My gaming life and normal life have been busy lately. My normal life is boring because I don't get to kill Elves with a sword, so we will ignore that and instead focus on my gaming life.
I recently finished my on-going Heroic Tier only game with my crew of noobs. In reality however, they are from from being noobs. Since I first taught them the ways of 4e D&D (and D&D in general) last August, they have all created and played countless characters, they've developed a mastery of the system, and most importantly, they have all taken a turn DMing. I'm actually the most proud of that last fact. I didn't have to twist any arms, they had the fire burning up inside of them and they volunteered on the off-weeks when we all cannot make it. One player was so jazzed from finishing up our Heroic Tier campaign that he started writing and creating his own campaign guide. I'm a proud DM.
But that is neither here nor there. I jumped back into DMing with a pirate-themed campaign. What started as a one-shot one week has led to this full-blown monstrosity. It's beautiful and has lots of player input. I tasked each player with not only creating their character and backstory, but with each fleshing out an island on the Ancient Seas as well as a deity. I told them that while they will discover new islands, the gods they create are the only ones that are available for worship in this campaign. Not only that, but I heavily encouraged re-fluffing of powers and themes and classes to better fit the setting, and hey, it's fun to re-fluff stuff. I started them off with some examples and they ran with it from there and it was beautiful to watch. They are invested in this world and they get the chance to play some moral grey by way of pirates (instead of half of the crew being a Cleric and a Paladin last campaign!)
I've also jumped head-first back into a (mostly) monthly Swords & Wizardry game. I had played before with the Core rules and loved it, but as part of the Reaper Minis Kickstarter I had received the Complete rules, which I've absolutely devoured since. Having your character die within 30 minutes during your first session back to the game can be... disheartening... to say the least. BUT, being able to quickly create a new character while at the table is a great tool. Of my critiques of 4e, which are few and far between, this is one that really bothers me. Aside from some of the Essentials classes, this is all but impossible. Or at least it is doable, but it takes ages. This is why when I run old school inspired 4e dungeon crawls I limit the class choices to only Essentials classes, races, and feats. It makes for faster character generation (as long as you are not playing a damn Mage.)
I've also bought into the world of Burning Wheel recently. I have purchased and read most of the Burning Wheel Gold book and love it. It's definitely a different game than D&D, but it seems right up my alley. Rich lore, character driven plot, dangerous battles, learning through failure. All of these elements scream fun to me. I need to delve more into and actually play it to get a better idea and judgment of the system, but so far I am very impressed.
BUT! I'm rambling. You came here for magic items at the Legend4ry Bazaar. Before I've brought you Rings of Invisibility and Flaming Swords and Belts of Strength. Today I bring you items ripped from my pirate campaign. Going into this campaign I decided to only use custom made magic items. Now, I'm not necessarily tailoring them directly for my players, I want a little bit more random feel to it, but on occasion I will make items that interest them. So far my players have been pleased with the few magic items they have found and I will present the ones they have discovered here.
First up is Gloorpk's Staff. It's a simple +1 quarterstaff with an intricate frog's head and tongue carved into it. When speaking the command word, the wooden tongue lashes out against an enemy within five squares of the wielder.
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| I forgot to add range to this one, but it is 5 squares. |
Next up is the Golden Frog's Head Amulet. If you are wondering what is with all of the frog-themed gear, I can assure that it stops with this item. The origins of these two items are from a long forgotten Bullywug Empire and they were found in the ruins of said empire. The Amulet confers the wearer a minor resistance to Poison, but also allows the wearer to coat their blade (or weapon) with a thin poisonous film for their next attack.
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| This poison only works for the blade's next attack. |
The following three items were found through various means, legitimate and illegitimate. The first two were legally purchased from the black market of the pirate island in the Ancient Seas. As it is a black market, who knows about the actual legality, but hey, they actually paid for them. The last item was taken from the corpse of an Imperial Trade Navy captain who was trying to defend his vessel from a marauding band of pirates (the PCs are monsters.)
While these items might be slightly "over powered" the actual magic items that the crew finds will be few and far between. In reality they will find a lot of gold and other mundane items through their journeys. One such mundane item is mechanically just a set of leather armor, but it is ornate and decorated in the sigils and baubles of the Imperial Navy. The players have used this creatively when dealing with the Navy and it has proven to be quite the useful item, despite its lack of magical properties. This is something that I miss in 4e D&D, mundane items that require creative thinking to properly utilize. Or even the obscure and seemingly worthless and useless magical item. I plan on bringing more and more of these types of items into the game as they can be the most fun.
That's all for now, faithful readers! Until next time,
-blob
You can follow me on Twitter @Sorcerer_Blob or via the hash-tag #legend4ry. You can also find my blog and others at the Fourthcore Hub and at the RPG Blog Alliance.
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