World Building Library: Items of Myth and Legend—India 2 (OGL) PDF

Inside you will find several items of note, a few of minor power and a game-oriented grounding in the complex myth, legend and religion of the diverse sub-continent as it applies to the listed items.

Items are presented in two different ways. The first presentation is reserved for common items of folklore and legend. These items are usually less powerful than items of note and should be well within the reach of PC item creation.

The second method of presentation is reserved for items of note; the items wielded or used by the gods, heroes and heroines of Indian Myth. Each item of note is presented in three power levels. Following the Indian tradition of incarnation, aspects, and avatars the first presentation is the item as wielded/used by the original god/hero. These items will almost certainly be major artifacts. The avatar of an item is the first incarnation of the item; the reflection of the powerful real item. Avatar items are often major artifacts in their own right or perhaps minor artifacts. The last and least powerful presentation for items of note is the aspect item. These lesser incarnation items are usually minor artifacts or major magic items.

For role-playing reasons you may wish to use the concept of item incarnation to replace common OGC special effects if you desire to run a strongly Indian themed game. For instance, you may wish to call any flaming weapon a [weapon type] of Agni. Such naming conventions can have powerful resonance for campaign flavor.

It should be noted that the physical description of the item is not necessarily based upon historical myths. Detailed descriptions of mythic items are sorely lacking and even the most heralded items are rarely described as more than a well-made weapon of immense puissance. For instance, in the Mahabharata, Siva gives Arjuna the Pasupata (one of his most powerful weapons) and states that no one in all the three worlds [the Brahmic, Divine, and Demonic] is invulnerable to it. But just what exactly the pasupata is isn't ever stated. Detailed physical descriptions of items are usually lacking and hence, any here are the creation of the author and you should feel free to substitute your own as you like.

At the end of the work is a list of new magical attributes and new weapon types.

Author: Joseph Browning