Magic Items for sale

[Utgardloki]

While I was doing my laundry, I got lots of ideas for magic items, some of which could be bought and sold in Glorantha.

What I don't want to do, though, is to raise the "effective tech level". So, while runic swords are a neat idea, and may be good for a late 3rd age campaign, I plan on having the secrets to forging these not available. Magic swords in the 2nd age (or whatever age I'm running my game in) are unique items with unique abilities, such as a holy defender troll decapiter flamebrand with intelligence and ego.

One that that I had, was that different races would have different magic items. For example, since slavery exists in the plains of the Prax, I thought about a Slaver's Net. But then I thought, what if they were Troll Nets, and only the trolls could make them?

So some quick ideas:

Humans
Ointment of Reattachment -- reattaches severed limbs and repairs major damage. Troll's blood is a component :shock:
Ribbon of Chastity -- prevents the person wearing it from having sex
Oar of Skilled Steering -- aids in Boating skill checks
Boots of Cleanliness -- boots that remain clean under any conditions
Lantern of Illumination -- a lantern that continually emits light without fuel or heat

Trolls
Troll Rope -- rope that is as strong as steel cable
Troll Net -- made of troll rope, those caught in it temporarily lose 1D6 STR and DEX
Troll Lamp -- works like a normal lamp, but emits darkness instead of emitting light

Dwarves
Dwarven Axe -- really good for decapitating trolls
Dwarven Necklace -- makes the person wearing it fall in love with the specified person
Dwarven Plate -- any who eat from this plate feel happy and healthy and any hatred or emnities are suppressed

 

[Quire]

While I was doing my laundry

[...]

Boots of Cleanliness -- boots that remain clean under any conditions

Pure stream of logic, there.

- Q

 

[Malakor]

. . . So some quick ideas: . . .
Ribbon of Chastity -- prevents the person wearing it from having sex
. . .

That's called a wedding ring :lol: :wink:

 

[simonh]

Ointment of Reattachment -- reattaches severed limbs and repairs major damage. Troll's blood is a component :shock:

I'd have thought Elfs blood would be more likely. Trolls have no particular runic or mythic association with growth, regrowth or healing, but Aldryami (Elfs) worship a goddess of growth, and as plants probably can reattach limbs anyway (grafting).

The question that arrises when looking at these items is where do they come from, why were they made and even why do they work? Glorantha as a world has a logic (in the sense of 'reason' and 'consistency') to it's magic, which has a mythic, practical and also cultural role. This is very important because it leads you naturay into thinking what kinds of adventures, personalities and situations the cultural context of the magic can bring into your games.

Regrowth is a Elfish power, but kiling elfs to take their powers like this for selfish ends is obviously moraly questionable. Then again, maybe the elfs can make such potions in a 'sustainable and eco-friendly' way, so maybe you can try trading with them instead of hunting them? What kinds of people will take which option (hunting or trading with the elfs)? Which side are the players on?

I recently posted a short adventure seed on my site (linked in my sig) called Fire and Ice. In it you can hunt down Flame Vixen and Ice Weasel - magical animals - and skin them to make magicaly useful stuff, but to do so you're interfering in a mythic system, which has knock on effects on the magic of the local tribe, and even the local ecosystem and climate.

Bonus credit to anyone who figures out the inspiration, and reason, for the names!

 

[Trifletraxor]

Ointment of Reattachment -- reattaches severed limbs and repairs major damage. Troll's blood is a component :shock:

Healing glue! :lol:

SGL.

 

[mthomason]

Ointment of Reattachment -- reattaches severed limbs and repairs major damage. Troll's blood is a component :shock:

Forget the intended medicinal use. I'm thinking this could be of major value to torturers...

 

[GbajiTheDeceiver]

Magic swords should actually be more common in the 2nd, due to the presence of the Clanking City.

A good idea for a 2nd age magic item might be something that stole from a Dragonewts reincarnation ability. A one-use ring of resurrection, say, which required a Dragonewt widget of some description. The only gotcha is that the Dragonewt in question can no longer reincarnate.

I like this cos it plays on the God Learners meddling with stuff (who else do you think would have invented such a thing?), and also brings in the EWF.

