Goodman Games

Hi everyone. I'm a HUGE fan of Goodman's DCC game, and it has inspired me to create a compendium of magic items from A-Z, like the Dungeon Alphabet, but with multiple listings per letter, so there will be hundreds of items, probably 300-400. I have already started the project and i'm well into the first draft, but it will take a long time to finish, edit, playtest, etc. What I want to know from the DCC crowd is how much a product like this would be desired? I know I would buy it, but i'm biased of course. Since magic is unpredictable in the DCC RPG, I wanted to keep most magic items in the same vein. They are MORE predictable than spells, but not 100% safe to use (some are, of course). For the most part i'm trying to avoid D&D cliches. Or if i do copy an item I add a distinct twist. I've played D&D since 1st edition, and i've played through 4th and will never touch it again. As much as I hope 5e will be good, I have my concerns. I feel like the game I want to play and love is already here, no need to wait 2 more years. And it already lends itself wonderfully to tinkering.

My goal is to have some background and story for every single magic item. Ideally I would appreciate some playtesting and feedback as there are too many items for my small group to cover them all. Later on i'll figure out how to get artwork done for this project.

I'm not sure how to add a poll to this posting, maybe a moderator can help. Anyway, here are 2 samples. Note that CURSED items are a huge part of the book and play a story role, not just a way to screw over and kill PCs.

Arrow of the Hunting Hawk (Very Rare, Neutral)

Description: These rare arrows have hawk feather fletching at the end. They are fired at +2 to hit for 1d4 +2 damage and have no range increment penalty up to the maximum range of the bow employed. Before striking the target the arrow transforms into a magical hawk, screeching loudly as it attacks, claws extended. Even on a miss the hunting hawk will continue circling its target for 1d4 more rounds, making another attack each round at its initial bonus. Afterwards the hawk vanishes and the arrow is gone as well. The hunting hawks are impervious to damage but any kind of magical ward that shields against magical effects also keeps the hawk at bay (and Dispel Magic banishes them). The hunting hawk has no penalty for being fired into combat, but once its target is slain the hawk disappears and will not move to another quarry. 1d10+10 arrows are typically found in a quiver.

History: Tribal shamans and warriors from the Plains of Tall Grass were the first to create the hunting hawks for use against their ancestral foes. Infusing the power of nature into their weapons became a highly admired craft and they refined the process over many generations, harnessing the strength of bison, deer, eagles and bears into their weaponry. Legend says that the chief of an opposing tribe was torn to shreds by a literal swarm of hunting hawks peeling his flesh away. The original tribes have all but died out and with them most of the secrets of creating hunting hawks, but there are still some to be found and at least one person who knows how to make them.





Bracelet of the Golden Serpents (Cursed! Unique, Chaotic)

Description: This attractive golden bracelet features small twin snake heads with tiny ruby eyes. However, when donned, two teeth protrude from each head and bite sharply into the underside of the wrist for 1 hp damage and the bracelet cannot be removed. Every 24 hours thereafter the victim loses 1 more hit point that cannot be healed by any means. So, if a 10 hp character were bit, he would reach 0 hp and die after 10 days unless a Luck check can be made, in which case the character is feverish and comatose but still alive one more day. The only way to remove the cursed item, aside from cutting one’s hand off, is to fulfill the bracelet’s powerful psychic desire. Starting the first night of the curse, the victim will dream of thousands of snakes covering her. The second night, she will dream of a serpent man speaking in a raspy hiss, the words indecipherable, but she will know that it means “Come to me.” Further dreams can be invented by the judge to reiterate the nature of the curse.

While worn, the victim of the bracelet does enjoy a few benefits. She is immune to all poisons and can summon and control snakes as if casting Animal Summoning with a DC 20 check once per day.

Remove Curse cast on the bracelet successfully has a 5% chance per caster level of breaking the enchantment (judge's option).

History: Long ago the bracelet was the possession of a Serpent Man High Priest of Sassilak the Snake God, also known as He Who Slides. Lost to time, the bracelet now desires to reunite itself with its former owner, who is long dead, but any serpent man will do. Only then can the Bracelet be removed safely. The judge must decide if and how the PC can research the existence of the snake men, and if their ancient City can even be found, otherwise the character is probably doomed.

I'd certainly be interested.

I don't know if I agree with the "hundreds" of magic items approach. Why not pick 10 or 15 and devote two pages to describing its history, powers, risks/curses, associated characters (NPCs, patrons, gods, etc), and suggestions for adventures surrounding the item. I'd be even more interested in a linked series of adventures concerning one or two magic items.

The idea of DCC (IMHO) is not to have a "Sears and Roebuck Magic Item Catalog." It's more to have extremely rare and desirable items with distinct histories and (especially) distinct risks -- magic is not free. But, it can't really be purchased at the local general store, either. It costs the creator and the user.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I'd be extremely interested in a book of 10 very detailed and creepy magic items than I would a catalog of 300 -- actually I already have that (and more) with the various editions of D&D I already own.

