Friday, August 25, 2006

Redfeather’s Cloak - Medium Wondrous Item

Cloak, Redfeather’s: This small sized cloak of auburn fur is lined with black fey silk. A mithril cloak pin is sewn into the collar.

It was crafted for Redfeather, the goblin hunter-seneschal of the Dark Druid of Umberwood, whose animal companion was a dire weasel. He loved the cloak, and was rumored to have become so attuned to it that he was able to stay in dire weasel form nearly indefinitely while wearing it. He died in service to the druid, fighting the lumberjacks of Lawbide. The cloak is rumored to be haunted by Redfeather’s ghost.

In recent years, it was recovered by the warlock Sigdel the Enduring and used to fight the chaos cultist of the abandoned Durgvald clave. He later traded it back to the goblin tribes of the Umberwood in return for their services during the assault on Serpentress.


The wearer of this cloak may wildshape into the form of a dire weasel once per day for up to five minutes. In addition, they may use the feat Natural Spell while in this form.

Moderate transmutation; Caster Level 5th; Craft Wondrous Item and polymorph or wildshape class ability; Price 7,830.

Treasure Value: 11th
NPC Gear: 13th

Math:

Who would choose to polymorph into a dire weasle? At 7th level you can polymorph into a dire wolf, which gives you better hit points and damage, and really, a cooler special ability.

So I was looking for a different comp to price this by. A druid could polymorph into a dire weasle at 5th level, and it would probably not be a bad trade for most druids. So, if you use the HD as the spell level and the minimum level a druid would have to be to make the polymorph as the caster level, you come up with 3*5*2,000/5 or 6,000

Pricing magic items that emulate feats is tough. I use a rough formula that values feats as a +1 enhacement with a 1,000 gp modifier, with an additional +1 for each prequisite feat. I halve the modifier if a feat is particularly limited in scope.

Natural feat is not limited, but has no prequisites feats. So I value it at 1*1*1000 gp.

Math

Shapechange into a dire weasel 1/day for up to five minutes (3*5*2000/5) = 6000

allows Natural Spell (2*2*2000)/5 = 1600 - .3 for strict limitations = 1220 plus half for multiple different abilities = 1830

Each 81 gp added to the price extends time by one minute?

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Bezoar of Terrible Venom - Wondrous Item

Bezoar of Terrible Venom: Intricately carved in twisting, serpent-like patterns, these elliptical, semi-precious stones are about the size of a human’s thumb. When pressed against the skull of a reptilian creature, the bezoar sinks into skin and scale, melting halfway into the skull and settling there. A bezoar so equipped grants a bonus to its user’s poison difficulty checks, ranging from +1 to +5 depending on the strength of the bezoar. This bonus only applies to poisons that are extraordinary abilities, not to spells, spell-like, or supernatural abilities. A bezoar cannot be removed unless its current owner is killed.

Light to moderate necromancy; Caster Level: 3 per +1 bonus created; Craft Wondrous Item, poison; Price: 500 gp (+1), 2000 gp (+2), 4500 gp (+3), 8000 gp (+4), 12,500 gp (+5)

NPC Gear:

+1: 2nd
+2: 5th
+3: 8th
+4: 10th
+5: 12th

Treasure Value:

+1: 2nd
+2: 6th
+3: 9th
+4: 12th
+5: 13th

Math:

The cost for these items uses the bonus squared, and multiplies it by 500 gp.

The multiplier is so low because the item affects a very narrow type of save. I am treating as the reverse of granting a bonus to a specific save type.

Note: These were created to be equipment for venemous bad guys. They will have no real value for a standard group of adventuring heroes.

In some games, this will be a good thing. I often have trouble creating equipment for large groups of intelligent adversaries. This fills a niche in my game.

If you don't have that problem, and feel the need to make sure characters get "credit" for treasure they can't use and probably can't sell, you might give them an XP award for destroying the evil magic items, either a story award, or the XP cost for creating the item.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Vaugluft - Potion

Vaugluft: This inky blue-black syrup tastes like rotten fruit. It is made by evil fey, who have traded the recipe to other creatures whom they have allied with in attempts to destroy humanoid settlers, whom they see as usurpers in their natural homes.

