ALTERNATE ITEM TYPES

Everyone knows that potions are peculiar magical con- coctions that come in tiny vials, scrolls are long rolls of parchment covered with strange symbols of power, and wands are slender sticks that can deal magical mayhem on command. However, in the creation and use of magic items, form follows function, and there’s no reason that potions or scrolls can’t be created in less conventional forms so long as they still function in the same manner as their standard forms.

Creating a magic item in an alternate form is generally not as effi cient as using the standard design. Potions are

created as small cordials because spellcasters, over centuries

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Alternative magic item forms are a good way to add fl avor and mystery to your campaign. If one culture is known to craft magic tiles instead of potions, foes from that culture will be distinct from other opponents. After the fi rst instance in which player characters encounter NPCs who use tiles to obtain combat benefi ts, they will come to recognize such items as the tools of a particular nation or foe. (“Look, that assassin was carrying Abkathian potion-tiles. The Abkathians must be behind this!”) Be careful not to overdo this sort of variant material, though—the classic forms are classic for a reason, and if your players end up with no idea what forms magic items in your campaign might take, they could spend more time worrying about that than they do enjoying the game.

POTIONS

The standard potion is, of course, a vial fi lled with a magical libation, designed to be consumed by anyone and having the following characteristics.

• Single-use only—once consumed, the potion is gone. • Limited to spells of 3rd level or lower.

• No special magical training required—anyone can drink a potion and gain the benefi t of its magic.

• Must be physically manipulated in some way (unstoppered or broken, then consumed).

• Must be in the user’s hand to be used. • Use provokes attacks of

opportunity.

Within these broad guide- lines, though, a number of alternate potion forms might be possible.

Magic Fruit:

Apples and pomegranates with magi- cal properties are commonplace in mythology. A potion-fruit might consist of a slice or section of a fruit steeped in a magical libation that produces its effect when consumed.

Magic Tiles: A

small ceramic tile inscribed with a magic rune could hold a potion-type ef- fect. When it is snapped or broken in one’s hand, the effect is re- leased.

Skull Talismans: The skull of a

small animal (a bird, mouse, or rat, for example) is enchanted with a single spell. When crushed in one’s

hand or underfoot, the skull talisman releases its stored effect.

Spell Wafers: A thin wafer of specially prepared bread or dough, stamped with a holy or arcane symbol, can hold a spell as well as a potion bottle can. When the wafer is consumed, the stored magic takes effect.

SCROLLS

Unlike potions, scrolls require magical training (or the ability to mimic such training by means of the Use Magic Device skill) to use properly. The essential characteristics of a scroll are as follows.

• Single-use only—once it is read, the writing that makes up a scroll is gone.

• Spell completion device—only a spellcaster can readily use a scroll, and he might need to make a level check to read a scroll of a spell level exceeding the maximum level of spell he can normally cast.

• Usable by means of the Use Magic Device skill.

• Must be physically manipulated in a complex way (held in the hand, unrolled, and read).

• Must be in the user’s hand to be used. • Use provokes attacks of opportunity.

Some common alternate scroll forms are described below.

Gemstone: A complex

series of gestures and sounds is completed with a specially prepared gemstone in hand, and the spell stored within it is released when the fi nal words are spoken. Like the parchment

on which a scroll is scribed, a gemstone is emptied by cast-

ing but can be reused again. Incendiary: A spell is stored in a special mix of powders and glyph-covered paper. To use an incendiary, a spellcaster

speaks the last words of the spell while si-

multaneously igniting the prepared de- vice (usually by means of a minor magical property of the incendiary form that requires no additional action A wounded warrior uses a potion-tile Il lu s. b y M . M oo re 620_17925_Chpt5.indd 138 620_17925_Chpt5.indd 138 9/15/04 11:25:54 AM9/15/04 11:25:54 AM

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to activate). The incendiary is consumed in a brilliant col- ored fl ash or haze of strangely coiling smoke, completing the spell.

Macrame: A spell is held in a small, complex weave of precisely tied knots. The user pulls apart the knotted square by choosing the right strands while speaking the spell’s activation words.

When a scroll is found in the course of a campaign, deci- phering its magical text is usually the fi rst step to using it, but since variant scroll forms that don’t have spells stored in written form can’t be deciphered with read magic, they must be identifi ed with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level).