3 From TYWKIWDBI

Saw these while work was busy and wanted to share them now.  These necklaces of human teeth remind me of the fingerbone necklace, though it would be easier to make one of these:

This spotted lake is an example of how the real world is odder and more fantastic than most of my imagined landscapes:

Finally, this opalised theropod tooth is an example of how, whatever treasure item table I come up with it will probably never generate crazy cool things like this:

I can't find the link to the post on TYWKIWDBI, but I swear I saw it there. 

Paper Festival Hats

A little intermission while I think more about precognition mechanics.  Because I know you all love hats:

The Festival of Trades is infrequent but joyful.  All the citizens of a town line up in front of the cathedral and accept paper hats from the priests.  These hats are colorful and meant to crudely represent different vocations.  There is the hood of the rogue, the fighter's helm, the pointy magician's hat, and the Biretta of the priests themselves. 

These hats are distributed randomly with the sole restriction that someone may not receive a hat of their actual profession.  The hats are magical and grant the abilities of an apprentice of that trade for as long as they last.  Being paper, this is usually but a few days.  A hat traded with another will lose its power immediately.

Some say that, rarely, the priests will pass out fanciful hats that represent no trade-- an elf hat, a foreign hat-- but I have never seen one.

Pink Marble Tokens

These oddly shaped tokens of pink marble will induce two magical scrolls to create an offspring scroll.  The tokens are consumed in the process.  The new scroll will contain a spell combining aspects of both parents.

Sæthryth's Salve

That last post was kind of ranty and thin.  Here's my coin for joesky :

Sæthryth's Salve is a thick green paste that smells of mint and fish.  Applied to a freshly cut body part, even a head, it will keep that part alive and viable for up a week.  If the part is bound to a fresh wound within that week it will grow a healthy connection.

Let your players find a dish of this next to a severed, living head.  The head can talk in a quiet wheeze.  Where will the party find a body to keep this head alive?  Who does the head belong to that they would want to?  Where is its body?

Object Qualities

My Holy Grail for a long time has been a treasure item generator that would come up with every thing you might think of and some you would never think of.  I pondered this a little before and decided there are so many variables, it's probably best to separate out what the item is from the qualities of it.  So here is a roll all the dice chart to generate the qualities for any object.

I realized when I was almost finished that the materials would need to be different for clothing, so that part is kind of tacked on.  Think of the whole thing as a draft (this blog is a draft, my life is a draft).  Let's try it out:

Let's say the party finds a cup
1, 6, 1, 6, 10, 9
This cup is crude, half-size, 600 years old, and in pristine condition.  It is made of copper and is notable because it is an important ceremonial item.

Or a key
3, 2, 8, 2, 9, 20
This key is well-made, twice normal size, 200 years old, and has been repaired.  It is made of crystal and is notable because it is from some strange race or culture.

A note on notability-- with this chart pretty much everything will be.  You could ignore it if you just want an run of the mill item.  Also, that is the one aspect that most likely won't be apparent from the PCs just examining the object-- you could at least guess on most of the others.

A note on value.   These characteristics should probably affect the items monetary value.  But the variables depend so much on context I've left that out.  For example, an old sword might be more valuable because it is an interesting artifact or it may be worth less because it is not made with the most current technology.  Likewise, an object that is supposedly cursed (think the Hope Diamond) might be spurned or it might be sought out by a particular type of collector.  I'm not happy to leave more work for the DM but I'm not sure how to do this otherwise.

Ideas for additions or revisions?

Update 6/20: I've fixed the kooky "Size" math.  I would rather it be in words-- half-size, double-size, etc-- but got tired of fighting the formatting (maybe next revision).  I also removed mother-of-pearl from materials (consider it a possibility under "Gem") so I could put a "Roll Twice" result.  Because some cups should be gold-washed, or filigreed, or set with gems.

Tactile Maps II

I wanted to play around with tactile maps a little more.  So, using the system of notification here, I made a treasure map for module B1 In Search of the Unknown.  I used the small image of the tactile map from Greenland as a source, so the resolution is pretty crappy.  Anyway, a shifty fellow in a tavern sells you this:

Where would it lead you on here:

I think your best bet in using these in your own game would be to get some thick, corrugated cardboard, cut the actual map into it, and hand it to the players so they can feel it. 

