Magic Items

Magical items largely follow the same rules as non-magical ones; they are listed separately because they require more of a description than ladders and rope.

Common Magic Items

The Bronze Arm

The Flashback Anchor is a sample player-created unique magical item.

  • Cost: Major
  • Availability: Unique

A magical item crafted for General Chandra to replace an arm lost in combat, this finely-crafted and mighty device has only made the general stronger.

The arm provides Chandra with +5 DUR, +5 STR and +2 AV. Even though it is functionally a part of Chandra’s body, and he wields it as his own arm, it is still so powerful and durable that it counts as a weapon; thus, Chandra can attack with it using either the Melee Weapons or Unarmed skills, he is always considered armed, and he can even parry with it.

Designing the Bronze Arm

The Bronze Arm is an excellent item; it makes Chandra much better at his chosen role (an extreme-durability melee powerhouse) while it also helps underscores many of Chandra's themes (his wealth and nobility, his long experience on the battlefield, and his incredible durability).

Chandra's player specifically wanted the arm to be useful as a weapon in combat — he very specifically wanted to be able to parry with it; though it may seem like an afterthought, the fact that Chandra is always considered armed, and can even parry with it is perhaps the most important line of the description.

Chandra's player wanted to be able to shock people with the arm. His GM was concerned that adding a shock effect to any melee damage Chandra did was too powerful — and besides, as an action, it should be a power.

Perhaps surprisingly, the bonus DUR, STR and AV was the GM's idea, offered as a compromise after moving the shock effect to a separate power.

Day-Mask

  • Cost: [Moderate] or [High]
  • Availability: Common (Deep Explorer Dwarves), Rare (elsewhere)

The Day-Mask consists of smoked lenses designed to filter out bright light, as well as a fabric or leather wrap that attaches them to the head. The wrap is used to completely enclose the eyes, preventing light from "leaking" around the edges of the lenses; leather and wool are common in the north, while lighter fabrics (often dyed dark colors) are used in the south.

  • You do not suffer any penalty from exposure to bright light (such as from the Cave-Eyes trait).
  • You suffer a -10 penalty to visual perception checks.
  • You suffer a -10 penalty in dim light.
  • Normal Day-Masks are Cost: Medium

The lenses of some Day-Masks are ground, with different sections having different shapes. This may be done to correct for poor vision, or may provide magnification at long or short range.

  • Ground Day-Masks provide a +10 bonus to visual perception checks.
  • Grinding a Day-Mask is Cost: Medium (in addition to the cost of the Day Mask).

Some Day-Masks are magical; their lenses are crystal-clear in dim light, but rapidly "smoke over" when exposed to bright light.

  • Magical Day-Masks protect your eyes from bright light the way normal Day-Masks do, but they impose none of the penalties that normal Day-Masks have.
  • The lenses "smoke over" in little more than a second. If you are suddenly exposed to bright light, you may experience some dazzling (incurring a -10 penalty to visual perception tests), but this fades quickly (lasting only for the first turn of exposure).
  • You can force the Day-Mask to become clear or smoked.
  • Magical Day-Masks are usually ground (at no additional cost).
  • Magical Day-Masks are Cost: High.

Flashback Anchor

The Flashback Anchor is a sample player-created unique magical item.

  • Cost: Major
  • Availability: Unique

A magical device integrated into a vest Notebook wears, the Flashback Anchor allows her a chance to "flashback" from a jump — which allows her to attempt much more risky jumps than she otherwise could. To be most effective, the device must be activated before a jump finishes — which is something of a problem. When Notebook jumps, she experiences a blur of motion scarcely longer than a blink before appearing at her destination — she has that much time (and that much information about her destination) to decide if she needs to revert a jump. Still, much like tripping off a bridge, a second to react and a chance to save herself is much better than nothing at all.

If the result of teleporting would injure or kill Notebook (or if she otherwise decides to revert a jump), she can roll COO+COO+INT; this represents both her ability to quickly perceive how her jump is going to end and her ability to activate the Anchor. If she succeeds, she successfully activates the Anchor, and reappears where her jump began, as though she had never attempted the jump. (If she is in initiative order, an appropriate action is still used — it still requires a Standard Action to use her Long Jump power, even if she decided to revert it.)

Even if she fails to activate the device, it still provides some protection: if Notebook arrives only partly in a solid object — or in some similar condition — the device will attempt to "eject" her from the obstruction, causing her to arrive next to it (if there is room). This process is jarring — Notebook experiences a violent impact, like falling off roof: she takes 1d10 DV, and her armor does not apply.

If the armor can't eject her – if she arrived entirely within a solid object, for example – then she suffers the normal consequences for her jump.

Designing the Flashback Anchor

The design of the Flashback Anchor is pretty straight-forward: Notebook's ability to teleport was central to her player's design for her, and so they really wanted to be able to use it often — but the risk of being maimed or killed every time Notebook teleported somewhere she couldn't see was… inconvenient.

The Flashback Anchor gives Notebook an extra layer of protection when teleporting. It doesn't guarantee her safety — if it did, she would be able to "brute force" any building within range by teleporting at it over and over again — but it does give her a fighting chance if a jump goes wrong.

The design of the Flashback Anchor reflects the peculiar flair for danger and preference for tough consequences of the GM that first approved it; other GM's might allow a similar device to completely and automatically save Notebook, but place some other limit on it (like a number of charges, for example, or a "cooldown time" after a failed jump).

