Here are some rules that my husband and I use when allowing players and the GM to make new magic items.
1) Make sure it isn't covered by some other item that isn't just a different shape. As an example is there a ring of polymorphing and your player just wants to make bracers of polymorphing? If that is the case, just charge the same price and components and let the game go on.
2) Look for similar types of items to get a feel of how powerful or how much an items will cost. If your player is looking for polymorphing and their is an item that does the spell shapechange instead, see how expensive it is to buy/make and what components it might need. This will give you a good idea of how to start.
3) Don't let it overpower the game. Do not allow your players to make a sword of +20 of killing dragons. I mean, seriously? Some GMs like to have lots of magic and please their players, but magic that is ubber powerful takes the fun out of the game. Don't get me wrong, everybody likes to be super powerful, but after awhile it gets boring when you have to take on three full grown dragons for a challenge.
4) Be reasonable. If the player wants it more as a roleplaying item then for a game changer consider it. I had a ranger who was a drow, (okay, who didn't), but she couldn't levitate. So my GM and I talked about it and we found in one of our adventures an ioun stone of levitation to help with character development. Making a magic item could be used the same way. Even though I didn't use the levitation that often it gave me a little roleplaying aid, which is really what you want. So if that mage really wants to make a staff of his own with a little out there magical enchantment, you still might consider it. If he/she says it's simply for that little added character development it might be worth it. My husband had a mage who's hands would start flaming when he was scared or upset. So we added a flame enchant to his staff that would only work when he was upset or scared. It was powerful at first level, but there were stipulations as to when it would work.
Happy Gaming!
Showing posts with label Items of Maratpa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Items of Maratpa. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Item: Sword of Undead
This sword, once the property of Eric of Calabay, was one of the weapons the Chosen used to fight the minions of Shaniko. Because Shaniko used undead to make his army large the Gods knew they would need something to fight undead.
The Sword of Undead is a saber with the hilt a dragon where the neck and head is the grip, the wings the crossguard. It sparkles with a faint blue light, but if undead are near it will glow brighter and brighter the closer the wielder gets to the undead.
The key to this sword is that it damages undead so they stay dead. If an undead is hit by mundane weapons they will simply reform. But with this sword the damage is permanent and will eventually destroy the undead in question.
In game terms this relic is the highest plus your system has and gives an additional bonus to undead (the highest available). The wielder is also immune to any freezing abilities an undead my use and any fear affects.
Monday: Leomaris
The Sword of Undead is a saber with the hilt a dragon where the neck and head is the grip, the wings the crossguard. It sparkles with a faint blue light, but if undead are near it will glow brighter and brighter the closer the wielder gets to the undead.
The key to this sword is that it damages undead so they stay dead. If an undead is hit by mundane weapons they will simply reform. But with this sword the damage is permanent and will eventually destroy the undead in question.
In game terms this relic is the highest plus your system has and gives an additional bonus to undead (the highest available). The wielder is also immune to any freezing abilities an undead my use and any fear affects.
Monday: Leomaris
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Item: Gems of Translocation
Though travel isn't incredibly hard, with good roads and the like, the kingdom of Tridon is a large place. It takes time to get from here to there, even if the hardships of going from one inn to another isn't exactly the hardest thing to do. Some mages are able to translocate (move themselves from one spot to another instantaneously with the use of magic), but it is hard on the mage and the more people they are trying to move the harder it is on them. The strain can become so bad that the mage can actually die from the strain of magic. But in the cases of emergencies, like the High King is being besieged or something, it is worth the effort.
Magical transportation circles were created, which took the strain from the mages who used them, but they were rare when they were made, and in the time of the High King's Sword they are not in use at all. But some Mages and Wizards came up with a small item which could be used to transport a person from any spot to any other spot.
