The herb named Verbena is a cultivated leafy herb from the city of Nace. In nature, Verbena is extremely hard to find and can only be harvested at night. The leaf can be dried for use later or used immediately to staunch bleeding and heal 1d4 points of damage per use. Applying or ingesting the leaf will purify the wound and sanctify the user. Each leaf is sufficient to heal 3 times or three different people.
When used dry, it is typical stored within an earthen vessel and each leaf is handled with a hilt-like device, which acts as both tweeters and handle.
The Law of Verbena comes from one of the side effects of the leaf's use. Typically, the leaf cannot be handled without healing the healer, even with the handle like tool. When healed by the herb, the user is marked with The Law of Verbena. They will glow with a soft light, they will radiate an aura of good and will repel evil 10' for three days after healing. These are the minor effects of Verbena.
The Law of Verbena will curse anyone who injuries the healed during the effects of healing. For this reason, all healing must occur in a temple and the healed and healer must remain within it's confines until the minor effects fade. Should that person be deliberately injured while sanctified, the attacker will suffer a powerful curse. They will lose 1d3 hit points and half of their constitution for 7 days.
This curse was anecdotal know from it's discovery, but not always believed. Under the cruel rule of the Emperor Asinusistic, an elven prisoner was tortured for information. Asinusistic healed the elf to keep the process going. He was immediately struck down the curse.
Over the next seven days, the Capital of 75,000 was stricken with the curse. Many people died outright and the city was thrown into chaos. Asinusistic survived the initial curse, but subsequently died when he was thrown from the palace rooftop. News of his death stopped the Elven incursion and it was another generation before hostilities started anew.
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Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Monday, December 23, 2019
52 Weeks of Magic - Item 47 - The Scryer's Beads
Hermin, the King's sister holds a crystal ball and is scrying a human court house. |
Anyone holding the crystal ball can switch from bead to be bead on command.
This item first appeared in The Kobold's Folly, which is a series of maps available on DriveThruRPG.
In that book, the Scryer's Beads were separated from the crystal ball and the kobolds do not have the ability to use the crystal ball effectively. The beads were taken from a horse thief in a small provincial town and are sitting on the bench of the local judge.
The Kobold King's sister, Hermin, is in possession of the crystal ball and frequently scries the court room. Hermin believes she is seeing the high court of a human king. Observations of the rural court house have caused the kobold tribe to believe a great number of strange things about human royalty and legal proceedings, which they seek to emulate. While this may be amusing, the tribe has developed a hatred of horse thieves, and perhaps a taste for them.
52 Weeks of Magic - Item 46 - The King's Cold
One of Minwan's subjects holds the King's Cold. Nervously. |
King Minwan has observed that the torc will make him unnaturally cold, even on the hottest days on the savanna. This is one power of the device, but isn't it's true purpose. Minwan does not like to wear the torc as a crown due to this property, he is often seen fidgeting with it. On particularly hot days he uses it as a reward, passing it from kobold to kobold so they may gain relief from the heat. This closer to the device's true purpose.
Before the Empire came with it's roads and supply lines, the indigenous half-elves created many of these devices to support their construction efforts. Each crew was 11 workers under a supervisor. The supervisor was identified by his torc, a mark of office. As he gave out assignments, the workers would tap the torc on his arm. This conveyed 4 hours of immunity to the sunburn and proofed them against the heat. When the work was fully completed, the supervisor would often bury his torc as an offering. The kobold's digging in the Folly uncovered the device that is now known as The King's Cold.
There are variants which protect against cold as well as heat.
This item first appeared in The Kobold's Folly, which is a series of maps available on DriveThruRPG.
52 Weeks of Magic - Item 45 - The Rings of the One
Today, we have a jump in numbering. Items 43 and 44 will be a part of a story and will be posted when that story is complete.
The Rings of the One are a set of rings normally found in a ornate, locked box. They should be considered an artifact level magic item, however, they can be destroyed by mundane means, unlike other artifacts. Roll on the following table to determine the number of rings contained therein:
01 - One Ring
01-30 - 3 Rings
31-75 - 5 Rings
96-97 - 7 Rings
98 - 9 Rings
99 - 11 Rings
100 - 99 Rings
In order for the rings to work, the complete set must be used, one ring per person.
Each ring allows the wearer to add their Dexterity bonus to initiative rolls at the cost of their Dexterity bonus in combat. They are unlikely to loose initiative, but their reflexes are muted for the duration of the combat. Removing the ring does not remove this penalty for the duration of that combat. This is the cost of Rings.
