Thursday 27 September 2012

Trinkets: Three Charms

+1 to saves Vs going to jail
One thing that AD&D doesn't do much of from the book is petty magic. This is partly because of the nature of Vancian magic which has more than a touch of Newton and his calculus about it, which leaves little room for minor magics. The problems many have had in coming up with a decent system for cantrips is indicative of how hard it can be to squeeze magic into the game which implies any sort of "folk" tradition.

On top of that, the few rules for making items are pretty harsh and even then they leave a whole range of items (not just artefacts) as being beyond the power of player characters to make at all.

So, without worrying too much about where they come from here's a trio of little charm trinkets which a lucky and gullible character might pick up one day in a market or in trade from the gypsies in amongst piles of flashy but inert tat.

All of them come in various forms - lucky heather, items blessed by passing saints, amulets, a charm for attaching to a charm bracelet/playing pieces for educational Quaker games, etc. Distribute as you fancy.

Any of these will be sold for 1d20sp in a market, as will their non-magical counterparts.

The Protective Charm
Has 2d6 charges, adds one to all saving throws until used up (at one charge per saving throw, whether successful or not).


The Magic Charm
Grants 5% magic resistance against one school/form of magic (i.e., evocation, divination etc.). The magic works until the wearer is successfully affected by any spell using that form of magic, at which point it is "burned out" and useless. Will not resist beneficial magics.

The Lucky Charm
Like the protective charm above, but also operates as a personal bless spell in combat. 3d6 charges which are used one at a time on each save, each attack roll and each attack made against the bearer.

In all cases, these charms operate automatically so long as they are with their owner at the time the various rolls or attacks are made. I would also suggest that their magic is non-transferable once they are given to a PC or a PC's henchman they will lose their potency if given or sold to anyone else.

XP value: none.

1 comment:

  1. Good stuff; I always enjoy minor charms, the sort of thing adventurers might pick up in a market or from a hedge-witch.

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