Suggestions for artists: Talk to Scott Ackerman. This looks to be right up his alley. His work has appeared in a number of new 3PP products -- including the latest issue of CRAWL! (and the last adventure I wrote for Purple Duck Games -- full disclosure).

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I really like this, and I’d definitely be very interested in it, although my opinion is the opposite of ragboy's: I'd prefer the bigger list of items, as it's almost certain that some won't fit my style of game, some I simply don't like etc. Just because there's a list of 300 magic items doesn't mean they all need to be available in my game.

My suggestion is to find somebody who can misinterpret the wording in your descriptions in the worst possible way, so that you can make clear your intentions for how each item works.

For instance, looking at the Arrow of the Hunting Hawk, it looks like it's better to miss with an arrow than hit, as on a miss the hawk continues to circle and attack, while on a hit it...disappears instantly? That's how it reads anyway. I could just see my players shooting in random directions to make sure there are plenty of distracting hawks flapping around the place...

(A personal opinion is that I'm not keen on anything that's "impervious" to attack, as it smells too much like GM caprice. I'd rather the hawks be normal, and attackable, or requiring magic weapons, or something other than just "you can't hit them because you just can't, OK".)

D is for Distillery

Dishes of Cleanliness
Disk of Decapitation
Lucky Dominoes Set
Door of Hiding, of Transubstantiation
Drum of Fear, of Silence
Duck of Never-Drowning (it's made of wood!)

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haha, well, i got to the U's and had a problem, i could only come up with Undergarments!

Brazier of Seduction, Leggings of Warmth, Socks of the Profane (cursed!)

My opinion is that more is better, and no one will ever use all of these, just a fraction of them. Hell, i've not even come close to using every D&D item, especially with artifacts and whatnot thrown in there. But they're still fun to read, and that's another project goal, to have a book that is fun to kick back with and browse.

As for the hunting hawk, it transforms into a hawk and attacks, and then continues attacking another 1d4 rounds. As for being a real hawk, i guess i could do that. Or is it a shimmering force in hawk shape? In fact, i would do BOTH. normal hawks are attackable, the force hawks are impervious!

I like this idea too actually, but it would be a separate project. And far shorter, which is good too. Lots of the items in this book ARE dangerous, even stuff that historically is safe (for example, a cloak of invisibility has a 10% of shunting you to the ethereal plane for 1 turn).

And thanks for the art suggestion, i'll look him up.

jason

here's an item that is WAY different than what one usually sees in D&D. In fact, i'm not sure how well this will work within DCC, but basically, it is describing in detail the results of a Demon Summoning spell.

Candles of Penumbra (Unique, Chaotic)

Description: These three fat black candles mounted on a strange skull have the power to summon three distinct demons (Orwass, Shentay and Meelzo) to serve the wizard. The wizard must be able to cast Demon Summoning already, but lighting the candles adds a +1d4 chance of success. The candles never burn down, and when lit, the altar area is consumed by a greasy penumbra of shadows and a strong chill.

When rolling on the Demon Summoning table on page 206 of the DCC RPG, use the True Name column. Orwass, Shentay and Meelzo are all Type III demons but have very specific abilities and are much more controllable thanks to the power of the candles to which they are bound. With a minimum 16 result, Orwass, Shentay or Meelzo will appear to the summoner, per his request. They are under his command for 1 round during which they may be petitioned, but thereafter gain a Will save to resist control (equal to the spell check result +2). If the save succeeds, there is a 30% chance the demon attacks the caster viciously for 1d4+3 rounds. If the demon does not attack the caster, it attacks another nearby creature or simply vanishes. Otherwise, the summoner has gained control of the demon at this point and it must fulfill the request made of it to the best of its abilities, as noted below.

Orwass is a demon of Larceny, and he can be compelled to steal many things the sorcerer desires, within reason. The lower value of the item, the higher the chance of success. It takes 1d3 days for Orwass to fulfill his mission, and when completed the item will appear spontaneously near the candles, whether lit or not. The base chance of success is 50%. Small items under 30gp value add +30%; small items up to 100gp value add +20%; items up to 200gp add 0%; items up to 400gp value deducts -20%; items up to 600gp value deduct -40%; an item up to 1000gp has only a 1% of being stolen. Per the judge’s discretion, a stolen item might be taken from an obvious place and noticed as now being in the sorcerer’s possession, such as the King’s finest chariot parked outside the wizard’s tower. The demon is not above making things difficult for the summoner, even if it is willing to comply with his wishes. Orwass will try to bend the word of the caster to the best of its ability.

