Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #22
"Making Magic Items Interesting"

This file was created from reader submissions responding to
a request in Issue #204. Thanks to everyone who submitted
their wonderful tips, ideas, and advice.

Thanks to Leslie Holm and Isaac Calon for organising and
editing! Most references to +1 longswords have been removed
to protect our sanity.

Cheers,

Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
http://www.roleplayingtips.com

============================================================

CONTENTS:
 1. Making Magic Items Interesting
      From: Matt Craft
 2. Adding Flavour To Magic Items
      From: Dave Schaefer
 3. Describe All The Characteristics
      From: Karo Laakso
 4. Putting The Wonder Back Into Magic
      From: Shahed Sharif
 5. Magic Items with Flavor
      From: J.L. Ford
 6. Magical Magic Items
      From: Jeremy Hogg
 7. Keeping the Magic Alive
 8. Let Magic Permeate Life
      From: Craig Fraser
 9. Enhancing Magic Items
      From: Hayley Hummerston
10. Magic vs. Technology
      From: Matthew


1. Making Magic Items Interesting
   From: Matt Craft [ http://khirsah.freehosting.net ]
============================================================
A common problem in fantasy games is that magic items, no
matter how rare they're supposed to be, end up becoming
boring, commonplace tools for the PCs. A +1 bow deals an
extra point of damage; a ring of regeneration lets a fighter
take on the troll; a horn of blasting lets the party
threaten kings.

Part of the problem is players who meta game. How do they
know it's a +1 rapier? A character might realize an
enchantment makes a weapon better. They might even be able
to tell the enchantment is weaker than the one on their own
blade, but few characters should be able to tell exactly
what it does. Particularly without serious time and study.
Besides, that softly glowing dagger might have a wish spell
concealed somewhere.

Another part of the problem often lies with the GM who makes
magic too common by giving into the magical arms warfare
race. Rolling random treasure is fun, even for the DM
picking through the treasure tables, but even at lower
levels it's an easy thing for PCs to be inundated with
magic.


1) Scarcity
--------------------
Try limiting the number and power of magic items. If a +1
shield is a rare find, the players will come to respect it.

If one of your players is a wizard, however, he might make
his own magic items. One way to limit this is to make the
task so involved, complex, expensive, and risky that only
the desperate would try. Perhaps crafting a simple magical
sword requires a pact with a demon?

For the groups without a mage, the task is simpler--keep
them from getting their hands on magic. Magic shops should
be incredibly rare. A dragon's lair might contain the sword
of a legendary hero, a +1 greatsword. The hero's dead now.
The dragon ate him.

Another possible solution is the existence of a guild that
snaps up any magical items they find, limiting the number of
items floating around. Perhaps there is more than one guild,
in constant conflict. If they're the only magic-heavy groups
around, the devastation caused by some of their battles
could seriously sway public opinion, limiting the creation
of new magic items and what can be found abandoned or stolen
from unwary agents of the guilds. This puts the matter
firmly in the GM's hands as to what might be available.

Or make magic illegal. A common character in fantasy is a
court magician. These magicians might persuade the current
ruler to ban all magic not officially permitted by noble
ruling.  This would secure the court wizard's position and
put any magic-bearing PCs in hot water. Sure, the ring of
invisibility might be handy right now, but if a guard sees
it the entire party will go on the kingdom's Most Wanted
list.

Finally, have magic gradually wear out. If even permanent
spells wear out, eventually the legendary sunsword of the
vampire slayer Von Dalchin will be nothing more than a rusty
relic of bygone times. I don't suggest a magic item suddenly
winking out, dead however, but the knowledge of fading magic
supports a world with rare magic. If the party is abusing
their magic, perhaps they notice it is getting weaker with
each use?

Some players will feel cheated if they don't get to deck
their character out until he glows with magic, however. For
players like that, there are other solutions.


2) Quirky Magic
--------------------
If your players demand magic, one solution is to give them
magical items with quirks. You can use major and minor
quirks.

Minor quirks can be amusing or annoying, but rarely have any
impact beyond making the items. The horn of blasting
amplifies all the sound around it, constantly causing an
ear-grating humming unless it gets carefully wrapped in
sound-dampening cloths. Maybe the potions of healing leave
you ravenously hungry, burning up your body's calories to
heal you. You still might die...of starvation!

In essence, a minor quirk is something that causes, at
worst, a small inconvenience. In the examples above, most
players will have food on hand, especially if they know
healing potions make you hungry, and a tunic can serve to
muffle the horn.

Major quirks have significant impact. Perhaps the power of
the sword is tied to the phases of the moon, with a full
moon giving it the most power and the new moon making it
weaker than a common iron blade. Perhaps those potions of
flight actually turn you into a giant parakeet for the
duration (A nice GM will let the equipment polymorph with
the character. A more evil GM will rule on damage to the
equipment if it falls and breaks).

As a general rule of thumb, the more powerful the item, the
more quirky it should be. Potions of healing make you
hungry, but the Rod of Resurrection kills all plantlife
within a mile!

Sample Major Quirks:

1) A single weapon that has two different sets of powers,
depending on the position of the sun. The powers could be
opposite from each other. A flamebrand becomes a frostbrand
at night.

2) One of the item's powers randomly fluctuates--probably
the most useful power. Every time the wielder tries to use
it, there's a chance the power fails.

3) The item's powers mutate randomly. A +1 falchion in the
morning could be a flaming nunchaku by lunch.

Sample Minor Quirks:

1) The item glows. The glow radiates through anything used
to shield it. This is a nuisance as the character can never
hide as long as he has the item on hand.

2) The item hums all the time. It can be either a vague
droning sound that gradually gets on everyone's nerves, or
it can be humming a tune, but it only knows one tune.

3) As long as the owner carries the item, small plants and
animals around him will fall over dead. This quirk could
rapidly lead to accusations of demonic origins or
necromancy.

4) The item has an aura that subliminally convinces people
that they know the owner from somewhere, even if they've
never seen him before. While this won't predispose them for
or against the owner, it will result in strange looks.

5) Whenever the owner uses the item it attracts swarms of
normal insects.


3) Intelligent Items
--------------------
Many game systems rule that an intelligent magic item can
have a will of its own and is able to disagree with its
owner or refuse a task. This doesn't have to be so. Some
magic items may just be intelligent and like to talk. Which
is worse, a taciturn holy sword that refuses to do anything
that won't further the cause of Good, or the dagger in your
belt that just won't shut up, especially when you really
need it to? Maybe the item says the wrong things at the
wrong time....

Most intelligent items have names, and egotistical ones may
like to hear it a lot, even if they're the one saying it.
"Did I ever tell you about the Battle of Sun Peak? The hero,
Glong, had the magic sword Sunbreaker--that's me--and
he...." This can get frustrating quickly, but if the weapon
has a useful power, the party may need to keep it with them,
suffering the incessant chatter with gritted teeth or cotton
in their ears.

Picture a mace or shield that used to belong to a powerful
priest. The intelligent item tries to convert everyone in
earshot, using any method it can think of: shouting everyone
awake to 'view the glorious dawn created by Pelor!', singing
hymns and paeans late into the night, or shouting insults at
priests of opposing faiths.

Give the PCs an item with personality, no matter how weak
the item is, and it will stick in their minds and remind
them how magic is strange. After all, which is cooler, a
warhammer +1, or a warhammer +1 named Crusher, which
grumbles incessantly about ham-handed idiots who can't swing
a hammer to save their lives?

Some sample personalities:

1) A sweet, naive, pacifistic personality. This is
especially appropriate for a non-lethal weapon, such as an
enchanted net or lariat--or fittingly ironic for a
powerfully enchanted sword.

2) A power-mad megalomaniac who seems convinced the party is
going to do what it wants and makes dire threats if it gets
disobeyed. It can't actually do anything, but having your
sword tell you what it intends to do to you for sparing the
villagers can be creepy.

3) The item believes it is a dog. It barks at passing
strangers, pants after a long fight, and howls at the moon.

4) A lazy, apathetic personality that doesn't want to be
bothered. It complains if it gets used.

5) A weapon that refuses to speak any language the players
can understand, but which will talk loudly and at length in
foreign tongues.

6) Steadfastly loyal to an ancient empire, which, it seems,
has outlawed just about everything the party likes to do.
The item will routinely try to get the party locked up by
screaming things like 'Help! Thief!' when around guards.

7) A stalwart, heroic personality that likes to keep morale
up, often shouting cheers and encouragement to the wielder.
It's like the annoying sidekick, only without the
occasionally useful backup.

