"Helpful" Magical Items

The path to hell is paved in good intentions...

Magical items, in general, are helpful by definition. They actively support you in a number of ways and most players want some kind of magical item. The obvious exception are cursed items, which are intended to hurt you. The following are not cursed - they just want to help more!

The Long Arm of the Law
Generally, a +1 weapon, this is a heavy crossbow or longbow that is intended to help keep the user safe from being labeled a criminal. The magic of the weapon comes into effect when in any jurisdiction that has bans on murder.  In order to keep the wielder on the right side of the law, the weapon will not allow itself to be used to murder any sentient creature. When in such a jurisdiction, if fired at a goblin, orc, human, elf or any other sentient creature, the long arm of the law will transmute the arrow or bolt into a burst of flower pedals (50%), butterflies (25%) or a white dove that will fly away (25%). This change is permanent.

XP: 1,500

The Savers Pouch
Often made of silk and stitched with gold or silver thread, this small belt pouch is very rare. When worn, the magic of the pouch comes into effect, and 15% (gold stitching) or 10% (silver stitching) of the full value of all treasure that the character is carrying or near (that is their share) will disappear. Additionally, any coins, gems, or other monetary instruments put into the bag will also disappear. The money is completely safe from being stolen, or lost. In the event that the bag is stolen, it will return to the person who first put money into it within 2d4 days.

Withdrawing money, on the other hand, is not possible. Only when the player character reaches "venerable age" (see Player's Handbook) will the pouch suddenly burst with coins, gems, and other valuable items. In general, the player will see a compound interest of 1d4% (calculated yearly).

1% of bags include a command word, which is "Trust" followed by a person's name. The character can use this command word to target another individual as the person able to open and use the pouches contents. The character can also include conditions such as "Complete Wizard School" or "Adventure for 5 years."

There is a 5% chance that such an item is cursed, and is known as a Hedge Pouch. These pouches can have money pulled out from whenever, and by anyone who knows the command word: Distribute. Anytime the command word is said, there is a percentage gain or loss of 1d10%. Roll 1d10 and a 1d6. Even numbers are positive, odd numbers are negative. If negative, the bag will not distribute money and will instead permanently destroy  that percentage of the wealth in the bag. If the bag gets to zero, roll 1d10, and that is the percentage of the starting value of the bag that is now owed to the bag. Failure to pay will result in the bag destroying items of value before the character can touch them until the debt is paid. Then the pouch will disappear.

XP: 5,000 (Gold), 3,000 (Silver), -- (Hedge)

The Helm of Happiness
This helmet is generally made out of steel or bronze and is often carved with an eagle, kingfisher, or other large hunting bird. Two large wings of bronze and gold extend from the side offering ear protection. The helmet has powerful abjuration charms woven into it, and grants a bonus of 1 to the wearers AC. However, when the character encounters something threatening that could - potentially - make them unhappy, the true power of the helmet comes into effect. The wings flip forward covering the eyes of the wearer, and the head and neck of the bird animate and lift off the helmet. The bird begins to sing happy and cheerful tunes, modulating it's volume to exceed the volume of any growling, shouting, roaring or other unpleasant and unhappy sounds. This stays in effect until all threats are gone.

XP: 500

Demons, Devils and Demonology

First: It's been a while since my last update. My apologies as I've been swamped at work and with real life stuff. But it's good to be back!

Demons, Devils & Demonology

I understand that demons and 2nd Edition have a history. This post is not about that history but is instead about ignoring all of that history and introducing a concept I think could provide useful story tools for DMs moving forward. Demons and devils were included in 1st Edition and not 2nd due to that history, but this post is not about the demons and devils in 1st Edition. These rules are going to go in a different direction.

These rulers were inspired by the book "Scales of Justice" by Daniel Hood. the fourth book in the Fanuilh series.

Librum Daemonum

Mara peaked through the dirty glass into the basement. There, the Circle of the Broken Blade had gathered around a circle drawn in chalk. Chained in the center was a sacrifice, a small goat from the fields behind her. She frowned as she studied the circle. Reaching into her bag she pulled out an oil cloth wrapped book. In the light from the window the words 'Librum Daemonum' were clearly imprinted in the red leather of the cover. She opened it and started flipping through pages, her eyes darting from diagrams back to the chalk circle inside. She found it nodded to herself. Packing up she backed away slowly from the building and went around to find her friends, the Circle was looking for information - more than likely about Mara and her friends.

