Steal this Item – STUFFER SHACK

Circle of the Moon Druid Magic Item

Looking to enhance a Circle of the Moon Druid, but having a hard time finding a magic item that can do it? Look no further…

In D&D 5e, there are a lot of magic items. Some benefit more types of characters than others, and few benefit the Circle of the Moon Druid specifically. The ability to Wild Shape into beasts between rests can be formidable (especially when you get to do it twice), but the limitation on using magic items as a beast is not. I believe this class ability loses a little of it’s luster as the character rises in level, so I created a magic item specifically for such a character. In essence, it enhances the Wild Shape class ability.

Behold, the Necklet of the Moon, a magic item specifically created for the Moon Druid.

Rare / Necklace / Must Attune

This necklet gives a druid the ability to Wild Shape one additional time between rests. In addition, the druid may expend two uses of Wild Shape to change into a beast that is 1 CR higher than what they are normally allowed to change into. At level 20, the druid may always change into such a CR+1 beast.

Enhance your game. This time, with DOORS.

Doors. Every dungeon has them. Rules governing traps and locks have made them an essential part of every dungeon crawl. Unfortunately, the narrative influence of doors on a given game’s events is a sadly underplayed phenomenon. Ask any adventurer about what they remember most in a campaign and it will likely be an enemy, a critical fail, a cleverly role-played moment, or some other non-door related… thing. Here’s how you can fix that. The following are some fun things you can do with doors in dungeons that can bring a little unexpected character development, charm, and role play to your game. Continue reading “Enhance your game. This time, with DOORS.”

The Sword of Lies – steal this item

This week’s column sees me taking a slightly different tack; instead of laying down a plot seed, I’m giving you an item, and a way to drop it into your games. I hope you get some use from it, and as always, it should be possible to add this to any system/setting that makes sense.

The sword of Lies is an item of legend. As tall as a man, and wide as his thigh. Whoever wields this monster of a sword attracts the attentions of not only the Gods, but of the fates themselves. It grants them supernatural strength – how else could they swing such a weight, and the skill to fell armies with the Sword. No man may stand against them, and Kings do well to court their loyalty. It has been many years since it was seen in battle, held aloft by a giant of a man named Corthum. It took a host of enemies to bring him down, and wrest the Sword from his hand, but no one knows what has become of the legendary weapon. Only rumours of its whereabouts keep the fortune seekers occupied…

Of course, very little of this is actually true. yes, it is a fine sword, and if your game system gives bonuses to weapons based upon the skill employed in their construction, by all means apply them to this glorious tool of murder. What it does not do is make them any better with a sword by magic, for the simple reason that it is not a magical sword. Stories have grown up around it because for centuries it has been hefted by some of the finest swordsmen of their age. Giants amongst men have strode into battle carrying the Sword of Lies, and their stories of their passing have grown and grown in the retelling.

It has been many years since the last man who held the blade was taken to his final reward, Corthum Grey-scale was brought down by a dozen mounted Knights, after vanquishing a dozen more before. All this over four decades past, and the legend continues. Searching for the sword has become a popular past time of adventurers and treasure hunters; even if they choose not take up the weapon, the price that it brings could afford them a city of their own.

The fact that no magic user or holy man has ever felt the touch of the arcane or the divine on it, has done nothing to dull the rumours of its prowess. After all, it is the Sword of Lies. Hoping to not lose face, and refusing to accept the truth that there is no magical or divine properties to the sword, they instead fabricate lies of their own about magics so powerful that they are unable to detect it, thus adding to the power of the rumours that surround the Sword.

These rumours can in fact give an advantage to whomever is wielding the Sword of Lies. It is distinctive enough to be recognised by almost anyone, with a black diamond pommel and cross guards that resemble the fangs of a daemon, inlaid with red metals that shimmer and seem to move like blood. The stories that are told about it are enough to give the wielder a bonus should they try to intimidate an opponent. To give it a bit more power though, there are ways to make it a fearsome weapon without enchanting it. Such as negating penalties for using the weapon if you would usually lack the strength, due to how well it is weighted, or even doubling the bonuses one would revive for having an above average strength. Feel free to use or ignore these suggestions, or make your own dependent on whichever system/setting you will be adding the Sword of Lies to.

