The Dresden Files > DFRPG Resource Collection

Item Of Power Master List

<< < (28/47) > >>

Sanctaphrax:
And now for step two of the update: reformatting items that don't need any editing.

If it's not in this post, either it's already formatted for inclusion in the list or I'm considering making some changes to it.

Actually I made some changes to some of these. Didn't plan that...but there were some math errors and some weird rules issues. Plus I tried to clean up the wording wherever possible.

If you object to anything I've done here, please say so.

VOLENDRUNG [-3]
Description: A gigantic glowing magical hammer. It was created by a god of war, and its impact drains the vitality of those it strikes.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons.
Effects:
[-1] It Is What It Is. It's a hammer. A really really big hammer. If you include the handle, it's 5 feet long. If it weren't magical, it'd be essentially impossible for a human to use. Weapon 5.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+2] One-Time Discount. Voldenrung is not concealable. You probably can't even fit it in your car.
[-1] Daedric Artifact. Voldenrung counts as holy and as True Magic for the purpose of fulfilling Catches.
[-3] Drains Stamina. Any character hit with an attack made with Voldenrung acquires the DRAINED STAMINA sticky Aspect if they don't already have it. If they already have that Aspect, it can be tagged an additional time.

AMOS THE SENTIENT SWORD [-2]
Description: A two handed great sword, inlaid with gold. A name is inscribed in its handle. This sword serves as the prison of the demon Amos.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons.
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. Amos wants to have fun, and to be the greatest sword in the world. He won't work for anyone who gets in the way of those goals.
[-1] It Is What It Is. It's a two-handed sword with an unbelievably sharp edge. Weapon 5.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+2] One-Time Discount. Amos is too big to be hidden easily.
[-1] Ancient Knowledge. Amos is occasionally willing to share the knowledge that he's picked up over his incredibly long life. By taking a point of sponsor debt, you may replace your Lore or Scholarship skill with your Weapons skill for a single roll. (Amos shares information more willingly with more skilled wielders.) Sponsor debt taken this way is debt to Amos. This ability cannot be used to benefit rolls made to operate computers or to do anything else that a demon logically wouldn't be able to help with.
[-1] Sentient Sword. As long as Amos is in a good mood (violence makes him happy) he adds 1 to your Weapons skill by helping you fight.
[-1] Parry The Unparryable. Amos can block anything, and as such allows you to defend against all physical attacks with your Weapons skill as long as you're holding him.

Added a sensible restriction to Ancient Knowledge here.

RANGER MORPHER [-5]
Description: A device that looks like a cell phone. It can transform you into a superhuman being known as a Ranger.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Many.
Effects:
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a little thingamabob that looks like a cell phone. You can't call people with it, though.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+1] One-Time Discount. The Ranger Morpher is easily concealed in one's pocket.
[-1] Ranger Transformation. The Ranger Morpher allows you to transform into a garishly dressed being called a Ranger. This Power is identical to Beast Change.
[+1] Human Form. Most of the Powers of the Ranger Morpher are unavailable unless you use Ranger Transformation.
[-2] Inhuman Strength. While in Ranger form, you are stronger than a human should be.
[-2] Inhuman Speed. While in Ranger form, you are faster than a human should be.
[-2] Inhuman Toughness. While in Ranger form, you are stougher than a human should be.
[+0] The Catch. The Toughness provided by the Ranger Morpher does not apply against Plot Devices. That is to say, anything deemed sufficiently important by the GM may ignore the Toughness provided by the Ranger Morpher.

I edited this one, but all I did was correct a math error in its cost. Dunno if that counts.

AEGIS OF MAGAHAL [-9]
Description: A suit of plate armour. It's the masterpiece of the dwarven forgemaster Magahal Gluldein, crafted for the Orcish chieften Zorc nor-Grannash.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Endurance, Discipline.
Effects:
[-2] It Is What It Is. It's full plate armour made of adamantium. Armour 5.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+2] One-Time Discount. A suit of plate armour is essentially impossible to hide.
[-2] Twofold Strength. This Power is identical to Inhuman Strength.
[-6] Mythic Toughness. Like all good armour, the Aegis Of Magahal increases its wearer's ability to take damage.
[-2] Inhuman Recovery. The magic of Aegis fixes the wounds of anyone wearing it.
[+2] The Catch. The magical protections of the Aegis are ineffective against the Powers of Chaos.
[-1] Demesne. The wearer of the Aegis holds mystical dominion over the territory Grannash in the Nevernever, by right of inheritance from the Aegis' first owner Zorc nor-Grannash.

