be used later. The scroll may be used only once. Once the spell is cast, the words remain, but no longer contain any power. To cast the scribed spell you must be able to read it and spend a full round casting it. Creating a scroll requires knowing the spell you intend to scribe, the Spellcraft skill, and spending Power equivalent to its spell level. Cantrip and luck dice cannot be added to a spell on a scroll, likewise, the Power spent creating the scroll cannot exceed the spell’s level. Casting a spell from a scroll triggers the identical dice effect.

Bend Reality: Wulfric, that most famous of wizards, known to every child in the Free Realm, his stories include many wondrous and fantastical things. In his bag of tricks are doodads, charms, and scrolls. One such is the infamous Traveling spell. As it’s read, the world begins to change. The reader must hold fast in their mind the location they wish to travel to. To complete the spell the reader must roll a successful Will check or lose consciousness.

Havren’s Scroll: There’s nothing more strange, more secretive, more unknown than the enigma of the Havren. Their connection to previous Havren binds them to history but divorces them from humanity. Reading the Havren’s Scroll lays the first foundations to the Palace of Memory, connecting the reader to all the past minds of the Havren.

Transference: On this tan piece of parchment is illegible scribble. Its symbols cannot be deciphered. All that this scroll requires is a name, a true name. Once spoken, the thoughts of the speaker reverberate as a thousand deafening voices, overwhelming the target’s mind. If the reader is a magician, the named target also becomes the target of a random spell the magician knows. The spell is cast as if the Spell Dice result were 24 (it does not trigger the identical dice effect).

Arthur Rackham