And now, onto fitting it into said game. As mentioned, the sword vanished years ago, not long after its last champion perished in a large battle. Searching for the last resting place of Corthum Grey-scale would be an adventure in and of itself, with other factions just as eager to secure the Sword. This alone should make for an exciting adventure, with the party knowing that they’re the only ones trying to do good with the Sword, and having the impetuous to do it quickly as others are also seeking it.

And if it isn’t there, where to look next? Clues will abound in the way of rumour and tall tales about supposed sightings of the Sword, leading the party on marry jaunts, while the Sword always seems a step ahead of them. On their travels, they could find a trail of dead bodies, adventurers who have found the sword, and trusted to its supposed mystical powers in a fight, and realised just a little too late that they were grossly overestimated.

This could begin a quest for the ‘rightful bearer’ of the Sword, as more and more people take it up and die in combat. Will the rightful bearer be part of the group of adventurers, or will they join in the search for the next chosen one, organising feats of strength of dexterity to find the right person to take on the mighty level of responsibility.

Of course, if they do find it, they could be charged with finding out what gives it its actually nonexistent powers. Magic users and divine spell casters will likely pay handsomely to find out where it was forged, and how the master Smith was able to hide the enchantment so well.

They might just decide to hold onto the Sword of Lies themselves, and sell their services as the wielder of this fearsome weapon to the highest bidder. There are certainly other uses for such a noteworthy weapon, and I trust that any GMs out there reading this could easily add it to their existing campaigns.

Doctor (W)hats: Steal this Item

They say the clothes make the man. This is of course, ridiculous. Imagine clothes making people! Don’t be absurd. However, sometimes a key article can make the man all the more exciting, inspiring or creative. Clothes are fun, especially when there’s magic involved. Nobody knows the value of a proper accessory more then the Doctor. With the recent season closer, we present to you a couple of his most famous chapeaus, to inject a little fun into your game.

The Doctor’s Fez A truncated cone of red felt the Doctor’s Fez represents history, authority and fun. The Doctor has had multiple fez’ in his travels, and they seem to be exceptionally useful. They have been used to keep multiple versions of the same person separate, help track continuity when rapidly time traveling and attributed to ability to come up with plans (or lack thereof when the fez is missing).

The true power behind these examples is the fez’ ability to inspire options. When your wearing the fez, you always have one more trick up your sleeve, even when it seems you’ve tried everything.

The Doctor’s Stetson Stetson is actually a company that has made many hats over the years but they have become almost synonymous with their cowboy hats. The Doctor’s history with the hat is much shorter, but a strong one. This hat urged the Doctor forward, making power choices and taking action. That’s not to say that a man wearing a Stetson can’t have a little fun, but things might get a little rash at times.

Items Without Levels While these items have clearly useful mechanics, they are meant to encourage fun at the game table. Their powers are general enough that they could be introduced at early levels but would still be useful at Epic. They can be used as treasure of any level, depending on what you need to fill your treasure table. Be sure to note the level the item was given at. Should the hat be destroyed several levels later, you may wish to adjust future treasure slightly to make up for residiuum gained.

Psychic Paper – Steal this Item

Today in the United States we are celebrating Memorial Day. We were going to delay our next article until Tuesday. However, I was recently speaking with Jared Von Hindman (the weird D&D art guy) about how release schedules are unfair internationally. We here at StufferShack.com believe that we should all be able to watch and read the best geek content with relative equality. In the interest of international relations, please enjoy this mini article. We’ll see you again tomorrow.

Psychic Paper may appear blank to those looking at it quickly, but when presented with confidence the target will see whatever information the wielder desires. This has traditionally been used to produce instant identification documentation. The paper can appear to be a letter of note from local royalty, personally identification as a members of a merchants guild or even just a business card. Many cultures use such identification, and quick recognition can help smooth over many situations.