Oh, and put it inside a bag, so they can only feel it if they are supposedly using it in the dark in-game.

Tactile Maps

I love stuff like this.  Inuit tactile maps. A comment on Metafilter lead me to this site which says:

These could be employed at night in conjunction with the stars, feeling your way along the coastline, navigating at an intimate scale.

Imagine a treasure item, non-magical, that encodes guard patterns for a thief, or locked-door-open-door maps for assassins, or even turn-left-turn-right dungeon maps that dwarves use in pitch blackness.

Update: Get over to Aeons & Auguries for a cool example and interesting comments, like using these for map and key. 

Sacrificial Stone

Serendipity: searching books for nautical charts of islands to find a sweet illustration of an aztec sacrificial stone in a book about traveling the mediterranean.

Bonus points for the author name of Hezekiah Butterworth.  Book here. 

Apparently the stone is currently in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico. Here is a pic.

I'd want to edit out the modern stuff in the background, but I thought I'd give it too you relatively unaltered. Public Domain. 

Dictamnus albus

Another wierdity of the world I hadn't heard about until recently, a real-life burning bush:



From Wikipedia:

"In the summer months, the whole plant is covered with a kind of flammable substance, which is gluey to the touch, and has a very fragrant smell; but if it takes fire, it goes off with a flash all over the plant."

via TYWKIWDBI

Another One

Another huge visage for your dungeon decor:

 

"Looks like there's something in there, let me just reach in . . ."

This was actually in the Hinsdale Health Museum, Hinsdale, Illinois.  Click here to see a horde of children lining up to enter the doom portal.


via Boing Boing.

Ancient Roman Helmet

I love full face masks in intricate metal work.  Apparently one found in the UK is coming up for auction.  This was not meant for combat, but dress parade. Watch a video about it here.

Every Dungeon Should Have One

Thought you all might enjoy this. Climb on in. It's a pizza oven in Vancouver.

via Boing Boing

The Leaden Head of Aristoclea

When a great Eastern Emperor came to the philosopher-priestess Aristoclea for relief from pain accompanied by terrible visions she told him that she needed a week to consult the oracle and meditate on a remedy. She stressed that during this week he must rest and contemplate his place in the order of things. After a few days the Emperor felt better and decided to celebrate, throwing lavish parties and going hunting with an entourage of hundreds. It is said that the crude solution provided by Aristoclea is in fact the consequence of his disobedience.

The Emperor's prescribed aid was a crude leaden head with approximately thirty small areas marked out upon it. Upon the onset of suffering he was to hammer an iron nail into the area most afflicted. At the end of the day the nail would work its way out of the head's mouth to be used again.

At first use, the Emperor found not only did the pain abate, but that he was granted a small boon for a day. Unfortunately, there was also an ill effect. Worse still, using the head 3 days in a row brought on additional ill effect so that the cure was little better than the sickness. Frustrated, the Emperor threw the head into the sea and retired to his palace to live in quiet and complete darkness.

Hammering the nail into a particular spot will clear any charms, geasa, glamours, or insanity. It will also provide a Type I and Type III effect. The benevolent effect granted will always be the same if the nail is driven into the same spot, but the malevolent effect will be random.

I ____ once a day (x ~ 30 associated with particular spots on the head)
III ____ with each use
IV ____ after three consecutive uses

Dwarven Mortar

A fine grey powder that, when mixed with water, becomes a noisome sludge. When mixed with any liquid containing alcohol it turns into a fine mortar that bonds stone to stone immediately and will be as strong as the stone itself. An experienced or patient mason can cross a chasm by building a rock bridge under themselves.

Dwarven mortar is rare and the recipe is lost, except perhaps to dwarves. A one-stone bag will join, roughly, 150 stones and require four wineskins of liquid to mix. Once mixed, unused mortar will set up in a few hours and become unworkable.

What Could It Be?