The Book of Demons is a rare tome that seems to turn up where mischief is desired. Trade in the books is generally considered illegal, and when found the books are burned. Only certain wizards and clerics are allowed to openly own them, as they are responsible for tracking and killing those that summon demons and the demons themselves. Despite this prohibition, copies can still be found in private collections even if they are not used. Simply owning them is a thrill. Yet, in the back of the dustiest shops in unexpected nooks it is possible to find someone who, with the right incentive might be able to provide a copy of the book. 

The books themselves are surprisingly uniform. They are always bound in red stained leather, with the words Librum Daemonum in white. Touching the letters shows that it is bone embedded into the leather itself. The book is usually between an inch to an inch and a half thick, with crackling parchment pages. They almost always look aged.

The inside of the book is written in black ink and is composed of diagrams, formula, and descriptions of the demon and devils that can be summoned and what it is that they do. The language is an ancient form of denomic, and the user of the book must either be proficient in the language ("Languages, Ancient"), or spend 3d4 weeks studying the manuscript, where after it will be added as a bonus non-weapon proficiency. This proficiency can be improved per normal,

When someone is seeking one of these books for a specific purpose - especially if that purpose is dark - then when they find a copy and open it for the first time, it will often fall open to the specific summoning circle they need as a form of temptation.

Summoning a Demon

Hald, a balding gnomish warrior slammed the door with his shoulder. Despite his small size, he was exceptionally strong - and the gauntlets of ogre's strength didn't hurt. As the door crashed open, the Circle turned in shock their chant falling away in surprise. The leader, caught up in the summoning, continued his chant unaware of the sudden commotion. Mara was only a few steps behind and with a flick of her wrist, she launched a knife at the cultist near the front. Hald was already pushing forward wielding his heavy battle axe in two hands as he closed towards the circle. They pressed hard, as they only had a minute or two before the demon arrived.

The book describes how to summon multiple different types of demons for multiple different purposes. Anyone can use the book to create a summoning circle. Each book is divided into 10 overarching spheres of influence:

1. Foresight: Portents, Omens and Divination | Internal
2. Promises: Power, Deals, and Contracts | Internal
3. Deception: Secrecy, Deceit, and Trickery | Internal
4. Knowledge: Information, facts, and history | Internal
5. Bloodlust: Hunting, killing, and battle | External
6. Vengeance: Revenge, hatred, and envy | External
7. Assassination: Destruction, death, and power | External
8. Confusion: Obstruction, plots, and manipulation | External
9. Pestilence: Disease, famine, and vermin | External
10. Hedonism: Desire, debauchery, and lust | Internal

If a sphere of influence is External or Internal indicates where the demon or devil will be summoned outside of the summoning circle (External, with the caster standing inside) or inside the circle (Internal, with the caster standing outside of the circle). When summoning, the caster has to create the circle. Creating and summoning is like casting a spell, though the level of the spell is determined by the rank of the creature that you are attempting to summon.

The ranks are as follows:

1. Tempters: (HD: 1 - 3)
2. Masters: (HD: 4 - 7)
3. Minor Lord: (HD: 8 - 11)
4. Lord: (HD:: 12 - 14)
5. Duke: (HD: 15 - 17)
6. Dark Champion: (HD: 18 - 19)
7. Prince of the Sphere: (HD: 20)

Determining what kind of demon responds to the call is handled by percentages. There is a 60% chance a demon will show up for an external sphere, and a devil for an internal sphere. If a demon, there is a 60% chance it is a fighter type character (treat as a PC fighter where level is the HD), and 20% chance it is a wizard, 10% chance it is a thief, and 10% chance it is a cleric. If a devil, there is a 60% chance it is a cleric, 20% chance it is a thief, and a 10% chance it is a fighter or wizard. HD are rolled randomly. They are always humanoid type creatures. 