8) A quiet, taciturn personality, who gradually gets used to
the party; eventually, while never becoming talkative, the
item will defend the party against anyone trying to slander
them.


4) Magical Interference
--------------------
A Dragon Magazine once had an article on too many magic
items having strange effects around each other. If your
players like to carry around a lot of magic items, this may
well cure them of the problem.

What's the point of wearing magic plate, carrying a flaming
sword, wearing a ring of regeneration and invisibility, and
a cloak of flight if having more than three items causes
effects like glowing purple (even while invisible), speaking
in a high falsetto voice that makes dogs howl, and having
your shadow lag about three seconds behind you?

Two kinds of side effects are possible: ones resulting from
permanent magical items like cloaks, swords, and the like,
and ones from temporary items like wands, potions, and
powders.

Permanent quirks may or may not remain after the items are
removed, with the first ruling setting the standard. If
they're permanent, a Remove Curse spell may be needed to
free the victim of the effects.

Permanent quirks can do just about anything: change the way
a character looks, the way he sounds, the way he sees
things. Picture the poor sap who gets a mother-in-law
illusion only he can see!

It is a good idea to tailor the side effects to the items.
If the character is wearing something like a displacer
cloak, a ring of invisibility, or boots of stealth, perhaps
he becomes permanently invisible. This might seem like an
advantage at first, but picture how hard it'll be to do
anything normal. Shopkeepers won't want anything to do with
him, guards will be convinced he's up to no good even if
he's just trying to visit a friend, and most anything that
can see him will likely be hostile anyway. If he's the only
thing to turn permanently invisible, his clothes and gear
will seem to be animated, or controlled by a ghost!

Temporary effects should result from temporary items.
Someone who drank too many potions of flight in too short a
time might not be able to land, constantly drifting up to
bump against the ceiling like a balloon. Effects wearing off
can be hazardous too.

Mixing different kinds of potions can be dangerous. A potion
of flight, a potion of healing, and a potion of strength
might intermix and result in the character temporarily
turning into a small roc, or they might explode as the
different types of magic fight for dominance. They might
just give the character a horrible case of indigestion,
complete with belched rainbow fumes.

Some examples of temporary effect:

1) The character grows useless wings. This makes wearing a
cloak and armour difficult, and the character will likely be
accused of being a demon or angel.

2) As a result of too many fire-magic items, the character's
hair turns into a corona of flame. While they don't harm him
or much else, daily tasks, like sleeping, become a
challenge.

3) The character's hair starts growing rapidly--an inch per
hour. While not fast enough to be immediately dangerous,
letting it go for a few days without cutting it can be
trouble. On the other hand, an enterprising character can
make a fortune selling hair to wigmakers and rope-weavers.

4) A phantasmal image follows the character everywhere,
hovering on the edge of the character's vision. Disturbing
things regularly manifest, such as the glint of light off a
scythe's edge, the crackling of bones moving without flesh,
or the rustle of a thick black robe.

5) The character attracts ravens. Everywhere he goes,
they'll flock to perch on things and stare at him. Often
he'll wake up to find two or three sitting on his chest. Are
they bearers of ill luck, messengers of the gods, or maybe
familiars of evil wizards? Play it out.

6) The character temporarily develops a reverse chameleon
effect. His skin perfectly mirrors whatever happens to be on
the other side of him, but in precisely the opposite colors.

7) The character's use of too much temporary flight magic
(shouldn't have drank that last potion of flying right after
using the dust of airwalking) leaves him temporarily
weightless. Even a mild wind can blow him away.

8) The character begins to glow, radiating light equal to a
candle.

9) The character attracts the attention of every spirit,
faerie, and magical beast within a five mile radius. This
can get frustrating quickly.

10) The character's size begins to fluctuate, depending on
his mood; the happier or angrier he gets, the bigger he
grows; the more somber or tired he gets, the smaller he
becomes. However, his mass doesn't change.

5) Memorable Items
--------------------
Give that old +1 whatever a description and history. Make it
unique, with a place in your world's background. How will
the thief feel when he finds out his magic dagger once
belonged to the noble barbarian hero-turned-king, who fought
the same demon lord now menacing the land again?

While it may be more work for the poor GM, the rewards can
be great. One of my own favorite magic items remains a
simple sword with a bluish blade; it has a habit of talking
to itself in strange tongues, and has a raging hatred of
water and water elementals. It used to belong to the pirate
Havarin, who used it to destroy the elemental guarding the
port city of Pearl. In game terms, it's nothing more than a
simple +1 cutlass with minor intelligence, but to my
character, it's a historic legacy.



2. Adding Flavour To Magic Items
   From: Dave Schaefer
==========================================================
Which would you rather hear from your GM after a hard
battle? "You open the wooden chest and find 307gp and a +1
mace," or, "The solid oaken chest creaks open and you
discover a finely crafted sword of polished silver. The hilt
is embedded with emeralds and engraved with runes of power.
Wrapped around the blade is a silk cloth displaying a family
crest--a red horse and knight on a green cloud."

If your descriptions are more like the former but you want
them to be like the latter, read on to learn how. This can
bring excitement and depth to your game as the players
become interested in the items they receive and form better
pictures in their minds. It can also be a good way to give
world-specific details to your players.

There are many possible ways to add flavor to magic items,
from adding detailed descriptions to giving items strange
abilities or attributes. Here are five ideas for adding
flavor to magic items in your campaign. Though the examples
here deal with a medieval fantasy game, the basic ideas can
be applied to any setting.

1) Add interesting descriptions
2) New physical forms
3) Strange Items
4) Items for organizations
5) Items with history


1) Add interesting descriptions
-------------------------------
One of the easiest ways to add flavor is to come up with a
neat description for the item. This can be as simple as
adding details. Handing out a boring old shield +1? Make it
a tortoise shell with leather straps. Maybe the shell is
dark brown with orange along the ridges, notched from many
blows, but looks like it was solidly constructed.

Adding unusual qualities can also spice things up. Perhaps a
magic sword hums when drawn. A bow's arrows could screech
like a raptor when fired. Most times these changes don't
have to have any in-game effect. The item still functions
normally, it just looks or behaves differently. The
advantage of this approach is that you do not have anything
extra to adjudicate for the item.

Of course, you could add in-game effects if you want. Perhaps
the humming sword attracts creatures, increasing the chance
of encountering a monster. Just be careful not to make the
abilities so strange that they are hard to arbitrate.

Ideas for descriptions or special qualities. The item
is/produces/has:

1) made from unusual materials (silver, adamantine,
   francium)
2) engraved with runes (magical or not)
3) crafted with fine gems, inlay, or attention to detail
4) crafted poorly
5) made to depict a famous person, place, or event
6) crafted to hint as to functionality (flaming sword has
   hilt of dragon breathing fire, harp that puts enemies to
   sleep has a dreamcloud)
7) notable effect when used (noise, light, smell, silence)
8) notable effect when near a creature or place (glows when
   near orcs)
9) hot or cold to the touch
10) on fire, drips acid, causes snow to fall in the nearby
    area, or is constantly wet
11) keeps itself magically clean or dirty


2) New physical forms
---------------------
Another way to add flavor to an item is to change its
physical form. For instance, a magic wand that fills the
surrounding area with sunlight when used could instead
become a medallion depicting the campaign's sun god. The
item still functions as a wand, but is worn around the neck
instead of being held in the hand.

This approach can also help cut down on players using out of
character knowledge or meta-gaming to determine what items
they have received. If you keep handing out sticks with
buttons on them, experienced players will guess that these
are most likely magic wands. Instead, give them something
out of the ordinary. If a covey of hags infiltrated and
destroyed an elven kingdom long ago, perhaps they use the
desiccated fingers or hands of elves to cast their magic.
The elven PC might not be that willing to use the hag's
items after all!

This approach works well for one-time use or charged items,
such as magical potions, scrolls, or wands. Perhaps the evil
wizard's spells are not written on parchment, but scrawled
on the skin of his tortured victims. A nature-loving NPC who
spends time tilling their garden might not have glass vials
full of potions, but might grow magic beans that bestow
their properties on whoever eats them. The new form you give
an item may or may not give some clue as to the item's
properties, depending on how much information you want to
give your players.

Be aware that changing the physical form of an item might
cause rules adjudication problems, and you might have to be
a vigilant DM to maintain game balance.


3) Strange Items
----------------
Occasionally, you may want to throw something totally wacky
at your players. Perhaps they find a magical chair that
bestows powers upon whoever sits in it. It might have a dial
on the back to protect the user from a selection of fire
magic, ice magic, and paralyzation. Or it might allow
whoever sits in it to listen to the thoughts of everyone
around them. Other ideas might include a hat that forces the
wearer to be truthful, or a shield that transforms itself
into a boat.

