To go with the Disciple of Metal (Heavy Metal Bard) class and other related content, the Armory of Metal features magic items of various power levels all based off Heavy Metal songs or tropes.
Some of the items are feasibly balanced, some are potentially game-breaking and best used with discretion, and some are really just there as tongue-in-cheek jokes. All feedback is welcome and I hope you find some of them to your enjoyment.
I like this. I may do my own.
No Locknar ? No 35,000 zoolax ? I'm disappointed.
I like this. I may do my own.
Go for it :)
No Locknar ? No 35,000 zoolax ? I'm disappointed.
If you're talking about the film, Loc-Nar is expected to be featured in the Heavy Metal Bestiary to come later. I didn't remember the 35000 zoolax (zolax? zulex?) reference until you brought it up, though.
I ran an adventure recently that revolved around the search for the Sacred Heart (from the Dio song of the same name). The heart was an integral party of a larger artifact that kept a peaceful valley hidden from outsiders. My group loved it.
And there's also "Black Blade" by Blue Oyster Cult, based off the sword Stormbringer from the Elric novels.
Friend of mine ran a short campaign in the game Beyond the Supernatural based off the Blue Oyster Cult song 7 Screaming Diz Busters.
In the 80s I played in a game based on Manowar's "Dark Avenger", in which we faced the character as the BBEG. I plan to run it for my group soon.
Heck, for that matter, nearly any song by Manowar, Hammerfall, Amon Amarth, Grand Magus, and a host of others could be used for adventures.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Cute stuff. I once made up some 'silly spells' for a Bard, based off of musical genres, such as 'Heavy Metal' which caused all of the target's metal gear to increase in weight (encumbering them, possibly even dragging them to the ground, and giving them penalties to attack with now-super-heavy metal weapons) or 'Soft Rock' (which lowered the hardness of stone to zero for ease of tunneling, or hacking up a stone golem) or 'Hip Hop' (which allowed allies to make 10 ft. 'hops' instead of 5 ft. steps, and avoid AoOs, difficult terrain, etc.) or 'Easy Listening' (which gave allies bonuses to Listen checks and blindsight/sonar).
Random heavy metal item ideas;
KISS - Heaven's on Fire (this spiky flaming/flame burst bow or crossbow surrounds it's missiles with a dark flame that causes celestial / good-subtype creatures struck to save or catch on fire. This fire is unholy and ignores fire resistance and immunity. Holy water or positive energy extinguishes it.)
AC/DC - Hell's Bells (these iron bells cause good subtype outsiders, chaotic subtype outsiders and fey creatures to suffer sickening pains, a small amount of damage and deafness while rung. It requires a standard action to keep ringing them, but there is no save against the effect.)
Anthrax - Black Lodge (this black cube acts like Instant Fortress, but creates an extradimensional space has the evil planar trait, the caster can set the flow of time to twice normal or half normal compared to the outside world (resting for eight hours and returning to the mortal world only four hours later, for instance), and can never be above dim lighting)
Black Sabbath - Iron Man (this tiny iron figurine of wondrous power turns into a medium sized iron golem!)
Def Leppard - Rock of Ages (this stone can be used to cause foes touched by it to suffer penalties as if they had increased one age category, and to be fatigued, if they fail a Fort save. Those already venerable must save or die of old age, and crumble to dust! As long as you 'feed the stone' by aging someone each day, you do not age while bearing the stone. Aging someone of your own race to death causes you to become a month younger...)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I ran an adventure recently that revolved around the search for the Sacred Heart (from the Dio song of the same name). The heart was an integral party of a larger artifact that kept a peaceful valley hidden from outsiders. My group loved it.
And there's also "Black Blade" by Blue Oyster Cult, based off the sword Stormbringer from the Elric novels.
That's awesome.
I've only been a player in one game where the GM made an explicit real-world music parallel. It was a tongue-in-cheek game in which the final dungeon was reigned over by one emerald dragon known as Michael Draxson. At the end of the dungeon we faced of course the Dragon himself, who wore sunglasses, danced across the battlefield, shouted at us with his Sonic breath, all while the GM had Jackson's "Beat It" playing.
It was actually rather apt and dramatic. We were out of our element and we knew it, but we had gone through hell and arduous trials just to get to that fight, so there's no way we were going to turn back at that final junction. To add to the ridiculousness, at the time I was playing a lizardfolk Bard called Sam Snakeo, who also wore sunglasses, played a saxophone, invoked "Yakkity Sax" whenever he played Bardic Inspiration, and so forth.
Blue Oyster Cult is a surprising powerful font of fantastic themes here. Isn't Veteran of the Psychic Wars also based off of Elric or M. Moorcock's work?
Yes, Manowar is basically a Gold mine. Their material is used more extensively with the Disciple.
Cute stuff. I once made up some 'silly spells' for a Bard, based off of musical genres, such as 'Heavy Metal' which caused all of the target's metal gear to increase in weight (encumbering them, possibly even dragging them to the ground, and giving them penalties to attack with now-super-heavy metal weapons) or 'Soft Rock' (which lowered the hardness of stone to zero for ease of tunneling, or hacking up a stone golem) or 'Hip Hop' (which allowed allies to make 10 ft. 'hops' instead of 5 ft. steps, and avoid AoOs, difficult terrain, etc.) or 'Easy Listening' (which gave allies bonuses to Listen checks and blindsight/sonar).
Random heavy metal item ideas;
KISS - Heaven's on Fire (this spiky flaming/flame burst bow or crossbow surrounds it's missiles with a dark flame that causes celestial / good-subtype creatures struck to save or catch on fire. This fire is unholy and ignores fire resistance and immunity. Holy water or positive energy extinguishes it.)
AC/DC - Hell's Bells (these iron bells cause good subtype outsiders, chaotic subtype outsiders and fey creatures to suffer sickening pains, a small amount of damage and deafness while rung. It requires a standard action to keep ringing them, but there is no save against the effect.)
Anthrax - Black Lodge (this black cube acts like Instant Fortress, but creates an extradimensional space has the evil planar trait, the caster can set the flow of time to twice normal or half normal compared to the outside world (resting for eight hours and returning to the mortal world only four hours later, for instance), and can never be above dim lighting)
Black Sabbath - Iron Man (this tiny iron figurine of wondrous power turns into a medium sized iron golem!)
Def Leppard - Rock of Ages (this stone can be used to cause foes touched by it to suffer penalties as if they had increased one age category, and to be fatigued, if they fail a Fort save. Those already venerable must save or die of old age, and crumble to dust! As long as you 'feed the stone' by...
Thanks, these are some great ideas. I never would have come up with something like Black Lodge on my own.
If you folks dig this sort of thing, you may want to also check out this:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2tqp8?The-Disciple-of-Metal-Complete
Blue Oyster Cult is a surprising powerful font of fantastic themes here. Isn't Veteran of the Psychic Wars also based off of Elric or M. Moorcock's work?
I'm not sure about that myself. I do know Moorcock co-wrote some stuff for Hawkwind that tied into the Elric mythos, as well as providing influence for Deep Purple's song "Stormbringer". And the band Cirith Ungol used a lot of art involving Elric as their album covers.
Needs more cowbell.