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In Therra, creation of magic items does not involve only gold piece cost, XP cost, and time. It also involves exotic components and fantastical recipes and rituals. The following are some of the magic recipe formulae so far discovered in Therra.
Each recipe includes a writeup of the item, which PC researched, discovered, or invented the recipe, and the recipe itself. Game notes are in brackets [ ].
Recipe List:
Amber Amulet of Vermin (giant bee)
Potion of Protection from Arrows
Recipes:
* Amber Amulet of Vermin (giant bee): This amber nugget on a gold chain holds a normal-sized vermin within its yellow depths. When broken, it releases the vermin, which instantly grows to enormous size as if you had cast giant vermin upon it. Each amulet only works once.
Moderate Transmutation; CL 7; Craft Wondrous Item, giant vermin; Base Price 500 gp; Time 22.5 days; XP 20.
Discovered by Argus
FROM THE NOTES OF SANILI GARIMUS:
This ritual was copied by me from runes inscribed upon a druidic plinth in the midst of the Feyindir Forest. My notes are in parentheses.
"Take unblemished sap of the earth (amber) of at least three fingers in diameter and set it upon a chain of sun-metal (gold). Set the sap into a stone concave around which are enscribed runes of Change and Transformation. Intone the sacred Cant of Nature's Roots in the holy language and set fire to the sap within the concave. The fire shall flare and melt as liquid in the concave. Into this liquid should be placed a live bee. Chant the Song of Passing over the bee, so that it calms as it sinks into the liquified earth sap. Cast the chant of giant vermin over the concave and sprinkle the blood of the giant bee into the concave. Every week for three weeks, on Sunday at the height of noon, more blood of a giant bee must be sprinkled over the concave and the giant vermin cant intoned. The liquid in the concave will slowly congeal around the bee, and when it is again as hard as the earth sap should be, then the magic is complete."
*
Bag of Tricks: This small sack appears normal and empty.
However, anyone reaching into the bag feels a small, fuzzy ball.
If the ball is removed and tossed up to 20 feet away, it turns
into an animal that serves he who drew it from the bag for 10
minutes or until slain or ordered back into the bag. The animal
can follow any of the commands described in the Animal Handling
skill. Up to ten animals can be drawn from the bag in one week,
and no more than one such animal can be in existence at any one
time. Each type of bag has different animals that may be drawn
from it. Note that the rhinoceros is entirely unknown in Jerranq
or Morakki lands, and so in Therra a dire boar is substituted
for the rhino in a tan bag.
Faint or Moderate Conjuration; CL 3 (grey), 5 (rust), 9 (tan); Craft Wondrous Item; summon nature's ally II (grey), summon nature's ally III (rust), summon nature's ally V (tan); Base Price 900 gp (grey), 3000 gp (rust), 6300 gp (tan); Time 40.5 days (grey), 135 days (rust), 283.5 days (tan); XP 36 (grey), 120 (rust), 252 (tan).
Discovered by Zemeal
FROM THE NOTES OF GERISHOILD THE WOILD:
These bags be favoured of the adherents of Flupnir, for they are random in their function, which honours our lord's chaotic mein, and they are quite useful as well, especially in the rust and tan versions. However, their creation is at times difficult, as they require the good services of a druid or ranger.
Each bag's creation has two parts: The creation of the bag itself, and the infusion of the bag with the beasts in question.
Each bag must be created of fibres woven from the hair or fur of each of the animals summonable by that bag. It is believed that other animals can be summonable by these bags if their fur is substituted in the weaving of these bags. Of course, the power of the animal must be commensurate with the type of bag being crafted. In addition, it is known that no bag may summon more than 5 types of animals, and the rust bag becomes unstable if more than 4 animals are enchanted within it. Only animals may be so used. Magical beasts, vermin, or other creatures cannot be enchanted into the sack.
After the bag is woven, it must be coated with a mixture of the blood of each animal being summoned. The bag should be soaked in a vat of such blood for a week at a time, and then the bag should be hung to dry in the sun for another week. Once per month, the proper Summon Nature's Ally spell must be cast upon the bag, at the end of each dowsing. In addition, at the start of each dowsing, a dram of powdered substance shall be mixed into the infusion. For Grey Bags the substance shall be silver. For Rust Bags the substance shall be three parts sard and one part ruby. For Tan bags the substance shall be three parts Gertinfyr Bark and one part diamond.
When the proper time has passed (33 days for grey, 128 days for rust, or 276 days for tan), the bag shall be dried one last time for 7 days. On the seventh day, bundles of fur or skin from each animal type shall be tossed into the bag. These bundles shall be enscribed with the following runes of enchantment [illustration provided] and tied with the hair of an ordained priest of Flupnir. If the procedure has gone well, each bundle tossed into the sack should disappear in a flash of mauve mist. When the final bundle is tossed in, the bag should be usable.
Of note, the animal parts for each bag must be separate. Parts from the same animal cannot be used to craft two bags, for the essence of the animal is contained within the fur bundles used. In addition, as the favour of each animal is being invoked, each animal must be slain as quickly and mercifully as possible and the fur of the animal that is harvested must be unblemished [requires a Profession (taxidermy) check DC 15].
*
Belt of Shrinking: This
belt will cause the wearer to be under the effect of a reduce
person spell. If the wearer is not a humanoid creature, the
belt will not function.
Faint Transmutation; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, reduce person; Base Price 6000; Time 270 days; XP 240.
