I’m always scouring the Tavern for interesting #relic ideas, so to return the favor, here’s a selection of items from my campaign. Feel free to adapt them for your own purposes.
Seastone Trident (1 weight)
Once belonging to an elven mariner, this practical trident has been enchanted with deflecting wards. When you slash the air with the trident, roll+INT.
On a 10+, a wave of force knocks any projectiles aimed at you back towards their origins.
On a 7-9, the projectiles are scattered towards your allies instead.
Baneblade (hand, messy, 1 weight)
A wickedly curved alchemist’s dagger. When plunged into a wound, it will slowly draw out any poison and store it within the blade. The stored poisons can be released by stabbing a healthy person, or by washing them out with an all-night ritual.
Inkblotter’s Cutlass (1 weight)
Merfolk forged this blade from seafoam and adorned it with a bronze kraken hilt. When you stab someone with the blade, roll+CHA.
On a 10+, ink leaks from the blade and stains you both. Swap appearances for an hour.
On a 7-9, as above, but the transformation scars both of you.
Nocturnomicon (0 weight)
An iron-bound book locked shut with a huge chain. When you cast a cleric spell, on a 12+ your spell takes on a life of its own.
Rattleshirt (worn, 1 weight)
This crude armor is made from tied bones and produces an unsettling rasping sound which undead are insidiously drawn to. Take +1 to parley with someone when you intimidate them.
Shinefold (worn, 0 weight)
A blindfold made of starry black satin. In total darkness, it becomes translucent and grants night vision.
Orn’s Earring (worn, 0 weight)
Shaped like a pearl set in silver, this tiny ear stud emits a steady background hiss when the object of its wearer’s desire is nearby. The sound can only be heard by the wearer, and its volume increases with proximity, from the barest whisper at a mile away to a deafening cacophony when in the same room. Changing targets requires the earring to recharge its power; this can take several days, during which it remains nearly silent.
Naut (worn, 0 weight)
An elven ring of pale white moonstone, which glows with inner light. Tiny constellations of a foreign sky are etched into the band. When you tap the master ring against a hard surface, it creates a copy of itself. Everyone wearing a copy can communicate mentally with the bearer of the master ring, and vice versa. While you wear the master ring and copies are in existence, take -1 ongoing to Constitution.
Brimstone Cloak (worn)
A smoldering fur-trimmed cloak. At a word or a spark, the cloak bursts into flames. However, the protective magic is unstable; whenever you roll a 6-, the flames singe you for d8 damage.
Shard of the Past (0 weight, slow)
A cloth-wrapped piece of glass broken from what was once a full-length mirror. The Goddess of Wisdom has touched the glass; when you hold it up, you see the reflection of times long past.
Dreaming Fire (1 use, 4 weight)
Inside this locked iron sphere is a coiled chemical bomb. When it touches the water, the sphere bursts into an unquenchable pyre which will incinerate ships or towns.
Runestones (0 weight)
These black rune-carved stones are said to be congealed fragments of the future. When you cast them straight up into the air, name a thing. You may discern realities as though it were here. On a miss, the stones shatter without divulging their secrets.
Homebrew Potion (1 use)
Village alchemists brew these healing potions from whatever herbs they have on hand. When you drink it, heal 10 damage and roll d6. On a 1-5, you lose one of your senses for an hour. 1: eyesight; 2: hearing; 3: smell; 4: taste; 5: touch. On a 6, your senses go into overdrive instead.
Very flavorful!
Freakin’ sweet. There are some real gems here. I love the boneblade and the runestones in particular.
Some minor comments:
1) Seastone Trident: the 7-9 feels like a miss to me. I’d go with “On a 7-9, a wave of force knocks any projectiles harmlessly away. On a 10+, you can fling them back at those who launched them.
2) Inkblotter’s Cutlas: similar complaint, the 7-9 feels sorta like a miss. Maybe instead, on a 7-9 the transformation is imperfect and you each retain one feature (your eyes, your voice, a tattoo, etc.) of the GM’s choice.
3) Nocturnomicon: What triggers or enables this 12+ effect? Simply possessing the book? Having read from it? Reading from it while you cast a spell?
4) Naut: is that -1 Constitution or -1 CON?
5) Shinefold: (trigger warning: pedantry) the trigger (absolute darkness) is pretty rare, and the effect (night vision, which is an increased sensitivity to light) would be worthless in absolute darkness. Reword, perhaps?
Some great points, and I agree with many of them. Half of these are items my players missed, so I never had to smooth them out for actual play.
Things like Shinefold, on the other hand, are less dependant on the actual wording (which my players don’t always get) and more on the description (which gave my player a clear idea that it granted night vision in the dark, but was opaque in the light).
Nocturnomicon replaced my cleric player’s holy symbol. The book won’t unlock for anyone else, so I assume in play the 12+ will manifest because he not only wields it but it unlocks and reveals spellcasting secrets.
The cutlass and trident have both been bystanders, so the 7-9s might have played out differently.