Strange items can be created by taking the functions of a
normal item and matching it with a new physical form, or
simply by giving abilities to any item you can think of
(anything from knives, chairs, candles, crowns, jewellery, or
plants). For some of these items, it may be easier to just
rule that the item has a given function and not worry about
the game statistics or mechanics involved. Again, be mindful
of game balance.


4) Items for organizations
--------------------------
A great way to add flavor to a campaign is to give some of
the organizations, cults, or religions distinctive items of
their own. A snake cult might craft magic rings for its
important priests that allow the priests to communicate with
reptiles and transform themselves into snakes. The rings
themselves could resemble a green snake coiled around the
finger of the wearer, eating its own tail. Not only does
this allow the players to easily recognize snake cult
members but it can provide some excellent story hooks.
Perhaps the PCs decide to use a snake ring to help them
infiltrate a cult.

Alternatively, the PCs might find an item that has the words
Stolen from Puk engraved on it, and they know that Puk is a
renowned deity of mischief and trickery. They might wish to
keep the item, but discover it has both beneficial and
harmful properties. They might wish to sell the item, but
find that no merchant wants to buy it. To make matters
worse, the engraving on the item cannot be removed, and the
PCs find it back in their possession each time they try to
get rid of it! Perhaps they need to track down a
knowledgeable sage who can help them get rid of the item, or
a worshipper of Puk appears and will take the item off the
party's hands in exchange for service.

Giving items to organizations allows you to flesh out the
organization and get the players involved in your world.
Items in this category will most likely center around the
theme or cause of the organization, though other items are
certainly possible--perhaps the snake cult recently stole a
prized artifact from a rival cult and are using it to
further their own means.


5) Items with history
---------------------
One last way to give some flavor to magic items is to
incorporate them in the history of your campaign world. No
longer do the PCs simply find a magical axe, they find The
Axe of Zon, an orc warchief who had it crafted by duergar to
help him slay his enemies in the Rout of Blood. Giving the
items a connection to the storyline of your campaign gives
players a sense of immersion, as they connect items to
famous events, persons, or places that "actually" happened.

Ideas for item history. The item was:

1) used by a famous hero or heroine in an important battle
2) crafted specifically for the destruction or protection of
   a certain race, area, or group
3) the result of a magical experiment gone wrong (and
   wreaked havoc upon the nearby areas)
4) the result of a magical experiment gone right (and good
   fortune was brought to the nearby area)
5) sent down by a deity, extraplanar being, or other power
   to help further their cause
6) recently unearthed from a long lost civilization, with no
   one currently knowing how to use the item properly

Wizards of the Coast's System Reference Document has some
great ideas for magic item properties, purposes, and
histories (particularly weapons). You can find versions at:

http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd35

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/home.html



3. Describe All The Characteristics
   From: Karo Laakso
============================================================

1) Cultural connections
-----------------------
The main idea is to get the item to fit your campaign world.
All of the following factors have a major impact on the
quality and characteristics of the item.

a) Which race/culture crafted it? This important decision
defines the items they make (or are even able to construct
and enchant).

b) In which time period of the campaign world was it made?
The political/magical/material situations and resources may
vary greatly between different time periods.

c) Was it made by a priest or a wizard? Items made by
priests are likely to be related to a deity in some way,
while wizard-made items are often not.

d) Was it made by a single person or many? Powerful items
may have required the efforts of a dozen casters. The item
might only function at full power if enough individuals are
present. Also, the ownership of the item might be a sticking
point.

e) Is the creator connected to organizations, cults, rulers,
or gods? Might raise questions of ownership. Was it a gift?


2) Naming
---------
The hardest part of item creation. The name should tell
something about the item and its creator(s).

The name can be long or short, with a touch of grandeur or a
slice of humble pie. It may contain the name of its creators
or it may hint to which time period it was created.
Additionally, the item may have many names, with only one
being the true name.


3) Creator
----------
The personality and power of the creator affects the
abilities and characteristics of the items. Most items made
for personal use are meant to overcome personal weakness or
challenges, or to enhance strengths.

Maybe the creator was racist, had a problem with the
bourgeois or a religion, had a strange sense of humor, was
afraid of heights, or had a love affair with a person from a
different culture. Perhaps the creator was a human abjurer
working as a diplomat, who frequently encountered orc
raiders in his journeys, and therefore made items defensive
items accordingly.


4) Former Users
---------------
The former user hints to how/by whom/in what conditions the
item is usable, like the dagger of a cult whose greater
powers work only during sacrificial hours. A bard knows of
the cult and therefore the party can reason that the item is
strongest during the full moon.

Mentioning the former users gives the item background and
believability. Consider also that the former users may have
given the item a reputation, and it may not at all
correspond with the original idea for the item. It may have
been renamed, even though the original name might persist.

For example, a greatsword used by the elven king against
humans during wartime. Later on, when the humans and elves
united against the orcs, the item was renamed by a new elven
king who used it to slay an orc general. The item gained a
legendary reputation as a symbol of the human/elven triumph
over the orcs, and was later on gifted to the humans as a
sign of brotherhood between the two races.


5) Signatures
-------------
The creator(s) might sign their creation, by engraving, by
magic, or both. The signature may contain the name of the
creator, the time period, for whom it was made, house/clan
signature, or a guild's stamp.

The signature is a great way to create plot hooks. Imagine a
certain mage-guild staff that, over time, has found its way
in the hands of apprentice wizards from a different nation.
Later on in the campaign, the guild finds out a young
foreigner has their staff and wants it back. How did the
guild lose the staff in the first place? How did it come
into the young mage's hands? Will the wizard hand over the
staff?


6) Materials
------------
The materials used for the item depend mainly on the time
period, area, and creator's race. In ancient times of the
campaign world, maybe something as common as iron or steel
hasn't been discovered yet.

The abilities of each item could have a connection with the
material components used in making it, or the place where
the materials came from.

Creature parts may have been used to give the item abilities
and powers. Perhaps the last ritual in making bracers of
ogre power was drenching the bracers in the blood of a
freshly killed ogre, and the stench of the blood is ever
recognizable.

Some examples of creature parts usable in magical items are:
fangs, tongues, hearts, tail, blood, hair, paws, claws,
ears, eyes, brains, intestines, arms, legs, appendages,
scales, hides, skin, bones, flesh.


7) Outlook
--------------------
Elven bows are made with great care and detail, while orc
battle axes are not. Human items are somewhere in between.
Dwarven items are probably sturdy and practical. The time
period could have the greatest affect to the item's outlook.
The high elves used platinum engravings in the hilt of
their swords, later replaced by silver.


8) Usage
--------------------
A great sword made by the elves was probably not meant for
humans or orcs. All the different warring cultures and races
could have restrictions to prevent the enemy from using the
item. This characteristic immediately gives the item a link
to a certain time period. For example, a magical elven bow
made when the humans and elves were still at war with each
other should not unleash its greatest powers in the hands of
a human.


9) Special Characteristics (examples)
-------------------------------------
These are all mostly for flavor and therefore give no game
advantages or hindrances. Engage all the senses when
describing the item for the first time and in action.

1) Sings or whistles in a specific language/sound.
2) Groans/shines/vibrates when elves are within 30', when it
   kills, or when its user suffers damage.
3) Blood washes off the blade automatically; it never loses
   its shine.
4) Erupts in flames after tasting enemy blood in battle.
5) Wind whistles when shot or is totally silent to use
   (bow).
6) Glows softly in moonlight.
7) Has two large red dragon's fangs in its hilt.
8) Emits a thick stench of swamp within 5' of the item.
9) Owner's arm turns gray and cold when item held.
10) The item is cold/warm/tingly/uncomfortable to touch.


10) Special Conditions (examples)
---------------------------------
The item has different powers in different conditions.

1) Daytime (dusk, noon, night)
2) Weather (raining, stormy weather)
3) Time (thrice per week, every other day, specific day of
   the week/month/year specific time period)
4) After tasting the blood of an enemy, or of a specific
   enemy
5) Specific location (in ancient elven woodlands, mountains,
   or at sea)
6) In the holy areas of specific gods/religions
7) Bracers are activated by striking them together two times
   with chiming sound emitting
8) Must be used by specific race/gender/worshipper


11) Game Statistics And Bonuses (examples)
------------------------------------------
Now for the final stage of the item creation, which defines
what bonuses and game statistics the item has. Smaller or
limited abilities often give an item more character than
your straight +3 katana. The bonuses should reflect the
background of the item.