Discovered by Zemeal
FROM ZEMEAL'S RESEARCH IN HIS OWN HAND:
The key here is to find a creature who, by its very nature, may alter its size at will. A fey is preferrable because the magic is inherent in its blood and steeped with the essence. The elves know of some fey who can do so, and of these the spriggans are the best known. They inhabit the sylvan areas of Western Jerranq. In fact, the Heroes of the Gem record fighting a group of these along the Near Coast. In addition, it is possible that the elusive bajang of Morakki lands may suffice, for it is rumoured it can change its shape and size as well.
In any event, the belt itself must be crafted of the skin of a magical beast that is smaller than the creator of the belt. Such skin must be leatherable and cured and prepared to the highest quality. The buckle of this belt must be of cold iron, to bind the fey blood to come, and set into the buckle are three carnelians worth at least 100 gp each, these set in the Pattern of Alteration at the vertices of a Rune of Remission.
The belt must be set in a cold iron box, with silver strips set upon it to cover at least half of its surface. Each week a reduce person spell shall be cast upon the belt. Otherwise, the belt shall not be removed from the cold iron box, nor should the lid be opened for more than the brief time needed to cast the spell.
After 84 days (3 months), the box should be taken out at midnight under the next full moon and the box opened, so that the belt may absorb the ever changing light of Luna. If all is well, the silver strips should, upon casting of reduce person under the full moon, shrink and meld into the belt, forming on their own magical runes that mirror the reduce person spell.
At this time shall the blood of an appropriate fey be sprinkled on the belt from a cold iron spoon. The belt shall remain within the cold iron box, and the blood should sizzle when it contacts the belt, the droplets almost burrowing into the leather. Each time this happens, a carnelian should gain more of an inner glow.
Repeat this procedure each week, along with the casting of a reduce person spell, until all three carnelians gain no further glow from the ritual. At this time, after a total of about 270 days, the belt will be ready. It should be removed from the cold iron box and the Charm of Sealing said upon it. The belt may then be exposed to the sun.
*
Boots of Lesser Levitation:
These leather boots are made of the hide of a barghest, and are
studded with from one to three sapphires of deepest blue. They
can be used by their wearer to cast a levitate spell upon
himself as a 3rd level caster once per day for each sapphire.
Faint Transmutation; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, levitate; Base Price 1500 gp per daily use; Time 68 days per daily use; XP 60 per daily use.
Researched by Zemeal
COPIED FROM THE TABLETS OF ROA-KULN:
…when Zethir had vanquished the foul lupine creature that had dropped upon us unexpectedly from out of the air, I asked him what it was. He replied that it was called a barghest, an evil spirit that comes from the netherworld and cloaks itself into the form of either a goblin or a wolf and seeks to feed upon the souls of the unwary. As I shuddered at the thought of the thing's teeth clenched around my neck and it devouring my soul, Zethir knelt and drew his sacred dagger and began to skin the creature.
When I queried Zethir whether he wanted to hang the skin of the creature as a trophy, he smiled and told me that the foul barghests have the ability to lift their bodies into the air and that this power resides in their skins. He intended, he said, to take the skin to a master cobbler, fashion boots from it, and then perform a ritual he knew that would allow the wearer of such boots to ride the winds. When I asked how he learned this lore, he said that it is ancient lore passed down from Amorany the Great, and the wise do not forget it.
As I returned home with Zethir, I observed with keen interest his workings. Here is what he did with the skin:
· He hired Old Thagyri the cobbler to fashion the boots from the cured skin of the barghest. The cobbler scrawled runes into the top of the boots and into the soles before placing the tread piece upon the bottom. Here are the runes [illustration follows]. I believe these are runes sacred to beings of the air and are in a language called Auran. They implore the air to accept the wearer and to uplift him.
· He then placed a sapphire of deepest blue into the top of each boot below the runes and intoned the words of melding: Zmyarchra infirimos haggarenthin, and the sapphire bonded with the boot.
· Zethir then hung the boots from the top of a tall tree, perhaps 50 feet in height, and he let them hang there for a week. Then he took the boots down and set them on the ground for a week. He did this for ten weeks, alternating high and low. He told me that this is necessary to accustom the boots to rising and falling and to introduce them to and have them accepted by the spirits of the air.
· Zethir then placed another sapphire into each boot and repeated the words of melding and the hanging and releasing for another ten weeks.
· He repeated this a third time with a third sapphire.
When I asked Zethir what the
sapphires were for, he told me that they hold the air magic within
them, and each pair of sapphires allows the wearer to levitate
for 3 minutes once per day. Thus, three sapphires meant Zethir
could rise into the air thrice per day. When I asked him if he
intended to bond a fourth sapphire into each, he told me that
he did not believe the magic of the skin was enough to fill more
sapphires. He thought that to raise up more than that would require
the gland of an unspeakable horror with ten eyestalks and would
say no more of it. Zethir did reveal that the boots could have
been made with fewer sapphires, limiting the risings per day but
also reducing the cost in gems and time.
* Cloak of Invisibility: By activating this silvery cloak, the wearer becomes invisible, as per the invisibility spell, for as long as he desires.
Faint Illusion (glamer); CL 5; Craft Wondrous Item, invisibility, magic circle against evil/good/law/chaos; Base Price 36000 gp; Time 1620 days; XP 1,440.
