Arise! The Forge Maketh the Crafted Weapon!

 I have been toying around with crafting lately and have a small offering to add. Sometimes I will place things in this blog more so I do not forget them, or because they might not be included in the final version of my houserules but may be (hopefully) worthy enough for someone to find and improve upon them. 

When crafting a magical weapon - admittedly a very rare and high level ordeal - the players can contribute to the crafting in three ways: (1) The Fire, (2) The Metals, (3) The Tempering Liquids. Each of these should be a mini-quest or challenge unto itself. 

The following I offer to spark ideas about how to turn The Fire that fills the forge into something more memorable. It uses the spark tables from Maze Rats (slightly modified) for ideas. 

Moon Fire (white, hypnotic) – flames formed from the burning of blood spilt to prevent harm to another under a full moon. Grants a roll on the Physical Effects table.

...paladins eat your heart out...

 

Blood Fire (purple, heavy) – flames formed from the burning of bones of your own kin. Grants a roll on the Physical Elements table.

...raid a tomb of a relative? Kill that evil step-brother? Cut off a finger and try to fool the fire?

 

Bitter Fire (orange, screaming) – flames formed from by the breathe of a Wyrm. Grants a roll on the Physical Forms table.

...don't need to kill the dragon, just need to make it angry enough to breath fire and then get a torch lit and escape!

 

Spiting Fire (green, vicious) – flames formed from the burning of a Spellbook. Grants a roll on the Ethereal Effects table.

...wizard tears as they donate their work to a greater cause, or sacrifice that evil spellbook from the cultist...not my fault if the weapon begins whispering to you in your sleep later...

 

Pure Fire (translucent, without heat) – flames formed from the burning of a unicorn horn freely given. Grants a roll on the Ethereal Elements table.

...for only the true of heart, or those that can pretend to be such...

 

Soul Fire (blue, compels repressed memories) – fire formed from the cremation of a loved one. Grants a roll on the Ethereal Forms table.

...bonus points if the weapon is formed to revenge their death!

Unique Pet Companions for Your Adventurer's

I see lots of magical items, now for some low-magic tiny animals...

Metal worm – eats through small amounts of metal such as a within a keyhole or the clasp of a chain once per day before becoming full, prefers it rusty. Can be taught to eat through other substances as trained.

Honeyed bee – a bee both larger than normal and more intelligent than normal, when surrounded by wildflowers will return and make honey for the owner it is devoted to. Can be selectively trained to collect certain wildflowers each level, with the resultant honey beneficial for being a salve to wounds, detecting poisons, or flavouring drinks, etc.

Listening spider – spins a small amount of web once per day that transmits the smallest vibrations and allows you to determine basic speech or sounds detected at the other end of the web. Generates increasingly more complex structures with it’s web as it is trained.

Shifting newt – raised amongst Moon Ruins the newt momentarily disappears then reappears nearby when touched. Can be taught to disappear and reappear with increasingly complex instructions as trained.

Singing cricket – can be taught a single word or short tune it then repeatedly produces on command. Number of words and tunes increases with training.

Pinecone firefly – has a small spark capable of igniting flammable materials on contact. Needs to be kept in a jar without training, but training improves the command and range it can fly. 

A Simple Party Name Generator

Always add garnish. It's free. Here is some garnish for your party below. Particularly useful if running solo campaigns with a party. Runs the risk of getting attached to the poor bastards. 

Combine ingredients below...

1d6 Colour (Black, Purple, Vermillion, Ashen, Puce, Crimson)

1d6 Arcane (Smoking, Demon, Ritual, Inked, Mystic, Tomb)

1d6 Descriptors (Unexpected, Unwelcome, Eager, Bumbling, Swift, Clever)

1d6 "Of" (Chosen of, Out of, Order of, Conclave of, Seekers of, Banished of)

1d6 Metals (Iron, Brass, Copper, Bronze, Gold, Silver)

1d6 Monsters (Banshee, Manticore, Dragon, Kobold, Goblin, Ooze)

1d6 Evocative  (Velvet, Ice, Flaming, Silken, Broken, Ancient)

AND

1d6 Fate (Request, Revenge, Gasp, Promise, Luck, Undertakers)

1d6 Jokers (Jokes, Liabilities, Blessing, Curses, Fools, Scoundrels)

1d6 Body (Teeth, Scars, Hearts, Eyes, Fists, Feet) 

1d6 Items (Hammers, Wineskins, Goblets, Nails, Sacks, Scrolls)  

1d6 Travel related (Wanderers, Vagabonds, Travellers, Companions, Riffraff, Drifters)  

1d6 Animal (Bears, Wolves, Ravens, Cats, Dogs, Badgers)  

1d6 Weapon (Axes, Blades, Knives, Arrows, Shields, Spears)

Examples...

