Spes Magna Games

Three new magic weapons for you to put into the hands of enemies to see if your players’ characters can earn them the hard way.

Borya’s Needle

Ornate, light, and nimble, Borya’s Needle is a +1 short sword that weighs as much as a dagger. A hit from Borya’s Needle that inflicts 5-7 points of damage on a living creature causes a slender steel needle to grow from the sword’s quillons. Upon command instead of a melee attack, the wielder may cause one or more of these needles to take flight as Magic Missiles. This remarkable blade cannot produce more than five needles per day.

Borya the Nimble was an Elven Fighter/Magic-User with a reputation for roguish and romantic exploits. Stories claim he owned several remarkable magic items, including a pocket watch that could slow time, a silken handkerchief that could alter its user’s facial features, and, of course, Borya’s Needle, the elegant rapier which bears his name. Borya finally met his match in a battle of love and wits waged against Cassia, the queen of dryads whose beauty is rumored to be so great that even a fleeting glimpse of her leads to longing, then to obsession, and finally to insanity. At Cassia’s request, Borya cast his fabled blade into the Verdant Whirlpool and then attempted to win Cassia’s love by refusing food or drink from one new moon to the next. Consequently, Borya the Nimble wasted away from hunger and thirst. The last word that passed his cracked, parched lips was the name of the dryad queen.

The Hideous Scimitar

Beautiful, inlaid with precious metals, and superbly balanced, this dread weapon was not forged for mortal hands, but instead was crafted in a cursed forge fueled by coals stolen from a hellish plane as a badge of office for a fiendish commander. Each day, for the first 10 combat turns the Hideous Scimitar is wielded in melee, it functions as a +2 scimitar. At the end of the tenth round of melee that day, the blade changes, becoming tarnished and gore-streaked no matter how well it is cleaned. For the next 10 combat turns after this change, any living, mortal creature damaged by the Hideous Scimitar must make a saving throw to avoid contracting a deadly disease (the effects of which are left to the Referee’s discretion). At the end of the twentieth round of melee fought that day with this weapon, the blade becomes even more horrible. It becomes pockmarked and scabrous, and its lesions ooze noxious fluids. For the remainder of the day after this second change, wounds inflicted by the Hideous Scimitar cannot be healed by magical means (a Remove Curse or similar effect can negate this effect).

Mortal creatures are not meant to wield the Hideous Scimitar. Each combat turn during the time the scimitar causes disease that a mortal uses this weapon, the wielder must make a saving throw or suffer 1d4+1 points of damage in the form of spontaneous gashes and bruises. During the time the scimitar causes wounds that cannot be magically healed, the wielder runs the same risk, but the damage suffered increases to 1d6+1 points per combat turn per failed saving throw. Tales claim that a mortal who dies from the baleful effects of wielding the Hideous Scimitar forfeits his soul to the infernal power that first created this weapon.

Stonebreaker

Carved from the heart of a stone brought to the Material Plane from the Plane of Elemental Earth, Stonebreaker weighs 20 pounds and must be wielded with two hands. It functions as a +3 weapon that inflicts 1d8+4 points of damage in melee (including its magical bonus). In the hands of a Dwarf, Stonebreaker‘s full might is revealed. Goblins and orcs cannot look directly at a Dwarf who wields Stonebreaker in battle, which causes those creatures to suffer a -2 penalty to attack rolls against that Dwarf. What’s more, a Dwarfish wielder of Stonebreaker inflicts double damage (2d8+8) against Chaotic giants and all sorts of earth elementals.

The fabled Blind Masons of Kadiphonek carved Stonebreaker for King Bofnar Stonedelver at the start of the War of the Boundless Vaults. Stonedelver led his companions, the dread Ironbreakers, into battle after battle against the orcs, goblins, giants, and elementals that sought to unlock the Boundless Vaults. In Stonedelver’s hands, Stonebreaker turned the tide against the vastly outnumbered Dwarfs time and time again. After days of savage battle, Stonedelver stood victorious, but he succumbed to his injuries before he could be treated. Stonedelver and Stonebreaker were buried in the Catacombs of the Kings. Centuries later, after a succession of weak and quarrelsome kings, Stonedelver’s domain fell to a new threat, and Stonebreaker reportedly fell into the hands of drow priestesses.