Researched by Zemeal
FROM THE NOTES OF THANOLS THE IMPRESSIVE, FORMER APPRENTICE TO GENGEROS THE WISE:
I have desired for some time to extend my master's artifice with regard to his cloak that imparts invisibility [see Cloak of Lesser Invisibility] to make such powers continuous. Such a thing is quite an arduous undertaking, for surely does the material nature of the cloak resist the introduction of such long-termed illusion and such a radical change to its basic nature.
The key to extending the cloak's power is to recognize that while my master's formula basically sheathes the cloak in an exterior of dweomer, if one could infuse the very fibres of the cloak itself with such dweomer, then the cloak's nature would change from a visible object to an invisible one. Its natural state would be one of invisibility and, in fact, further magics would have to be imparted to allow the cloak to retain its visibility when desired.
First of course, you must fashion one of the cloaks that my master devised. For reference purposes I shall call them Cloaks of Limited Unsight.
After this, the single way I have determined to infuse the cloak with the power of unsight is to bind an invisible stalker, borne of the plane of air, into the cloak. This is not an easy task. The cloak must be hung from a rod of silver, engraved with the following runes [illustration of runes follows]. In a circle no more than 10 feet in diameter and no less than 5 feet in diameter, the following runes must be scribed in sepia mixed with powdered silver [illustration of runes follows].
The stalker must be summoned from the plane of air and attacked. Just as the lethal blow falls, when normally the being would return to its home plane, the following incantatory words must be spoken [incantation follows] and a magic circle spell must be cast to encompass the cloak and the dying stalker. Atimes the stalker will slip this magical trap and return to its home plane [opposed Will check against caster's Spellcraft check].
If the stalker is bound into the cloak, it should begin to flutter and quiver of its own accord, as if in a wind. The cloak must then be sprinkled with powdered silver and have both magic circle and invisibility cast upon it once per week for the first two months and once per month thereafter.
Eventually, after a period of several years, there will come a day when the cloak stops fluttering entirely. I have fashioned only one such cloak and it took 57 months for the cloak to stop moving.
When the cloak stops moving, an invisibility spell must be cast upon the silver rod that holds the cloak. If all is well, the rod will disappear and the cloak will take on a slightly silvery sheen and will be ready to use, turning the wearer invisible at will.
Be cautioned: A colleague of mine warns that it is unknown whether the stalker bound within retains its being. If it does, be careful of two things:
First, if the cloak is torn asunder, the enraged stalker might be freed.
Second, if the stalker is smart
enough he might try to hold the cloak still prematurely in order
to ruin the creation process. It is against the stalker's nature
to hold still for long, so prolonged and hidden observation may
counter this potential.
* Cloak of Lesser Invisibility: This cloak allows the wearer to become invisible, as the invisibility spell, for up to 3 minutes per day, with each use counting as a minimum of 1 minute.
Faint Illusion (glamer); CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, invisibility; Base Price 9600 gp; Time 432 days; XP 384.
Researched by Zemeal
FROM THE TOME OF GENGEROS THE WISE:
...and so I traded the seven strange gems I had found in the den of the shambling mound to the elves of Blanthil for one of their fabulous cloaks that afford its wearer concealment. For several months I examined the cloak in my tower laboratory, taking samples of its thread and noting precisely its weave. From this, I determined a way to concentrate the magic contained within, so that instead of providing its wearer with a continual aid to hiding, the cloak was normally quiescent, but could have its hiding abilities summoned forth in a great concentration so that its wearer could be made invisible! Further experimentation proved that the maximum time its wearer could be unseen lasted about 3 minutes, though it could be expended in one-minute bursts.
Once I had determined this, I also went about divining how the basic elven cloak was fashioned in the first place, for in so experimenting on the cloak I had discharged it of its dweomer. Although I did not glean fully the secret of the elven cloaks, I did learn enough to thereafter fashion a cloak of invisibility on my own.
I set forth hereinbelow the method to create such a cloak, in the hopes that my apprentices and their apprentices who come after I am in Slumber with the Gods will be able to avail themselves of such craft.
First, a cloak must be woven of the finest silk. Gerilongi silk from the Arkaddi silk spider is the best possible, since this spider has translucent skin and its silk is both strong and somewhat transparent. Into this must be interwoven strands of hair of a fey creature (this is an anachronism left over from its origin as a cloak of elvenkind). The silk and hair must be interwoven in the following precise windings [illustration follows]. These threads must then be used to weave the cloak. The cloak itself must be woven using an ancient elven weaving pattern. This requires a special loom, though an ordinary one can be modified. The pattern is familiar to elven seamstresses and is illustrated here [illustration follows].
The cloak must then be hung from a cold iron rod into which the following runes must be carved precisely [illustration of runes follows] and cannot be removed from this rod at any time, lest the magic be spoiled.
Next, the blood of a creature with innate powers of invisibility must be obtained. Enough blood to fill a flask (1 pint) must be taken and mixed in a solution of chemicals [list of chemicals follows]. This solution must be heated until it just begins to boil. It must then be doused in ice water as an invisibility spell is cast over it and the solution must then be brushed over the cloak so that every part of its outside surface is covered. Missing even a spot will foil the magic.
This brushing routine must be performed at the new moon, precisely at midnight and cannot tarry longer than a few minutes thereafter.
With each brushing, the cloak should become more and more transparent. When the cloak is ready, it will be entirely invisible. You must take care that the entire thing is surely invisible, for if a speck remains to be seen the magic will fail.
