sample magic items
- Thread starter mwsasser
- Start date
If you're looking for D&D-style items, there are a lot in my Eberron conversion, found in this Thread: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/p...7&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=.
Signs and Portens have some more Glorantha-ish items.
- Dan
Signs and Portens have some more Glorantha-ish items.
- Dan
I think your link it broken but in answer to you, I'm not sure. I played in an old school runequest game years ago. I vaguely recall a sword that had a +5% hit bonus on it and I thought that was pretty spiffy.
I'd assume +2% would be a nice "starter" magic weapon.
An artifact might give you an extra CA.
A sword that give you a bonus to success vs fumble might be something a diety's weapon might have on it.
Those are just guesses by me as to the scale of how powerful something might be.
I'd assume +2% would be a nice "starter" magic weapon.
An artifact might give you an extra CA.
A sword that give you a bonus to success vs fumble might be something a diety's weapon might have on it.
Those are just guesses by me as to the scale of how powerful something might be.
Deleriad
Mongoose
There tend not to be an awful lot of magic items in RQ. Arms & Equipment II does have a section on enchantments to enable you to figure out how to make your own.
An alternative is to adapt the spirit magic rules. For example, an Intensity 1 nature spirit in a fetish might be able to enhance a user's damage bonus by +1 or give them +1 to their SR or +10% to a skill.
You could think of an Intensity 1 "Magic Sword" that does the same. E.g. say your normal damage bonus is +1D4 then a magic longsword would bump up your damage bonus to +1d6 to reflect the sharpness.
An Intensity 2 magic item might give you an automatic Combat Manoeuvre each time you successfully attack with it or maybe a trait of some sort.
It would be a quick dirty way of generating a shedload of magic items. They would be strictly better than fetishes so you might want to have an activation cost.
Alternately Wraith Recon and Spellcom have all sorts of D&D style magic items envisioned using RQ from the simple (Ring of Enhance DEX, girdle of Enhance STR) to the gonzo such as the Wrackling Gun (Fantasy Rambo).
An alternative is to adapt the spirit magic rules. For example, an Intensity 1 nature spirit in a fetish might be able to enhance a user's damage bonus by +1 or give them +1 to their SR or +10% to a skill.
You could think of an Intensity 1 "Magic Sword" that does the same. E.g. say your normal damage bonus is +1D4 then a magic longsword would bump up your damage bonus to +1d6 to reflect the sharpness.
An Intensity 2 magic item might give you an automatic Combat Manoeuvre each time you successfully attack with it or maybe a trait of some sort.
It would be a quick dirty way of generating a shedload of magic items. They would be strictly better than fetishes so you might want to have an activation cost.
Alternately Wraith Recon and Spellcom have all sorts of D&D style magic items envisioned using RQ from the simple (Ring of Enhance DEX, girdle of Enhance STR) to the gonzo such as the Wrackling Gun (Fantasy Rambo).
I think for myself that ability to enchant items has been lost in my own game world. Most magic items are rare. Occasionally you can find alchemical healing potions but again... rare. In this I am trying to break the group I'm running away from D&D thinking.
I might run a quest at some point in the far future where the party learns the lost secret of enchantment but are forbidden from teaching others. That might make for a fun story element when others find out the party has lost lore. Who'd be willing to pay or kill for that knowledge? Lots of bad guys.
Btw Dan, I love your icon. It's pretty funny.
I might run a quest at some point in the far future where the party learns the lost secret of enchantment but are forbidden from teaching others. That might make for a fun story element when others find out the party has lost lore. Who'd be willing to pay or kill for that knowledge? Lots of bad guys.
Btw Dan, I love your icon. It's pretty funny.
Good idea. But if you likle D&D-style gaming, RuneQuest works fine for that too... Even though Dungeons tend to take a long time, as no one is stupid enough to simply rush through (as that gets one killed).mwsasser said:
mwsasser said:
It's Denmark in a comic: http://satwcomic.com/sweden-denmark-and-norway
- Dan
Hi.
Good to see you on the boards, mwsasser. I thought you were using BRP and Rod's CF?
We decided not to go down that path and use MRQII also. Currently we're playing in an Elric campaign. The magic in that setting, whilst it can be very powerful, is significantly different from the Core book i.e. no divine or common magic and sorcery is completely different. Cults are very similar to the core book and spirit magic is almost identical.
For magic items...well there aren't any really. The best you can do is a learn a bit of sorcery and "enchant your items". But the way it works in the setting is very restrictive. As an example, you can boost the efficacy of Armour by inscribing it with the Rune of Protection, each Magic Point invested adds to your AP. So if you invest 3 points in a chainmail coat, its armour points become 8 instead of 5, but you "lose" those MP's. They don't return until you stop dedicating them to your armour. Which is a pretty cool way of handling it.
Other than that, your best bet is the AEG.