 

[simonh]

A one-use ring of resurrection, say, which required a Dragonewt widget of some description. The only gotcha is that the Dragonewt in question can no longer reincarnate.

And the resurrectee can now only worship the draconic form of their cult.

Gotcha!

 

[Utgardloki]

The question that arrises when looking at these items is where do they come from, why were they made and even why do they work? Glorantha as a world has a logic (in the sense of 'reason' and 'consistency') to it's magic, which has a mythic, practical and also cultural role. This is very important because it leads you naturay into thinking what kinds of adventures, personalities and situations the cultural context of the magic can bring into your games.

Definitely, I was thinking along these terms. (Although perhaps I should have the Ointment of Reattachment be an elven invention, which does not require the sacrifice of any unwilling creature -- the purpose is to provide a way for characters who lose an arm to continue adventuring, not to present moral quandries for such...)

For the human-made items, I was thinking of items that humans would be likely to buy, assuming they had the money, and that they would be likely to have the power to make (i.e., relatively simple items that don't have a major effect on the game world). Humans like light, and a Lantern of Illumination seems easy enough (just glue a proper rune into a lantern and then enchant with some kind of "Glyphcasting" power). The Ribbon of Chastity and Boots of Cleanliness were designed with the daughters of wealthy patrons in mind.

For the trolls, I was thinking of darker, more sinister magic. There's a Norse myth in which Thor is unable to undo a knot because it is a "Troll's Knot". Obviously, it would be very easy to defeat such a knot by just cutting it, so whoever grants the ability to tie Troll's Knots may also grant the ability to strengthen the cord used to make the knot, thus Troll's Rope.

The Dwarf Necklace was also inspired by the legend of the dwarves who made a necklace for Freya. Dwarven-made items are probably the best magic items around.

I actually made a rather lengthy list while I was doing my laundry, but many of those items may not get on my "Glorantha Magic Item" list.

 

[soltakss]

Magic swords should actually be more common in the 2nd, due to the presence of the Clanking City.

Not forgetting, of course, the "Sling with a Speedart Matrix" which we were convinced were mass produced by the Clanking City as a waste product, as they were by far the commonest magic item in RQ2.

 

[Rurik]

Definitely, I was thinking along these terms. (Although perhaps I should have the Ointment of Reattachment be an elven invention, which does not require the sacrifice of any unwilling creature -- the purpose is to provide a way for characters who lose an arm to continue adventuring, not to present moral quandries for such...)

So it was O.K. to require the sacrificing of unwilling creatures when it was troll blood involved, but not elves?

I see how it is.

 

[Turloigh]

So it was O.K. to require the sacrificing of unwilling creatures when it was troll blood involved, but not elves?

I see how it is.

Maybe killing isn't necessary. Maybe it depends on volunteering blood donors.

 

[Utgardloki]

 So it was O.K. to require the sacrificing of unwilling creatures when it was troll blood involved, but not elves? 

I see how it is.

Well, Trolls are ugly.

Actually, I like idea that you wouldn't have to kill the creature, unless you wanted to mass produce the stuff faster than your supply of available trolls and elves permits.

I also think it would work if either elf or troll blood would work. Reason for Troll blood is that trolls have the capacity for regeneration, thus their blood might be useful for healing. But if elves are natural healers, their blood might also be useful for healing.

Dwarf blood just gets you drunk.

 

[simonh]

I also think it would work if either elf or troll blood would work. Reason for Troll blood is that trolls have the capacity for regeneration, thus their blood might be useful for healing.

Cave Trolls do, other trolls don't. Since they regenerate damage, I think some kind of regeneration potion might be cool.

Actually, I like idea that you wouldn't have to kill the creature, unless you wanted to mass produce the stuff faster than your supply of available trolls and elves permits.

Well, they'd have to be very friendly to volunteer body fluids to strangers, and if you're going to force one of them you might as well get as much as you can. It'd save you the trouble of running the risks of having to capturing/coerce more of them. However it would make sense if they were able to volunteer the stuff to friends and allies.

But if elves are natural healers, their blood might also be useful for healing.

I was thinking of their runic association and vegetable nature, rather than any intrinsic game emchanical ability - plants can graft 'limbs' so it just seems appropriate.