Once the cloak is entirely invisible, the cold iron rod must be struck sharply with a silver implement...hard enough to cause sparks...while intoning the following incantation [incantation follows]. If done properly, the cold iron rod will shatter and turn to dust and the cloak will fall to the ground, now visible but with the properties desired.
Thanols, my apprentice has requested that I provide some advice on what blood is suitable for the above procedure. I believe the elves use pixie blood, no doubt freely donated by the wee folk. Certainly a pixie or grig will suffice, but as I count myself a friend of the elves, I prefer to summon a foul imp or quasit and throttle it with spell or weapon and drain its body. Such a method can garner up to 4 pints of blood if the thing is taken whole, and if it can be captured (not an easy thing) and held (even more difficult), it could be milked, theoretically, for blood as often as desired. Such a fate surely befits such foul beings!
*
Cloak of Resistance: These
garments offer magic protection in the form of a +1 to +5 resistance
bonus on all saving throws (Fortitude, Reflex, and Will).
Faint to Strong Abjuration; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, resistance, creator’s caster level must be at least three times the cloak’s bonus; Base Price 1000 gp (+1), 4000 gp (+2), 9000 gp (+3), 16000 gp (+4), 25000 gp (+5); Time 45 days (+1), 180 days (+2), 1 year 41 days (+3), 2 years (+4), 3 years 33 days (+5); XP 40 (+1), 160 (+2), 360 (+3), 640 (+4), 1000 (+5).
Blood and Thought version discovered by Zemeal:
FROM THE NOTES OF NEMIS:
Easy it be to craft one of the most basic items that a budding young mage should desire to craft, of a permanent nature, once he hasmastered the scribing of scrolls. Such an item is a cloak of warding, called by many a cloak of resistance. Such cloaks can be crafted of varying degrees of protection, and while the least of these is within the purveyance of a novate magister, the greater ones are progressively more difficult, in terms both of cost and materials and the incantations required, such that even I am unable to craft the highest calibres of these items. It is plain to note that while cloaks are the preferred article of vestment to bear such protective abjurations, any similar article can be so enchanted using the means herein. Of note, however, that this recipe only works with vestments that cover the torso. They will not work for a hat or a ring or boots. Resistance against travail is tied to one's heart and stomache, and as such the vestment must enwrap both to properly function.
First, the cloak must be crafted. The garment should be woven of the finest silk threads, by silk spiders themselves constantly inundated with resistance incantations from birth, if possible. Lacking this, the threads must be set in a vat of iron and steeped with an infusion of the purest fresh water, powdered silver, and thin mithril flecks (from 500 such for the least of cloaks to 2500 for the greatest of cloaks) no less than 1/8 inch in diameter and no more than 1/4 inch in diameter (each shaped cunningly into the semblance of a hexagon). Incant a resistance spell over the infusion as well as Moddicer's Charm of Warding (say the first 3 parts for the least of cloaks, and so forth with all fifteen parts for the greatest of cloaks) and mix with 3 drams of blood from a magical beast of uncanny fortitude [a magical beast with a base Fortitude save equal to the plus of the cloak], 3 drams of blood from a magical beast of uncanny reflexes [a magical beast with a base Reflex save equal to the plus of the cloak], and 3 drams of blood from a magical beast of uncommon will power [a magical beast with a base Wisdom save equal to the plus of the cloak] .
Soak the threads in the infusion and cover with a tight iron lid for a period of three weeks, stirring well at least once daily by means of an iron rod that should be inset into the lid. No light must leak into the infusion, lest the entire process be ruined. After three weeks, the lid may be opened and the artificer should begin to cast a resistance incantation upon the broth every week, as wel as reciting as many of the Writs of Obusk's Luck until the broth starts to boil. Once it starts to bubble, cease intoning the Writs. The more powerful the cloak, the more Writs it can stand, but never pass beyond the 12th Writ or your mind may be forfeit!
The threads will be ready when
one sprinkles more mithril flecks into the brew and the flecks
do not float, but sink to the bottom immediately. This can take
a varying amount of time depending on the power of the cloak.
Once ready, the threads must be spun into a cloak before two full
moons come to pass. The cloak shall be of the most skilled make,
and its hem shall bear runes of platinum thread that follow the
pattern inscribed below [runes are then shown]. A final resistance
incant shall be cast upon the whole, at a skill commensurate with
the power of the cloak [using a spell slot of 3rd for +1 or +2,
5th for +3, 6th for +4, and 8th for +5].
* Floating Disk: This disk operates exactly like a floating disk spell, except that its duration is permanent and it must be attuned to its owner. Attuning the disk requires that the attuner place his hands upon the disk and calmly meditate for 10 minutes. Once attuned, the disk will treat its owner as its caster. The disk is treated as if cast by a 1st level caster, and therefore can hold up to 100 pounds.
Faint Evocation; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, floating disk; Base Price 2000 gp; Time 90 days; XP 80.
Researched by Zemeal
FROM EIDOLON'S BOOK OF FORMULAE:
Concerning the creation of a permanent floating disk, the formula is both fairly obvious and practical. The disk itself must be fashioned of a light metal, preferrably tin or brass or sea-metal. Its dimensions must conform precisely with the dimensions of the disk created by the floating disk spell. The disk must be inset with siz flawless tourmalines worth at least 150 gp each. These must be set on the inner rim of the disk, each equidistant apart from its two adjacent neighbours. Upon the upper face of the disk must be etched with a diamond tip the following words in Auran, the language of the Plane of Air:
I abjure the bound being within this disk to uplift it and bear it at my command.
