Natural 7

12 More Magic Items

I've made a lot of magic items for my adventures and campaigns in the past. Problem is, most of those were built for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.

For today's post, I decided to redesign a set of my favorite items and share them with you. These items are oriented towards a game like Shadowdark and are less context dependent than their original versions. If you want to see more of my ideas about magic items, check out this post!

Here goes a list of 12 magic items streamlined for more drop-them-in old school play!

  1. Whispers of Dreams Left Secret
  2. Halakyr Sensory Adaptor
  3. Woszayjin, Wizard Blade
  4. Sha'kal Ressiad, the Scalebreaker
  5. Flesh of the Luck God
  6. Soul Tarot
  7. Atrocity
  8. Treachery
  9. Cosmos Blade
  10. Still Ocean
  11. The Jawbreaker
  12. Chance Cubes

1. Whispers of Dreams Left Secret

A golden dagger that seems perpetually dull, resisting any attempts made to sharpen it.

Bonus. +2 dagger.

Benefit. Once per day, you can turn yourself and all nearby creatures Invisible for 10 minutes. They are no longer Invisible if they attack or cast a spell.

Curse. Each time you use the benefit, choose a random creature affected by it. That creature forgets one significant memory of their choice.

2. Halakyr Sensory Adaptor

A blossom-like mesh of silver filigree implanted in place of an ear.

Benefits. You cannot be Deafened against your will. At any time, you can make yourself Deafened until your next turn. Once per week, you can supercharge the adaptor and hear everything, even distant sounds, in perfect detail.

3. Wosayzjin, Wizard Blade

A sword knit from magic-made-manifest, orbited by the arcane runes of spells both ancient and new.

Bonus. +3 longsword. If you can cast spells, then you can wield this sword.

Benefit. Each day, a random spell is inscribed in a random language in the air around the sword. If you can read the language, then the spell counts as one of your memorized (or prepared) spells for the day.

Sentience. Neutral. Telepathy with wielder. Speaks only when absolutely necessary. Ancient knowledge.

4. Sha'kal Ressiad, the Scalebreaker

A jagged-edged katana forged around a snake's bloody spine.

Bonus. +3 longsword.

Benefit. A natural 20 on an attack roll with the weapon severs the head of the target.

Curse. Every time you use the benefit, there is a cumulative 5% chance that the weapon's blade whips back and severs your own head.

Sentience. Chaotic. Communicates through nightmares. Manipulative.

5. Flesh of the Luck God

A fragment of divine skin grafted upon oneself.

Benefit. You, and anyone near you, gain a luck token every morning.

Curse. The Luck God wants their flesh back.

6. Soul Tarot

A case of tarot cards, each depicting a different person instead of the minor or major arcana.

Bonus. As a +2 dagger. Usable only when thrown (as if you were throwing playing cards).

Benefit. There are 78 trapped souls contained within the deck. Once per day, you can deal double damage with the Soul Tarot, freeing one of the trapped souls within a card. If the attack kills you target, choose one of the following:

Curse. If you die while carrying the Soul Tarot and there are less than 78 cards left in the deck, your soul is imprisoned within a new card.

7. Atrocity

A drill-shaped dagger forged from a rotten green metal.

Bonus. +1 dagger.

Benefit. Once per day, you can cast Acid Arrow with a successful DC 12 Intelligence check. This benefit is not expended on a failure.

Sentience. Chaotic. Telepathy with wielder. Serpentine and cruel.

8. Treachery

A short, thin stiletto with a cratered, gold blade. It could be confused for a small, ceremonial dagger.

Bonus. +3 dagger.

Benefit. Once per day, you can cast Invisibility with a successful DC 12 Intelligence check. This benefit is not expended on a failure.

Curse? The weapon is invisible as long as it is not in contact with skin.

9. Cosmos Blade

A massive amber-colored blade drawn from a gemstone meteor.

Bonus. +2 greatsword.

Benefit. The weapon is unnaturally light and only requires 1H and 1 slot instead of 2. Additionally, you can cast Levitate or Feather Fall with a successful DC 12 Intelligence check. This benefit is not expended on a failure.

10. Still Ocean

A black-bladed katana with a blue-wave engraved across the flat edge.

Bonus. +3 longsword.

Benefit. You are immune to all spell effects, including those cast by your allies.

Curse. Your maximum hit points are reduced by an amount equal to your level.

11. The Jawbreaker

Ten sugar-coated flower petals compressed into a dense sphere of pure deliciousness.

Benefit. Once only, you can consume the entire Jawbreaker and regain all missing hit points.

12. Chance Cubes

Golden polyhedrals etched with shimmering numbers. It is rumored that exactly six such cubes exist across the multiverse.

Benefit. Randomly determine what die size your chance cube is (valid die sizes are d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20). Once only, you can roll your chance cube and add its result to any dice roll.

Curse. If your chance cube rolls a natural 1, you die and your soul is erased from existence. At least one person nearby forgets your name entirely.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed these twelve magic items, I know I enjoyed tweaking them down to into bite-sized pieces. My personal favorite of the items is the Soul Tarot. Originally, the tarot cards were actually part of a larger toolkit used by a gambler who could also flick coins and throw exploding dice. I decided it would be a bit easier to shift things down to just the cards. Overall I'm quite happy with how all the items turned out.

See you all next Saturday!

Things on my radar this week: