In a recent episode, we discussed a listener question about homebrewing magic items that are based off our favorite books, movies, myths, and television series. This is something that every DM and GM is going to do… heck, it might even be the reason you got behind the screen in the first place!
We’ve done this in our own games, and wrote a recent article detailing our Top 3 items: He-Man’s Sword of Power, Zeus’ Thunderbolt, and DM Chris’ birthday present to DM Tony… a Demonic Bob Ross?!?
With the response we received from the article and episode, we felt like we shouldn’t stop there… so here we are with our Forged in Fire sequel! Maybe we’ll turn this into a series, what do you think?
So, without further ado… may we present our next set of favorites!
DM Tony: Narya, The Ring of Fire
Drawing on the massive influence that Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga has had, it’s not a stretch to say that every DM has wanted to craft the Rings of Power into their home games. Unfortunately, as we know, little was known and/or shown about the properties of the Rings, other than Narya having the power to inspire, hide the wearer from Scrying, and extend their life. Everything else about its power is hidden in mystery… that is, until now!
The Ring of Brass
Ring, Artifact, Requires Attunement
An elegant brass ring which has no visible engravings and is set with a magnificent red diamond. While the gemstone sparkles it also gives off a faint illumination and, if gazed into, looks almost like a fire burns within it.
Even after normal attunement, the ring only conveys the properties of an ordinary Ring of Fire Resistance. However, if the character were to take a Long Rest while wearing the ring, they would have a dream where they are taken to the famed City of Brass within the Elemental Plane of Fire. There the dreamer is instructed by an Efreeti Lord how to channel elemental power of the Plane of Fire using the ring as a conduit. To accomplish this, they must succeed on four out of seven DC 17 Arcana checks.
If the lesson fails, the frustrated Efreeti curses the wielder with vulnerability to fire for the next 24 hours. But afterwards they may reattempt the lesson again.
If the lesson succeeds then the ring reveals the following additional properties all at a DC of 17.
The ring has twelve charges and fully recharges at sunrise. If the ring is reduced to zero charges, the ring can only be reactivated by revisiting the dream, except the skill challenge DC raises by one with each attempt until it reaches DC 20. However, if the ring is reactivated in this manner, all spells cast from it also increase in DC by one, up to 20.
Burning Hands (cast at 2nd Level) – 2 charges
Magic Missile (cast at 2nd Level, inflicts fire and force damage) – 2 charges
Fireball (cast at 5th Level) – 3 charges
Wall of Fire – 3 charges
Cone of Fire (same damage and area of effect as a Cone of Cold except its fire and requires a Dexterity saving throw instead of Constitution) – 3 charges
Conjure Fire Elemental – 3 charges
Firestorm – 6 charges
Absorb Magical Fire: As a reaction the wearer may absorb a fire-based spell into the ring. For example, if a Fireball cast normally as a 3rd level spell is thrown at the owner of this ring, they could use their reaction to absorb it to take no damage as well as recover two lost charges. If more charges are absorbed than the ring’s max of twelve, the spell is still absorbed. It will, however, immediately expel a fireball with a five-foot radius and 1d6+1 damage for every level of the absorbed spell. This will leave the ring at zero charges.
DM Dave: Excalibur
Much has been written about King Arthur’s famed sword Excalibur. Originally called Caledfwlch in Welsh, it was said to be the magical sword that Arthur drew from the stone to symbolize his rightful claim to the throne of England. Many legends have been told and written of where it was forged. Some say on the Isle of Avalon, some say bequeathed to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake and yet others claiming the original owner being Merlin himself. Scholars have long held that all these swords were actually different. Excalibur being the sword drawn from the stone and marking Arthur the sovereign King of England while the Claiomh Solais, or Sword of Light, being the one granted by the Lady of the Lake. The third sword is the one most shrouded in mystery. This sword has held many names in the past, but the one most often rendered was Morthwyl o Duw – The Hammer of God.
DM Dave
I’ve written before about my original Paladin, Aeron Pendragon, from our modern-day, post-apocalyptic campaign. This was the character that I developed the idea of a magical item that grows in power with the character and their leveling, an easy way to massage the power curve while still having a pretty bad-ass weapon.