Each summoning circle is generally the same:

Summon Demon or Devil (Conjuration/Summoning)Range: 20'
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: 20' radius
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 to 20 Turns
Saving Throw: None

The summon demon spell found in the Librum will take between 1 and 7 turns to cast depending on the HD of the creature being summoned. This does not include the time to set up the summoning circle, which requires materials ranging from common for low ranking demons to exceedingly rare for Princes. While a goat or chicken might do for a tempter, an angel or high priest will be needed for a Prince. Stopping the summoning of a Prince might be an adventure in and of itself. 

Controlling the Summoning

When summoned, a demon is not under any special power or control of the caster. The summoning circle will either protect the caster by presenting a barrier. An encounter check is made immediately. Demons start off as threatening. If the summoner has less hit dice then the demon, it changes to hostile. If the summoner has more, it changes to indifferent. Devils start off as indifferent, if higher in HD, they are threatening. If lower they are friendly. Princes are always hostile.

When starting the encounter roll 2d10 and subtract the reaction adjustment of the summoner based on their charisma score. Devils are always lawful, demons are always chaotic. If the player's alignment matches the summoned creature, then they get a +1 bonus to their reaction adjustment. If the summoner is not matched, it is a -1 bonus. Other bonuses and penalties can be found on Table 50 in the DMG for encounters.

The demon does not have to stay in the summoning circle and can simply leave and return to where it came from. This happens automatically if flight is the encounter result. Spells that bind demons can be applied in this situation, though this automatically sets all future summons to hostile.

When the demon arrives it will be prepared to help the summoner answer their question and will stick around long enough for one attempt. They will either be ready for battle with appropriate gear, will have the right spells memorized, or will have access to the right non-weapon proficiencies.

By their nature, demons and devils in general are unhelpful. If the question is to uncover where Baltur the Money Lender hides his account ledger the responding creature might give an exact location ("The third stair in the west wing of the manor has a hidden compartment") or might be more mysterious ("Where feet tread upwards towards the setting sun, the count of Hydra will reveal a light within the darkness.").  The level of help from the creature is dependent on their reaction. Friendly creatures will be more helpful.

Starting an Adventure: Religion!

Gods & Faith for your Players

When I first started designing my adventure, I didn't really think about gods. The player came to me and said that he wanted to play a priest and that he chose the Agriculture mythoi. I responded that the priest would come from a small monastery, and they have apple orchards and blackberry bushes. Interestingly, one of his weapon choices was the bill-guisarme, which made sense with the type of agriculture the priests practiced. Growing up out in a very rural part of New England, the garage at my house had a lot of old style agriculture tools including a billhook and an actual scythe - so I loved having that be a focus.

Beyond just wanting the polearm, the player and I conferred about what this religion would look like using just the PHB. First, we decided that the god was a minor god, focused primarily on the agriculture of trees: fruit and nut trees being the most obvious, but I also had the neat idea that the priests made a fuel out of pine resin and their pine pitch candles were a special trade item:

Candle, Pine Pitch (1sp): A pine pitch candles are mixtures of pine pitch, wax, and charcoal. Each candle is a dark black color, and is shaped as a small three inch rod. These rods are then dipped into regular wax until they create a votive candle. They can then be put into small stone or glass containers and lit. Unlike wick candles, pine pitch candles take longer to light - the priests also make special matches consisting of a long bronze arm with a pitch soaked twine match (2sp, can be used ten times) - but burn brighter and longer then regular candles. They will burn for 20 minutes per inch, and shed light in a 15' radius. 

Now just using the PHB, I decided to throw together the religion for the character by going through each step. At the time, I did not have the Complete Priest Handbook, but the PHB chapter on priests is detailed enough to allow the DM some amazing discretion when it comes to designing a faith. This post will walk you through those steps and how I approached them.

Requirements

In addition to requiring a wisdom of 9, a specific religion might have other requirements for the player as well. I decided that a minor agricultural god would expect a certain level of health and intelligence and made the requirements be a Strength of 12 and an Intelligence of 10. Why? I assumed farmers would have to be fairly strong, and intelligence was the relevant ability score for the agriculture NWP. The priests work their own orchards, and using heavy tools for hours on end would be exhausting work.

I generally expected that the members of this church would be of a neutral good alignment. Generally supportive, but separated from the core of civilization.