The Vermillion Blades

The Tomb Drifters

The Unexpected Liabilities

The Conclave of Badgers

The Copper Promise

The Velvet Fists

*Bonus Tavern Related: The Last Call, The Local Barflies, Dungeon Dreggs, The Cellar Rats, Empty Soldiers.

Thief Abilities

 Some humble suggestions for the ever useful thief....ahem, I mean rogue these days...

Tavern Brawler

You cannot be surprised in a tavern or bar fight, and always have first strike in these situations. Any improvised weapon is improved from 1d4 to 1d8 in your hands.

 

Fleet-Footed

Even for a thief, you are particularly agile. You may minus your Dexterity modifier (presuming it is positive) from any incoming attack. You cannot be wearing medium level armour if you are to maintain this.

 

Obtain knowledge

Allows you to gain secret information, if adequate investigations and enquiries are made, and if you are part of the local/dominant thieves guild. This may include floorplans to a residence, schedule of guard changes for the town, learn who is suspected of stealing a particular item, find a shady merchant, learn which guards may be bribed, learn where a noble stores a particular valuable item. The more secret the knowledge, the longer the amount of days it should take to obtain, e.g. Common knowledge 1 day, rare knowledge 1d6 days, secret knowledge 3d6 days. It should also cost money. It cannot be in relation to legendary or magical items that remain hidden due to magic. There is also a chance the information is incomplete or out of date.

 

Handy

You have advantage on attack rolls against a creature you are grappling, as well as against creatures that are grappling you.

 

Tavern Performer of Local Renown

Any roll related to use of your instrument or related to performance can be modified by your Charisma bonus. You can attempt to spread local rumours with a successful Charisma check through your songs, poems or performances. Every performance earns you gold from those gathered nearby (roll with advantage for gold gathered).

 

Observant

Once per day you can study an NPC or humanoid enemy for 10 minutes and may request from the Dungeon Master a single stat or weakness of your choice.

 

Mutual Understanding

You have either witnessed, lead, or been the target of interrogation before. You know just the right methods to extract information from a target. You may re-roll any failed ability roll being used during an interrogation or to forcibly extract information from a captive.

 

Spies (Follower Ability)

You can place a contact in a town or village. Once posted, the contact reports to you on anything you request that they can reasonably find out. The communication is via enchanted calligraphy scroll. You can request the agent monitor for specific occurrences, trail people, or otherwise uncover information. The dungeon master may request skill checks as appropriate.

 

Charlatan (Campfire Ability)

For any NPC interaction where you partake in a gambling or drinking game with them, you have advantage on subsequent rolls to either steal a single item, steal gold, poison them, or leave them bound and naked the next day.

 

Wizard Monikers

Wizard Monikers

 #OSR #DND 

I have always liked the idea that to know the name of someone is to have power over them. Demons can be bound by arcane knowledge of their true name, in the same way that the most powerful wizard can be rendered helpless by knowledge of their name. It also explains why wizards live in remote towers and dungeons - they have to travel far away enough from any who may know their real origin. For this reason, wizards in my games have monikers. I keep these monikers simple although you could easily begin to combine them for more gonzo or unique combinations. Each moniker helps imagine a certain image and manner to the wizard. Players are free to roll or to choose.

*My personal favourite is ' - the Hedge Mage' for conjuring up the image of a ramshackle, wandering arcane kook.

The Hedge Mage

The Ancient

The Quick

The Deceiver

The Crafty

The Wise

The Enchanting

The Duellist

The Illusionist

The Slippery

The Beautiful

The Wanted

The Learned

The Unnerving

The Ambitious

The Pyromancer

The Sharp

The Stormcloud

The Curious

The Precise

The Vagrant

The Diviner

The Philosophical

The Cloaked

The Stargazer

The Beguiling

The Conjurer

The Masterful

The Thaumaturge

The Alchemist

The Sullen

The Masterful

The Graceful

The Mystifying

The Odd

The Augur

The Veiled

The Necromancer

The Wonderous

The Oracle