And, since I was pulling from the “real world” for this campaign, I based the character off of the Arthurian mythos, as a descendant of King Arthur, with a fun twist on the Excalibur myth… enter the “Hammer of God.”
Morthwyl O Duw
Weapon (longsword), Artifact (requires attunement by a creature of Lawful Good alignment)
Magic Weapon: While attuned to Morthwyl, the weapon levels with the character. At 3rd level, the weapon is considered magical. The weapon grants bonuses to attack and damage rolls at 5th level (+1), 9th level (+2), and 13th level (+3).
Polymorph: Starting at 3rd level, Morthwyl O Duw possesses the unique ability to change its shape and size into any melee weapon for one hour. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your level.
Inspiring Leader: Beginning at 4th level, Morthwyl O Duw grants the wielder the Inspiring Leader feat, if not already taken. If the Charisma prerequisite is not met, then the wielder’s Charisma is considered 13 for purposes of the feat.
Divine Smite: Starting at 5th level, when you hit a creature with Morthwyl O Duw, you can deal radiant damage to the target in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or fiend. This feature can be used a number of times equal to half your level rounded down.
Commune: Beginning at 6th level, when you are near any body of water, you can can use Morthwyl o Duw as a focus to cast a version of the Commune spell. When cast, the spell contacts the Lady of the Lake who can answer one question correctly. The Lady of the Lake is not necessarily omiscient, so you might receive “unclear” as an answer if a question pertains to information that lies beyond the deity’s knowledge. In a case where a one-word answer could be misleading or contrary to her interests, the DM might offer a short phrase as an answer instead. This feature can be used once per long rest.
DM Chris: The Nazgul
“Nine he gave to Mortal Men, proud and great, and so ensnared them. Long ago they fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraiths, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants. Long ago. It is many a year since the Nine walked abroad. Yet who knows? As the Shadow grows once more, they too may walk again.“
Gandalf
Few enemies are as imposing, fear-inducing, and seemingly unstoppable as Tolkien’s Ringwraiths; the nine men who fell to dominion under Sauron and hunt throughout Middle-Earth for the One Ring.
In DM Chris’ “Wednesday-Nighters” campaign in our homebrewed world of The Further, he revealed the Kor-Ael; great Elven Generals who fell under the power of the Black Star and were twisted into creatures of shadow bound to the Shadow King’s will. In other words… The Black Riders, the Ulairi, The Nazgul!
Final Thoughts
As I said in the introduction, crafting legendary items, weapons, and beings from beloved stories is something that every DM and GM will do at some point and is, undoubtedly, the reason that some decide to run a game in the first place.
These magic items and creatures from other worlds fire our imagination in many ways, not the least of which is that we know how great they are in the stories we love and we want to share that excitement, dread, fascination, and fear with our players. Bonus… we get to play out the story, not just be an audience member for it.
So, if there’s something that you love from a book, television series, movie, or myth, craft away! Between these last two Forged in Fire articles and the infinite amount of homebrewed and published materials (just try and tell me that a Hammer of Thunderbolts isn’t Mjolnir… I dare ya!), there is nothing but material to borrow, kitbash, or benchmark for your own legendary creations in your own worlds.
As Gary Gygax said, “As Dungeon Master, you are to become the Shaper of the Cosmos.”
Until next time, Heroes… LIVE THE ADVENTURE!
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One magic item I played with in a White Box campaign long ago and far away, was a Ring of Power. Not Sauron’s ring, but a lesser version. Wearing the ring a character would gain more experience points than normal. I thought about having a series of such rings some with a 10% bonus, some with 25%, some with 50% and so on. As long as the player’s character wore the ring, it would gain experience faster. (In those days, experience points were awarded by the DM, but the players kept track of what they had and different character classes needed different amounts of XP to go up levels, so a player with a ring of power could pretty easily keep it secret from the other players.) But if he ever lost the ring, he would lose ALL experience (regular plus the bonus) that he had gained since he first put on the ring. A dangerous item!
It’s always fascinating to see the design of the different editions (and systems, for that matter) and how they incentivize certain types of play. The change in XP accrual is a perfect example.