Good to see you on the boards, mwsasser. I thought you were using BRP and Rod's CF?
We decided not to go down that path and use MRQII also. Currently we're playing in an Elric campaign. The magic in that setting, whilst it can be very powerful, is significantly different from the Core book i.e. no divine or common magic and sorcery is completely different. Cults are very similar to the core book and spirit magic is almost identical.
For magic items...well there aren't any really. The best you can do is a learn a bit of sorcery and "enchant your items". But the way it works in the setting is very restrictive. As an example, you can boost the efficacy of Armour by inscribing it with the Rune of Protection, each Magic Point invested adds to your AP. So if you invest 3 points in a chainmail coat, its armour points become 8 instead of 5, but you "lose" those MP's. They don't return until you stop dedicating them to your armour. Which is a pretty cool way of handling it.
Other than that, your best bet is the AEG.
Spellcom is definitely worth a look. It has rules for making enchanted items (divine, sorcery and spirit), both temporary and permanent. But the best thing is the large number of example items given. Using these examples it is easy come up with your own.
If you've played D&D, many of these will seem familiar since Wraith Recon was originally a D&D setting which was recently ported to RQ. I don't know how it was as a D&D setting, but I think it makes a great Runequest setting.
An example of an item easy to modify would be the Arrows of Thunder. These are arrows enchanted with a Wrack(Lightning) manipulated with targets to make 6 arrows. You could change the Wrack spell to Wrack(Cold) and you'd have Frost Arrows. If you want them to do more damage, assume the sorcerer had a higher Grimoire skill. If you are headed for Torres where you expect to face lizardfolk, frost arrows could be extra useful against cold-blooded opponents.
If you've played D&D, many of these will seem familiar since Wraith Recon was originally a D&D setting which was recently ported to RQ. I don't know how it was as a D&D setting, but I think it makes a great Runequest setting.
An example of an item easy to modify would be the Arrows of Thunder. These are arrows enchanted with a Wrack(Lightning) manipulated with targets to make 6 arrows. You could change the Wrack spell to Wrack(Cold) and you'd have Frost Arrows. If you want them to do more damage, assume the sorcerer had a higher Grimoire skill. If you are headed for Torres where you expect to face lizardfolk, frost arrows could be extra useful against cold-blooded opponents.
In most games I've seen, permanent magic items like the D&D "Amazing Ginsu, +1, +3 vs. Samurai" were few and far between. In Chaosium/AH RQ, one could sacrifice POW to enchant an item with a spell matrix, usually Common Magic. This would make a spell available, so the wielder would have to expend MP to use it; a Bladesharp 4 sword wouldn't imbalance the game; just imagine Narf the Dull trying to cast the spell round after round until he finally gets it right. "Is this thing on?"
Of course, in those versions of the game one could get one's POW back with POW improvement rolls. So, giving up 4 POW to enchant a sword doesn't ruin the character forever. The equivalent in MRQ2 would be to dedicate it to a pact, and you only get the POW back from that if you renounce the pact.
There were other schemes; for example, the Humakti Lottery Swords, where a group of people would dedicate their Gifts from Geases into a Sword, so that only the holder would benefit from the Gifts. They'd then choose the holder by fair duels, and the holder was on oath to fight fairly for the sword when challenged. He still had the sword during those duels. Also, the sword's power would lessen as dedicatees broke their oaths.
However, there were always trinkets and minor items that had been enchanted 'way back when, before Time itself,' and or that had become magical from heavy use. A family heirloom sword that is old enough to be dedicated to the family (+10% to Sword style for family members only) might be the most extreme of these. A whistle that improves the chance of recalling one's pet hawk would be more typical. In fact, in the Hero Wars/Heroquest games, a character could devote a keyword to mastery of a magic item; the benefits would be decided between the player and GM.
Heroquesting can give one a magic item, among other rewards. The God Learners know how to tweak that, at least for a few more years. Some shamans know how to create quirky magic items; look at Blueface in Griffin Mountain or in the latest S&P.
There are also 'high quality' items. Look at the rules in the Arms books. Or look at some of the items mentioned in the other books--swords with additional AP/HP, swords that do extra damage against one species or people born in one country, armor with extra AP or less encumberance.
Also, remember that Gloranthan metals are not like ours. Gold softly glows and doubles the effect of Light spells cast on them. Silver harms weres. Iron harms Uz and Aldryami. Aluminum does not penalize swimming, and Lead does not penalize Stealth. After all, except for Mostali-created Iron, metals come from the bones of dead gods. Of course they are magical. So are Dragonnewt Skins: those have the problem that the Dragonewt tends to come back looking for it, and he might bring friends.
Shamans and some Sorcerers also learn to make magical tools; medicine bags, ritual circles, and the like. Presumably, when an adept tries to improve his casting chance by taking extra time, he's actually in his tower, scribing symbols on the floor and devoting some MP to them. These tend to be one-shot techniques.
