Roleplayer #22, November 1990
What's In the Chest?
Outtakes from GURPS Magic Items
by Chris McCubbin, with Daniel Thibault
Here are just a few of the wonders we didn't have room for in GURPS
Magic Items. These and others may someday appear in GURPS
Magic Items II.
We are looking for even more magic items for Magic Items II.
We particularly need new swords, armor, mage-specific items and thief's
tools, but all good ideas are welcome. If your idea is used, you'll receive
a complimentary copy of GURPS Magic Items II signed
by the writer and editors. (The usual legalities: All submissions become
property of Steve Jackson Games, and none can be acknowledged or returned.)
Send your magic item ideas to Steve Jackson Games, Box 18957, Austin, TX
78760, attention: Chris W. McCubbin.
Armor
Dancing Shield
With a variation of the Dancing Weapon spell, shields can be enchanted to
protect their owner as if wielded by an invisible shield-bearer. The shield
has skill 15, speed 5 (this can be improved to skill 18, Speed 6 by doubling
the energy cost -- double once to improve skill, again to improve Speed),
and a ST (for bashing purposes) equal to the power of the spell. It will
follow its owner's mental or spoken instructions as to which side to guard
(right, left, rear, front or above). If the owner is knocked out, the shield
will continue protecting him to the best of its abilities. If the owner
dies, the shield falls to the ground.
The shield can attempt to Block two attacks per turn, regardless
of its owner's actions. The owner can attempt to parry or dodge any blow
that gets past the shield. It can be instructed to bash (B123), in which
case its owner forfeits the shield's protection for that turn.
An attack on the shield is at -4 plus PD (so a small shield is attacked
at a -2, a medium at -1, and a large at no penalty). Note that the shield
will try to Dodge an attack aimed at itself, with the same skill as its
Block. The shield could also be netted or bagged (standard to-hit roll).
If the shield gets a critical miss, or is struck by a critical hit, it is
stunned and out of the fight until its owner grasps it and "wakes
it up" (treat as a Ready maneuver). The shield loses its magic if destroyed
(see sidebar, p. B120). If penetrated by an impaling weapon, it loses one
point of skill, speed, and power.
Shatterproofing the shield prevents it from being penetrated. Deflect, Fortify,
and Lighten are also good enchantments to add to a Dancing Shield.
Component Spells: Dancing Weapon.
Asking Price: $75,000 per pound of shield's weight.
Roundabout Armour
This suit of armor will Roundabout its wearer to face a surprise attack,
at no energy cost to the wearer. The magic will not operate if the wearer
is already in combat.
This enchantment was first designed for a noble who feared treachery on
the field of battle. Though the enchantment version of the Roundabout spell
is not generally known, the effect has been duplicated several times.
The wearer of the armor must make a Body Sense roll (see p. M94) or become
disoriented for one turn. This somewhat undercuts the effectiveness of the
armor. However, under certain circumstances the GM may also require the
attacker to roll vs. IQ to avoid being mentally Stunned when his prey suddenly
and magically spins to face him.
Component Spells: Roundabout, Sense Danger.
Asking Price: $50,000.
Clothing
Animal Parts
Animal Parts can be any of several different sorts of clothing which Shapeshift
the part of the body they're worn over into a corresponding animal part.
Tiger gloves: These gloves turn the wearer's hands into a tiger's
paws, complete with the associated strength. The wearer acquires an effective
ST of 35 for hand-to-hand attacks, doing a normal hand-to-hand damage of
2d cutting. While wearing the gloves, the wearer cannot wield a weapon or
engage in any activities that require fine manipulation. The effective increased
ST applies only to hand-to-hand attacks, and will not increase lifting or
carrying capacity, or Fatigue.
Asking Price: $75,000.
Mountain Goat Boots: By putting on the boots, the user's feet become
mountain goat hooves. He acquires the skills Climbing and Jumping at 14
each -- the Climbing skill, however, is only usable on mountains. The wearer
will also leave tracks like a goat's hooves.
Asking Price: $50,000.
Winged Shirt: When the shirt is worn, the user's arms become wings,
allowing him to fly at speeds up to twice his normal ground speed. Wingspan
is twice height; in order to take off or land, the user must have an open
area with a radius equal to wingspan in all directions. Flying is an exhausting
activity -- assess fatigue penalties as if running or swimming (p. B134
sidebar). Encumbrance is also a limiting factor (see B139). Self-Powered
Flight is a Physical/Average skill defaulting to DX-4; the only way to learn
it is to practice!
