The Magic Item Will See You Now

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Welcome to the final installment of a three-part series of Design Tuesday blogs exploring Intelligent Magic Items. Part 1 of this series can be found here. Part 2 can be found here.

Intelligent Magic Items: Part 3

We've looked at how you design the history and the mechanics behind intelligent magic items, but now its time to put this information to use and look at some sample intelligent magic items. Using some art from the upcoming Carrion Crown Item Card Deck, we've created a pair of interesting intelligent items, ready to drop right into your game. These items vary wildly in cost, power, and personality, exploring the various concepts and rules that make intelligent magic items fun.

Each item starts off with a physical description, a history, notes on its personality and goals, as well as a complete write-up on its powers, cost, and ego.

Darnisan, the Lord's Cloak
Made from a regal purple cloth with a red lining, with golden trim, this cloak gives of an aura of majesty

History: Crafted by the vizier of a decadent kingdom for a wealthy nobleman, this cloak was imbued with sentience so that it might spy on the nobleman's business dealings and report to the vizier. As the months went by, however, the cloak realized it was meant for greatness and that neither man was worthy of its power. Calling itself Darnisan, it revealed itself to the nobleman, pretending to be an agent of his god, and told him of his vizier's treachery. Enraged, the nobleman confronted his vizier, and in the ensuing battle, both were slain. Unfortunately for Darnisan, it was buried with its master, and has been waiting in his tomb ever since for the right individual to claim it and its power.
Personality: Darnisan is slow to reveal its true nature to anyone with the arrogance to don it. It usually takes a bit of time to determine if the wearer is worthy and how best to shape him into a true and noble leader before making itself known. Darnisan is haughty and thinks very highly of itself. It seeks to be the mantle of a great ruler and will encourage its wearer in whatever way it can to lead him into greatness, even if that means mortal danger. If Darnisan finds its wearer to be unworthy, it might eventually form a plan to be rid of him and to end up in the hands of a more worthy individual. Should Darnisan gain control of a character, it immediately attempts to take control of the situation or find a more worthy host.
Powers: Darnisan is a cloak of minor displacement that also grants its wearer a +2 resistance bonus on saving throws. It also has the hiding special ability, described in the previous article, which it uses to make itself invisible if someone truly unworthy finds it. It has a special purpose, to be worn by and defend a ruling monarch or leader of a large city. If it finds its wearer promising, it can cast resist energy and stoneskin on its wearer each once per day (caster level 7th). Finally, the cloak has the uncaring drawback, as it truly does not care about its wearer, only the greatness that such a wearer might bestow on the cloak. This only applies if the cloak does not think the wearer could be great, and as such, the ego reduction is only a –1. Darnisan has the following statistics.
Alignment Lawful neutral. Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 16 Abilities senses 30 ft., speech Cost 51,300 gp Ego 15

Thirst, the Vampire Blade
Forged in ages past, this worn, wicked sword is stained with the blood of its victims and marred by the countless battles it has fought

History: Back in a more barbaric age, this sword was made for the sole purpose of taking life. Given to a powerful warrior, Thirst, as it would later be known, was used to carve a swath of death and destruction across the land, changing hands sometimes more than once in a single day. As the years passed, all of the souls that were claimed by the blade began to coalesce into a single consciousness, one that desired only more life. It hungers for blood and for the life of living creatures. Those who wield the blade for long periods of time find that it draws in their life force, causing them to hunger for life at the same time. This can turn the wielder into a vampire. Its current wielder is one such individual, a powerful vampire that uses Thirst to slay countless innocent creatures every night. It remains at its side to this day, consuming just as much life as its master.
Personality: Thirst knows nothing of pity or remorse. It seeks only to kill and consume. It grows angry and restless when not in use, and should it go more than a few days without killing, it grows hostile to its wielder and attempts to control him to go on a murderous rampage. Thirst is very powerful, making it worth keeping, but should it gain control of its wielder, it becomes a serious danger to all those around it.
Powers: Thirst is a +2 keen vicious wounding longsword. When Thirst is used to perform a coup de grace, the DC to avoid death is increased by +4. Thirst can cast vampiric touch three times per day (caster level 18th). Slaying all creatures is its special purpose, and it can cast enervation at will, but only when targeting a living creature. Finally, whenever the blade is used to coup de grace a creature, its wielder gains a permanent negative level. If the wielder dies due to negative levels in this way, he rises as a vampire 24 hours later.
Alignment Chaotic Evil Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 20 Abilities telepathy, darkvision 120 ft. Cost 191,815 gp Ego 21

That's all for this series. Tune in next week for the start of a brand-new series of Design Tuesday articles.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer