The Magic Hoard

Been a while since I put up a new magic item, so here ya go...

Tabard of Identification: This magical tabard always displays the coat of arms of the wearer. If the wearer has never worn false colors, the tabard provides a +1 bonus to all saving throws. Experience Point Value: 500 G.P. Value: 2,500

The Magic Hoard: Ring of Long Eyes

Ring of Long Eyes: If worn continuously for more than a week, this ring triples the wearer’s normal sight. Once acclimatized, the wearer suffers dizziness and nausea for 6 hours after removing the ring. Experience Point Value: 1,000 G.P. Value: 5,000

The Magic Hoard: Ring of Ringmastery

Ring of Ringmastery: This ring informs the wielder of any magic rings within 100 ft. The wielder can tap into the power of rings in that area, gaining their ability for his own. Additionally, the wielder can try paralyze (2-5 rounds) the bearer of any magical ring within 100 ft. if the target fails a save. The ring can only paralyze once per day per magic ring. Experience Point Value: 1,000 G.P. Value: 5,000

The Magic Hoard: Staff Sphere

This is my first additive magic item - a term I'm using to describe a magic item that you add to another magic item for new/more power.

Staff Sphere: This small crystal sphere magically attaches or detaches from any magical staff at will. The bearer can cause the sphere to glow like a torch whenever desired and the glow takes a bluish tinge when facing north. Additionally, the bearer can use the staff sphere’s charges to charge the staff. When found a staff sphere has 2d6+2 charges. If emptied of all charges, the sphere cracks, falls to the ground, and shatters. Experience Point Value: 600 G. P. Value: 5,000

The Magic Hoard: Spider Shurikens

Spider Shurikens: If this +1 shuriken hits its target, it transforms into a large spider that engages only the target in melee. If killed (or after 10 rounds pass), the spider transforms back into a spider shuriken. Nothing happens on a miss. Experience Point Value: 200 G. P. Value: 1,000

The Magic Hoard: Sword of the Asp

Sword of the Asp: This +2 sword may turn into deadly asp 3 times a day for 5 rounds. While transformed the tail of the asp wraps around the wrist of its bearer and any successful attack roll kills unless the target saves vs. poison. There is a 10% chance a sword of the asp is cursed, whereupon the asp immediately attacks the bearer (as a 2 HD monster) for 5 rounds before turning back into a sword. Experience Point Value: 1,400 G. P. Value: 7,000

The Magic Hoard: Bone Bracelet of Undead Invisibility

Here's a nice little magic item to spice up an encounter or provide a bit more umph to an animated dead servant...

Bone Bracelet of Undead Invisibility: This bone bracelet provides improved invisibly to any non-intelligent undead when worn. The effect temporarily ends if the wearer is turned (for the duration of the turn), but only permanently ends if the wearer is killed/destroyed. Experience Point Value: 300 G. P. Value: 1,250

The Magic Hoard: Spice of Boredom

 Little magic item I thought of yesterday while waiting in a Dr.'s Office.

Spice of Boredom: This bland spice causes a particular boredom in any that eat it. If a save vs. magic is failed, the eater loses interest in pursuing whatever is most gripping at the moment. Spice of boredom is also known as spice of peace, as it has ended many wars, or as the spice of fidelity, for obvious reasons. The spice’s effect lasts for as many years as the save vs. magic failed.  Experience Point Value: 100 G. P. Value: 750

The Magic Hoard - Silencer of Dragons

Silencer of Dragons: This +1 sword is +3 against dragons and deals double damage against them. Additionally, any dragon hit must save vs. magic or be unable to speak or use breath weapons for 2d6 rounds. Experience Point Value: 1.000 G. P. Value: 5,000.

The Magic Hoard - Arrow of Skeletons

Arrow of Skeletons: This arrow has a tooth where its head should be. When launched against any hard surface (wall, shield, armor, etc.) the tooth shatters into 1d6+3 fragments within a 40’radius. The next round, the tooth fragments transform into skeletons which attack the following round. The skeletons are not under the control of their creator. Experience Point Value: 100 G. P. Value: 450.

The Magic Hoard - Ring of Grand Wizardy

Ring of Grand Wizardry: This ring allows a Magic User to memorize spells of a higher level than normal. For example, a 3rd-level Magic User (2-1st / 1- 2nd ) with a +2 Ring of Grand Wizardry could memorize (0-1st /1-2nd /2-3rd) or (2-1st /0-2nd /0-3rd /1-4th) as the ring increases one spell level of his casting ability by 2 levels, thusly turning 1st level spell slots into 3rd level spell slots or 2nd level spell slots into 4th level spell slots. Only one level of spells can be increased with a Ring of Grand Wizardry, except in the case of the +1/+2 Ring.

Power                X.P Value        G.P. Value
+1 Level             4,200                52,000
+2 Levels            4,800                58,000
+3 Levels            5,000                60,000
+4 Levels            5,400                64,000
+1 Level             4,800                58,000
and +2 Levels

The Magic Hoard - Undead Chicken

Undead Chicken: This skeletal chicken behaves like a living chicken. Once per week it lays an egg. Inside the egg is a tiny undead creature that expands to normal size and completely obeys whoever frees it from its miniaturized captivity. The contents of each egg are randomly determined on the below chart. 10% of undead chickens have no limit on the number of “progeny” it can produce: all others can only have 1d4 progeny active at any one time. When the limit is exceeded, the oldest undead turns to dust.