Next, a being native to the Plane of Air must be summoned or encountered and bound into the disk. The power of the being is irrelevant, as the disk is of minor enchantment. Even a lowly mephit may be so bound. The being must be slain so that its life's blood or ichor or phlogiston enitrely fills the etched Auran runes on the face of the disk. As this is done, a floating disk spell must be cast upon the whole. If all is well, the disk will rise into the air, but may not in any fashioned be moved or the magic will fail.
For the next 90 days, a floating disk spell must be cast upon the disk, and its runes again painted with the blood of a creature of air (this may be from the creature originally bound into the disk or another). This must be done weekly, for after a week the disk will fall to the ground, its magic ruined. The disk may not be moved and should not be touched or jostled except when delicately pouring the blood onto the runes. Even a strong wind can ruin the magic. As such, the preparation should be done in a secure and sheltered location.
As long as the weekly castings are done and the disk remains in its stationary floating position, all should proceed apace. After the 90th day, if the disk is truly prepared, the creator or another should be able to lay his hands lightly upon the face and meditate for ten minutes, after which said disk should follow its new owner as prescribed.
*
Gloves of Lightning: These
flexible leather gloves are covered with small copper rivets.
Three times per day the wearer may make a ranged touch attack
(range 30 ft) that deals 1D8+5 points of electrical damage. The
wearer gains a +3 bonus on the attack if the target is wearing
metal armour (or made out of metal, carrying a lot of metal, and
so on).
Faint Evocation; CL 5; Craft Wondrous Item, shocking grasp; Base Price 8000 gp; Time 360 days; XP 320.
FROM THE NOTES OF JEVVER OF ALDOSHT:
I have not yet crafted such an item, but I do remember the recipe my master used to craft such gloves for the thief Arangun of Vilgos. He took the leather of a beast that had been slain by electricity or lightning. He claimed the beast must have some magic in its blood [a magical beast]. Gloves must be crafted from this beast's cured hide. Meanwhile, four and twenty copper rivets must be forged from heat generated by electricity. This can usually be done by successive castings of shocking grasp or lightning bolt spells, though my master claims there is a method (somewhat dangerous) for forging it in the midst of a violent lightning storm [a description of this method, requiring lightning rods set up atop a treeless hill or mountaintop, is set forth]. A dozen of these rivets must be set into the fist face of each glove, in the pattern shown here [a runic pattern is illustrated] and into each rivet must be enscribed a rune of electricity.
Once the gloves are properly crafted, they must be set upon an iron rod of at least 20 feet in height. Every week, once per week, a shocking grasp spell must be cast at the base of the iron rod. The electricity will course up the rod and into the gloves, causing the rivets to glow a silvery-blue glow and the gloves themselves to hop and twitch. Over the course of a year must the gloves be so stationed, and at least thrice during this period the gloves should be hit by lightning from a natural storm. Thus, stationing the rod upon a hilltop is most desirable.
After a period of approximately 20-30 days, the iron rod should become magnetized by the treatment rendered continually upon it. However, when the gloves are ready, they will drain the rod of all remnants of electrical property, and the rod shall become unpolarized. This is a sign that the magic has been successfully imbued into the gloves.
*
Hat of Disguise: This
apparently normal hat allows its wearer to alter his appearance
as with a disguise self spell. As part of the disguise, the hat
can be changed to appear as a comb, ribbon, headband, cap, coif,
hood, helmet, and so on.
Faint Illusion; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Itemn, disguise self; Base Price 1800 gp; Time 81 days; XP 72.
Discovered by Zemeal
FROM THE NOTES OF GERISHOILD THE WOILD:
Crafting of this item is a longtime secret of the Cult of Tricks, and it should never be disseminated to non-Flupnirians, lest some enterprising wizard devise some counter to it, or worse, some band of assassins adopt it for vile or evil purposes. The hat of disguise is most useful for fleeing from the scene after a prank or trick has been completed.
The hat itself may be of any style, including a leather cap, a lady's bonnet, a cloth hat, etc. The most common is a cloth cap with a feather stuck in it, whether of the forester's variety or a floppy rake's hat. I prefer the latter. The cloth used to craft the hat must be stolen or conned or procured under false circumstances, though murder or robbery is strictly forbidden. It is rumoured that if such cloth is, unawares, steeped in the seed or urine of its owner, it will be even more potent. I have not attempted this enhancement and cannot verify it.
Once the cloth is procured, it must be fashioned with a tailor's awl and needle fashioned from the bones of a doppelganger. The hat must then be sprinkled, once per week, with the blood or other fluid from a variety of humanoids, gender and build included. If two such sprinklings involve two beings too similar in appearance, then the magic of the hat will fail. As the blood is sprinkled, a disguise self spell must be cast to bind the blood into the hat. Then an ounce of blood from a doppelganger or succubus must be traced around the rim of the hat, again once per week.
When 80 days have passed, the bone awl and needle must be ground into powder and included in a last infusion of humanoid blood and doppelganger/succubus blood. If the magic is good, the powder should seem to burrow its way ito the cloth of the hat and imbue the hat with its power.
*
Potion of Expeditious Retreat: This
potion casts the spell expeditious retreat upon the imbiber
(statistics below given for cast at 1st level).