Heater

  • Cost: [Moderate]
  • Availability: Common

This small magical apparatus is used to generate strong heat; it is commonly carried by travelers who use them to keep warm, to boil water and to start fires. Heaters are cylindrical metal devices about the size and shape of the handle to a hammer; the tip of one end is lain with intricate steel wiring, while the other end is wrapped in leather. When the device is activated, the wired tip becomes extremely hot. The device requires a charge, a narrow alchemical rod that is fed into the handle end. One charge is Trivial cost and will run the heater for 2 hours. While there is a charge in it, the heater can be activated and deactivated with a metal trigger in the grip.

The Hunter’s Bow

The Flashback Anchor is a sample player-created unique magical item.

  • Cost: Major
  • Availability: Unique

A magical bow carried by Aryn the hunter, this weapon fires bolts of magic rather than arrows.

Since the bow fires magical projectiles that it generates, it does not require ammo. (Note: since we normally do not track “basic” ammo, this detail is as much a narrative point as a functional rule.)

Besides functioning normally as a shortbow, the Hunter’s Bow has two alternate modes, controlled by a catch hidden in the wraps where Aryn grips it.

In “light” mode, the fired bolts do no damage, but they instead stick to whatever they strike and persist for several minutes, glowing brightly the entire time. "Light" arrows glow quite brightly—they cast a white light as bright as a dozen candles, enough to see clearly for a dozen paces around the arrow.

In “track” mode bolt also does not damage, and also sticks to whatever target it strikes. Rather than glowing brightly, tracking bolts are invisible (except, of course, to someone with Mage Sight). Tracking bolts also last much longer—up to 3 days—although only one can be active at a time (if another one is fired, the first simply dissipates). The bow pulses gently based on the whether the bow is facing towards the target, and whether the target is within range; this allows Aryn to use the bow to track a target struck by a tracker. (The tracking bolt has a very long range—fully 500m.)

Being struck with a tracker bolt (or a light bolt, for that matter) feels somewhat like being pinched, but is otherwise harmless.

Designing the Hunter's Bow

The initial idea for Aryn's magical bow was that she would have unlimited ammo; as significant as this would be in the world, it is not mechanically useful, since we ordinarily do not track ammo anyway.

The light and track bolt-modes where added to underscore Aryn's role as a hunter — and in particular to be useful while delving into deep caves to fight the Leapers.

Aryn's player often requests a multi-shot power for the bow; some approve it, and some don't. (Neither answer is correct — it's up to each GM.)

Light

  • Cost: [Minor]
  • Availability: Common

This small glass vile contains a clear liquid. When shaken, it produces a bright light: it shines brightly enough that a character holding it can see clearly for 20m around them. Once it is lit, it will continue to shine brightly for 20 minutes, and then dimly for 20 minutes thereafter — although shaking it again will cause it to begin shining brightly once more.

Safe-Fall Cape

  • Cost: Moderate
  • Availability: Uncommon

This cape billows outward as you fall, and both it’s physical size and magical effects cooperate to slow your fall. No matter how far you fall, the cape will prevent you from falling faster than a quick run. When you land, you must make an athletics check: if you succeed, you ake no damage, but if you fail, you take 1d10 dv.

Torque of Speaking

  • Cost: Moderate
  • Availability: Common

This torgue adds to the array of sounds that you can naturally produce, allowing you to use one additional language group (chosen when purchase the torque, if you're purchasing it during character creation; otherwise, it's chosen when designing and producing the torque). These items are not always torques, although it is a common choice (given especially that many interact with the wearer's vocal cords).

Note that the Torque provides access to a language group – the sounds needed to speak a language – not dots in a language itself. So a torque could provide you access to the GR language group, but you'd still have to learn a GR language (like Heartland Gnoll) separately.

Wand

  • Cost: Moderate
  • Availability: Common

Wands are both tools and ranged weapons commonly used by mages. Wands can only store a finite amount of magical energy – although recharging them is a very simple magical procedure. They use the following profile:

Tags: Indicate-Only Attack, Ranged Weapon

Damage: 1d10-2 DV

AP: -8

Range: 30m/50m/70m

Charges: A wand has 10 charges, and one is used with each attack.

Reload: Quick Action

Warmblood Suit

  • Cost: Moderate
  • Availability: Common

This heavy outfit resembles heavy winter clothing, with an outer layer of wool and a linen inner lining. Just inside the linen lining there is a wrapping like a metallic ribbon; at several points along the back, there are pockets containing more of the metallic ribbons. Both sets of ribbons cross are connected to two magical mechanisms, each a twin of the other, in the back of the suit.

In extreme cold, the external ribbons are left rolled up in their pockets. When activated, the inner ribbons heat up, warming the wearer. In extreme heat, the wearer opens the pockets and unfurls the ribbons, and the garment then pumps heat out through the unfurled ribbons, cooling the wearer.

If worn by a warm-blooded creature, the survival suit provides a +20 bonus to Endure Physical Hardship tests to survive extreme weather. If worn by a cold-blooded creature, the survival suit allows the wearer to endure extremes of temperature as well as a warm-blooded creature.

The garment itself is tough, and provides some protection from damage. When worn as armor, it uses the following profile:

Armor Value: 2 AV

Drawbacks: None

Tags: Concealing, Layerable, Sociable