1. Skeleton

2. Zombie
3. Ghoul

4. Ghast

5. Wight

6. Mummy

The undead chicken has AC 4, HP 10, and regenerates 1 HP per round. Experience Point Value: 2,000 (10,000 unlimited) G. P. Value: 15,000 (40,000 unlimited).

The Magic Hoard - Trueblade

Another magic item. Dunno when they'll stop popping into my head, but until then I'll share...


Trueblade: Trueblades come into existence in the hands of sole-survivors: the blade turned magical through the forge of battle. Trueblades are +1 blades (any edged weapon can be a trueblade) that guarantee a single hit once per combat.  The bearer needs only to declare the ability to successfully hit.  Experience Point Value: 800 G. P. Value: 4,000.

The Magic Hoard - Two-handed Staff

And another from the hoard... 

Two-handed Staff: This staff +1 has an iron fist at each end. Upon command, the top fist flies out, allowing the wielder to attack creatures up to 60 feet away. Upon a second command, the top fist flies out and attaches itself to a non-living object not worn or carried by a living creature. A third command opens the bottom fist, creating a foot-hold, and then levitates the staff to join with the first fist attached to a non-living object. In this manner, the wielder of a two-headed staff can easily step onto the second fist and enjoy transportation to the first. The staff can carry up to 400 lbs. Experience Point Value: 1,500 G. P. Value: 9,000.

The Magic Hoard - Cloak of the Land

Another magical item...

Cloak of the Land: When thrown upon the ground, this brown cloak’s folds make a roughly-accurate topographical map (20 miles square centered on the owner) of the nearby area. The cloak even changes colors to indicate water, trees, etc. A cloak of the land does not work underground. Experience Point Value: 2,500 G. P. Value: 15,000.

A Completely New Type of Magic Item? You tell me!

So here are two examples of what I think maybe a completely new magical item type for the OSR. Of course, there's more than a decent chance that I'm wrong (I'm far from uber-literate regarding all OSR rpgs) and I'd love to know if something like this has been done before.

Behold the first (?) Transmutational Magic Items, magic items that alter a character's magic during the casting!

Apprentice Wand: Traditionally given by a master to his former student on the last day of his apprenticeship, the apprentice wand is typically straight yew tipped with brass. When a charge is used, it transforms any 1st-level spell into a read magic spell. It can be recharged by casting read magic spells upon it. Experience Point Value: 250 G. P. Value: 500.

Staff of the Thistle: Formed from the root of a bramble bush, the staff of the thistle has the following transmutational magic functions when a charge is used:

1. Grasping Thistle: Upon the casting of any 2nd-level druidic spell, the staff transmutes the spell into an entangle, but all entangling plants also grow spikes, inflicting 1-2 hit points of damage per round spent in the area of effect, regardless if a creature is entangled.

2. Spiny Grass: Upon the casting of entangle, the staff transmutes the spell into spiny grass in an area of effect that is double the entangle.  The area is considered covered with caltrops for the duration of the spell. For each yard traveled in the area, a creature is attacked by a 1+1HD creature and any hit has a 25% chance to slow movement by 25% for the next 4 days. If a creature is hit a number of times equal to its feet (two for bipeds, four for horses, etc.) the creature’s movement is reduced by 90% for the next 8 days.

A staff of the thistle can be recharged by casting plant growth upon it. Experience Point Value: 750 G. P. Value: 5,000.

The Magic Hoard - Ring of Attunement

Been working on a rather uncooperative Operation Rogue Lion map (and have two more to go), but the magic item ideas just keep coming, so here's another treasure from the hoard....

Ring of Attunement: This ring provides the magic-user or illusionist with a +1 on saves vs. a particular type of magic (Alteration, Necromantic, etc.) and causes targets of such spells cast by the owner to save at -1 against the same type of magic. Additionally, it allows the owner to freely cast a 1st or 2nd level spell of the same type once per day. Experience Point Value: 2,000 G. P. Value: 10,000.

The Magic Hoard - Shieldbreaker

There doesn't seem to be a lot of magical pole arms, so here's a rather powerful one...

Shieldbreaker: This +4 halberd destroys any shield it hits. If a creature bearing a shield is damaged by Shieldbreaker during a combat round, its shield must succeed on a crushing blow or be rendered useless. Wooden shields are splintered, but metal shields can be repair by a skilled smith. A character with a shield may choose to deliberately not use it when fighting Shieldbreaker, but the character loses the benefit of the shield to his AC and also suffers an additional -1 penalty to AC because of the unnatural behavior. However, this completely protects the shield from Shieldbreaker. Experience Point Value: 3,000 G. P. Value: 15,000.

The Magic Hoard - First of a Series

For some reason, magic items have been popping into my head on a daily basis for about the past week. So this of course means I should turn these into blog posts. I figure everyone enjoys a new magic item so might as well share. Here's the first of the series I'm going to call The Magic Hoard.


Ring of Cat’s Life: This ring is made of 9 powdered housecat teeth mixed with gold. It has 9 charges. A charge can be used to turn a failed save into a successful save. Once depleted, the ring no longer works for the owner. However, it can be passed to another owner, up to a maximum of 9 total owners. Experience Point Value: 3,000 G. P. Value: 25,000.