Faint Transmutation; CL 1; Brew Potion, expeditious retreat; Base Price 50 gp; Time 1 day; XP 2.
Discovered by Argus
FROM THE NOTES OF SANILI GARIMUS:
A brew of quicksilver and copper powder must be infused by three cords of sinew from a cheetah or other swift large feline (though I have heard tell a single drop of blood from a quickling fey will suffice as well) using the standard equimarius method. This whole must be set in a pendulum or other device such that, for the twenty hours that the potion is brewing, it is constantly in motion. Should the brew ever become motionless, the process is ruined. An unseen servant can be invaluable for this duty. If the brew is properly concocted, then at the end of twenty hours, the incantation for the expeditious retreat spell should be said over the brew and the motion of the potion should suddenly halt, as the excess kinetic properties are entirely absorbed into the liquid.
* Potion of Protection from Arrows: This potion casts the spell protection
from arrows upon the imbiber (statistics below given for cast
at 1st level).
Faint Abjuration; CL 3; Brew Potion, protection from arrows; Base Price 300 gp; Time 2.1 days; XP 12
Discovered by Argus
FROM THE NOTES OF SANILI GARIMUS:
Brewing of this potion requires
the ground up shell or armour from a beast with a thick hide [natural armour bonus of +6 or more].
A magical beast is preferrable, though I am told the larger
varieties of overgrown beetles and monstrous scorpions will also
suffice. Said carapace or hide should be ground with a steel pestle
coated with diamond dust. As the grinding is commencing, the incantation
of moderate infusiveness should be intoned. This powder should
then be fortified with an ounce of diamond dust and a similar
amount of iron filings. Mixture should be heated until it liquifies,
and then combined with the blood of any creature that is resistant
to non-magical weaponry. An ouonc of such blood is required. Two
steel arrowheads or the heads of javelins or similar missile weapons
should be added to the brew, and at the moment the missile heads
are added, the dweomer of protection from arrows should
be intoned upon the mixture. If the incantation and preparation
have been worthwhile, then the missile heads should instantly
liquify and the entire brew bubble and froth. Let this frothing
mixture sit in a cool, dry place for the better part of two days.
When the frothing is entirely diminished, the brew shall be ready.
* Quiver of Launching: This quiver (can also be in the form of a crossbow case) can hold a score of arrows. In addition, it has a side compartment that can hold 5 vials or 2 flasks. Any arrow or vial or flask placed into the quiver for 10 minutes becomes charged. A charged object can be drawn forth from the quiver and launched as if affected by a launch item spell as cast by a 1st level caster. If the item drawn is not launched by the end of the bearer's next turn, the item loses its charge and must be recharged. Only the wearer of the quiver can draw forth an item and retain its charge. Anyone else drawing forth an item will find it carries no charge. Drawing forth a launching an item is a standard action.
Faint Transmutation; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, launch item; Base Price 2000 gp; Time 90 days; XP 80.
Invented by Zemeal
A quiver must be fashioned from the leather of a magical beast. Any hide or fur from such a creature will suffice. The creature shall have been brought down by either a crossbow bolt or an arrow as appropriate, and the shot must have been from farther than 150 feet distance. Alternatively, the beast can be brought down with a missile launched from any distance using the launch item spell.
Once skinned, the pelt must be dried and cured, with a sprinkling of mercury administered to the curing pelt once per week for the entire 1 month curing process.
After the pelt has been cured, it must be fashioned into a quiver or case. Runes of power must be inked into the quiver, either on the outside or along the inner rim or the inside flap. The runes of power must invoke speed and animatory qualities.
For the next two months, the quiver must be doused into a pure, running river or stream, the faster flowing the better. Once per week, preferrably at night, a launch item spell must be cast upon the quiver while it is doused in the river.
If the ritual has been performed
satisfactorily, then on the last casting, the quiver should rise
up out of the river and into the hands of its creator.
* Rope of Tricks: This rope is a 30 foot silk rope that seems to be braided with multi-coloured strings or hairs of some sort. The rope can be commanded, 3/day, to perform a rope trick spell as if cast by a 3rd level caster. In all respects the rope operates exactly like the spell. The rope must be held in the user's hand and the command word spoken for the effect to activate.
Faint Transmutation; CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, rope trick; Base Price 2400 gp; Time 108 days; XP 96.
Researched by Zemeal
FROM THE ALAGARN CHRONICLES - BY THE BARD ZEPHENTIR OF JAGGARTH:
I was quite tired of having to quickly flee the wrath of those I angered with my satirical works, and furthermore, determined to actually make a little carrying money by finding a way to sleep safely without having to pay the hostlers in whose taverns I had just performed. I remembered that shifty old wizard who performed in the Dancing Waters Troupe years ago in Illigor, and he used to perform a trick using a rope that would stand on end and, if climbed, reach a strange unseen extradimensional chamber that, according to the wizard, could be safely resided in for hours at a time.
I was desirous of gaining access to such a hidey hole, and so I paid a visit to Garney, a local Cotrunal priest who owed me more than a few favours. Garney had a wizard friend who was adept at making such items, and I now suspect that this friends was actually an arcane trickster of the cult of Flupnir. In any event, this friend agreed to research and sell me the formula for fahsioning a magic rope that would perform the wizard's rope trick. He charged me heavily, both for the research and for the manking of the rope itself. Fortunately, I made him divulge the formula, so that should I desire to ever make another, I would not have to pay him again for his "research".
