Adding Variety to DM Loot, and New Ways to Kill Players
Tired of killing that evil mummy and finding nothing but three bottles of War Paint and a Lucky Coin? Ever been walking down the street, strutting, showing off that new set of Moon Chain when you round the corner and bump into someone else wearing the exact same set? Well, hopefully, we'll be remedying that soon. I've been working very hard to increase the variety of custom magical loot, pulling a lot of stuff from old D&D games like Ice Wind Dale II and toning it down to our magic level.
Here's a few samples of things I've added:
Black Goat Girdle
Made by halflings, the Black Goat Girdle is sacred to all of their religious sects. Legends say that the Black Goat appeared to a nameless halfling village
that had been sacked by goblins during a terrible winter. The tribe of warriors slew most of the halfling men, burned the fields, and took all of the town's livestock. Broken but not hopeless, the villagers congregated for prayer in the burned chapel at the center of town. Out of the smoke drifting over the edge of town, a black goat appeared with six kids, five black, one white. Over the course of six days, the kids grew, gave birth to more kids, and each previous generation died in the night. The milk, meat, and hide provided by the goats helped the halflings survive through their harsh winter. After the six days of miracles had passed, the town tanner made a belt from the hide of the mother goat that had appeared out of the smoke. Halfling tales often contain stories of halfling heroes wearing the Black Goat Girdle on their adventures, though no one has yet determined exactly where the legend truly originated.
Cast spell: Cure minor wounds (1/day)
Saving throw bonus: +1
Morning Glory (Mace)
Morning Glory is a finely crafted weapon. The head is constructed of mithril with blunted steel spikes of a golden color. The haft is fashioned from highly polished oak with a reinforced steel center. The pommel of the weapon is capped with a seal depicting the rising sun.
This was once the favored weapon of a priest of Lathander, the morning lord, the god of renewal and rebirth. It is renowned for its healing abilities.
Cast spell: Cure Light wounds (2 charges/use)
Cast spell: Cure Critical Wounds (5 charges/use)
Attack Bonus +1
11 charges
The Lions of Arkamadis
Between 910 and 946 DR, the lands east of the Spine of the World mountains were often plagued by the minions of the archmage Arkamadis. Believed to have had
contact with Arrakon, the would-be conqueror of Icewind Dale's barbarians, Arkamadis was only slightly less dedicated to dominating the native people that surrounded his tower, Whitestone Talon.
Arkamadis wore a pair of bracers during most of his time in the north. Regardless of the disguises he used, he always kept the bracers as an identifying feature. The bracers were made of thick, polished bronze. Though not elaborate, the top of each bracer featured a lion rampant in relief, roaring towards his hands. Arkamadis lost his bracers when dwarves from Citadel Adbar crushed his growing empire and demolished Whitestone Talon with siege engines.
AC Bonus +1
Cast Spell: Bulls Strength 3 charges/use (10 charges)
Obviously, some of these rewards are going to be more rare than others, but most of the items I'm creating and putting in are geared to be given out for good rp and DM quest rewards.
I'm also working on some new monsters, to give you some variety on things to fight. Here's a sampling of some new creatures I've pulled from the Libris Mortis sourcebook:
Carcass Eater
This gore-streaked, four-footed animal seems like a cross between a overlarge rat and a wolf, though even that can’t explain the extraordinary size of its toothy jaws.
Carcass eaters are most often found digging up fresh graves for food or, where opportunity is less available, hunting the night for prey.
Cinderspawn
This tall, gaunt, coal-black humanoid flickers with a blue-white fl ame. Its bright yellow eyes gleam with menace. Cinderspawn are burnt-out undead remnants of
creatures of elemental fi re. They hate living creatures for their warmth and seek to destroy all such beings.
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