These gems are covered in runes, about the size of one's thumb, usually a fairly common gem such as agate or quartz. The mage or wizard cast spells of translocation upon it, stopping short of the one word which finishes the spell. This word becomes the trigger word. But the mage or wizard has to put a little of himself into the gem so rarely do mages do this and if they do, they do not do one after another. Wizards, on the other hand, who have perfected this, use the life essence of slaves or captured people to fuel the gems. Usually a dozen or more gems can be made in such a manner before the person is killed.
These are hard to make items which are coveted by everyone and guarded well by those who make them. This should be a rare item found only if it moves the GM's plot along, but is a good escape device for your villain if he is need of such an escape.
Monday: Marius Vandez
Magical transportation circles were created, which took the strain from the mages who used them, but they were rare when they were made, and in the time of the High King's Sword they are not in use at all. But some Mages and Wizards came up with a small item which could be used to transport a person from any spot to any other spot.
These gems are covered in runes, about the size of one's thumb, usually a fairly common gem such as agate or quartz. The mage or wizard cast spells of translocation upon it, stopping short of the one word which finishes the spell. This word becomes the trigger word. But the mage or wizard has to put a little of himself into the gem so rarely do mages do this and if they do, they do not do one after another. Wizards, on the other hand, who have perfected this, use the life essence of slaves or captured people to fuel the gems. Usually a dozen or more gems can be made in such a manner before the person is killed.
These are hard to make items which are coveted by everyone and guarded well by those who make them. This should be a rare item found only if it moves the GM's plot along, but is a good escape device for your villain if he is need of such an escape.
Monday: Marius Vandez
Friday, November 5, 2010
Item: Compass of Finding
The compass of finding was created by the explorers of the humans near Calabay. Thar Darkstone loved exploring but after getting lost in a snowstorm, he set to working on a compass.
He consulted the dwarves, the masters of stone, who showed him the powers of the lodestone. He was impressed by the stone, but wanted more.
Thar consulted the mages as how to find a specific item, not just north. The mages he consulted took over six years to solve his problem but came up with a novel idea. There were spells to locate objects or places but it required a piece of the object, something similar to the object, or something from the place. But it was a s short distance spell.
The mages modified the spell to find locations in addition to north, but it has to be a place the compass has been. Becaues of this, most compasses are shipped in mass to all the nearby major cities to get a person started. The words "Lead me to (place), good lodestone, so I may be safe," must be spoken over it. This must be done every hour or otherwise it resets to finding north. If the compass doesn't know the location it will spin three times before stopping on north. This works on land or sea and most travelers in the present time carries one of them.
The compasses are made by the Finder's Guild's apprentices in cooperation with the Mage Guild. They are fairly inexpensive, less then a ducat in most cases.
For your campaign you could throw one in which leads to a famous ruin. Perhaps they find it in a treasure horde and are chased by some person or group which wants to find the ruin.
Monday: Vandalar Vandez
He consulted the dwarves, the masters of stone, who showed him the powers of the lodestone. He was impressed by the stone, but wanted more.
Thar consulted the mages as how to find a specific item, not just north. The mages he consulted took over six years to solve his problem but came up with a novel idea. There were spells to locate objects or places but it required a piece of the object, something similar to the object, or something from the place. But it was a s short distance spell.
The mages modified the spell to find locations in addition to north, but it has to be a place the compass has been. Becaues of this, most compasses are shipped in mass to all the nearby major cities to get a person started. The words "Lead me to (place), good lodestone, so I may be safe," must be spoken over it. This must be done every hour or otherwise it resets to finding north. If the compass doesn't know the location it will spin three times before stopping on north. This works on land or sea and most travelers in the present time carries one of them.
The compasses are made by the Finder's Guild's apprentices in cooperation with the Mage Guild. They are fairly inexpensive, less then a ducat in most cases.
For your campaign you could throw one in which leads to a famous ruin. Perhaps they find it in a treasure horde and are chased by some person or group which wants to find the ruin.
Monday: Vandalar Vandez
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Item: Magic Mirrors
Over the centuries mages have been perfecting the ability to speak magically across great distance. Discovered by accident, (an apprentice believed his master was shouting at him despite being clear across the city) the ability to communicate over long distances was seen as a boon. The ability to send troops to places quickly was always an advantage, but the ability was very unpredictable without a focus. Mages could speak telepathically to a colleague a distance off, but the messages weren't always clear or complete.