 1) Skill bonus
 2) Ability bonus
 3) Initiative bonus
 4) +5% to +20% hit points, or +1 to +4 per character lvl
 5) Damage reduction
 6) Save bonuses
 7) Improved critical hit chance from +1 to +4
 8) Extra critical multiplier
 9) +20% to +100% extra range for missile weapons
10) Enhanced spell DCs
11) Enhanced spell penetration attempts
12) 0 level spell-like abilities
13) Resistance to energy drain
14) Special functions are activated by critical hits/fumbles
15) The item can communicate with the wielder/others by
    sound (specific language) or telepathy
16) The natural forest cover does not hamper the bow's
    accuracy
17) Bonuses when performing specific maneuver (disarming,
    called shots, etc.)
18) The greater abilities function only if the user has
    certain amount of levels, BAB
19) Powers grow with the owner's level
20) Extra languages



4. Putting The Wonder Back Into Magic
   From: Shahed Sharif
===========================================================
Numerous RPG players often have the same complaints about
magic: it becomes boring. After a while, the most wide-
eyed warrior is going to shrug at getting a +1 rapier. And
higher plusses aren't what I'd call inspirational. What's
worse, even interesting items lose the sense of wonder we
associate with magic. I call this problem the mundanity of
magic. Here are some ideas for putting the wonder back into
magic.


1)  Vague Powers
----------------
Remember the Light of Earendil, from Lord of the Rings? What
did it do? Well, it lit up, and evil creatures seemed to be
afraid of it. Is that a fear effect? Maybe it burned them,
or perhaps it was a circle of protection. The point is, it
doesn't matter.

There are two ways of implementing vague powers in your
campaign:

a) Decide on specific powers, and describe precisely the
effect of those powers without letting on about the details.

b) Come up with a general description of an item's power,
and every time it is used, ad lib the result. For example,
your notes about the Light of Earendil could say simply,
"Evil creatures don't like it." Keep in mind some players
may be bothered by this technique if you are inconsistent.
If a vampire flees from the light, then a zombie had better
do the same.


2) Fewer Items
--------------
In fairy tales and legend, heroes rarely have more than
three magic items, and these items are potent. Think back to
the old D&D cartoon. Each character had exactly one item,
albeit one of extreme power. With only a few items, that
magic rope is no longer just another item in a character's
possession--it becomes a signature tool.

In my own campaign, I've phased out all items of mediocre
power, given my players their signature items early on in
the campaign, and from that point, given only limited use
items (potions and wands).

One problem is if the items start off too powerful it
unbalances the campaign. On the other hand, as the players
progress in level, that +1 mace just won't cut it anymore.
My solution has been to increase the power of the items
along with that of the characters.


3) Progressive Power
--------------------
This can be done in a straightforward way: the +1 flail
becomes a +1 frost flail in the hands of a character of
level 6 or more.

Better, though, is to tie power increases to the plot. My
system has been to come up with a list of triggering
conditions and a corresponding list of powers. When a
condition is fulfilled, the corresponding power awakens.

For example, consider a short sword called Whisper's Edge.
This starts off as a +1 weapon, until any of the following
conditions are met:

* Pommel is replaced by a valuable (perhaps unique) gem
* Blade is bathed in the waters of Asherak Falls
* Owner loses the sword, then regains it
* The scabbard of the original owner, a legendary thief
  hundreds of years dead, is recovered and used
* Blade is anointed with the tears of a spectre
* Wielder is caught in an inescapable situation

Some activated powers are:

* Weapon's bonus increases
* Those struck by the sword go blind
* Sword can strike incorporeal creatures
* Wielder can enter one shadow and walk out of another one
* Sword whispers to wielder when he is in danger

As you can see from this example, the powers should be
thematically related. Some conditions are cryptic. How does
one make a spectre cry? What qualifies as losing the sword?
Some require quests, like regaining the weapon. Some require
information, such as who was the original owner? Knowledge
of the conditions themselves can be the object or reward of
a quest.

For example, a wise sage has been kidnapped by undead.
Perhaps the sword is so ancient that only a comparably old
being, like a dragon, knows anything about it. Now the party
has to find the dragon (who knows what obstacles lurk in its
lair?) convince it not to eat them, and then bargain for
information.

One caveat: these quests result in information that is only
one step toward activating powers. Therefore, either the
quest should not be too difficult or time-consuming, or
there should be other rewards. Indeed, knowledge or
fulfilment of the power triggers may be incidental to the
quest.

Notice one other thing. Two of the listed conditions,
(losing and regaining the sword, and being caught in an
inescapable situation) are specific to the owner. This means
the awakened power will not function for any other creature,
including other player characters. Keying powers to one
person makes ownership more personal, not to mention it cuts
down on inter-party theft!


4) History
--------------------
An item should have a checkered history. This gives the item
more personality, and the history itself will probably hint
at its powers. Most importantly, a history links the item to
the saga unfolding in your world. People will recognize the
item and respond with fear, awe, or envy. In Lord of the
Rings, goblins recognized, and hated, Sting.

Perhaps someone will lay a claim to the item, with varying
levels of legitimacy. It's quite possible the status of the
item is more significant than its raw power. Perhaps the
baron who sees a character wearing the Amulet of Moranna (+1
armor) immediately kneels and swears fealty in Moranna's
name.

So how does one create a history? Answer some questions
about the magic item:
* What is it called?
* Who made it?
* How was it made? (In a volcano, with the heart of her
  enemy, by prayer.)
* Who did they make it for? (A friend, a liege, the general
  public.)
* Why did they make it? (To win a battle, for vengeance,
  for protection, for fun.)
* How was it lost by the original owner? (Stolen, slipped
  away on its own, owner died.)
* Who else owned it, and how did they use it? (Perhaps they
  didn't recognize it for what it was.)
* Are there prophecies surrounding it?
* Who knows about it? (And to what degree? A fishmonger
  may know its name and description, but a goblin king whose
  father was slain with it may know more.)
* Who fears it?
* Who covets it?

If you use many magic items in your campaign, you obviously
don't want to overdo it. Not every +1 dagger has a story.


5) Drawbacks
--------------------
Costs or side-effects can make any item more interesting.
The main caveat here is that drawbacks are often annoying.

The way to avoid something too irritating is to justify its
existence. For example, a golden scepter with a head carved
like a dragon can breathe flame on command. What if it uses
up charges, and the only way to replenish the charges is to
feed the head red gems? Another example: the short sword
described above. When the wielder travels between shadows,
he walks down a dark corridor. Perhaps imps who live in this
shadow realm could accost him on occasion, either taunting
him or pilfering small items.

Most interesting is to make the power difficult to use. What
if the item summons a fearsome creature who attacks
everything in sight--including the summoner. Or what about
an "explosion in a box?" A metal box which, when opened,
releases a ball of flame, then shuts itself.

Maybe the item has a design flaw. Consider a metal rod
which, when thrust into the ground, creates a wall of force
--except the rod always ends up on the opposite side of the
wall as the wielder.

A drawback could be physical. What if that machine of
weather control weighs a couple tons, or is made of ice?

The social status of the item may also be a problem. Just
found a javelin of dragon-slaying? Every treasure hunter in
the area will want a shot at you. And good luck if the
nearby dragon hears anything!

With any drawback, make sure the cost does not outweigh the
power of the magical item. You don't want the players to
regret going through all the trouble of getting it in the
first place!


6) Household Items
--------------------
Most magic items have powers that center on adventuring.
Yet, only a small portion of the general population (or more
importantly, of the rich and powerful) are adventurers. Most
of the elite are political leaders or wealthy merchants.
These are the people most likely to commission magic items,
which may have rather prosaic uses.

Why do we care? Because these household magic items may not
have obvious adventuring uses. How about a brush that sprays
a caustic cleaning liquid on command? How about a crystal
dictaphone, like a jewel that records sound? It could be a
great spying tool. You could create a wardrobe that dresses
its owner upon command--useful for those in need of a quick
disguise. For these items, you don't even need to come up
with a creative use yourself. Just come up with a magical
whatsit that makes any mundane task easier, and let the
players figure out how to abuse it.


7) Transforming Items
--------------------
Items that gradually transform into other items, or are
parts of larger ones, give you an opportunity to add or
change powers. Consider an egg that can store spells. One
day, it hatches into a metal bird with new, greater powers.
Or maybe a stone whose color mimics the phases of the moon,
with different powers at different times? Use your
imagination.


