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Friday, February 20, 2009

Magical Charms

Today's article features a trio of single use magical charms. Charms are usually prepared for a special situation and usable but once. In campaigns with rigorous magical item creation rules, the cost of creating these items should be on par with potions, scrolls, or similar one-shot items. Once activated the effects of each item last one hour.
Righteous Favor
These small charms bear the blessing of a god. They are given to those pursuing worthy goals in the eyes of the appropriate church. They usually take the form of a small metal or ceramic holy symbol, which can be fastened to the hilts of a weapon with a bit of silken cord. Once so attached the bearer can offer a suitable prayer and receive the charm's blessing for the duration of a single battle. The Favor grants a Fair bonus to accuracy and damage. If foes are directly opposed to the blessing god's goals, these bonuses become Good.
Cat's Paw
This charm is carved from soapstone, set with claws of copper or bronze. To activate the Paw the bearer speaks a command word, then fastens it to their boot or shoe. Once activated the Cat's Paw grants a Good bonus to all stealth movement and climbing attempts, and halves all falling damage.
Silvery Speech
This charm is a small silver disc inscribed with magical symbols. It is activated by placing it beneath the user's tongue and speaking a command word. Once activated it grants a Good bonus to all language skill tests and a Fair bonus to all diplomatic or social skill tests.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool idea, definitely usable in a setting where you can't typically buy permanent magic items either. What is the differences between Fair and Good bonuses?

Mark Thomas said...

I discuss the relative values of bonuses in this article. I really don't like the item escalation having a lot of permanent magical items in the campaign (magic shoppes are right out!) There's nothing wrong with that sort of game, but it's not to my taste. Items like these are one of the alternatives I use quite often.