Mary Sandturn was a powerful mage who loved fine mirrors. She collected them and always picked up new ones when she traveled. She also liked to talk to her friends and couldn't do so when she was away. She worked on many enchantments until she came up with a good combination of dust from crushed up dragon scales (later on gargoyle horns were used instead), gems, and gold gilded hand mirror. The process takes a month, finishing on the night of a full moon. Only master mages can make these, so they are quite expensive. They range from 100 platinum dragons to 1,000 platinum dragons depending on size and decorations. Only those with magical aptitude can use them, since it does take a bit of magic to operate.
Each mirror has a command phrase to awaken or turn off and contact any other mirror. A person just has to know who they wish to speak to. Anyone can see the other person using the other mirror, but only magic users can make the mirrors work.
Possible uses for a campaign might be the mage of the group wishes to make one and has to gather the pieces.
Tomrrow: Healing on Martapa
Mary Sandturn was a powerful mage who loved fine mirrors. She collected them and always picked up new ones when she traveled. She also liked to talk to her friends and couldn't do so when she was away. She worked on many enchantments until she came up with a good combination of dust from crushed up dragon scales (later on gargoyle horns were used instead), gems, and gold gilded hand mirror. The process takes a month, finishing on the night of a full moon. Only master mages can make these, so they are quite expensive. They range from 100 platinum dragons to 1,000 platinum dragons depending on size and decorations. Only those with magical aptitude can use them, since it does take a bit of magic to operate.
Each mirror has a command phrase to awaken or turn off and contact any other mirror. A person just has to know who they wish to speak to. Anyone can see the other person using the other mirror, but only magic users can make the mirrors work.
Possible uses for a campaign might be the mage of the group wishes to make one and has to gather the pieces.
Tomrrow: Healing on Martapa
Friday, October 15, 2010
Equipment for Adventuring
Since part of my mission for showing you my world is for you to be able to adventure in this world, I thought we might talk about equipment.
Most basic equipment found in your player's handbook can be found on Martapa. Tents, animals, dry rations and the like. They should all be easy to find and normal prices. Some things which may not be so easy to find will depend on region. Elven goods should not be easy to find in the Ariellan Empire or Tiana after Shaniko's time, though fairly easy to get before then. Weapons such as the sapaka (my oriental like sword) should be incredibly hard to find except if your party happens to be playing on the island of Janesh. Racial weapons and equipment should be hard to find, except in the racial cities. They should be expensive for players who are not of that race.
Mounts are pretty standard. Griffons, unicorns and other special mounts can not be bought or sold, but they can be earned by earning the animal's trust. Dragons can never be claimed as a mount, but may allow a person to ride with them.
Magic items are common, but not available to every person. They cost a bunch (make sure that they are level appropriate for your party, so price it out of their range if they shouldn't be using it). The most common magic items would be potions and light stones.
Monday: Krom
Most basic equipment found in your player's handbook can be found on Martapa. Tents, animals, dry rations and the like. They should all be easy to find and normal prices. Some things which may not be so easy to find will depend on region. Elven goods should not be easy to find in the Ariellan Empire or Tiana after Shaniko's time, though fairly easy to get before then. Weapons such as the sapaka (my oriental like sword) should be incredibly hard to find except if your party happens to be playing on the island of Janesh. Racial weapons and equipment should be hard to find, except in the racial cities. They should be expensive for players who are not of that race.
Mounts are pretty standard. Griffons, unicorns and other special mounts can not be bought or sold, but they can be earned by earning the animal's trust. Dragons can never be claimed as a mount, but may allow a person to ride with them.
Magic items are common, but not available to every person. They cost a bunch (make sure that they are level appropriate for your party, so price it out of their range if they shouldn't be using it). The most common magic items would be potions and light stones.
Monday: Krom
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