5. Magic Items with Flavor
   From: J.L. Ford
===========================================================
Tired of receiving/giving out yet another +1 whatever? Are
you or your group swimming in everyday, run-of-the-mill
rings of sustenance? Well, keep reading, and hopefully
you'll find something of use to yourself and your group.
Included below are a few tricks I've used over the years to
assist in keeping magic items interesting.


1) History
----------
Create a story or history behind the weapon. This is often
overlooked, yet helps in making the world evolve. This is
also a good way to get bards a little more involved. It
doesn't have to be a very detailed history, either, nor does
it have to be a story that meshes with the plot. Just an
interesting tale will generally suffice to make it last in a
player's mind.

For instance, the players in my group recently found a nice
short sword adorned with gems. After doing some research,
they discovered the sword once belonged to a high ranking
noble of a long-dead house of a long-dead empire. The noble
had problems with rivals continuously humiliating him by
mocking his dress style and his cleanliness (he had a
penchant for falling into mud pits just before balls and
other galas).

His short sword, in addition to being adorned with valuable
gems, would also keep him clean, and allow him to magically
change his clothes and the style and color of his hair! Not
to mention he no longer had to eat, drink, or sleep (very
handy for avoiding assassinations by poison or in his
sleep.)

After hearing the story, they named the sword and kept
referring to it by name. It's a wonderful feeling, as a GM,
to hear your players name an item after some piece of
history, especially since the sword wasn't named to begin
with! You can keep the story as simple or as complex as you
like, but my experience has been to keep the story simple.
It sticks in the players' minds longer.


2) Be Descriptive
-----------------
Describe what they've found. Be specific. Instead of saying
"You find a ring," tell your players, "You find a band of
crimson metal with dwarven runes carved into it reading, 'To
Darkath, may you soar with birds.' It's worn and radiates
heat as you touch it."

Some basic descriptors are:
* Composition
* Color
* Texture
* Writings/engravings
* Perceived temperature of the item
* Size
* Shape

Some of these will be dictated by the item. A ring's basic
shape is already determined, as is writing on a scroll of
fireball. However, perhaps there's one region or race that
makes a specific paper? A scroll written on "paper made from
seaweed grown only in one bay of the Oligmaar Ocean" is
interesting.


3) More Properties
------------------
A +1 club doesn't have to be only that. Make it a shocking
cudgel. A pretty minor change, and a logical progression to
boot, but the more interesting properties sometimes yield
more interesting uses. Perhaps a wizard uses a flaming
dagger to light his candles? A fighter uses a mace of frost
to keep his ale cold, while a cleric uses a holy crossbow
bolt to assist in the creation of holy water. Maybe a bard
has discovered a way of making weaker thunderstones, and
uses them in his/her performance to add some bass to their
musical performance.

[Editor's Note: In my D&D campaign, I've decided to ignore
the convention that states items have to be enchanted to +1
before the more interesting properties can come into play.
At low levels this might have been a balance issue, but with
no item creators in a mid-level party, I look forward to
seeing those properties come into play a bit more.]


4) Make Up Your Own Properties
------------------------------
It's not as hard as it may seem, so long as you keep things
logical. For instance, if a spell storing quarterstaff can
be created, and can be cursed, perhaps the curse is simply
that whatever spell is put in there stays permanently, but
only gets cast 10 percent of the time. If the creator
doesn't know the specifics of the curse, he may just test it
out by casting a cantrip into the staff, only to realize the
staff won't take another spell, and that the spell doesn't
fire all the time.

As far as the creator is concerned, it's a curse. As far as
an adventurer is concerned, it's treasure. And if there's a
story behind it, all the better. Experiment and see what you
can come up with.


5) Creative Curses
------------------
Curse it creatively. Perhaps a kama was created and in the
attempt to give it intelligence, its creator put in the soul
of a doting goblin matron. Imagine the horror on the rogue's
face when the sword tells him to watch his language or
she'll rinse it out with mud! I know a few rogues that would
just toss the sword at that point. The soul would feel put
out and maybe try to put a guilt trip on the rogue for doing
so.

Imagine gauntlets of ogre strength that bestowed an ogre's
intelligence and charisma upon its wearer, as well. Or a
holy symbol that requires the physical act of turning in a
circle to turn undead. A curse doesn't have to be deadly or
evil.


6) Be Consistent
----------------
No matter what style of play your group likes, be it hack-
and-slash, political intrigue, role playing, or roll
playing, the players will notice that if any lowly thug has
a +1 weapon, then they equate them with as being cheap
enough for most people. Thus, trying to charge them 500,000
gold pieces for a +1 weapon will not work.

On the flip side, if they've reached high level and one
party member finally got a single +1 arrow, they will be
quite upset upon finding out that magic weapons are sold
everywhere for 40 percent of book value.

Tips for being consistent are:

* Obey logic: If magic is rare, magic items will be rarer.
If magic is everywhere and prevalent, then obtaining a magic
weapon should not involve a grandiose quest.

* Follow basic economic principles. If there is no demand
for magic items, there will be little supply. If there is
great need, and the supply chain can keep up, then there
will likely be a shop that purchases and sells magical
items.

If the need is great and supply is low, prices will
skyrocket, whereas prices drop dramatically the other way
around. Note, this does not mean that if the players' need
is great they get overcharged, but when they want to sell,
they get underpaid. If the PCs are the only source of
business for a particular store, that store will probably
fail. Most store owners go into business to make money, and
the best way to guarantee profit is by establishing a
healthy customer base.

* Remember and record. If it's been established elven
weaponsmith Arranagis always marks his weaponry with a
stylish A, and one of the party members starts marking their
weaponry the same way, Arranagis is going to take offense.
Unconvinced? Look at copyright laws. Whether your world has
intellectual property is up to you, but you must keep human
(orc? elf?) nature. If the King's Guard arrests someone
using your sigil, you can expect a visit if you steal
someone else's.

Magic items can take on a life of their own if you remember
that most items have history, have their own distinguishing
marks, and may or may not have their own little quirks
and/or properties. Some of the best items in many RPGs I've
played had no affect on game mechanics. The system gives GMs
the tools to tell a story. It's up to the GM to make the
story interesting.


6. Magical Magic Items
   From: Jeremy Hogg
===========================================================
High fantasy is a popular form of roleplaying, and the
easiest way to differentiate this genre is the role magic
plays in the campaign setting. In high fantasy games, magic
is prevalent, and sometimes even common.

However, the common occurrence of magic in high fantasy
provides a unique challenge. There are many ways to describe
magic in a general way. Is it awe-inspiring and magnificent,
or dark and secretive? Regardless, it should never be common
unless you don't need or want a mysterious and powerful
force in your campaign that spawns so much adventure.

This leads us to the problem of magical items in high
fantasy role playing games: their frequent appearance can
make them mundane. Many players get involved in high fantasy
games mainly because of the magic element inherent in the
setting, and familiarity will make it boring. To counteract
the effects of magic items becoming common and mundane, it
is worthwhile to explore whatever techniques might be
leveraged to keep magical items magical. Regardless of what
technique is used, the principle behind them all is the
necessity of making magical items unique and special so they
do not lose their lustre.

Following are five specific techniques for making magical
items more magical.


1) Intelligent Magical Items
----------------------------
Adding intelligence is one way to make an item special.
Effectively, the item is an NPC as well as an item. Giving
an item an identity immediately makes the item unique. The
GM may use whatever persona he wishes, which is wonderful
since the GM knows exactly what he wants for the campaign in
terms of mood, ambience, and roleplaying style.

Here is a list of several ways to leverage an item as an
NPC:

a) Mood: The most effective way of introducing a feeling
into a group is to roleplay it yourself. In a game meant to
be dark and scary, the intelligent item can have a fearful
and secretive personality. The mood can be brought to the
gaming table without complication by roleplaying that mood
with the item.

b) Ambience: During concrete descriptions involving the
intelligent item, the personality of the item can be played
upon for a unique flair. Without the function of the item
being affected, the appearance of the effect can be varied
with the item. The visual aspect of a spell may be changed
(a firebolt to a skull for example, or a holybolt to the
phantasm of an angel) to fit the character of the item, or
the item can yell something appropriate according to its
personality in a given situation.

c) Roleplaying Style: Playing an intelligent item can be a
non-threatening way to show the players by example how your
preferred style of roleplaying works. Whether you desire
more in-depth roleplaying, a concentration on political
affiliation, or emphasis on inter-party conflict, the
intelligent item can draw this out.

Besides being an extra character in the campaign, the
intelligent item may also be a plot device or somehow
connected to the plot in a special way. This makes the item
unique because it is campaign specific and immediately
catches the players interest on an in-character level.