Here is the formula the trickster prescribed for making a rope of tricks. I shall note, for posterity, that I never did test this recipe with another mage. Garney claimed it was the proper recipe and that his friend would not be false...but this friend was a worshipper of Flupnir, so the reader is cautioned to take the formula at its face value and whatever risks accompany it. I suspect that a good deal of the formula is extraneous and uneccessary, but I cannot say which parts for certain are.
The Trickster's Formulation of a Rope of Tricks:
1. Steal a rope of the finest Gerilongi silk of 30 feet in length. The rope must be stolen from its owner, who may not be in on the theft in any way and who presents a distinct risk of danger to the thief. The creator must be the thief.
2. Kidnap a virgin female human and tie her up with the rope for a period of two weeks. You may have your way with her if you desire, as long as she is a virgin at the time of capture. However, the virgin must be doused in wine from head to toe at least once per day. You may drink the wine thereafter. The virgin's hair should be woven into the rope all along its length, and each strand should be dyed a different colour of the rainbow.
3. After the virgin is released, braid into the rope, using a mobius stitch, the sinew of a snake of at least 5 feet in length. You must kiss the live snake first before it is slain or immobilized. The snake must be poisonous.
4. Take the rope and remove all of your clothing. Tie the rope around your neck and, at midnight, run through a crowded town or city street yanking on the end of the rope and yelling, at the top of your lungs "I am well-hung!".
5. Obtain the blood of an outsider that can teleport or dimension door or blink. Paint this blood on a single, 30 foot strand of silver thread and weave it into the rope using a mobius stitch. Paint a large "x" in the same blood on your forehead and do not remove it for the entire remaining process (you can touch up the "x" as needed to keep it distinct).
6. You must now take the rope and stand it upright, its full length, and coat it weekly in a mixture of powdered corn extract, snake's blood, and a bit of your own dung (which first has been eaten and then vomitted back up). When the rope is coated, you must case a rope trick spell upon the rope and fling the thing into the space created by the spell. When the spell ends, the rope should drop back out but still stand upright on its own.
7. Every week, 3 days after you have coated the rope, you must dance naked around it with a large feather in each hand and make clucking sounds. It is very important that the clucking sounds be as loud and as real sounding as possible, for the rope must think you are a chicken and be so confused that it wants to hide in an extradimensional space.
8. After 108 days, the rope
should be ready. To test it, take the rope to some place high.
Around 30 feet or so, and jump off onto solid ground. If the rope
is ready you will fall to the ground, hard. If the rope is not
ready, you will float in the air and the smell of flatulence will
be prevalent.
* Talisman of Pain: This small talisman is made of cold iron and shaped like a screaming face. When held up and squeezed, the metal bends in half and all those except for the wearer within 30 feet must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or suffer wracking pains that cause 1D6 non-lethal damage and leave the victim shaken for 1D4 rounds. Once used, the talisman becomes worthless.
Faint necromancy; CL 3; Craft
Wondrous Item, bane; Base Price 300 gp; Time 13.5 days;XP
12
Discovered by Argus
FROM THE NOTES OF SANILI GARIMUS:
This exquisite item was taught to my master by the erinyes Avastosstha (now slain, so her True Name means naught). A talisman must be wrought of cold iron and shaped like a face screaming in agony. Upon this must be spilled the blood of a being that has been in immense pain, usually from extreme torture. Such blood must be burnished into the talisman with a cloth made of flayed skin. When the iron turns a ruddy colour, it must then be set in pitch dark for a week and a day. Thereafter, the talisman must be placed upon the neck of a tortured victim, whose screams must be loud and sustained for a period of four days. The same victim must be used for this period, for the essence of his pain must be infused entirely into the blood of the talisman. At the end of four days, the talisman must merely catch the dying scream of the victim. If you listen closely, the final scream will be cut short, as the very scream itself seals the magic in the talisman.
*
Wand of Mage Armour: This wand will cast mage armour
(statistics presented for 1st level).
Faint Abjuration; CL 5; Craft Wand, mage armour; Base Price 750 gp; Time 5 days; XP 30.
Researched by Argus
FROM ARGUS' RESEARCH IN HIS OWN HAND:
The key seems to be in the material component of the ordinary spell. In this case a piece of cured leather. From there, it was a matter to find the necessary means to bind the spell into the wand.
The wand must be fashioned from a tree of extremely hard wood. The best of these are ebony (found in the Heynosht or Mindari) or Mountain Mahogany (found in the Southern Siir or Northern Vayshan), though Desert Ironwood (found on the verges of Wylag and the East Waste highlands) is also suitable. The wand must come from the heart of the trunk, and the tree must be healthy and unblemished. The wand should be crafted about the thickness of a lady's finger and about half a man's forearm in length and as straight as is possible. The mage armour spell should be cast upon the wand at this time, and the dust of a black opal sprinkled over it during casting.
Then, a strip of leather should
be wound around the wand. This leather must be from the hide of
a magical beast that is resistant to normal weaponry. Runes of
protection and force must be scribed into the leather with a silver
awl. The leather must then be cured under a full moon and sprinkled
with powdered silver every evening that the moon is full. A casting
of mage armour must
accompany this every ten days, along with the Ritual of Infusion.
* Wand of Magic Missile: This wand will cast magic missile (statistics presented for 1st level).
Faint Evocation; CL 5; Craft Wand, magic missile; Base Price 750 gp; Time 5 days; XP 30.