If multiple rings are found and all are worn by different people, the extreme power of the rings becomes evident. If there are not enough willing people to don all of the rings in the box, then only the first power is in effect. In addition to the cost above, all wears gain many other powers at the cost of their will. This is not subject to a saving throw initially, each wearer must be a willing subject of the Ring's powers. Later, they may change their mind.
First, all hit points of all wears are combined into a single total. No individual will fall in combat so long as one hit point remains in the pool. If the pool is reduced to zero, all of the wearers fall down dead or unconscious. If a wearer has the ability to regenerate or heal, those points are added to the total hit point pool at the same rate they would normally be returned to the wearer. If the hit point pool was 11 and a wizard regenerated two points per round, the pool would be increased by 2 every round. The same goes for a healing spell, all points go to the pool. If one wearer of the ring is incapacitated somehow, they will continue to stand and fight even if they should be asleep or unconscious. Wearers are immune to powers of the mind and cannot be charmed, slept, paralyzed, etc. They can be poisoned, knocked down, tricked by an illusion, teleported away, etc. If one ring is completely destroyed or removed from a wearer, all abilities are lost for that person immediately and everyone else in the next round. In the case of destruction of any one ring, the whole set loses all powers, forever.
Second, one person is selected as the leader by vote. That character's abilities and skills are paramount. If the leader was a thief and the rest were fighters, everyone regardless of class would make all rolls as thieves. These rolls are made at the individual's level, not that of the leader. None of the abilities of fighters could be used because their personalities and knowledge are suppressed. Once this leader is selected, it cannot be changed except when the whole group removes all of the rings to restart the voting process.
The voting process is silent. Once the rings are on, no debate can occur. Players simply point at the person they wish was in charge. If no leader is selected, none of the rings powers are activated. A vote can be carried out every round before initiative is rolled.
Third, special abilities possessed by the lead character may be used by anyone in the group, but only to the extent of normal usage and limited by the level of the individual rather than the leader. In the above example of theft and fighters, one fighter could backstab as a thief while another could pick a lock. But two players could not backstab in the same round nor could every player pick a lock. One thief, one specific use of one ability per round. No player would be permitted more attacks per round as a fighter because the thief is in control. If a fighter was in charge and of high enough level, multiple attacks per round from each character would be permitted.
Fourth, magic works differently for this hive mind. A caster in the role of leader is still able to use spells, but the spells may originate from any person wearing a ring. This allows the use of spells from a more beneficial location. Only the magical abilities of the leader are available and are limited by the caster's ability. If a magic user was the leader, he could permit his magic missile spell to originate from a cleric who was also wearing a ring, but no one could use a clerical spell or ability because the magic user is in control. The ring wearers may not cast multiple spells per round, but could utilize spell like abilities of magic items, if the leader was also able to use that magic item.
Fifth, the weapon proficiency of the leader are extended to the rest of the group, while the lack of proficiency by the leader does not reduce other characters abilities. For example, a fighter under the control of a mage still remembers how to use a sword. A magic user under the control of a fighter can also use a sword.
However, moral limitations DO affect all in the group. A cleric in control of a fighter would not want the fighter to use a sword. If there was no blunt weapon available for the fighter, the fighter would use the flat of the blade or the hilt as a weapon. In the reverse situation, a cleric would be forced to remove the ring to avoid using a sword.
Sixth, there is a bonus to strike if more than one ring wearer attempts to strike a single target in the same round. Each subsequent attack in a round gains a plus one to hit. This is because the Rings allow coordinated attacks, so a miss might set up a later strike. This bonus resets to zero every round.
If one character, other than the leader, wished to cancel the effects of The Rings of the One, they must make a saving throw vs. magic to remove the ring. When this occurs, the powers of the Rings are canceled immediately for that one person and in the very next round for all others. The hive mind effect is canceled completely until that ring is put back on by a willing person. This save causes a noticeable but slight blanch or hesitation in all of the characters but doesn't effect them otherwise. The same happens if someone is disintegrated, turned astral, dispelled, etc.
Removing one ring could place specific characters in hazardous situations, such as a magic user leading an assault on a castle gate might lose some combat abilities at a critical moment.
Groups wearing the ring cause a special morale check in the second round of combat. There is a significant creep factor in seeing a group move as one entity which will cause fear.
The leader is not able to read the minds of others, only issue commands which must be followed. The other CAN read the mind of the leader.