Here are three ways to increase the impact of the
intelligent item by leveraging the plot and/or campaign
setting.

a) Information: The sword may be an important part of the
plot line because of the information it gives to the
players. This can be a one-time event, dropping an important
piece of information for the party, or it can be perpetual
as when the item is carried with the party to locate
something the item will recognize.

b) Plot twist: Because the intelligent item is an uncommon
kind of NPC, this can be used to surprise the players. Have
the party search for a particular individual and secretly
make the individual an intelligent item. Not only is this
surprising when the party finds out, it can provide a puzzle
for the game and clues can be given that subtly point to it
being plausible or even probable.

c)Emotion: An intelligent item can add to the richness of
the campaign setting by having an emphatic attitude that is
campaign related. Even if the item is not a plot device, it
can add to the flavor of the game by expressing attitudes
toward the villain of the story, or having been involved
with a major NPC and retelling that involvement to the
players. This gives a unique narrative device to the GM
because the intelligent item would have had a different view
on events due to its identity as an item.


2) Conditional Magical Properties
---------------------------------
Roleplaying character classes are normally such that the
class is balanced overall, but shines especially under a
certain circumstance. For instance, the D&D bard is at its
best in a social setting. This technique may also be used
when creating magical items for a campaign. It can be fun to
have an item that is, at a strategic moment, slightly
overbalanced, while slightly under-balanced the rest of the
time.

The stylistic advantage of having an item that is balanced
in this way is found in the trigger for the overbalanced
ability. For example, the D&D bane weapon ability allows for
extra damage only against a certain type of foe.

In general, it is the condition that triggers the
overbalanced ability that lends its particular flavor to the
magical item. Because conditional modifiers make an item
unique, they make an item special and memorable. Below is a
list of four conditional modifiers to make an item unique
and fun.

a) Enemy Type: Like a bane weapon, this item acts
differently against a type of creature. A common enemy type
conditional modifier is a bad guy radar, like Orcrist from
the Hobbit. The other common kind is an addition to the
effect of damage done by the item.

Enemy-triggered weapons can be interesting to characters who
have a special interest in a certain type of enemy. This
could be for roleplaying reasons, such as looking for
vengeance, or a property of the class, such as the ranger's
favored enemy from Dungeons and Dragons.

b) Meteorology: An item may act differently under starlight
or in cold climate. This works particularly well with druid
characters. It is intuitively narrative to have magical
items created by druidic rituals tied to nature's numerous
tides (night/day, seasons, ocean tides, weather fronts, moon
phases, etc.). If used, remember that the more often the
conditional modifier is usable, the less powerful it should
be, and vice versa, so the overbalanced ability is designed
that way precisely because it is not often usable.

c) Location: Items may be made so that they work better
close to a certain location. This is best in a specific
class or prestige class because it involves the item with
the background setting. Defender and guardian archetype
classes and prestige classes are well positioned for this
sort of item. A prestige class might be created with this
kind of item in mind.

If used in a campaign, the GM must consider where the party
will be in relation to the location of interest and how
often. The GM must make sure the overbalanced ability of the
location triggered item is not always usable.

d) Geography: This type of conditional modifier works
differently in different terrain types. This is well suited
for implementation in a D&D setting because the system
clearly and explicitly categorizes terrain types.

Geographically related magic items are best for parties that
travel a lot and for classes that typically roam, such as
the barbarian and the ranger. D&D has numerous terrain-
dependent prestige classes and feats. This kind of
conditional modifier would work well for characters taking
classes and abilities that are also terrain based.

For these techniques, remember that an item with a
conditional modifier must be noticeably better than other
abilities of equal level when the conditional modifier is
active. This is to compensate for the time when the item's
conditionally triggered ability is unusable.

3) Random Chance Items
----------------------
Items that produce random abilities or benefits are anything
but mundane. More than any other type of magical item, a
random effect item is frequently the center of attention
when being used. Out of game, players' attention is drawn to
the random effect magical item because they are curious as
to what it will do next. It's like finding new items--an
item that keeps changing its ability is like getting a new
item each time its random property is displayed.

The most common type of random item is one that changes its
abilities on a daily basis. Here is an example of a +1 sword
with a random additional ability; each morning 1d6 is rolled
to discover what ability the sword will have for the day.

1) Nothing special.
2) Flaming (+1d6 fire damage/hit)
3) Frost (+1d6 cold damage/hit)
4) Accuracy (+2 to hit)
5) Keen (x2 threat range)
6) Holy (+2d6 against evil enemies)

With the addition of a random daily ability (unless a 1 is
rolled), the sword becomes a +2 weapon in terms of market
price and game balance. This is because, although it has the
chance to be overbalanced (with the holy weapon, rolled on a
6), it may also have no extra ability.

Players have different personalities, and some appreciate
this type of magical item more than others. Around the
Internet and in print, you can find essays and articles that
try to classify types of players. One such category of
player is the gambler. This sort of character likes to take
chances and generally likes to shake things up simply to see
how they fall out.

Given such a player, an item like the above could help
satisfy his desire for chaos. However, there are a few other
ways to add chaos to an item other than a straight random
roll each day:

a) Special Critical Hits: Players always find critical hits
a fun and exciting aspect of the game. You can make a weapon
whose special ability works only during critical hits. The
ability should be especially potent to compensate for the
great deal of time the ability goes unused (any time a
critical hit is not scored).

It is safe to make such an item do extra damage equal to
twice what an ability that is usually active can do. For
example, if an ability produced 1d6 extra damage on every
hit, an equivalently balanced weapon would normally do no
extra damage and 2d6 extra damage on a critical hit. Also,
because critical hits generate excitement on their own, a
critical hit special ability gives the GM an extra narrative
opportunity to describe the exciting scene with respect to
the item's power.

b) Uncertain Effect: Probably the most chaotic type of item,
one with an uncertain effect has a chance to do something
different each time it is used. Most effective with rods,
wands, or magic-effect-items, the spell or effect produced
by such an item is rolled randomly when the item is used.
For reasons of playability, the different spells and effects
should be usable in the same situation--rolling between cure
and inflict wound spells makes for an unplayable item, but
rolling between differing ranged attack spells is playable.

Here is an example wand with an uncertain effect; percentile
dice are rolled each time the wand is used:

00-25: ray of frost
26-75: magic missile (caster level 3rd)
76-99: ray of enfeeblement (caster level 3rd)
100: all three take effect (only 1 charge is lost)

Such an item would be worth slightly less than an item
producing its most common effect (in this case, a 1st level
spell with a 3rd level caster) provided its better and
lesser abilities cancelled each other out in terms of
under/over balance. This is because the uncertainty makes it
unpredictable and therefore harder to take advantage of
strategically.

c) Freeform Effect: This type of ability only affects
description. Such an item would be like any other of its
type except that the description of its effect by the GM is
different. No concrete rules apply to this type of effect.
Instead, the GM may make up events during the use of the
item that could be directly or loosely tied to its use. The
description of the effect of the item becomes entirely ad
hoc.

This kind of ability has the potential to make players
curious or thoughtful about the item, even though it is
really nothing special, game balance-wise. An example could
be a wand of fireballs that seems to slow down time for a
moment or a sword that never stains from the blood it
spills. This type of item is just a tool for making up weird
things in an encounter to make it memorable


4) Sentimental Value
--------------------
An item is a lot more interesting if you don't have to
plan to pawn it off when it becomes obsolete. If an item
grows or can continue to be useful to a character for a
long time, an attachment can grow between the character and
the item. Andy Collins, a professional game designer for
Dungeons and Dragons, provides some rules for having a
magic weapon progress with its owner:
http://www.andycollins.net/Features/item_feats.htm

Imbuing an item with sentimental value in the first place
can be done in several different ways. Each method gives a
different flavor to the item without affecting game balance.

Here are four ways to give sentimental value to a magical
item:

a) Heirloom: It would take a callous fighter to pawn off a
+1 longsword given to him by his father who received it from
his father. This is a sword a character can be proud of,
regardless of its abilities. If a more powerful sword is the
heirloom, the character may have to prove himself worthy,
earning the right to possess it (which keeps game balance by
not giving the PC the sword until it wouldn't overbalance
the party).

b) Status: Everyone covets a Sword of the King, even if it
is just a +1 longsword. Such a sword might only be won at an
official king's tournament and denotes exceptional battle
prowess. The statement it makes about the wielder cannot be
bought.

c)Ad Hoc: A memorable sword would be one that shone
brilliantly as it struck the killing blow to the vampire
overlord that had been pursuing for months--and then became
vampire bane. This makes a unique sword for the user,
because it is attached to a great memory. This kind of ad
hoc special ability is easily balanced by taking the value
of the new ability of the sword away from the treasure
generated by the level of the adventure.

d) Gift: Getting anything as a well earned gift of
appreciation is gratifying. This can be especially the case
if it comes from a familiar NPC who is respected and, in
turn, respects what the party has done.