ARCHMAGE STAFF [-2]
Description: A powerful staff rumored to have been crafted by the Goddess Hecate and stolen by her daughter Circe in her greed for power. The Archmage Staff is an extremely potent focus item which infuses the owner with magic.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Note: The effects given here assume that the wielder of the Archmage Staff has the Wizard Template. Wielders without Wizard's Constitution gain Wizard's Constitution instead of Supernatural Recovery, and wielders without Evocation gain Evocation with a Refinement granting access to all five standard elements instead of Arcane Power. Adjust the Refresh cost of the Archmage Staff accordingly.
Skills Affected: Conviction, Discipline, Endurance, Lore.
Effects:
[-0] Law-Abiding. The Archmage Staff is bound to the Laws of Magic. If its user intentionally breaks a Law, it will inflict backlash equal to the spell's full power and its connection to its user will be severed.
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a wooden staff. Weapon 1.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. The Archmage Staff is several feet long and rather difficult to hide.
[-4] Arcane Recovery. The infusion of magic into the staff's wielder enhances their Wizard's Constitution ability into Supernatural Recovery.
[-3] Arcane Power. The staff grants its wielder enhanced power, giving them 3 Refinements' worth of new elements and specialities. If the wielder does not have access to every Evocation element, they must use these to gain that access.
[-0] Attunement. The wielder of the Archmage Staff must invest at least two focus slots into it.
[+3] The Catch. For some reason, mundane electricity interferes with the flow of magic from the Archmage Staff and as such injuries inflicted with it heal no faster than they would for a normal wizard.

THE WINGED SANDALS OF PERSEUS [-]
Description: Winged sandals given to the Greek hero Perseus by Hermes. They allow their wearer to fly.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Athletics.
Effects:
[-0] One Size Fits All. The Winged Sandals Of Perseus adjust their own size to fit anybody who puts them on.
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a pair of sandals with seemingly-ornamental wings.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+1] One-Time Discount. Sandals are easily concealed. With baggy enough clothes, you can even hide them in your pockets.
[-1] Flight. This Power is identical to Wings.
[-2] The Swiftness Of Hermes. This Power is identical to Inhuman Speed.

Had to make a slight edit here...sandals are not large enough for a +2 rebate.

THE BLADE THAT DRINKS [-2]
Description: A claidheamh mor in which the spirit of a redcap who long ago offended a powerful sidhe noble is bound. Also known as Thirst.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons, Might, Endurance, Discipline.
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. This sword was created to imprison an impudent redcap and teach him to respect his betters, especially when his betters include powerful sidhe.
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a claidheamh mor, or basket-hilted broadsword. Weapon 3.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. A full-sized sword is rather difficult to hide.
[-1] Channeling The Warrior Spirit. While wielding this sword, one can draw upon the martial skills and experience of the redcap spirit. However, the ferocity of the redcap's mindset means that while one is doing so one's social skills will suffer. As a supplemental action, you may swap the ratings of your Weapons and Athletics skills with those of your Rapport and Empathy skills respectively. If your unmodified Rapport is higher than your unmodified Weapons, don't swap those skills. Likewise with Empathy and Athletics.
[-2] Communion of Might The wielder can draw upon the strength of the redcap's spirit to augment his own. This Power is identical to Inhuman Strength.
[-4] Communion of Vitality. The wielder can draw upon the lifeforce of the redcap's spirit to enhance his recuperative capabilities. This Power is identical to Supernatural Recovery.
[+3] The Catch (Cold Iron). Since the Redcap was a creature of Faerie, one who draws upon its vitality to enhance his recuperation must share in his Faerie vulnerability to Cold Iron.
[+1] The Sword Must Drink. Though imprisoned within a sword, the spirit of the redcap still needs to drink its fill of blood to maintain its strength. If deprived for too long it may weaken to the point that it might not be able to provide its benefit of enhanced vitality to its wielder. This Power is identical to Feeding Dependency (Blood) attached to The Communion Of Might and The Communion Of Vitality.
[-1] Share The Feast. When the sword is sated the communion between it and its wielder allows its wielder to receive a portion of the benefit. This Power is identical to Blood Drinker.