Weapons & Armor

The god we developed was a minor agricultural deity, primarily worshiped in the northern areas. A big emphasis was on harvesting and maintaining trees. We decided that the weapon selection, however, would be pretty basic and focused primarily on weapons converted from agricultural use or that farmers might have available: club, flail, hand/throwing axe, bill-guisarme, fauchard, quarterstaff, and sickle. We felt that this made sense as the weapons were basically all modifications of tools that they would normally use or were very simple and commonly available like the club and quarterstaff.

We didn't touch armor selection, and left the priests of this deity with full access to all armor available. I did make a note that the priesthood is generally not in favor of out of control fire, so throwing burning oil on a goblin in the woods would be seen as a bad thing.

Spells

I felt that being a priest of an agricultural god meant - especially a minor one - meant that the priest would not necessarily have access to all spells and spheres. This was essentially the same approach used by the specialist wizard. I banned necromancy, combat, and astral out of hand - far beyond the scope of this god. I also got rid of creation, since it creates something from nothing while the whole point of this God is to grow and nurture. You don't just create food, you grow it and earn it. I felt that the sphere's description didn't match what I saw the religion being about.

For major access, plant, weather, sun and healing were right at the top. I felt that all three made sense and provided the "key focus" of what the god was, and what it was hoping to do in the world. You'll also see that I choose to ban four spheres and make four schools major access. My thought was that for each major access you had to ban an "opposed" sphere. Although there are no real oppositions, I felt that was a good way to show specialization.

Everything else defaulted to minor access.

Powers

Granted powers, such as turning undead are where the priest class could truly shine. For my agricultural priest, I decided that they could turn undead, but they also able to turn vermin such as rodents and insects, and had immunity to any plant based poison. The turning abilities I felt could both be used once per encounter - so you can turn undead in one round, and then turn a beetle in the next round. I told the player that vermin were only those rodents and insects that attempted to destroy trees or eat crops, and thus something like bees or dragonflies wouldn't count, but that insect swarms (See Monster Manual, pg 206 would count). Rats would count, while weasels wouldn't count. The purpose of the power was to protect agriculture.

The poison ability was something I thought would make sense. A deity focused on plant life would probably have a strong understanding of plant poisons and provide protection to their followers. How embarrassing would it be if you start a fight with the god of disease, and his followers poison yours using the very plants you represent? Note, this also gave me another deity - a chaotic evil disease god that the cleric's character was sworn to fight against.

Ethos

In defining the ethos, the player and I had a full discussion. We defined seven primary beliefs of the religion that we felt made sense from the perspective we had developed above:

1. Support and encourage farmers. 
2. Defend against urbanization.
3. Teach the best methods for tending orchards and using the resources of the trees.
4. Encourage the growth of orchards where possible.
5. Defend against disease and fire, and the spread of disease carrying vermin.
6. Encourage peace, protect the innocent, and face challenges with bravery.
7. Develop the knowledge of agriculture, and discourage the use of wild forests.

The player felt that the religion would strongly encourage the development of orchards and tree farms for pretty much everything. Examples we developed:

• Special ships are built only using timber grown by this priesthood. 
• Wooden weapons such as long bows and quarterstaffs made by this priesthood are easier to enchant. 
• Fruit and nuts raised by this priesthood are healthier and last longer

Titles

Since the religion is primarily built around monasteries, all the members are Brothers or Sisters, and leaders are Abbots or Abbess. Men and women would work side by side, so defining their buildings as a convent or monastery would be meaningless, and we defaulted to monastery to emphasize that it was isolated and often remote.

Conclusion

Religion is one of those things that a lot of world designers sweat on. Yet, it isn't that hard. As you can see from the above, just using the Player's Handbook it is possible to design an entire priesthood quickly and easily. Everything you need to start building your world is right there - and you don't even need the priest's handbook to do it!

Building a Kingdom from the Ground Up: Magic

Decisions on Magic in a New Campaign Setting

Back in my previous post on Building a Kingdom from the Ground Up, I talked briefly about character creation and how I and the players built out at the same speed. As the players grew, the campaign world grew. A player wanted a halfling, so we built a halfling village. Another wanted a wizard, and so we quickly addressed magic in the setting. I then took a moment to beat on the Forgotten Realms as that is one of my favorite hobbies.

But let's step back for a second and examine the consequences and design decisions of the various levels of magic.

Definitions

Magic is one of those things that can be defined on a simple scale: None, Low, Medium, High, Extensive. This is the basic Likert scale I use to define fantasy worlds. I'll quickly give a basic breakdown of them below:

• None: This is a fantasy world with no magic. It might have something like orcs, or goblins, but in general, there is zero magic involved in the campaign setting. Examples would include The Three Muskateers or the Count of Monte Cristo, fantasies in zero magic settings. It could also occur in D&D if you were to use an all fighter or all thief campaign, without magic items. Not necessarily the most common or favorite of anyone.
• Low: A lot of people point to Middle Earth as an example of a low magic campaign and I tend to agree. A small handful of magical items, a heavy dependence on fighter types, and if wizards are present - they are rare. I generally prefer this setting type, though it is hard work. Magical practitioners will either practice physical magic (i.e. sleight of hand) or be hedge wizard types. Another example would be the Kingdom of the Isles in the Riftwar Saga, while Kelewan would be an example of a medium to high magic campaign setting. In general, average folk will know magic exists and they will either be hostile or neutral towards it. I generally prefer neutral, but have played at tables where it was hostile.
• Medium: An example of this setting type would be Pre-War of the Lance Dragonlance. The distrust of magic was strong and wide spread, and while magical items and the magical gods do exist - as does an organization of mages in the Tower of High Sorcery - they are on decline. The campaign is not necessarily magically hostile - but Wizards still have to be cautious. Average folk will know wizards and magic exists, they will know it can generally be helpful, but they will have little to no practical knowledge of what magic can do. Most folk will range from nervous to generally enthusiastic about magic.
• High: Most campaigns in the various incarnations of D&D fall into this category. Magic is pretty much everywhere and magic users can be encountered in every town and region. Although some campaigns might stop short of magic shops in the market, it is a "Just barely" kind of thing. Mystara, Greyhawk, and the Forgotten Realms are all squarely in this setting, with Mystara and Greyhawk handling it well, and Forgotten Realms handling it poorly. In general, people will have a neutral to positive feeling in regards to magic, and a solid foundation for player character wizards. In my mind, this is the default setting for most D&D campaign worlds and is the easiest for DMs to implement.
• Extensive: The opposite of none. Pretty much magic is in every part of the campaign world from the word go. This could take the form of the Eberron where there are magical trains, to the world of Golem Arcana where even the poorest outcasts are able to assemble powerful magically forged Titans to defend themselves. Such campaigns are often built on the "What ifs..." that we all ask when we first start going through the spell lists... "What if I cast continual light on a bunch of stones and use them as street lamps?" In an Extensive magic world there is a city employee doing just that. In general average folk love magic, and probably practice it themselves. Forgotten Realms crosses into this realm every once in a while.

Thinking About Magic

The purpose in thinking about magic is to think about your long term, without planning out every aspect of your long term. In a high or extensive magic setting, for example, you have to not only deal with planning epic encounters, but also building in defenses against magic wielders as well. Magic is powerful, and it has the potential to completely derail a well thought out campaign. If you are going to go high and extensive you need to think in that dimension. You need to consider what will teleport and fly do to your campaigns. What about polymorph or wish? If you have an extensive magical campaign, what happens when bar fights start having web or summon monster used? 

Planning a magic level is something you should work on with your PCs finding a comfortable fit for what they want out of the world and what you want out of the world. At the end of the day, however, the DM makes the final call. 

Further, because random tables are fun, I threw this together as well - if you don't know what you want to do - or just think rolling dice is fun - then use the following tables:

1. How will average commoners react to a magical spell in your campaign world? (Roll 1d10)
   
   
2. How common do you want NPC wizards to be? (Roll 1d6)
   
      
3. When you hear "Magic Shop" your reaction is... (Roll 1d6)
   
   
4. How do you want players to react to a +1 Sword? (Roll 1d8)
   
   

Now simply take the results of each roll and look at them. Mostly low? You would prefer a low magic setting. Is it a mix? Take the one in the middle. You have one or more extensive results? Consider using that as your magical base. 

As a note, if you use these tables I'd love to hear your results. I am generally biased towards low settings and as a result these tables are too - please feel free to play with them!