5) The Curse
------------
A cursed item is instantly differentiated from any other
kind of magical item. This is a distinct advantage for the
GM wanting to design a unique item. However, designing the
special cursed item also comes with a special challenge. By
default, players don't like and don't want cursed items. The
easiest solution is to make it a property of the cursed item
that it cannot be gotten rid of by regular means. The
players then have no choice in the matter. The problem with
this is that players still don't like the item.

An in-game character is almost never going to like a cursed
item, but a character's player may still appreciate the
narrative value of such an item. To reap the maximum benefit
from the cursed item, the player whose character possess the
item must be actively engaged in roleplaying the effects of
the cursed item. Doing this solves the problem of players
not liking cursed items because they are actively
participating in the effect of the item for the story
opportunity.

Keep in mind, the cursed item can be a distraction to the
game rather than adding the richness to the story if it is
positioned as an annoyance as when it is forcefully attached
to the character. The GM should consider some rationale for
the curse and make it game related. This adds to the
believability of the game and adds rather than detracts from
the story.

Below is a list of four ways to design a cursed item so that
it lends itself for use in a campaign world while being
unique and memorable.

a) Mixed Blessing: This sort of cursed item has an ability
that is worthwhile to use by itself, but also has a
detrimental effect on the user similar to the effect it
produces on the enemy. The simplest way to design this sort
of cursed item is with respect to damage; the item does
damage to another, but also to oneself.

It is wise to make the damage to the user substantial so it
does not become part of a use-and-heal combination, or to
making the damage substantial in a qualitative way, such as
damage that cannot be magically healed. If the item produces
a non-damage effect, such as a spell effect, the possessor
would be subject to the same effect the target is.

In most cases, it is appropriate to make the effect of the
item automatic against the user to offset the knowledge the
user has. The item is, after all, meant to be cursed.

b) Perpetual Effect: Cursed items like this are not cursed
in terms of their use, but cause a detrimental effect by the
simple possession of item. The item may be a good and
dependable one, but has an effect that is detrimental. This
effect lasts as long as the item is possessed, and possibly
afterward. The detrimental change should have a lingering
effect after the item is gone so the possessor cannot easily
revert back from the disadvantageous effect whenever it is
especially hindering.

An example of this type of item could be a potent sword that
causes the possessor to take on the appearance of a demon
and an evil alignment for the purposes of magical detection.
If the item is dispossessed, the previous possessor remains
in its demon form until the next summer equinox. Add to the
sword's ability the capacity to damage a villain in the plot
that is otherwise invulnerable and the PC with the item has
a lot to think about and roleplay in terms of cost vs.
benefit the sword represents. Obviously, in this example,
the detrimental effect of the item is a social one--the
character looks and detects like a demon.

c) Disastrous Effect: The cursed item with a disastrous
effect, usually with only one use but at a terrible cost.
This item may be carried without use by a character until
the climatic moment. Alternatively, the cursed item may be
usable regularly but have a condition that triggers the
disastrous effect.

An example of this would be a magical sword that is normally
potent, but having once injured a lich when it was still
mortal the most potent ability of the sword is the ability
to kill a lich in one blow, but at the cost of the wielder's
life! This ability is an appropriate cursed item in a story
whose villain is a lich too powerful to defeat other than
with the sword. The curse on the sword is emphasized in such
a case because it is expected to be used.

d) Morally Hostile: A cursed weapon can be normal with
regards to game rules, but provide an opportunity for
roleplaying through a forced shift in morality. This weapon
is unique in that it is the only kind of magical item that
explicitly dictates a change in roleplaying.

Because this is a curse that taxes the player in terms of
effort, it needs active participation from the player in an
out-of-game perspective. If the alignment change is radical
enough, the introduction of the morally hostile magical item
into a game may warrant secret communication between the
possessor of the item and the GM. This is because the newly
aligned character may not want the party characters to know
about the morality shift, as the character may adopt
ulterior motives as part of the story. The added value to a
specific campaign with this kind of item comes from the
morality shift of a PC affecting the character's motives and
so affecting the plot of the story.


7. Keeping the Magic Alive
===========================================================
In a high fantasy setting, the most important themes are the
awe-inspiring moments, the change from the ordinary, the
aesthetic appeal of spells replacing technology, and the
romance of the medieval era. In a word, the high fantasy
setting is all about magic. This is the major differential
between fantasy and other genres. So, in all aspects of the
game, magic should be treated with the respect it deserves
as the corner stone of the high fantasy setting. When it
comes to magical items, this is done by making items unique
and special.

There are several techniques for doing this, and the
following list outlines them in the way they have been
discussed in the article:

a) Intelligent items: The intelligent item is unique because
it has a personality; the item is an NPC as well as an item

b) Conditional Modifiers: This technique puts an item in the
back seat so that it can burst into the spotlight when the
right situation arises.

c) Random chance items: Adding chaos to an item keeps it in
the centre of attention because no one knows what it's going
to do next.

d) Sentimental value: Attaching a feeling to an item ensures
that it will be special to the owner.

e) The curse: Making an item cursed in the right way engages
the PC with unique challenges and roleplaying opportunities.

Regardless of what techniques are used, by far the most
important strategy for keeping magical items magical from a
storyteller point of view is the description. All GMs have a
different style, but giving a special effort to make the
description of magical item effects memorable and aesthetic
is always worthwhile when chasing the goal of making the
game on a whole more magical. After all, the GM is the
player's lifeline for imagining the story and description is
the GM's most powerful tool.


8. Let Magic Permeate Life
   From: Craig Fraser
============================================================
When I think of my gaming world, I try to imagine not only
the ways that magic is used to compliment weaponry or
combat, but also how it would permeate the rest of life.
Often, the best "magical" items in my campaign are things
that seem mundane but have been altered magically in order
to create some role playing opportunities for my players.

For Example:

1) I created a unique and rare spell component. It was
requested by an NPC to aid in casting a powerful spell that
would forward the plot and answer some questions for the
PCs. The NPC asked the players to venture into the nearby
mountains and obtain a special root. He explained that it
was difficult to see, but left anything else to be
discovered by the party. Not only did that create
speculation and wonder on their part, but it also left me
with the ability to flow with whatever the players decided
to do.

I created the root so that it would only be seen during the
deepest of night and would emit a small blue light, showing
its location. What I didn't tell the players was that the
small blue light was actually a flame jetting out of the
invisible root. When one of the PCs stooped to pick it up, I
got to roll d4 damage from the heat. That was a real shock
to the PC who did it, but also made the experience more
realistic. The player then blew out the flame, causing the
invisible root to materialize.

My players are good at keeping out of character knowledge
from their RPing as well, so when a character who hadn't
seen his comrade get burned came running to see the root, he
also got scorched. It made for an interesting side quest,
all based on a mundane yet important magical item.

2) Another mundane yet useful item I created was a magical
caravan that was loaned to the party. I told them that the
caravan was stuffed with all sorts of items and so, if they
went searching through the cupboards and drawers, they had a
chance of finding the sugar, rope, candle, apple, etc. that
they were looking for.

Once again, keeping some information from the party was a
valuable tool in the promotion of role playing. Unbeknownst
to them, the caravan was actually magical and acted as a D&D
version of a replicator from Star Trek. If you placed your
hand on a particular cupboard and said "candle", then opened
the door, a candle would be sitting there. I obviously
restricted the items available to things of mundane and non-
combat nature. The players rummaged over and over again
(especially one of my players) and sometimes found what they
were looking for.

One day, however, the owner of the caravan was hanging out
with the party. He came into the caravan and asked everyone
if they'd like a drink. When they said yes, he simply went
to the cupboard, placed his hand on the door, and said
"Scotch". The players found it really cool that the caravan
could be used in this way and also felt kind of dumb for not
figuring it out themselves, though in a good way.

To keep it slightly humorous and provide another role
playing vehicle to the party, I purposely had the NPC
perform his little trick when the player in my game who
rummaged the most was away from the table. That way the rest
of the players could use the caravan the right way and get a
laugh when they saw the other player looking in vain for
some tea each night.

Converting items that the party has seen a million times
before into something that they would never expect opens all
sorts of doors for both me and my players. I'd love to hear
what others have done to make things stand out in their
campaigns.