EYE OF VENGEANCE [-1]
Description: A highly polished black spheroid made of some sort of gemstone. It's the size of a human eye.
Musts: You must have a High Concept or Template appropriate for a being chosen by Nemesis.
Skills Affected: Endurance, Lore, Discipline.
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. The Eye Of Vengeance was created to aid the chosen one of Nemesis, Goddess of Vengeance. It will function only as long as its user works faithfully towards Nemesis's goals.
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a small black sphere. Put it in an empty eye socket to use its powers.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+1] One-Time Discount. An eye is easy to conceal. Just keep it closed.
[-2] Your Purpose Is Not Yet Fulfilled. The Eye Of Vengeance will keep its wearer healthy as long as Nemesis needs them alive. This Power is identical to Inhuman Recovery.
[-1] The Guilty Cannot Hide. This Power is identical to The Sight.
[+1] Penitence Is Thy Bane. Penitence is the bane of Nemesis, and as such the attacks of any character who has truly repented for their sins ignore the effects of Your Purpose Is Not Yet Fulfilled.

THE EYE OF GOD [-3]
Description: An eye that, when placed in somebody's skull, allows that person to see through all veils and all lies.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Alertness, Investigation, Empathy.
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. The Eye exists to help its user see things as they really are.
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a vaguely human-looking eyeball. It works just as well as a normal eyeball if placed in one's eye socket.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+1] One-Time Discount. An eye is easy to conceal. Just keep it closed.
[-3] True Seeing. The Eye Of God adds five to any skill used by its wearer for the purpose of seeing through a veil, glamour, shapeshifting-based disguise, or other supernatural deception.
[-1] Added Insight. The Eye Of God adds two to the Empathy skill of its wearer for the purpose of detecting lies.

EYE OF THE GRAEAE [-1]
Description: A false eye made of amethyst that grants the user the power to use The Sight. With use, a wielder of the Eye can awaken other powers in it. It is not in fact the actual Eye of the Graeae, but a clever imitation made by a scion of Hephaestus. He intended it as a gift to the Grey Sisters, but he was killed before he could give it to them and his killer picked it up. He in turn lost it in a bet with a Sidhe Lady and it has been in the Nevernever since. Even though it is not the original, it conveys various powers of sight on the owner and over time it has acquired some magical power due to its connection to the Grey Witches.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Lore, Discipline, Alertness, Investigation.
Effects:
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a false eye. In order to use it you must lose an eye and place in the empty socket. Once you've done so you can use its power even when you hold it in your hand. The eye does not grant standard vision and thus the Aspect associated with this Item will be compelled quite often in situations where being able to see through the replaced eye would be useful.
[-0] Unbreakable. The Eye of the Graeae, as an Item of Power, cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+1] One-Time Discount. The Eye of the Graeae is easily concealed. You could pop it out and hide it in you pocket, or you could just keep your eye closed. If the rebate from this effect would reduce the cost of the Eye to 0 Refresh, the Eye costs 1 Refresh instead.
[-1] The Sight. The purpose of the Eye was to help you see, and whatever you see with it is true and real.
Upgrades:
[-0] Cassandra's Tears. Because the Eye sees that which is true, it can sometimes see what will be as well as what is.
[-1] Supernatural Sense. The Eye of the Graeae lets you see magic, as if it were colour or heat. This lets you see auras, tell wizards from mundanes or spirits at a distance by their glow, read the patterns of spell residue and anything else the GM thinks reasonable. The sense is used with Alertness and Investigation, not with Lore.
[-3] Thaumaturgy. The Eye of the Graeae gives you the power to cast spells like a witch. At the GM's discretion, it might be possible to gain a "witchy" variant of Ritual rather than full Thaumaturgy.

Sanctaphrax:
First batch of edited items.

I explained my changes under each item's writeup.

Feedback would be lovely.

PHOENIX FEATHER [-1]
Description: A feather from the legendary fiery bird that dies only to be reborn from its ashes, it burns eternally with the Flames of Life. It both has the power to restore as its flame nurtures the inner spark of Life within its wielder and destroy by generating blasts of flame that burn those he wishes to harm.
Skills Affected: Endurance, Discipline.
Effects:
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a feather made of flames. The flames cannot be extinguished, and though they emit light equivalent to that of a flashlight they are harmless to those who touch the feather. But if the feather's owner wants, the feather can launch a bolt of fire that is very dangerous indeed. Mechanically, these bolts are equivalent to rifle shots. Weapon 3, range 3 zones.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+2] One-Time Discount. It's made of fire. Hiding a fire is not easy.
[-4] Blaze of Life. The feather feeds one's inner spark of Life, turning it into a blaze. This Power is identical to Supernatural Recovery.
[+2] The Catch (Necromantic Magic). As a Phoenix Feather is an artifact of Life, the enhancement it grants one's life force can not aid in recuperation from injuries inflicted the unnatural magic of its opposition, Death.
[-1] Wrathful Blast. The bolts of fire launched with the feather are not aimed the way bullets are. They are guided mentally. Attacks made with a Phoenix Feather use the Discipline skill.

