The Vault: Rare and unusal stuff for the taking

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Bonemasons' Curselash
This fat whip stinks and glistens of bile. It's enchantment is +2 to hit and it always strikes the face for exactly 4 damage leaving a bile colored mark and a Curse. If cracked in the air all beings so cursed or of lower than average morale must Save versus Spells or recoil in fear, spending the next round cowering. Its cracks are as loud and harsh as gunshots.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
The Shade Pearl (The Lost Leagues)
Eyeball sized glass marble of unusual weight holding whirling white smoke. When uncovered and especially when held aloft it eats light cloaking the bearer in shadow (though not complete darkness). If already in darkness light from lanterns or infravision will not penetrate the darkness of the pearl. The peal is nearly indestructible and functions as a sling bullet+3, only if crushed against equipment of +3 enchantment (or similar) will it break.

If studied closely the smoke inside the pearl is revealed as clouds hanging over a miniature landscape of rolling forested mountains and a ruined castle. If you dress in bright colors and proclaim yourself light the pearl will absorb you into the pocket dimension called The Lost Leagues (roughly three 6-mile hexes in area), a barony removed from the world and put inside the pearl. It is now a monster haunted wood, dead if the pearl has been in the dark for too long or withered if thrown in a fire. The temperature will be warm whatever the state of the outside world. The state of their world is obvious to the inhabitants as the glassy ends of the world can be touched and peered through (dressing in black and proclaiming yourself shadow while touching the glass and you are thrown out). In the grand hall of the ruined castle rules the Howling Baron and his werewolf knights, if he is slain or if the pearl is destroyed The Lost Leagues regain the former size, inserting themselves back into the world with the ruined castle as the epicenter of where the pearl was.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Where is this coming from?! I love the Howling Baron! What a great name for a villain --- I can see him immediately.
The "dress in bright colors" is a nice touch too. Awesome.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Moonlight Net
Something between a fisherman's net and a spider's web but knitted from moonlight. Completely intangible except for the outer thread where silver and moonlight has been braided to a physical shape. The moonlight neb catches the magical and intangible, like disembodied spirits (a living person's soul is too small and will slip through) and spells. Small spells, of 1st and 2nd level, pass through but anything greater can be caught and suspended in the net provided it fits and wouldn't destroy the net (like a Disintegration spell). A fireball can be caught before it explodes (through it will be eager to escape and explode) and a Curse could be caught (though not removed if it is attached to a person). A magic blade cannot cut the net, an intangible blade can.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Two orcs. I love this one! I am definately going to "borrow" it. The whole thing dances on the edge of my imagination.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
About to put this in the campaign. Looking for some feedback.

Shadow-Thief Scarab
Causes the ordinary shadows of 1d6 nearby creatures to animate and attempt to grapple/strangle their owners (from behind). If successful, the stolen shadows may then (and only then) attack others, at the scarab's owner command. Treat as the same attack-stats as the originals, sans special abilities.​
The stolen shadows are illusions---which allows for the possibility of disbelief/immunity, and mitigation of a victim's true-death (as appropriate). The shadow-theft last for 2d6 rounds.​
The silver scarab is set with black cat's eye scapolite gem and 144 tiny black diamonds around its periphery (1200 gp). On the back, it depicts a man's silhouette sitting on a balcony, playing the harp beneath a full moon. Activation of its magic requires whistling the three notes of the chord being plucked on the harp (ask a Bard). Usable only once without recharging---an act which requires bathing the scarab in the light of the Full Moon while playing the invocation-chord 144 times, once per minute. 10% chance (-1% per level) the enchanter will self-hypnotize and become a true Shadow (elves immune).​
@Malrex: This one has almost no drawbacks!
 
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squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Also using this!
moonlightnet.png

Just so happens my thief recovered an Ethereal Knife in the waters beneath the Earth Temple!
 
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Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
I'll put that scarab in the hands of a syndicate leader - seems thematic and appropriate for an assassin type. I like that the effect is self limiting, since hp scales faster than attack damage the shadows of normal men are proportionately more dangerous than a giant's shadow. Not a fan of drawbacks like that, you want people to use magic right? The risk is small but the penalty is huge, there is no sense of escalating risk if you recharge it multiple times - is the point that some hapless hireling is tasked with recharging it? Accidental self-hypnotism is cool, and perhaps having to hunt down a True Shadow of your own creation too.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
I'll put that scarab in the hands of a syndicate leader - seems thematic and appropriate for an assassin type. I like that the effect is self limiting, since hp scales faster than attack damage the shadows of normal men are proportionately more dangerous than a giant's shadow. Not a fan of drawbacks like that, you want people to use magic right? The risk is small but the penalty is huge, there is no sense of escalating risk if you recharge it multiple times - is the point that some hapless hireling is tasked with recharging it? Accidental self-hypnotism is cool, and perhaps having to hunt down a True Shadow of your own creation too.
Yes! Please use it and let me know...