When drunk, Vaugluft bestows a +4 circumstance bonus to the DCs of natural poisons. This bonus lasts for four minutes.

Light transmutation; CL 3rd; Brew Potion, natural poison attack; Price 200 gp.

NPC Gear: 1st
Treausre Value: 1st

Math:

With no spell to base this off of, I used my usual formula for boosting poison DC’s: bonus squared. As a one shot item, the value is divided by forty.

You could run up and down the scale with this if you wanted:

Vaugluft +1: 1*1*500/40 = 13 gp
Vaugluft +2: 2*2*500/40= 50 gp
Vaugluft +3: 3*3*500/40= 113 gp
Vaugluft +5: 5*5*500/40= 313 gp

Note: This is one of my notorious have to fill out the treasure of an NPC and don't care about anything on the books kit bash excercises. I was actually pleased with the result. The name of the potion is very bastardized German.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Dragontears - Minor Wondrous Item

Dragontears: Dragons and the dragonblooded can use alchemotech, or their iron will, to trap the residue of their breath weapons for later re-use. These bits of power appear as thumbnail sized translucent crystals, so pure and clear that they are almost invisible. When light shines on them directly, they flash with electric blue and the red orange of flames.

When held for more than a minute by any creature with an energy breath weapon, the dragontear grows warm and then disintegrates, radiating as energy into the user. A dragontear adds a one time two die bonus the breath weapon’s damage.

Faint conjuration; Caster Level 3rd; Prerequisites: Brew Potion or Craft Wondrous Item, breath weapon, ability to cast conjuration spells; Price: 400 gp.

NPC Gear: 2nd
Market Price: 1st

Math:

Design Notes:

Add 2d6 to BW. As plus 2 weapon, single use: 2*2*2000 = 8000/40 = 200 gp. Doubled for area effect. 400 gp.

Note:

Alternately, this could be used as an item for warlocks or psiblades, granting them a two die bonus on their arcane fire or psionic damage ability, or as a source of holy energy that could boost a smite effect. I could even see them being used as concentrations of elemental energy that add two dice to the damage of any one area effect spell being cast.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Lockets of Whispering - Minor Wondrous Items

Locket of Whispering, Lesser: Same as the Locket of Whispering, although the lesser locket can be used only once per day.

Caster Level: 3rd; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, message; Price: 360 gp; Purchase Difficulty Check 30; Weight: -.


NPC Gear
: 1st
Treasure Value: 1st

Locket of Whispering: This allows the wearer to communicate with one other person within 110 ft. as if a message spell had been cast, at will.

Caster Level: 3rd; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, message; Price: 1,800 gp; Purchase Difficulty Check 31; Weight: -.


NPC Gear
: 5th
Treasure Value: 6th

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Flare-Eye Amulet - Minor Wondrous Item

Amulet, Flare-eye: This amulet, carved from a wyrmling dragon's vertebrae, causes the wearer’s eyes to glow with unholy red and black energy when they experience high emotion.

The wearer gains a +1 bonus to intimidate checks.

Weak enchantment; Caster Level 3rd; Craft wondrous item, intimidate 7+ ranks or cause fear. Price 100 gp.

NPC Gear: 1st
Treasure Value: 1st

Saturday, August 05, 2006

What's a Microfauna:

The microfauna series will present low or no-challenge creatures that can be used as flavor, to round out an ecosystem, make an unusual pet, or be used as an unusual material component. It has no set schedule, but will be indexed on the left. Some of the posts will have to do with the magic items I create, some won't.

Microfauna - black death scarab

Black death scarabs are vermin native to the widow star, and cannot survive naturally on other stars or in the domains, although necromancers have tried to breed them here in anaerluxic chambers.

Black death scarabs are largish beetles, nearly two inches long with hairy legs and large pincers which they use only in defense. Their shell has a curious shape that resembles a horned humanoid skull, and a glassy black texture that resembles obsidian.