You shouldn't have to pay to use an item as a weapon. You can do that for free with mundane items, and so it can be covered with It Is What It Is.

AION, IMMORTAL'S EDGE [-4]
Description: A sword crafted by the god Vulcan out of the metal from a meteor and blessed by Mars. Its purpose was to give a great warrior of Rome an edge against Rome's enemies and to protect the innocent and the greater good. Its edge has been said to rival that of either Excalibur or Kusanagi.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons
Effects:
[-0] It Is What It Is. It is a incredibly sharp and intricately designed sword. Weapon 3.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken by any means except a magical ritual predicted upon perverting its purpose.
[-0] Purpose. This weapon's purpose is to protect the innocent and the greater good. It will rebel if used against that purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. It is a beautifully made sword that was made to draw the attention of people. As such it is hard to conceal.
[-1] True Aim. As long as the wielder of Aion is using it in accordance with its purpose they add one to their Weapons skill.
[-2] Searing Edge. The blade is as hot as the volcano it was forged in. Attacks made with Aion against targets not immune to fire inflict three additional stress, and Aion satisfies any Catches that have to do with heat, fire, lava, or meteors.
[-3] All Creatures Are Made Equal. When facing an opponent, the wielder of Aion may spend a fate point to ignore that opponent’s defensive abilities (Toughness based ones, primarily) and mundane armour for the duration of the scene.

Knocked the base weapon rating down to 3 and corrected some stylistic stuff. Those apostrophes were awful, let me tell you. I also made it so that Searing Edge's bonus damage doesn't apply against fire-immune foes.

THE GLAIVE [-2]
Description: An ancient and powerful magic weapon. It's a 5 point throwing star with retractable blades, and it looks awesome in a ridiculous way.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons.
Effects:
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a five-pointed throwing star with retractable blades. With the blades extended, it's about a foot wide. Weapon 2, range one zone.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+1] One-Time Discount. Once the blades are retracted, The Glaive becomes fairly easy to conceal.
[-1] Boomerang. The Glaive will always return to the owners hand after being thrown. Furthermore, it can be used to make spray attacks.
[-2] Slayer of Monsters. Add four the weapon rating of The Glaive when attacking a non-human character with it.

I added the spray attack thing because I didn't think it was fair to charge for re-usability alone. Slayer Of Monsters seemed a bit iffy, but the specific-ness balanced out the bonus-stacking in my mind.

RED MARBLE SWORD [-1]
Description: A sword that chooses a good knight to carry out justice, following him till his death. The sword deals great misfortune to those other than the chosen knight who dare to wield it.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to being the chosen wielder of the sword. This aspect must reflect your relationship with the sword.
Skills Affected:
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. The purpose of the Red Marble Sword to seek justice in the hands of a worthy knight. It cannot be used against this purpose, and it will turn on its wielder if they are unworthy or if they use it immorally.
[-1] It Is What It Is. It's a supernaturally-effective longsword. Weapon 5.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual that opposes its nature.
[+2] One-Time Discount. A sword is hard to hide.
[-1] Never Strike In Anger. When the wielder of the Red Marble Sword takes a full defence action, they add four to all of their defence rolls instead of the normal full defence bonus. This bonus adds to all defence rolls, not just Weapons defence rolls made with the Red Marble Sword. You may include this bonus in your "attack" roll when using Riposte.
[-1] Riposte. On a successful defence with the Red Marble Sword, you may sacrifice your next action to turn your defence roll into an attack against the person who attacked you (if they're in range). Treat your defence roll as the attack roll, and the roll made to hit you as the defence roll.

Never Strike In Anger was weak, now it is less so.

Deadmanwalking:
Okay, feedback:

On Aion: Do you think Holy is a -1 power? I seem to recall you saying it wasn't recently...in which case All Creatures Are Equal is almost certainly -4. Searing Edge also seems a trifle expensive (though not a full Refresh's worth), IMO.