Just don't overload the players; their destinies should come from their actions, skills, and community support.
Of course, in those versions of the game one could get one's POW back with POW improvement rolls. So, giving up 4 POW to enchant a sword doesn't ruin the character forever. The equivalent in MRQ2 would be to dedicate it to a pact, and you only get the POW back from that if you renounce the pact.
There were other schemes; for example, the Humakti Lottery Swords, where a group of people would dedicate their Gifts from Geases into a Sword, so that only the holder would benefit from the Gifts. They'd then choose the holder by fair duels, and the holder was on oath to fight fairly for the sword when challenged. He still had the sword during those duels. Also, the sword's power would lessen as dedicatees broke their oaths.
However, there were always trinkets and minor items that had been enchanted 'way back when, before Time itself,' and or that had become magical from heavy use. A family heirloom sword that is old enough to be dedicated to the family (+10% to Sword style for family members only) might be the most extreme of these. A whistle that improves the chance of recalling one's pet hawk would be more typical. In fact, in the Hero Wars/Heroquest games, a character could devote a keyword to mastery of a magic item; the benefits would be decided between the player and GM.
Heroquesting can give one a magic item, among other rewards. The God Learners know how to tweak that, at least for a few more years. Some shamans know how to create quirky magic items; look at Blueface in Griffin Mountain or in the latest S&P.
There are also 'high quality' items. Look at the rules in the Arms books. Or look at some of the items mentioned in the other books--swords with additional AP/HP, swords that do extra damage against one species or people born in one country, armor with extra AP or less encumberance.
Also, remember that Gloranthan metals are not like ours. Gold softly glows and doubles the effect of Light spells cast on them. Silver harms weres. Iron harms Uz and Aldryami. Aluminum does not penalize swimming, and Lead does not penalize Stealth. After all, except for Mostali-created Iron, metals come from the bones of dead gods. Of course they are magical. So are Dragonnewt Skins: those have the problem that the Dragonewt tends to come back looking for it, and he might bring friends.
Shamans and some Sorcerers also learn to make magical tools; medicine bags, ritual circles, and the like. Presumably, when an adept tries to improve his casting chance by taking extra time, he's actually in his tower, scribing symbols on the floor and devoting some MP to them. These tend to be one-shot techniques.
Just don't overload the players; their destinies should come from their actions, skills, and community support.
When I posted the first message about this, I was ignorant of the A&E book's chapter on the topic. At this point I'm satisfied with it's rules. I do plan on keeping the sorcery Enchanting Ritual as the only way to create enchanted items although at this time that particular ritual will be "lost."
On a similar theme I wish alchemy had more options to it for potions like d&d but that may be something I have to deal with later. Perhaps it'll be with that Enchanting Ritual or similar.
On a similar theme I wish alchemy had more options to it for potions like d&d but that may be something I have to deal with later. Perhaps it'll be with that Enchanting Ritual or similar.
Simulacrum
Mongoose
You'll find Blood Magic has a simple and effective means of creating magic potions - Age of Treason has a more involved set of Alchemy rules that covers potions, poisons and elixirs. Both out this year some time.
Simulacrum said:
This is good news.
The Alchemy rules just were not getting it. I have an Alchemist in one of my games and I was having to get really creative (which I don't mind), and do a lot of hand waving (which I also don't mind, but can draw the ire of other PCs). I did use some of the compendium stuff to offer starting selections of exotic potions (although I hate making them all "potions.". Some will be salves, roots to be chewed, cakes, etc.), but then it starts to get hairy when the question arises- "How can I make one of these?"
It's not like cooking. You can't take a sip of a luck potion, smack your lips together and say: "Two parts cat heart, one part rabbit's foot, one half part iron horshoe powder, and one half measure green clover- for color."
I mean, it could work like that, but it shouldn't.
Of course I would allow an alchemist to boil down and separate a potion to figure out it's contents, but this wouldn't necessarily ensure the proper recreation of the potion. The potion for fire breath might just make the taker warm- *Alchemist shakes head negatively as the Raiders continue to rush forward, a warm but sinking feeling spreading over his body. "Still have to tweak this recipe..."*
Here are my RuneQuest magic items tables, for AHRQ3. It's all for simple rules-based old-fashioned matrix type magic.
http://www.hibbs.me.uk/snarks/treasure.html
http://www.hibbs.me.uk/snarks/treasure.html
drdentista
Banded Mongoose
Also, there was a RQ2 (Chaosium) book called "Plunder" that had a bunch of magic items and also some very specific artefacts..
drdentista
Banded Mongoose
Well, of course the rules have changed a lot, but you can always use it for inspiration and if I want a special magic item to appear I don't ponder over how it was made or such things, magic things are just that - magic
I even use D&D/AD&D treasure and magic items sometimes...*heresy warning*
I even use D&D/AD&D treasure and magic items sometimes...*heresy warning*