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Tags: magic items, place of power, Swords & Wizardry

Good King Vaclav was the son of Stanislaus I, the penultimate king of Hemiboa. His grandfather, Boris I of Hemiboa, was converted to the Via Lucis by Saints Cyril and Methodius. Vaclav’s mother, Dragoríma, was the daughter of a pagan tribal chief, but she was baptized into her husband’s faith at the time of her marriage. Vaclav’s paternal grandmother, Dulmila of Hemiboa, oversaw his education, Vaclav excelled as a scholar and at an early age was sent to the college at Weisblud.

When Vaclav was thirteen, Stanislaus, who had become king just a few years before, died and Dulima became regent, a move which enraged Dragoríma so much that she arranged to have Dulima murdered by assassins. Reportedly, these killers strangled Dulima with her veil. After this, Dragoríma assumed the role of regent, and immediately initiated measures against the Via Lucis. When Vaclav came of age, he wrested control of the government from his mother and countermanded the persecution of the Via Lucis. Vaclav had Dragoríma exiled, and then went on to put down a major rebellion led by Duke Mouřik, one of his wicked mother’s paramours.

Eleven years into Vaclav’s reign, a group of nobles allied with Vaclav’s younger brother, Boreslav, plotted to kill Vaclav. Boreslav invited Vaclav to the celebrate a holy day with a feast. Three of Boreslav’s lackeys attacked Vaclav during dinner, stabbing the young king several times before Boreslav ran Vaclav through with a lance. The kingdom fell into civil war shortly after Vaclav’s murder. Even now, Hemiboa remains fractured and unstable.

Vaclav was widely hailed as a martyr saint almost immediately after his death. Although Boreslav tried to dispose of the body in the wilderness, followers loyal to Vaclav retrieved the corpse and hurried into a Weisblud, which has since become the center of Vaclav’s cult. Vaclav’s skull ranks chief among the saint’s relics. For decades, it was kept under guard in Weisblud’s cathedral, but just a few years ago thieves stole it. Vaclav’s skull remains missing to this day.

All manner of stories surround the lost relic. Some claim descendants of Boreslav paid to have the skull taken, and that these evil scions use the relic in profane rituals. Other tales say the thieves were killed crossing into the Recondite Frontier and that the skull was lost in a rain-swollen river. In and around Weisblud, the most common legend holds that the skull vanished when the thieves left the city with it. Angels took the skull up into the mountains above Weisblud, hiding it in a cave. When a time of great evil befalls the city, Vaclav himself will descend from Heaven, take up his skull, and lead an army of the righteous dead to reunify Hemiboa and place a rightful heir on the throne.

In the hands of a faithful cleric of the Via Lucis, the Skull of Good King Vaclav acts as a bronze horn of Valhalla. Evil characters who so much as touch the skull lose 1 full experience level, dropping to the lowest possible number of experience points to hold the level. If the evil character is a cleric, he must also atone in an appropriate manner; until then, he cannot cast cleric spells higher than 1st level. The Skull is rumored to have other powers as well, which may be chosen from Artifacts and Relics Powers/Effects Tables (see pages 162-164, Dungeon Masters Guide). The Skull of Good King Vaclav reportedly has these powers/effects: Minor Benign Powers x2, Major Benign Powers x1, Minor Malevolent Effects x2, Major Malevolent Effects x1, and Prime Powers x1.

Tags: AD&D, Catholic, magic items

Well, my grand writing plans last week got squashed under the heel of an awful head cold that has at last faded to a nuisance. Much of last week is a blur. I even missed OwlCon because I forgot which weekend was which. Yay.