Plothooks

Due to the nature of psychic paper, its properties sometimes lead to unintended situations. The following can be used by DMs to create fun situations or jumpstart new plots, when one of their PCs employs psychic paper.

Individuals with powerful psionic abilities can project messages onto psychic paper, even over great distances. Doing so takes a great effort and may get intercepted by other psychic individuals or devices. For these reasons, it is generally only used in times of great need such as dire warnings or calls for help.
Individuals who are less than confident or who are inexperienced may accidentally show their surface thoughts on the psychic paper instead of the information they want the target to see.
Individuals with psionic training who are targeted with psychic paper can sometimes turn the connection back on the user, having the paper display secret information the wielder has.
Individuals with psychic powers may accidentally boost their powers when using the paper, getting glimpses of the future thrust upon them.

Deck of Many Boons

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could get some sort of benefit in-game for doing things that promote better gaming? I do. That’s why I hand-crafted the Deck of Many Boons. It may look like an ordinary deck of cards, but this could not be further from the truth! You see, it took many decades of alchemy, wizardry, and drunken dumbery to create, no, to manifest this artifact!

“Well what does it do” you ask?

Thank you for asking! It’s not what it does for you, but what you do for it!

Only if you are serious about gaming, may you unlock its treasures. Only if you make an effort to promote general good gamery, may you reap the rewards.

By the very nature of good and evil, yin and yang, dark and light, law and chaos, neutral and… neutral, the Deck of Many Boons will incite within you a systemic wave of karma – for the good you put into it, it gives good back to you.

Behold! The Deck of Many Boons!

You shall draw one card from the Deck of Many Boons, should you perform the following:

Arrive to the game session on time, ready to play

In addition, every player at the table shall draw one card from the Deck of Many Boons, should any of the players perform the following:

Successfully perform an amazing, jaw-dropping task, one that your character should have failed horribly
Unsuccessfully perform an easy task, one that only requires a skill check for spits and giggles, resulting in in the utter humiliation of your character
Pull out some unbelievable roleplaying or humor that utterly entertains and floors the entire group

These cards that you now possess in your possession are not to be hoarded! Thay are to be given back to the Deck of Many Boons! In doing so you are immediately gifted the gift of the card! Should the GM refuse to let you put a card back into the Deck of Many Boons, all players at the table shall draw another card!, from the Deck of Many Boons! At the end of the nightly game session, which is at the end of the night, all outstanding, unused cards will shamefully be put back into the Deck of Many Boons, and the player will thusly be shamed. These are the unbreakable rules of the Deck of Many Boons, and shall not be broken!

Behold! The cards from the Deck of Many Boons!

2 – make any enemy reroll an attack or skill check
3 – reroll a skill check
4 – reroll an attack
5 – turn a successful attack into a critical, or make another attack
6 – perform one additional, single action
7 – make an enemy/npc look like a fool
8 – trump everyone in initiative (going first), as long as you don’t roll lowest
9 – use a skill as if you were trained in it
10 – use a feat/talent/special ability that you don’t have, as long as you qualify for it. Lasts for one round.
J – improve your speed by 50% for the round
Q – make a minion or enemy of up to your level/ability flee
K – player fiat – railroad the GM with your lucky break (you find ammo, you find a friendly NPC/you know someone in town/you kick the broken engine and it starts, you find the trap door, etc.)
A – General Bad Ass, sir! For one round or scene, you come off as the ultimate bad ass. The GM will treat your character with the respect that they’ve earned. Bonuses and extra abilites are almost not needed, as you are the General Bad Ass. You may not railroad the game, but you may surely act like you are running it.
Joker – When your character fails at something, the GM may invoke the Joker. When this happens, not only will you fail at your task, but you will fail miserably, entertaining everyone else at the table. All other players may draw a card from the Deck of Many Boons!

Behold! The Deck of Many Boons! Behold!