Stealing a page from Zak's book, here's a picture, you tell me what the hell it is:


It puzzled me when I first saw it because it didn't seem to fit in the book it appeared in. I'll clue you in on that book and what they are later, but I'm more interested in what they could be in our games.

Dark Honey

Found in the forgotten corners of abandoned places, it has the texture of warm but slightly gritty honey. Its flavor is that of alcoholic spirits with an aftertaste of ash. No one knows whether it is made by shadowy bees, an undiscovered variety of stirge, wounded imps or something else entirely. Eating a handful will allow a person to see normally in utter darkness for half an hour. Ingesting a second handful will allow a person to travel through shadows as if they were doorways for the same length of time. Continued use blackens teeth and fingers permanently.

Quartz Bath

All you need to own this tub carved from a solid piece of quartz is £530,000 or a crew of gnomes with diamond tipped picks willing to work 6 months.

via Neatorama

South Pointing Chariot

The South Pointing Chariot was a device that would remain pointing South no matter what turns your journey took. It was an early compass device based on differential gears most likely invented by Ma Jun in the 230s. Legend has it, though, that it was created by the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi:

"Huangdi's people were then threatened by a tribe under the leadership of Chi You, who was said to have magical powers and had 81 brothers, each having 4 eyes and 8 arms wielding terrible sharp weapons in every hand. Huangdi called upon 8 neighboring tribes to join forces with him and sent the combined army to meet Chi You and his brothers. The two great armies fought for days without a clear winner. Just as Huangdi's army began to turn the tide of battle, Chi You breathed out a thick fog and obscured the sunlight. Huangdi's army fell into disarray and could not find its way out of the battlefield. At this critical moment, Huangdi invented the South Pointing Chariot, and ordered its construction on the battlefield. With the South Pointing Chariot, Huangdi was able to lead his army out of the fog."

If you are having a hard time visualizing the chariot in action, here's a video of an example:



I learned about the chariot through this wooden kit you can buy to make your own. Fascinating. Can you imagine a party of adventurers carefully dragging a little cart through a megadungeon so as not to lose their way? Or delivering one to ruler's army undamaged in order to pull victory from the jaws of defeat?

I'm constantly amazed by the things I've never heard of in our world. On reading this it gave me great ideas for bulky, awkward, and fragile scrying devices. Hopefully I'll post some soon.

The Mad Busts of Xaver

From Neatorama:

"Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was labelled mad in his own century and by the time he died in 1783 he had produced sixty four remarkable busts of himself which reflected his state of mind and his attempt to alleviate his perplexing ailments."

I thought the picture up top would be perfect for a Brazen Head (even though it's made of tin). But the others are intriguing too. This one:


seems perfect as a representation of the mad emperor that called for the construction of your favorite megadungeon.

The Petalmind

The Petalmind is a palm-sized sphere apparently made of living petals. While soft and pliable, it is nearly indestructible; crushed it will slowly regain its form. It emits a beautiful smell that differs for each individual. If touched, all sentient creatures in range will share a communal mind. Secrets, abilities, even senses are shared. Petalminds will not hurt one another. Petalminds eat together. Petalminds sleep together. Petalminds decide together.

_______________________________________

After the Golden Guide I was trying to come up with an artifact that would offer interesting gaming situations and seem equally alien but in a good way. My layman's conception of evil is basically selfishness to the extreme. So, an extreme state of good might be the complete dissolution of self.

I don't know if this would work in play. But I thought this might be extremely annoying and horrible for evil parties to suddenly know who stole what from whom, who was planning to murder everyone, who wasn't who they said they were, etc.

I also thought it might offer some interesting play options if the whole party shares each other's senses, or if every person could cast the magic-users spells (but still limited to the number of spells the MU could cast), or if every one had to unanimously agree before actions are taken.

Or, what if when the Petalmind is touched orcs, ilithid, or even cultists are within range? What might the party do with their knowledge and abilities?

But then, a party of Petalminds might be the most un-fun game ever. I would definately have clues of how to be rid of the Petalmind near it and allow players to do that relatively quickly/easily so they get the weird experience without getting too frustrated.

Let me know what you think. I found the picture above on Tumblr but tracked it back to here.