When the powers of the rings are canceled, every character is healed for one hit point before the pool of hit points is divided evenly. All hit points divide are rounded down and must be awarded equally, meaning that all characters could end up with a single hit point and nothing more. Basically, taking the rings off cannot kill the wearer, but could leave them in dire straits.
The Rings of the One are a set of rings normally found in a ornate, locked box. They should be considered an artifact level magic item, however, they can be destroyed by mundane means, unlike other artifacts. Roll on the following table to determine the number of rings contained therein:
01 - One Ring
01-30 - 3 Rings
31-75 - 5 Rings
96-97 - 7 Rings
98 - 9 Rings
99 - 11 Rings
100 - 99 Rings
In order for the rings to work, the complete set must be used, one ring per person.
Each ring allows the wearer to add their Dexterity bonus to initiative rolls at the cost of their Dexterity bonus in combat. They are unlikely to loose initiative, but their reflexes are muted for the duration of the combat. Removing the ring does not remove this penalty for the duration of that combat. This is the cost of Rings.
If multiple rings are found and all are worn by different people, the extreme power of the rings becomes evident. If there are not enough willing people to don all of the rings in the box, then only the first power is in effect. In addition to the cost above, all wears gain many other powers at the cost of their will. This is not subject to a saving throw initially, each wearer must be a willing subject of the Ring's powers. Later, they may change their mind.
First, all hit points of all wears are combined into a single total. No individual will fall in combat so long as one hit point remains in the pool. If the pool is reduced to zero, all of the wearers fall down dead or unconscious. If a wearer has the ability to regenerate or heal, those points are added to the total hit point pool at the same rate they would normally be returned to the wearer. If the hit point pool was 11 and a wizard regenerated two points per round, the pool would be increased by 2 every round. The same goes for a healing spell, all points go to the pool. If one wearer of the ring is incapacitated somehow, they will continue to stand and fight even if they should be asleep or unconscious. Wearers are immune to powers of the mind and cannot be charmed, slept, paralyzed, etc. They can be poisoned, knocked down, tricked by an illusion, teleported away, etc. If one ring is completely destroyed or removed from a wearer, all abilities are lost for that person immediately and everyone else in the next round. In the case of destruction of any one ring, the whole set loses all powers, forever.
Second, one person is selected as the leader by vote. That character's abilities and skills are paramount. If the leader was a thief and the rest were fighters, everyone regardless of class would make all rolls as thieves. These rolls are made at the individual's level, not that of the leader. None of the abilities of fighters could be used because their personalities and knowledge are suppressed. Once this leader is selected, it cannot be changed except when the whole group removes all of the rings to restart the voting process.
The voting process is silent. Once the rings are on, no debate can occur. Players simply point at the person they wish was in charge. If no leader is selected, none of the rings powers are activated. A vote can be carried out every round before initiative is rolled.
Third, special abilities possessed by the lead character may be used by anyone in the group, but only to the extent of normal usage and limited by the level of the individual rather than the leader. In the above example of theft and fighters, one fighter could backstab as a thief while another could pick a lock. But two players could not backstab in the same round nor could every player pick a lock. One thief, one specific use of one ability per round. No player would be permitted more attacks per round as a fighter because the thief is in control. If a fighter was in charge and of high enough level, multiple attacks per round from each character would be permitted.
Fourth, magic works differently for this hive mind. A caster in the role of leader is still able to use spells, but the spells may originate from any person wearing a ring. This allows the use of spells from a more beneficial location. Only the magical abilities of the leader are available and are limited by the caster's ability. If a magic user was the leader, he could permit his magic missile spell to originate from a cleric who was also wearing a ring, but no one could use a clerical spell or ability because the magic user is in control. The ring wearers may not cast multiple spells per round, but could utilize spell like abilities of magic items, if the leader was also able to use that magic item.
Fifth, the weapon proficiency of the leader are extended to the rest of the group, while the lack of proficiency by the leader does not reduce other characters abilities. For example, a fighter under the control of a mage still remembers how to use a sword. A magic user under the control of a fighter can also use a sword.
However, moral limitations DO affect all in the group. A cleric in control of a fighter would not want the fighter to use a sword. If there was no blunt weapon available for the fighter, the fighter would use the flat of the blade or the hilt as a weapon. In the reverse situation, a cleric would be forced to remove the ring to avoid using a sword.
Sixth, there is a bonus to strike if more than one ring wearer attempts to strike a single target in the same round. Each subsequent attack in a round gains a plus one to hit. This is because the Rings allow coordinated attacks, so a miss might set up a later strike. This bonus resets to zero every round.