Asking Price: $75,000.
Animal Parts Clothing is created almost exclusively by the Leprechauns.
Some human enchanters claim to have duplicated the effect, but they cannot
do so reliably. There is no energy cost to the wearer, and the effect persists
until the clothing is removed. Until the wearer consciously removes the
items, they are, in all respects, part of his body.
Component Spell: hypothetical Shapeshift Body
Part enchantment spell; whatever it is, it's a Leprechaun secret.
Religious Paraphernalia
Icon of Divine Guidance
This talking religious symbol is mostly a curiosity. Whenever it is asked
a question, it will respond with an appropriate quotation from the holy
scriptures of the cult that made it. It is not an oracle of divine wisdom,
it is simply programmed to respond to certain key words with certain quotations.
If asked, for instance, "how can we slay the dragon?" it might
respond, "Will not the Mighty One defend the pure of heart? Even the
dragons of the air tremble before his footsteps." A question such as
"How can we defeat our enemies?" might earn the response "Thine
enemy's hate is a fire which consumes him from within. Be not thou likewise
consumed."
Note, however, that a party that is not familiar with the scriptures in
question might well believe they are receiving actual oracular guidance
(although couched in a typically inscrutable fashion).
The Icon can also be commanded to quote extensive passages, or even the
entire scriptures in order (a process which might take several days to several
years, depending on the sect). It will also sing hymns and psalms in a pleasant
baritone.
These items are favorite toys of the pious rich. They are also frequently
incorporated into shrines at temples or other places of worship.
Component Spells: Voices (advanced variant).
Asking Price: $100,000.
Sundries
Portrait Stone
A Portrait Stone is typically a round or oval stone 2 to 12 inches in diameter.
The stone is cut open at the center and the inside surface is polished.
The first person to touch the stone after the enchantments are complete
becomes its owner for life. The polished surface will thereafter show an
idealized image of the individual the owner loves most. The image will never
change in any way, unless someone else supplants the pictured individual
in the owner's affection. The image vanishes when the owner dies.
Wealthy wives often present these stones to their husbands to insure their
fidelity. Senior churchmen have also been known to present them to their
subordinates, who are honored or promoted if the image that appears is that
of the sect's deity or patron saint (and sometimes punished if it is not).
The stone is created by coupling a Simple Illusion spell with an obscure
variant of the Mind Reading spell. The enchanter must also be an excellent
artist -- the final roll to establish the Simple Illusion is made vs. the
enchanter's spell skill or his Artist skill, whichever is less.
Component Spells: Mind Reading, Simple Illusion.
Asking Price: $25,000.
Magical Pets
Mage-cat/Mage-spider
The Mage-cat is a catlike automaton that hunts rodents, birds and other
pests. A Mage-spider is a similar creation in the form of a spider, that
hunts insects, killing the bugs and destroying their nests. It's about one
inch in diameter.
The Mage-cat and Mage-spider are created using a simple variant of the Golem
spell. Both require master-level craftsmanship (Sculpting 20 or thereabouts)
to create a suitable image to enchant. Either one can be created using any
substance that can go to make a golem. The energy cost to activate a Mage-cat
or Mage-spider is the same as the cost to activate a golem of the same substance.
Both sorts of construct are highly efficient hunters. One Mage-cat and a
half dozen Mage-spiders are normally enough to keep a mansion or small keep
completely vermin free. A clay Mage-cat has ST 3, DX 15, IQ 5, HT 14/5.
A clay Mage-spider has ST 1, DX 15, IQ 3, HT 14/3. They gain 1 hit point
and 1 point of ST if made from stone or bronze, 2 each if made from iron.
Neither can be trained or ordered to do anything except hunt, though there
are rumors of attack-trained, venomous ones.
Component Spells: Golem (variant).
Asking Price: $9,020 (for clay) to $40,000 (for
iron or crystal).
Furniture
Replicating Mirror
The Replicating Mirror is a full-length, free-standing mirror with a polished
wooden frame and base, and wooden shutters covering the glass. If anyone
stares at himself in the mirror for at least a turn, and makes a Will roll,
his reflection will step out of the mirror, a perfect duplicate in every
way. The duplicate will serve its original loyally. It will remain in existence
for 1d days, then vanish, but all its memories and experiences will be communicated
back to the original at the moment it vanishes. However, the memories will
be lost if the duplicate is killed before its normal span of existence is
up.
If the Will roll is a critical success, the character rolls 2d. On a natural
12 the duplication is permanent. This permanent duplicate can never transfer
its memories, but will remain a loyal ally for life.