I find, as the person who wrote the request stated, that
magical swords +1 are as uninteresting as magical swords +2,
if described simply with those words. If the GM says, "You
cast identify on the longsword and determine that it is a
longsword of +17 slay anything," it leaves little room for
the players to get their imaginations flowing. I try to
restrict all of my descriptions of the magical weapons to
what the players would actually see or feel when they
used/identified them. I use the following techniques to
stave off boredom:

1) Try revealing the properties of the item over a period of
time, even just a few rounds of combat, so that the player
gets to master one or two enhancements before learning
another.

2) If an item has a particular enchantment, say +1d6
lightning damage on a bow, I will tell the player when they
identify it something like, "You get the impression from the
auras that surround this weapon that it has some powers
relating to the weather." If they examine it further, I'll
expand on it. "You can tell, after studying it some more,
that the weather it relates to is electrical in nature."

Most players would put 2+2 together and guess it has
lightning based properties. But I don't reveal things like
the damage until the player tries the weapon out for the
first time. That way when the GM says, "As you begin to draw
the bow, you feel a strange sensation running up and down
your arms. A subtle blue and purple light begins to trace
its way over your weapon. It grows as you continue to pull
back, beginning to crackle and hiss in the air around you.
You feel your hair beginning to stand on end." I then wait
until they actually fire the weapon and hit their target to
say, "Add 1d6 electricity damage to that roll." In my
personal experience, it makes a great deal of difference to
the flow of the game when the GM tries to avoid direct
references to items that the party carry. I never say the +1
sword, I always try to refer to it by a more descriptive
title, or at least just call it Player X's weapon.

3) Sometimes you might find that it helps to think of how a
citizen of your particular game world would speak and apply
that to the magical (or any other) items you're describing.
Do they speak with modern or colloquial English, or
something in between? Would they really say things like,
"Wow dude, that sword kicks ass," or would it be more like,
"I have rarely seen a blade so fine as this. The workmanship
is exquisite..." For me, it's the subtle phrases and ways of
speaking, plus using them consistently, that allow my
players to visualize more about what I'm trying to get
across to them.


9. Enhancing Magic Items
   From: Hayley Hummerston
===========================================================
My suggestions:

1) Minor enchantments, such as detect spells, which are
handy without adding too much power.

2) Change the usual form of the item. Instead of Drums of
Panic, have Pipes of Panic, especially if your players know
the DMG.

3) Add interesting bits, such as an unusually beautiful
engraving or gemstone. After all, magic items are always
masterwork!

4) Name it. Maybe an ancient appellation in glowing runes?

5) Give some history for the item, such as why it was made.
This doesn't have to be reserved only for artifacts of great
power, and can also become an adventure lead.

6) Inherent limitations don't feel right, unless there is a
reason for them, such as a weapon that only worked for women
because it was made for Amazons.


10. Magic vs. Technology
    From: Matthew
============================================================
If you are reading these lines, chances are high that you
own a personal computer. Do you know how it works? I mean,
do you know exactly how electrons interact with those tiny
slices of silicium you can't see without a microscope? Some
of you might know that, but I don't think a lot of us do.
That's not magic, of course. It happens in the real world,
so it cannot be magic. Is that the difference between magic
and technology?

No, it isn't. What is technology? Let's say it's something
cool we don't need to understand to gain benefit. Now, what
is a magic item to your average warrior? Something cool he
doesn't understand but from which he can benefit.

Now look at a spoon. There are many kinds of spoons. Small,
standard, silver, wooden, huge. Who would look twice at a
spoon?

Next, imagine a world where magic rings would be as
commonplace as a spoon in our real world. I know such worlds
exist in some RPGs (even in some commercial ones). It isn't
magic anymore, it becomes technology. For a character who
lives in such a world, what we call a magic item is just a
useful tool.

What I call magic is something marvelous for the player and
her character alike. And that's how you give flavor to a
magic item: you make it marvelous. So, how?


1) Make Magic Items Rare
------------------------
That should be obvious from the introduction. Too many items
and it becomes technology. In the campaign I GM, in three
years of game (that would be 52 game sessions), the PCs have
encountered four magic items. The first was cursed (everyone
possessing that blue pearl died quite spectacularly), and
they lost the second. So now they have only two: a magical
sword and a magical harp.

Few normal monsters should have magical items in their lair.
Either they sold or bartered it for something more valuable,
or they used it for protection when the adventurers came.
Once again, there isn't a stupid troll keeping a magic ring
because it glitters (my precious!) behind every boulder.

So, let's say statistically one magic item every ten game
sessions, no more.


2) Make It Unique
-----------------
"Oh, you got Aldashabor's necklace of far-seeing! Fancy
that, my uncle bought one last week too!" How would you like
that? No two magic items, however different in shape, color,
or material, should have the same effects. So, Aldashabor
made a necklace of far seeing. His rival Trino tried to
reproduce it but only managed to make an earring of
drunkenness.


3) Make It Hard To Produce
--------------------------
If every dwarf could forge an enchanted sword, again that
would be technology. You could rule that to produce such a
weapon, your dwarf should research for years and then forge
the blade a bit each full moon, while casting enchantment
upon enchantment during one year. But what are ten or twenty
years to a dwarf?

Here are two other options:

i) Make the producer lose some ability point (such as
Intelligence, or Wisdom, or whatever is needed in your game
system). 1 point for a small item, 2 for a useful one, 5-10
for an artifact. Bet your dwarf wouldn't be so keen on
creating handfuls of magic blades!

ii) Have the art of producing magic items lost. Once again,
in my campaign, all the magic items were ages old, and today
magic-users are so persecuted that they don't have time to
research for lost abilities.


4) Give It A History
--------------------
If it's hard to produce, it's not for fun. There's a good
reason they were made: a magic weapon is made to fight with,
either to attack or protect. The creator might well have
died to give birth to the item. It was made for a king, a
general, a hero, a high-ranking priest or mage. Who would
give a dragon slayer to a level 1 character? So, what and
who was it made for? What happened once the deed was done
(or failed)? Did the wielder keep it? If so, what happened
to him? Is he still alive? Did it pass to someone else? Who?
Family? Apprentice? Was there a contest for it? Was it
stolen? By whom? And why? Was it stored or displayed
somewhere? Where and what for?

Now ask yourself the same question for as many times the
item changed hands and you'll have the item's history.


5) Make It Special
------------------
The cursed pearl was blue. Have you ever seen a blue pearl?
Zaric's sword is made of copper. Who would forge a weapon
out of copper? Yet it was harder than steel and no notches
were seen in the blade after several hundred years of lying
in the dust near a stream. Ocea'ch's harp has silver
strings, which, of course is not possible.

So ask yourself: what material is that kind of object made
of? What color is the standard one? What other aspect could
you modify? Think also of weight, length, and quality. Is it
invisible? Does it emit light? Is there something else
unusual? Sculptures? Details? Etchings? Is the item cloaked
in illusion?


6) Make Them Artifacts, Not Cheap Magic
---------------------------------------
If magic items are rare, unique, and hard to craft, it's
logical that most are quite potent. Be careful not to
unbalance the game, though.


7) Slow Reveal
--------------------
Reveal all the possibilities of the item slowly.
In my campaign, most magic items are level dependent. For
Zaric's sword, here is what I use (Zaric's sword is
detailed on Matthew Glanfield's excellent site:
http://randomrpg.com/viewidea.php?id=373 ]

1) 0-5: +1 sword
2) 2-7: +1 critical range
3) 4-9: 2d6 additional damages showing as flames.
4) 6+: +2 sword
5) 8+: critical range +2
6) 10+: damage +4d6
7) 12+: fights alone if wielder is stunned, unconscious,
   or dead

In case of sentient items, it may well be the item itself
which decides when (if) it shows its capabilities.


8) Use It In Your Plot
----------------------
"Curse you," said the count as he saw that the PC wore
Aldashabor's necklace of far-seeing. "It is said that the
day this necklace is worn again, the nameless god will enter
the world for the second time! Curse you! The wars of
dominion will start again and again!"

"Bless you," said the priestess as the PCs brought her
Zaric's sword. "It is said that only that blade could
prevail against the enemy that walks through steel and
wall!"

It's such a cliche to ask the PCs to retrieve a lost magic
item. Make them find it first and then announce it was
needed:

"The gods sent you!" said the town's major "You are the one
we were awaiting! You carry Ocea'ch's harp! Only you can free
us!"


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End of Supplemental #22

Have more fun at every game!

johnn@roleplayingtips.com

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