This week, I feebly climb back into the saddle. I just got done updating information for my twice-monthly 1E AD&D campaign. I was going to work on details for Safe Harbor, the player-collaborated starting village, but I can’t find the notes or the hand-drawn map. Fortunately, I do have a scan of the latter. Grr.

Next up, a couple of new entries for Swords & Wizardry.

Transfiguration

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white (Luke 9:28-36).

Spell Level: Cleric, 4th Level
Range: Caster only
Duration: 1 hour

By means of this spell, the Cleric transfigures himself into a semi-transcendent being. His clothing and armor become dazzling white, and his features radiate light and power. Against living bipeds of human size or small, his voice gains the power of Suggestion, but hypnotic suggestions to perform evil actions automatically fail. The Cleric’s ability to “turn” the undead increases. He rolls 2d8+4 instead of 2d10 when attempting to affect the undead, and he affects 3d6 creatures of the targeted type. Those turned will depart and not return for 4d6 rounds.

Thrice-Blessed Wine: A Lawful cleric casts Protection from Evil on a bottle of fine wine (at least 50 gp value). He then stores the wine in a sacred cellar for one year and one day, at which time he casts Protection from Evil on it again. The wine is stored for another year and a day, at which time a third Protection from Evil is cast upon it, thus creating a bottle of Thrice-Blessed Wine.

Up to four cups can be poured from a bottle of Thrice-Blessed Wine. If the wine is consumed, the quaffer is healed 1d6+6 hit points of damage and gains the benefits of Protection from Evil for 4 hours. If the wine is poured or sprinkled in a doorway or window, no evil creature can pass through that portal for 4 hours.

Tags: Catholic, magic items, spells, Swords & Wizardry

For reference, see Luke 3:10-18. First, a new cleric spell:

Azniko’s Prohibitive Winnowing Fork
Spell Level: Cleric, 5th Level
Range: Centered on caster
Duration: 6 melee rounds

A mystical winnowing fork formed from holy fire appears floating in the air within 20 feet of the caster. Once per round for the duration of the spell, the winnowing fork flies to strike an evil creature within a 20-foot radius of the caster, causing 3d10 points of damage and forcing a saving throw to avoid another 3d10 points of fire damage.

Next, a new magic weapon:

Blessed Winnowing Fork: This weapon function like a spear in combat. It has +2 to-hit and damage bonuses against undead and infernal creatures. Once per day, the wielder can use Dispel Evil (as if cast by a 10th-level cleric).

And, lastly, a new remarkable magic item:

Immolating Chaff: This magical dry and scaly plant material, usually found in a pouch holding 3d6 handfuls, possesses a remarkable power. A handful can be tossed up to 10 feet at an evil creature, which must make a saving throw to avoid bursting into flames. This causes 1d6 points of damage per melee round for 2d4 rounds, but the flames can be put out by usual means. Usable By: Clerics.

Tags: Catholic, magic items, spells, Swords & Wizardry

What am I doing this weekend? Funny you should ask. I’m statting up Krampus for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Swords & Wizardry, Fate Accelerated Edition, and Dungeon World. I’m formatting each Krampus into separate PDFs, and I’m thinking about bundling them together and putting them up at DriveThruRPG. Ho-ho-hozzah!

And now for another magic item. See Baruch 5:1-9 for more information.

Garment of Sorrow and Affliction: This magical article of clothing appears to be (and duplicates the powers of) a specific type of magic robe. Roll 1d8: Robe of Blending (1-3), Robe of Eyes (4-6), or Robe of Wizardry (7-8). Unfortunately, this garment is cursed. It will function as the determined type of magic robe for 1d6+6 uses before the curse activates.

The curse afflicts the wearer with fits of brooding and melancholy, causing him ignore any given situation (50% chance). Once per day, the wearer must make a saving throw. If he fails, he attempts to destroy himself in a manic fit of hopelessness. This fit of suicidal mania lasts for 2d6 combat rounds. Usable By: All Classes (Robe of Blending), or Magic-User (Robe of Eyes or Robe of Wizardry).

Tags: Catholic, Krampus, magic items, Swords & Wizardry