Researched by Argus
FROM CURINAX' NOTES:
The most common means to craft the ever ubiquitous wand of magic missiles is to fashion the wand from the bones of a magical beast that has been slain by magic missiles. For higher level wands, it is imperative that the beast be slain solely by such dweomer, but at lower levels, the beast should be brought down with such a spell and affected by at least as many missiles as the caster prowess indicates [i.e. 1 missile per caster level]. The beast itself must be powerful enough to hold the magic [i.e. 1 HD per caster level of the wand]. When the bone is selected, and before it is removed from the beast, the incantation of attraction and collection must be intoned as follows [incantation follows]. Only one bone may be thus harvested from each beast.
Which bone is used is of secondary importance, though usually a small rib bone or claw bones will suffice. Many mages carve the bone into a more civilized form, while primitive shaman tend to use the bone "straight off the vine" so to speak.
The bones must be carved with runes of evocation and force and must be infused with the power of the spell by casting magic missile upon it once per day. In addition, the incantation of containment must be spoken over the bone while casting the spell into it. The incantation is as follows [incantation follows].
Upon casting and intoning for the fifth day, the wand should quiver of its own accord slightly and present a tingly feel when touched. This quiver and tingle will fade over the next few days, but they indicate that the bone has absorbed the enchantment and has stored the spells.
*
Wand of Silent Image: This wand will cast silent image (statistics
presented for 1st level).
Faint Illusion; CL 5; Craft Wand, silent image; Base Price 750 gp; Time 5 days; XP 30.
Discovered by Zemeal
FROM THE NOTES OF GERISHOILD THE WOILD:
A very simple wand to craft, and often the first one taught to trickster mages and priests who desire to learn such arts. Very useful as well, versitile in many situations. Often life-saving and prone to ingenious usage.
A wand of finest ivory must be crafted, enscribed with Runes of illusion and figment. Then must be taken the eye of a magical beast. This eye must be intact and in good condition. Such eye must be flensed by a sharp silver knife into a single coil of vitrious material. It often helps to douse the eye in pickle brine for a day before attempting this. This eye coil must then be wound around the ivory wand. The incantation of silent image must be intoned over the coil once per day for 5 days. After that time, the wand should be fully functional.
*
Wand of Web: This wand
will cast web (statistics presented for 3rd level).
Faint Conjuration; CL 5; Craft Wand, web; Base Price 4500 gp; Time 32 days; XP 180.
Researched by Argus
EXCERPT FROM A MUSTY TOME:
Genjediros stole the following from the pages of a book or arcane lore that he pried from the dead hands of a drow priestess during the battle of the Ancient Coast in 5514. I implored him to allow me to copy it, for it was known that the drow often send assassins after those who possess their lore, and by having a copy hopefully the lore would not die with any one victim.
Here, for posterity, is a drow formula for a wand of Web.
Take a single forelimb from a giant spider. The more powerful the spider, the more potent the magic that may be contained within [to a level equal to the HD of the spider]. The foreleg must be in excellent shape, with no damage from battle or undue blemish. It must be followed of all meat and innards. Runes of power invoking the web magic must be traced along the leg in giant spider silk
A spider silk gland, unblemished and of a potency matching the desired power of the wand [to a level equal to the HD of the spider], must be obtained and kept fresh. The gland must be cut into precise 1-inch cubes, with the edges discarded.
Every evening at dusk (the drow specified some time of day called Eriqwil, but from my knowledge, dusk will work), an incantation of the Web spell must said over the gland cube, which must then be inserted into the hollow foreleg. Blood from a sentient being must then be drained through the foreleg so that it permeates the cube (no doubt the drow used the blood of slaves; I have managed to use the blood of dogs and cats and other higher order mammals).
When the process is completed, the final pouring of blood into the foreleg will suddenly coagulate and harden, and none of the blood will drain. This is a sign that the wand is ready and has inculcated itself with the web power desired. I crafted a wand of the lowest order by this method and it took me almost a month once I had the process perfected.
Interestingly enough, Geneidiros went missing a few years ago and has not been heard from since.
*
Zemeal's Servile Hand:
This gem stores an unseen servant within its facets. This
servant can be called forth from the gem just like the unseen
servant spell as if cast by a 1st level caster 3/day. The
servant obeys whomever holds the gem and calls it forth.
Faint Conjuration (creation); CL 3; Craft Wondrous Item, unseen servant; Base Price 2400 gp; Time 108 days; XP 96.
Invented by Zemeal
To create this item, a diamond of at least 2 carats in size and of flawless colour and clarity must be used [1,000 gp value, included in the creation price]. The diamond must be etched with runes of servility, enslavement, binding, and loyalty. The gem must then be steeped in a poultice made from the blood of any outsider and the blood of a canine and blessed with a bless spell from a priestess of Melinna. The gem must remain within this poultice for 12 days, and daily the unseen servant spell must be cast upon the gem and the poultice.
After the twelfth day, the gem must be removed with silver tongs and placed upon a pillow made of velvet and dog fur. A string made from the hair of a slave must be tied around the gem and a piece of wood steeped in the blood of an outsider tied to the other end. Every week, a new string and piece of wood must be tied, the old wood and string being burned in a fire of dog dung.
After 96 days of this process,
if all is aright, the string and wood should disappear, and the
diamond possess a shifting inner glow deep within it. The item
is then ready to use.
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