Shentay is a demon of Seduction, and she can be asked to kidnap/compel someone the wizard knows or has seen, whether male or female, and have that person approach the wizard’s presence to fulfill his lecherous desires. A personal item of the victim must be employed, such as a locket of hair, a comb, undergarments, or anything else appropriate. The base chance of success is 50%. A Lawful aligned target deducts -20%; Neutral adds +0%; Chaotic adds +20%. The person requested will appear for the wizard within 1d3 days if travel is possible in that time, otherwise the spell automatically fails. The victim is under a sort of demonic charm effect from Shentay, and she views the caster as an amorous friend regardless of their actual acquaintance. Completing the acts ends the charm effect, but the victim has a percentage chance equal to the initial roll of not remembering anything or how she arrived at her present location. Further complications that arise from this scenario are the problem of the caster and the demon has nothing to do with it.

Meelzo is a demon of Violence and can be utilized to bring pain and even death upon nearly anyone the wizard knows or has seen, but he must possess a personal item, such as a locket of hair, a comb, undergarments, or anything else appropriate. There is no distance limit, and Meelzo will make the attack within 1d3 days of being commanded to do so. The base chance of success is 50%. If the desire is to merely harm and terrify the victim, add +40% to the roll. Meelzo will appear suddenly, most likely at night, and threaten the victim with scratches, murderous howls, doors banging and dishes smashing and other appropriate terrors. If the wizard wants physical harm, but not death to the victim, add +10% to the roll. Meelzo will appear suddenly, most likely at night, and assault the victim with claw gouges, bites and rips, inflicting damage but not killing him. Note that particularly weak or susceptible victims might be inadvertently killed by this result. If the wizard wants the physical death of a victim, subtract 30% from the chance of success. This means the demon only has a 20% chance of finding and slaying the victim; alternatively, the judge can play out the combat using the following statistics if it is more dramatic or appropriate to the scenario:

Meelzo (Type III demon) Init +4; Atk claw +8 melee (1d6+6 plus 1d4 against lawful creatures) or bite +10 melee (1d8+4); AC 20; HD 6d12; MV 40’ or fly 40’; Act 2d20; SP detect good (+8 spell check), scare, demon traits; SV Fort +8, Ref+10, Will +8; AL C.

History: Bound to the candles centuries ago by the evil sorcerer Malchezigar, the creator of the item eventually had his very life and soul consumed by the vile forces he tried to control (he was castrated by Shentay). Threat of death is a distinct danger that anyone employing these nefarious candles will eventually face. During his lifetime, Malchezigar used these fiends to (among other things) steal the key to the King’s coffer, seduce the daughter of the Bishop and leave her naked, dazed and disoriented in the middle of town, and to slay his arch-enemy, the wizard Palmatos, who harbored a similar desire to eliminate Malchezigar in a spectacular fashion.

I agree. Please don't make overly detailed descriptions and history of each. First off I will likely only use a handful of even 300 items, if you offer me a list of 30 items the chances are I won't use any of them. Secondly I will probably ignore the history and create my own that is more fitting for my world. Third, my players will likely only ever learn a fraction of the history. It's not like they will want me to spend 15 minutes of our game time reading paragraph after paragraph of this stuff.

Anyway I'd be interested as well, especially if most of the items have simple mechanics.

While flickering flames do lend a romantic effect to almost any room, I'm unclear as to how anyone could wear this under their clothes. But I admit that it will doubtless make the person possessing it steamy, and glow from within with a passion (to jump out of their skin, no doubt!).

What about a simple Brassiere of Holding? ...I guess that might not be particularly magical...

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doh! Yeah, it should be brassiere

I would be interested. I love all the home brewin I get to do for this game, but magic, in my opinion, is the most intensive stuff to do, so having a reference guide from which to draw I spiration would be great.

I foresee another DCC Kickstarter in the future.

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Think you mean brassiere? A brazier is something quite un-undergarmently...

Unless, of course, you switch that to "Brazier of Warmth, Leggings of Seduction, and Socks of the Profane"!

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SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.

Maybe i should stick the Brazier of Warmth under B's and leave the Brassier of Seduction under U!

So, in a magic book like im writing (for example) the Brassier of Seduction, or even the Leggings of Seduction, would have the power to seduce any man (or probably woman) who sees the wearer of the undergarment and fails a Willpower save. This is essential just a Charm spell in regards to hankypanky. Now, what i like to do is add layers of unpredictability. Let's say that Grandma Bilkins answers the door wearing her brassier of seduction, and the man in question is utterly, utterly consumed by how sexy this 84 year mamma is. I would probably add a percentage chance for him to become infatuated with her, bringing flowers, maybe offering matrimony, maybe leaving his own wife. All of which could cause many unwanted problems. On the other hand, once the spell effect wears off, someone might claim rape. Maybe trying to use the seduction power more than once or twice against the same person instills a terrible ANGER and resentment!

so, does this sound like it would fit in well contextually with the DCC RPG?