If one character, other than the leader, wished to cancel the effects of The Rings of the One, they must make a saving throw vs. magic to remove the ring. When this occurs, the powers of the Rings are canceled immediately for that one person and in the very next round for all others. The hive mind effect is canceled completely until that ring is put back on by a willing person. This save causes a noticeable but slight blanch or hesitation in all of the characters but doesn't effect them otherwise. The same happens if someone is disintegrated, turned astral, dispelled, etc.
Removing one ring could place specific characters in hazardous situations, such as a magic user leading an assault on a castle gate might lose some combat abilities at a critical moment.
Groups wearing the ring cause a special morale check in the second round of combat. There is a significant creep factor in seeing a group move as one entity which will cause fear.
The leader is not able to read the minds of others, only issue commands which must be followed. The other CAN read the mind of the leader.
When the powers of the rings are canceled, every character is healed for one hit point before the pool of hit points is divided evenly. All hit points divide are rounded down and must be awarded equally, meaning that all characters could end up with a single hit point and nothing more. Basically, taking the rings off cannot kill the wearer, but could leave them in dire straits.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
52 Weeks of Magic - Item 41 - The Empty Bouquet
The Empty Bouquet comes in a variety of shapes and forms. It most commonly appears as a mask that covers the eyes, nose and mouth, but sometimes only two of the three. Occasionally, the mask is merely a container that is held against the face. The Empty Bouquet is filled with a collection of spices, flowers and herbs to defend against disease. When the eyes, nose and mouth are completely covered, the device provides total immunity. When only two of the three are covered, the wearer receives a plus +4 to save.
Each packet of spices, herbs and flowers will function for 8 hours before being consumed by the device.
Each packet of spices, herbs and flowers will function for 8 hours before being consumed by the device.
52 Weeks of Magic - Item 40 - The Baker's Vessel
The Baker's Vessel is another magical product found in the homes of the very rich. It is a large earthen jar which when filled with dough, will produce bread on it's own, without leavening agents or external heat source. Each Vessel will produce one loaf of bread per hour, typically enough per day to feed 10 or 12 people.
To function, the Vessel must be placed in a designated space. This is usually a counter top, but could be anywhere chosen by the owner. Multiple Vessels will not function in the same building or property, which is why this product is a household item and not a commercial or industrial product. For example, if one owned a house with a garden shed, placing a Vessel in each building would not work. Only the first placed and filled vessel would work. If somehow one contrived to place and fill two of them simultaneously in two different buildings on the same property, which one worked would be random. One exception is in apartment buildings. Each apartment's Vessel would function normally, so long as the renters are of different families and are separated by a door. Many people have tried to make this work on an industrial level and these quirks prevent it. The Vessel somehow knows if someone is "gaming the system".
When in operation, the Baker's Vessel will turn red hot. This can be used to warm a room, but is not a fire hazard. Touching the vessel conveys the power of heat resistance, but curiously, people will find the vessel impossible to lift when in operation. It cannot be tipped, opened, or otherwise moved while working. When the bread is done, the vessel will cool to room temperature instantly, while the bread inside will remain hot until removed. This magic prevents decay and molding.
Some cultures have special Baker's Vessels which produce stacks of flat breads instead of loaves.
To function, the Vessel must be placed in a designated space. This is usually a counter top, but could be anywhere chosen by the owner. Multiple Vessels will not function in the same building or property, which is why this product is a household item and not a commercial or industrial product. For example, if one owned a house with a garden shed, placing a Vessel in each building would not work. Only the first placed and filled vessel would work. If somehow one contrived to place and fill two of them simultaneously in two different buildings on the same property, which one worked would be random. One exception is in apartment buildings. Each apartment's Vessel would function normally, so long as the renters are of different families and are separated by a door. Many people have tried to make this work on an industrial level and these quirks prevent it. The Vessel somehow knows if someone is "gaming the system".
When in operation, the Baker's Vessel will turn red hot. This can be used to warm a room, but is not a fire hazard. Touching the vessel conveys the power of heat resistance, but curiously, people will find the vessel impossible to lift when in operation. It cannot be tipped, opened, or otherwise moved while working. When the bread is done, the vessel will cool to room temperature instantly, while the bread inside will remain hot until removed. This magic prevents decay and molding.
Some cultures have special Baker's Vessels which produce stacks of flat breads instead of loaves.
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