The mirror may have only one duplicate out at any time. While a duplicate
is out the mirror will cloud over, and nothing will be visible within. The
mirror clears when the duplicate dies or vanishes. A permanent duplicate
will not cloud the mirror.
The duplicate may be played by the GM or the player, depending on circumstances.
There are several of these items, though nobody knows where they came from.
At least one is cursed, and produces morally opposite duplicates. These
duplicates will seek to kill their original, in order to take his place.
Another mirror produces cross-sex duplicates -- all stats are identical,
but the duplicate has the opposite gender to the original. There are stories
of other variant mirrors; indeed, it is possible that no two of them are
really alike.
Component Spells: Unknown (a variant Creation
spell?).
Asking Price: $1,000,000.
Farm and Garden Tools
Stone Whistle
This is an ordinary-seeming wooden slide whistle. When it's blown, all stones
more than an inch across and less than a yard, and buried less than a foot
under the ground, will rise to the surface. The whistle has an effective
range about 10 hexes in diameter. Its user does not have to be a mage, but
cannot be Magic Resistant. Each use of the whistle drains three Fatigue
points from the user.
The whistle is intended to make it easy to clear a field before planting,
but they are very popular among treasure hunters (the whistle will call
a buried bit of metal -- like a coin -- just as easily as a pebble). Thus,
the whistle could be used to call up a cache of coins or jewelry hidden
under a wooden floor.
The stone whistles are the invention of the Gnomes, who seldom if ever share
the secret of their creation with enchanters of other races -- because the
Gnomes like to bury their personal treasures! Therefore, the whistles are
somewhat more expensive to non-Gnomes than might be expected for an item
of their power level.
Component Spells: unique Gnomish "Call Stone"
spell.
Asking Price: $35,000.
Wilderness Equipment
Treespeech Talisman
This is a carved amulet of unpolished wood which allows its wearer to talk
to trees. The talisman can, once per day, awaken one tree or bush of any
sort to speech (GM's option whether to extend the talisman's power to, for
example, cacti, bamboo, seaweed and similar exotica).
Trees have an IQ of 9 and 30-point Eidetic Memory. A tree can tell everything
it's heard or seen since it sprouted -- and will! Anyone wishing to ask
a tree if the bandits passed by carrying the king's sword can expect to
first hear hundreds of details about their mounts, head-gear, conversation,
mannerisms and what the local squirrels thought of the whole affair before
the tree ever gets around to mentioning the sword (or its absence). Think
of a octogenarian asked to recall a childhood Christmas -- trees talk like
that about everything. A completely clear, straightforward and
simple question might be answered in 10 to 60 minutes. Anybody foolish enough
to ask a tree "Have you seen anybody" or some similar generality
might just as well go home, unless they have a century or two to spare.
There's no stopping them once they get started, either. A tree will completely
answer the first question put to it before moving on to the next, and will
ignore any attempts to correct or clarify the question.
Once the talisman is taken more than 100 yards from the tree, the tree will
fall silent, and cannot be reawakened for one year.
The Treespeech Talisman is an Elven enchantment, and a very ancient one.
The Elves still own most of these items, but a few wizards of other races
have been said to have reproduced the effect. The user of the talisman must
be a mage, and each use drains 5 points of Fatigue.
Component Spells: hypothetical Elven "Treespeech"
spell.
Asking Price: $60,000.
Food
Soupstone
The Soupstone is an advanced variant of the Create Food enchantment. It's
usually a smooth stone about the size of a fist.
When the Soupstone is thrown into a pot of boiling water, it will, in 10
minutes, turn the water into a rich, nourishing broth. Most stones can transform
up to a gallon of water each use, but there are a few very large stones
that can be placed into a kettle to make tens or even hundreds of gallons
at one time. The stone can produce soup continuously, simply by being dropped
into a new pot once the last pot is done.
A person can live indefinitely on a pint of Soupstone soup three times a
day. The soup will keep very well in any stoppered container. Most people
find that a diet consisting entirely of Soupstone soup becomes intolerable
after about a week.
The stone will purge the water it's thrown into of all impurities, even
poison. It will not, however, work at all with alcohol or anything except
water.
Soupstones are one of the very few magic items to be developed by a Halfling.
They were first created almost two centuries ago by a Halfling chef and
mage. They are generally considered, however, to be much too expensive in
comparison to the benefits gained.
Component Spells: Create Food (variant).
Asking Price: $60,000.
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