Medallion of the Magus (Very Rare, Neutral)

Description: This heavy medallion is constructed from extremely rare meteoric iron. When worn by a wizard it conveys a number of powerful abilities to aid spellcasting: every 24 hours the medallion recharges with 2 “spellpoints” that the caster can use to boost a spell before having to resort to spellburn. The medallion also grants a +2 saving throw bonus against any hostile magic directly targeting the wearer. Lastly, the medallion can be charged with one spell the wizard knows of level 1 (or level 2 is the caster is 5th level or higher) that can be cast once per day as if the PC rolled a natural 20. No roll is needed for this spell, and the spell can be swapped out once per day for another of equal level or lower. Exquisitely crafted and well balanced, this medallion has no known detrimental drawbacks.

History: Theronius of Mistmarch spent the latter years of his life constructing this potent magic item with the advice from a summoned demon. Upon his death his student Alsten recovered it, but even he was never fully aware of all of its powers.

Heh, aside from being redonkulously powerful, that amulet is No_Elf... so I guess that's a drawback.

Hmmm....

If I was a 5th level Wizard, and had put a 2nd level spell in it, then swapped that out for a 1st level spell, would I forever after be limited to charging the medallion with 1st level spells? (I.e., can swap to the same level or lower)



Daily auto 20 with no drawbacks is a big power. There is nothing in your write-up that suggests that the caster cannot also spellburn, allowing for automatic maximum results on a pretty regular basis. Nothing wrong with having big powers, but you ought to be aware of it.

If I was writing this object, the caster would gain the free spellburn on the charged spell, with the option of taking 20 burning it out for a period of time (such as a month, a year and a day, etc.) so that the wielder has some decision to make about whether or not to use it.

In any event, this is a potent magic item which would be of great value to any Wizard or Elf. Even with the iron penalty, most elves would be willing to risk its occasional use. Needless to say, other spell slingers should be looking for it, and the write-up could imply that indiscriminate use might draw them like moths to a flame.

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SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.

Yes, the caster CAN spellburn as well. I also like the take 20 option of burning out the amulet's powers for a week. As before, this can be applied to any 1st level spell he knows, or 2nd level if he is 5th level or higher caster. On the drawback side, you guys gave me that idea that this item is SO POWERFUL and possibly well known that other wizards would easily kill to obtain it. Heck, i should probably just make it unique, one of a kind.

ok, here it is tweaked, i like it better now. thanks!!!

Medallion of the Magus (Unique, Neutral)

Description: This heavy medallion is constructed from extremely rare meteoric iron (which can be problematic to elves). When worn by a wizard it conveys a number of powerful abilities to aid spellcasting: every 24 hours the medallion recharges with 2 “spellpoints” that the caster can first use to boost a spell before resorting to spellburn. The medallion also grants a +2 saving throw bonus against any hostile magic directly targeting the wearer. Lastly, the medallion can supercharge one spell the wizard knows of level 1 (or level 2 is the caster is 5th level or higher) that can be cast as if the PC rolled a natural 20, but this burns out all powers of the medallion for 1 week. Exquisitely crafted and well balanced, this medallion has no known detrimental drawbacks, aside from the fact it is extremely powerful and jealous magicians have been known to kill to obtain it.

History: Theronius of Mistmarch spent the latter years of his life constructing this potent magic item with the advice from a summoned demon. Upon his death his student Alsten recovered it, but even he was never fully aware of all of its powers.

here's another one.


Quill of the Sage (Very Rare, Neutral)

Description: This amazing coutal-feather quill has the ability to animate itself and transcribe whatever the speaker says in whatever language he would like it written, even if he cannot read or write that language himself. It requires no ink and can be commanded to change the ink’s color on demand. If employed by a wizard to scribe a spell on a scroll, he gains a +1 bonus to the check, although he will need to provide any other required special ingredients, such as rare inks or parchment.

Every time the quill is used there is a 5% non-cumulative chance that it refuses to comply and will fly around the room for 1d4 minutes, scrawling obscenities, or puns, or bawdy jokes or personal secrets the caster would prefer no one know on any surface it can reach before falling to the ground. The judge should use this opportunity for maximum bemusement depending on the circumstances.

History: Alsten of the Silver Vale was known to have procured a quill of the sage from his former master Theronius upon his demise. Where his master obtained the quill, Alsten knew not, but it served him well for many years for academic research and scrollwork and poetry, up until his untimely death in a summoning gone wrong with the Silver Brotherhood.

You're welcome.

Nothing I post should ever be taken as discouragement, nor should you ever feel any need to take my comments into account.

Thank you, though, for taking them in the spirit in which they were meant!

Daniel

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SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.

A suggestion for U: Unguents.

Colin

Excellent idea. Thanks.