My PCs have got the Moonlight Net already and have argued a bit about who gets to keep it. Haven't used it yet, but the thief is already thinking of how to lay a spell-trap somewhere.

I do want players to use magic --- I just want it to be a bit of a wild ride...and I love the notion that more powerful characters are better suited to use and control magic than your average zero-level Joe. Tolkien's whole notion of "The Wise".

And, "yes", I was thinking it was to avoid having a low-level flunky recharge it. You could increase the number of times it could be used before recharging. I was thinking the 144 black diamonds turn white after use, and that they turn black again (one at a time, once-a-minute) during the recharge process.

EDIT: In my world, elves are rare and magical. What fun to have my players seek out an elf lord or lady and ask them to recharge their scarab!
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Tine of Teleportation
A golden spearpoint with a single cutting edge and metallic feathers that cause blood to spray like fine mist instead of running down the narrow white shaft. It's enchantment is +1, +3 vs teleporting or displacing enemies. If thrown, the thrower may at any time during the next turn teleport to the spear's location, grasping it as he arrives. The canny spearman can hurl it at an enemy and teleport to deliver a surprising melee attack if the enemy is unaware of the spear's power.
 
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Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Corpse Wax Candle
Carving someone's name on this candle in sight of them they become magically linked if they remain within 1,6 miles. When lit the victim will always see and smell the flame, no matter the distance or the obstacles. Each hour the candle burns they lose a hit point - at 0 hit points and flame gutters out and they die with no save. A candle is always big enough to kill someone, if they are healed the candle simply burns slower. The damage taken counts as evil fire damage. Protection from Evil will block it but Rings of Regeneration will not prevent it. One individual can be affected by several candles at once.

The light of a corpse wax candle reveals invisible things within 5' of the flame.
 
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Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Headband of Destruction
A bronze forehead protector stamped with the ominously glowing glyph for "Annihilation". If a critical hit would destroy it (or the wearer hit with a roll of natural 20 in a system that does not use critical hits) negate any damage done and instead destroy the weapon of the attacker. The headband is destroyed in an intense multicolored flash. Magic and natural weapons get a Save vs Death (modified by enchantment bonus) to avoid destruction. Note that destruction of a natural weapon usually means the death of the creature.

Alkalescent Scabbard
or Bilewyrm's Bladder
A sturdy but worn scabbard for a short sword with bright green stains around the rim. It's inside is bright green, fleshy and wet with stinking bile. Swords kept in the scabbard for at least a day become pitted and coated in the bile dealing wounds that do not heal unless the poison is neutralized, instead they fester - each wound dealing another point of damage each day. The immense pain of the first wound will promt a morale roll from the victim. After a week the sword becomes too weak from corrosion and breaks.
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
Inspired by the most recent post from noisms.

A pouch of 13 square gold coins, clean as though they were newly minted, stamped on one side with a rod, sword and crown, and on the other with the face of some unknown monarch. Most merchants will accept these like any other gold coin, but a collector will recognize them as being from the third imperial dynasty and will pay 150 gp for each coin.

A sage can tell the PCs that these coins were specially minted for the burial hoard of the Emperor Juurat II. Juurat was the last known bearer of the Crown of Kings, which was rumored to have been entombed with him. A collector who knows that the coins came from that hoard will pay 1,000 gp for each coin; but knowledge of the location of where they were found may be priceless, and is certainly worth the lives of a group of itinerant treasure hunters. If the coins pass into circulation they will eventually come into the hands of such a collector, who will certainly want to track down the tomb robbers who brought them back to civilization.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Usurer's Ladle
Red wooden ladle with a cheerful fat face painted on the inside. The face subtly changes facial expressions depending on how many are under its effect, from cheerful to smug to impish. It transforms to fit any reasonable container, and the liquid scooped with it. It can scoop wine from a flask to fill a two-handed cup. Water, mud etc. poured into a bowl turns to rich soup. There is a price, the next day you will be twice as hungry. The ladle can compensate for it, but the day after you will be four times as hungry. Eventually, if the ladle soup is continuously indulged, the hunger reaches a point where even constant eating of regular food cannot stop you from starvation.
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
"For a thousand years Grenzburg Castle has been a bastion against tribes of goblinoids and giantkin from the Trollstone Hills and beyond. Long has it been a holding of House Kampfbach, but the last Lord Kampfback of Grenzburg has died childless, and his wayward uncle went missing long ago. Now the hordes are stirring, and the king cannot wait for an heir to be found. Whatever else might be said about you, you are a warrior of acknowledged prowess and your compatriots show a certain ruthless efficiency. Moreover your common birth leaves you free of court entanglements (and avoids upsetting the delicate balance of power among courtiers and aristocrats).

"Will you accept the king’s offer of lands and title, and hold the line for the good of the Realm? Grenzburg is ancient with many secrets, and has not always been kind to its purported rulers. It is said that Grenzburg chooses it lords, and those who are unworthy have met a bad end. But to those Houses that have earned its favour it grants strength and riches, and reveals the secrets that hold it unconquered, hidden deep in the recesses of the castle’s dungeons. For the castle’s roots run deep and spread throughout the surrounding lands…"

Hey, remember when I hijacked the "Adventures you'd like to see" thread on, like, post #12 with a long discussion about domain play? Well at some point in there I was inspired to spend a couple of hours playing with the idea, and came up with this concept that I will never use. So if anyone wants to take it and run with it, go nuts.

With apologies for the pseudo-German linguistic appropriation, courtesy of Google (mis)Translate...

Anyway, the castle sits adjacent to a village which runs right up to the walls on one of the castle, with a river moat running along the other side of the castle. There is a low wall around the village, so that the village is effectively in a large outer bailey.

Ivy grows up the castle walls on the village side, and the villagers have left flowers and other offerings in an impromptu shrine against the wall of the castle. It is not clear what the shrine is for; this is because the shrine is for the castle itself.

When the adventurers take ownership of the castle, they find it behaves much like a dungeon. Doors must be forced open, and various non-lethal security measures (i.e. traps) make themselves a nuisance. The doors open easily for the household staff, although there are some that can still be difficult if the staff are in the presence of party members - particularly doors associated with ownership of the castle, like to the Lord's chambers, for example. Except for one maid in particular, who the other servants will summon if a door proves particularly stubborn. (She is very pretty, and in love with one of the young guardsmen. Don't get any ideas.)

There is also a dungeon below the castle, which is more fey perilous than grimdark dangerous. Within the dungeon is a door that cannot be opened, even by the maid. The party is told it is where the Lord and his companions used to hold council.

If the Lord rules well and treats his people kindly, and the land prospers, the castle will gradually accept those of the party is deems worthy, starting with rangers and druids. At that point the doors will start opening easily, and traps will no longer be an issue. Eventually the door to the council chamber will open without forcing, to reveal a low chamber with a large round table in the centre.

The walls and ceiling of the chamber are covered in twisting roots; it is said that all the trees in Grenzburg have roots that lead back to that chamber, and when the Lord or a companion trusted by the castle, or a druid or ranger with druid spells, touches one of the roots, they can sense the general distance, direction and condition of the tree is attaches to. The Lords and companions can travel to the tree, regardless of the distance, as though they had used a pass plant spell; and may return by touching any tree in the barony; a druid may do the same using a pass plant spell, but may not return unless invited.

If the Lord does not rule well or treat his people kindly, or if he starts damaging the castle (hacking through or burning stuck doors, for example), then the frequency of the traps will increase and they will become more dangerous, and eventually lethal. As they are for any invaders.

Within the castle, village, and the other villages in the barony are people and creatures who may, if befriended, become followers to one of more of the PCs. Basically, I was thinking of pre-rolling followers, and giving the more interesting ones (characters with levels and monsters from the ranger list) personalities and roles in the barony. So the followers don't just show up, they have to decide they like the PC. I was also thinking that there should be a forest which may only be exploited with the agreement of its druid.

I had thoughts about the other nobility in the area, as well as a nearby town, but I don't remember most of them (this if the first time I have written most of this down). I remember that the baron to the northeast was covetous of the Grenzburg lands, and inclined to undermine Grenzburg in not particularly subtle ways (staging raids with his troops disguised as bandits, for instance) in hopes that he would step in and take control of them, or annex parts of them (the "Raider"). One of the other barons was interested in increasing his position at court by embarassing the new Lord of Grenzburg (the "Courtier"). If the party had a cleric or paladin, the local church was going to either try to control them or discredit them, depending on whether they were or were not of the same faith; and in any event wants to push out the druidism that is prevalent in Grenzburg. And the commander of the King's fortress resents Grenzburg's military position, believing the military can handle it.

The humanoids in the hills, which Grenzburg is supposed to be protecting the kingdom against, can be treated with. They do not like the humans, and are prone to raiding, but they also want to not be slaughtered on a regular basis. However, they are suspicious because of unprovoked (as well as provoked) attacks by the military, raids and various sorts of oppressions by the Raider, and subtle incitement by the Courtier. And there are different tribes and factions among them, and they are unwilling to control the various trolls in the area (who cannot be treated with), but also resent incursions into their lands to deal with the trolls.

I made a few maps of the area, which is set out in a single 30 mile hex. I tried to group things so that most of the elements can be contained within a 24 mile hex, if that if your jam. The overview (if I can figure out how to post images) is below:

Grenzberg 6 mile.png

The whole thing is also mapped at the 1 mile and .25 mile hex level. Here is a low-rez version of the 1 mile map, and a closeup of Grenzburg at the 0.25 mile level:


Grenzburg Overview.pngGrenzberg Closeup.png

I only bothered adding rivers and villages in the Grenzburg area. If anyone wants to take this and run with it, I also have the original Worldographer file and can send a link to anyone who PMs me.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Whoo hoo! Beoric finally shows us a few dance moves.

Mighty fine, my man. Mighty fine.
 
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