The Legendary Artifacts That Haven’t Yet Appeared in the Books
One of the greatest things about TTRPGs is the storytelling you get to do with friends, the adventures you get to go on, the expansion of your mind, experiences, and understanding…
Loot. It’s the loot.
Boot it.
Shoot it.
Loot it.
We all want to know what the goblin had in its pockets and we’re always disappointed when the little creature had a single gold coin and a rusty dagger. We’re always looking for the magical items, the powerful artifacts, and the legendary loot that we will throw in our bags and forget about because it's not as good as the one we’re currently using. Even knowing that, we continue the hunt, looking for the next shiny object that can potentially come into our grubby little cheeto dusted mitts.
Every Paladin wants the +5 Holy Avenger, every Rogue wants the Skeleton Key, and everyone one wants that Immoveable Rod for an abundance of reasons. But what happens when the world you’re playing in sees these objects as works of fiction that have never, and could never, exist?
You begin looking at what does exist in the world.
One of my favorite things about fantasy is the depth of real-world mythology that can be plumbed in order to expand upon it. What is the +5 Holy Avenger if not the fantastical equivalent of Excalibur? I mean, the Dwarven Thrower is just Mjölnir, the great hammer of the got Thor, and anyone who’s been reading my books knows that the gods of our world’s mythology are real to an extent in the stories. So when items that exist in the world of table top games don’t exist, what is a dungeon master to do? Why, steal from mythology of course.
Now, the game we play is using 2014’s 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, and since the OGL stands and I don’t use anything that Hasbro owns in the books, I’m safe from any legal issues. That being said, I’ve also stolen a great deal from mythology (as Gary Gygax did as well) and created my own magical items based on these mythological stories. There will be some notable ones appearing in the future, however, since you’re good blog readers, I think you deserve a treat and a sneak peek at something coming in the future…
Talon (longsword)
This +1 sword is designed with a pair of eagle wings as its crossguard and is much lighter than it appears to be without sacrificing power or balance. The weapon has 3 charges. As a bonus action on their turn, the creature wielding Talon can expend one of the charges and gain a fly speed equal to their regular speed until the end of their turn. The creature wielding Talon can also use their reaction to expend a charge to cast the spell feather fall.
Now that’s not the only way to get some magical items into the game. As Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Things like Pepper Spray (or Bear Mace) can be used as a weapon to blind creatures (DC 12 Dexterity or be blinded for 1 minute, can make a DC 15 Constitution at the end of your turn to regain sight for Pepper spray, Bear Mace gets a 15 foot cone and that’s a DC 15 Constitution save or take 2d6 acid damage and be blinded, save for half, and can make saves at the end of its turn to get sight back) are pretty useful, especially at lower levels. Or First Aid Kits since potions aren’t a thing (these are only 1d4+2 healing, so the cheaper cost is understandable, plus they can only be used on any particular player once a day).
But these were the kinds of items I needed to create for my world since magic, while technically a thing, wasn’t as common in Boston as it was in… the place they came from. Can’t give you that name yet. As River Song would say, spoilers…