They are very tolerant of negative energy, and they can be dried and treated to release large quantities of it. This is a difficult and time consuming activity. Although black death scarab's are tough, they explode in a puff of negative energy if injured, and positive energy turns them into a greenish brown slurry. Natural light quickly leaches them of their acumulated energies.

A black death scarab beetle must be starved to death and dried in a prismatic crystal bottle filled with Mierendrach salts, which usually takes a year of drying under artificial lights, a process with is worrisome to some vermin rights activists. A properly dried beetle is worth at least 5,500 gp. Black death scarabs are sometimes given as gifts to priests of the dark gods, or pushy necromancers.

Black death scarabs are considered to be a delicacy by some undead and umbral outsiders, although mortals generally describe them as having a caustic, bitter taste that destroys the ability to taste anything else for days.


Black death scarab swarm: CR 3; Swarm of Fine Vermin (Extraplanar, Swarm); HD 2d8+2; hp 12; Init +2; Spd 15 ft. (3 squares); AC 20 (+8 size, +2 Dex), touch 20, flat-footed 10; BAB +1; Grapple –; Atk - Swarm (Retributive Death); Face 10 ft. x 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.; SA Distraction, retributive death; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., swarm traits, immune to negative energy; AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0; Str 2, Dex 14, Con 12, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round.

Retributive Death (Su): A black death scarab that is injured explodes in a puff of negative energy that does 1d3 points of damage to the creature that killed it. Any creature that moves inside a swarm of them takes 1d6 negative energy damage per five feet of movement within the swarm. Any creature that damages a black death scarab swarm with a melee or natural weapon takes half the amount of damage they inflict.

Positive Energy Vulnerability (Ex): A black death scarab is vulnerable to positive energy, taking damage from cure spells as if they were undead.

Black Death Scarab Husk - Medium Wondrous Item

Black Death Scarab Husk: Black death scarabs are largish beetles, nearly two inches long with hairy legs and large pincers which they use only in defense. Their shell has a curious shape that resembles a horned humanoid skull, and a glassy black texture that resembles obsidian.

They are very tolerant of negative energy, and they can be dried and treated to release large quantities of it. This is a difficult and time consuming activity. Although black death scarab's are tough, they explode in a puff of negative energy if injured, and positive energy turns them into a greenish brown slurry. Natural light quickly leaches them of their acumulated energies.

A black death scarab must be starved to death and dried in a prismatic crystal bottle filled with Mierendrach salts, which usually takes a year of drying under artificial lights, a process with is worrisome to some vermin rights activists. A properly dried beetle is worth at least 5,500 gp. Black death scarabs are sometimes given as gifts to priests of the dark gods, or pushy necromancers.


If a black death scarab husk is eaten, the user is granted the ability to cast mass inflict critical wounds as a supernatural ability, once. If the ability is not used before the next sunrise it is lost, and the user will be affected by a harm spell the next time they are exposed to sunlight.

Moderate necromancy; Brew potion or create wondrous item, mass inflict critical wounds; Price 12,000 gp

NPC Gear: 13th
Treasure Value: 12th

Math: single use 8th level spell (8*15*100) = 12,000 gp

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Shimmering Cloak - Minor Wondrous Item

Cloak, Shimmering: This cloak, made of silks in multihued primary colors that blend and shift as the light hits them, is so sheer that it is nearly translucent. When worn, it seems to flutter and curl with the direction of prevailing light, though wind doesn’t seem to affect it at all. The wearer is limned in prismatic, flattering colors, making him seem more fascinating to watch.

A prismatic cloak provides it’s wearer with a +1 circumstance bonus to charisma and a +2 bonus to any non-instrumental perform checks that they have skill points in, and grants them the ability to use color spray twice a day as a spell like ability by twitching the robe with one free hand in the direction they cast the effect.

Faint illusion; Caster Level 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, color spray, guidance; Price 3,300 gp.

Treasure Value: 8th
NPC Gear: 7th

Maths:

color spray 2/day (1*1*2,000)/2.5 = 800 plus half for 1,200
+1 bonus to charisma (1*1*1000) = 1,000
+2 bonus to perform checks = (2*2*100) = 400 plus half for 600