On the Red Marble Sword: What if someone who already has Riposte picks up the sword? Some sort of guideline seems warranted, especially since that seems a likely scenario. Never Strike In Anger is also a bit...odd, it effectively adds +2 defense and +4 attack situationally, and that seems a bit much for -1 Refresh, even with only being able to do it every other round, just due to that being almost unstoppable compared to other abilities/characters at the same level.

The others look good.

Sanctaphrax:
First up, thanks for the review. I really appreciate having somebody looking over what I post to make sure it's sane.


--- Quote from: Deadmanwalking on January 04, 2013, 08:51:13 AM ---On Aion: Do you think Holy is a -1 power? I seem to recall you saying it wasn't recently...in which case All Creatures Are Equal is almost certainly -4.
--- End quote ---

There's really no way to know for sure what the right costing is. The list so far has assumed Holy costs 1, though, so I'm going with that.

I'm going to add a disclaimer to the start of the list to that effect.


--- Quote from: Deadmanwalking on January 04, 2013, 08:51:13 AM ---Searing Edge also seems a trifle expensive (though not a full Refresh's worth), IMO.
--- End quote ---

I tend to be harsh when bonuses start stacking. 1 stunt gives +2, 2 give +3.


--- Quote from: Deadmanwalking on January 04, 2013, 08:51:13 AM ---On the Red Marble Sword: What if someone who already has Riposte picks up the sword? Some sort of guideline seems warranted, especially since that seems a likely scenario. Never Strike In Anger is also a bit...odd, it effectively adds +2 defense and +4 attack situationally, and that seems a bit much for -1 Refresh, even with only being able to do it every other round, just due to that being almost unstoppable compared to other abilities/characters at the same level.
--- End quote ---

Same thing that happens whenever somebody picks up an item granting a Power they already have, whatever that is.

I made Never Strike In Anger way stronger because

a) it has to compete with True Aim and with a flat +2 Weapons defence bonus,

b) people hardly ever use Full Defence, and

c) people can perfectly negate the deadly Riposte defence by not attacking you. They can just maneuver, maneuver, maneuver until they have +20 to an attack and you can't stop them because you're spending your actions doing nothing.

Deadmanwalking:

--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---First up, thanks for the review. I really appreciate having somebody looking over what I post to make sure it's sane.
--- End quote ---

No problem.


--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---There's really no way to know for sure what the right costing is. The list so far has assumed Holy costs 1, though, so I'm going with that.

I'm going to add a disclaimer to the start of the list to that effect.
--- End quote ---

Cool. As long as consistency is preserved.


--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---I tend to be harsh when bonuses start stacking. 1 stunt gives +2, 2 give +3.
--- End quote ---


That seems to make that second point of Refresh a really shitty investment. It's reasonable, but if doing that, I'd almost never make an item that used -2 Refresh explicitly for that.


--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---Same thing that happens whenever somebody picks up an item granting a Power they already have, whatever that is.
--- End quote ---

Usually, they stack to some degree. But that's not exactly viable in this case...and I bring it up because I'd expect something well over 50% of characters who grab that sword to want to be able to Riposte (an excellent Stunt) without it


--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---I made Never Strike In Anger way stronger because

a) it has to compete with True Aim and with a flat +2 Weapons defence bonus,
--- End quote ---

True...that +4 just seems excessive. Nothing else gives that big a bonus on attacks for only a single Refresh, no matter how conditional.


--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---b) people hardly ever use Full Defence, and
--- End quote ---

They certainly will with that power.


--- Quote from: Sanctaphrax on January 04, 2013, 06:53:23 PM ---c) people can perfectly negate the deadly Riposte defence by not attacking you. They can just maneuver, maneuver, maneuver until they have +20 to an attack and you can't stop them because you're spending your actions doing nothing.
--- End quote ---

If they know about it (by no means a sure thing, most enemies you'll get at least one chance to pull this trick on) and you're an idiot, yeah. Really, as soon as they don't attack (certainly if they don't for two or three rounds), you know the jig is potentially up and make an attack or maneuver of your own.

And I noted how conditional it was...it just still strikes me as off. Not exactly too powerful, just wrong on some level. Too specific and too powerful within its specialty at the same time...making it either gamebreaking or useless. I hate powers like that, or at least ones like this that are active as opposed to passive, since the PCs can then apply them in the moments when they're gamebreaking, and ignore them the rest of the time at little disadvantage.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page