View Single Post
Old 01-21-2014, 10:53 AM   #6
Genesis
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Default Re: Treasure from the Sheikh of the Grinning Skull Oasis

I don't know much about Forgotten Realms, but I'll do my best to come up with some desert/bandit/camel-themed items.

Abdul's Basket: A wide, shallow wicker basket, with a matching lid attached with toggles. Abdul himself was a merchant of no particular distinction, and his name is lent to this basket only because he made his mark on the inside lip. The basket desiccates any food left within it over the course of a few days, but magically refills itself when left closed for 24 hours. It's perfect for sweet fruit, which is dried without spoiling and magically preserved, but it has the unique property of working on all manner of potions (so long as they are edible and do not require secondary containment). When the PCs discover it it is filled with chewy red treats that look like fruit leather, but are actually dried-out healing potions. They work just fine, but they take 10x the usual time to administer, since they must be chewed first - they're quite tacky.

Stoppered Spring: At first glance this may appear to be an endless water flagon typical in many desert settings, but it is both better and worse than typical examples of the type. The goat-skin flask is relatively bulky (it ought to be tied to a pack horse, rather than worn by a person). It never runs dry, true, but it does not create water out of nothing. Instead, it magically draws water from the nearest free-flowing source, as well as purifying and filtering it. Overuse of the skin, (such as watering a herd of camels or an army of men), can cause wells to run dry or oases to vanish into the deserts - if the source of the skin's water runs dry due to the flask, it will never flow again.

Sandblade: This pitted dagger looks ancient and useless when lying on the ground, but when wielded by an intelligent being the blade begins to flow and writhe. It's made of magically-cohered sand, and when used in combat it commands all the destructive force of a sandstorm. It does Thr+2 Corr damage, has -2 to Parry (it's made of sand), and can shapeshift from Reach C up to 2 with a Ready action - though it can never be used with more than one hand.

Scarab Broach: Abu Jafar has a whole basket of these charms, each made from the flawless carapace of a large desert beetle. With a whispered incantation they can be animated and used as scouts of spies - can follow simple instructions and will magically relay what they see and hear to their controller when they return (although the information will all be from a beetle's-eye perspective). This is useful, of course, but not the true purpose of the charm. Once animated, these carapaces carry the scent of death with them wherever they go and will attract vultures and hungry jackals, slowly but surely, all eager for a scavenged snack. Direct one into the pack of a pursuer and he will soon have pursuers of his own - hide a dozen in a city and it will be besieged by disease-ridden desert dogs.

Resinous Incense: One of several baskets of resinous incense (like myrrh or frankincense) in the sheikh's storehouse, this stuff is enchanted to bring its resinous nature into the air when it is burned. The sweet, piney smoke produced by this incense rises freely from the coals, but resists movement through it as though it were a taffy-like solid. Hexes with any smoke at all in them reduce movement by [some appropriate penalty], and hexes that are completely smokey act like Binding [of some appropriate level/ST] on characters that attempt to move into them. Can be quite surprising if you're sitting still while the smoke wafts around you!

Djini's Choker: This beaded choker (in a zig-zag pattern of blue and white) grants the wearer Does Not Drink - really quite handy in the desert. When worn continuously, though, the bearer's skin will seem to turn to cracked sandstone, and he will gradually lose the desire to drink, bathe, or come into contact with water in any way. After a month without water the bearer will gain Dread (Water). In another month, he will gain Weakness (Water). Both these disadvantages remain after the choker is removed for as long as it was worn - but Does Not Drink is lost immediately.

Prism Arrow: These arrows has a faceted glass head which sparkles and refracts light quite alluringly. When fired at the sun, the sparkling rays reveal secrets and dispel illusions within a radius of several hundred yards (depending on the strength of the sun's light - 500 yds at noon in the desert, no more than 50 on an average day in England). For a few seconds the invisible is made visible, the hidden is revealed, and illusions are shown as flat and flickering shapes. The arrow is burned up by the sun during this process, and is unrecoverable.

Abu Jafar's Golden Bracers: These golden bracers were carefully hidden by the long sleeves of the priest's vestments. They are covered by winding, intricate etchings of evil verses. When used properly (arms raised upwards to the sun, intoning the verses) they grant the following: Innate Attack 1 dmg (AoE, line of sight; Fatigue damage; Symptoms, dehydration/heat stroke; Takes Extra Time 3, 10 sec; Malediction; Based on HT; Requires somatic actions: chanting and posture; Accessibility, direct sunshine). In a minute the wielder can render peaceable an entire army - the one downside is that it affects everyone within LoS, including allies, even if the user isn't looking directly at them (i.e. no standing behind him, although the back side of the dune is safe). Hmn. Too powerful? Maybe tone down the rate at which they work. Swapping Takes Extra Time for Imm. Prep. Req. 1 Min per casting would make it way less OP.

How do you like these? In genre, or am I missing the mark?
Genesis is offline   Reply With Quote