Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mr_Miscellany Jul 26, 2012 0:47:52	Magic Items of the Realms   What follows is a list of magic items that can be found in the Forgotten Realms.   The list is rules-free, though each item listing includes a nuts and bolts description that ought to sufficiently guide DMs and Players wishing to create game rules in order to utilize these items in a campaign. The item descriptions are written from the unreliable narrator point of view, so that DMs can modify the item listings to suit the needs and power level of their campaign. ************* Magic Item List Spellcatch Dagger
#2 Mr_Miscellany Jul 26, 2012 0:48:22	Spellcatch Dagger A Spellcatch Dagger is thought to be a short, bladed weapon that measures from pommel to blade tip about the length of a grown man’s forearm, from his elbow to the tip of his middle finger. The dagger is meant to be wielded as the parrying/blocking half of a set of paired weapons, though it is unknown if the original Spellcatch Dagger was ever part of a matching set. Spellcatch Daggers generally have flat pommels with a single wide, round gem set into them and a grip paired with rounded knuckle guards that protect the wielder’s hand while allowing for punching and parrying with the non-blade portion of the weapon. Spellcatch Daggers are sought after for their ability to absorb and store spells. Nuts and Bolts: Most Spellcatch Daggers can absorb and store only one spell at a time, usually of third level or lower. This ability of the dagger is indiscriminate and generally functions within a 5’ radius, being only active when the blade is held; the dagger absorbs (and nullifies the effect, including area effects like fireballs) any spell cast within 5’ that is of a level equal to or lower then the maximum spell level the dagger is capable of absorbing. The next successful attack made by the wielder of the dagger unleashes the spell absorbed by the dagger onto the wielder's foe, who suffers the dagger’s damage and then the effect of the spell. Area of effect spells treat the space the foe is standing in as their point of origin and do not harm the dagger. Thus, while an absorbed lightening bolt can be made to shoot into (and out of) a stabbed foe, an absorbed fireball will unavoidably catch the dagger wielder in its area of effect (without harming the dagger) unless he or she hurls the dagger and hits a suitably distant foe. Whenever a Spellcatch Dagger absorbs a spell, the gem set into the pommel always changes color and hue to match the school of magic of the spell. Lore and History Some dagger wielders have claimed that seemingly benign spells absorbed by Spellcatch Daggers work even in the midst of combat.  The hiremage Daskur Windsur (formerly of Westgate; now in hiding) claims to have learned the properties of a set of magical armor worn by a foe while Daskur’s blade carried an Identify spell that he’d assumed was miscast when he first tried to identify the magical properties of the dagger after he’d pilfered it from the rooms of a sleeping merchant. Along with much of his personal wealth, Daskur was forced to leave his blade behind in Westgate when he had to flee the city (hidden not terribly well: it still sits on top of an exposed crossbeam that supports the roof of the Spitting Cockatrice Inn). The young, up and coming sage Handrabar of Mulhessen (former acolyte of Tempus and self-proclaimed expert in magical bladed weapons) says the commonly shared descriptions of Spellcatch Daggers relate only to recently made, paltry copies of true Spell Daggers (Handrabar’s name for them), which were first crafted by elven smiths in Cormathor long before Myth Drannor was founded as an open city and reserved for the greatest Bladesingers who wielded Spell Daggers capable of parrying and deflecting spells back at foes, as well as catching and reshaping spells through intricate dual-wielding blade movements similar too, but more complex than, the complicated hand gestures utilized by mages as part of their castings.* Not so, claims Adornal the Learned of Arabel (self proclaimed sage of all things related to Netheril after its fall and prior to the return of Shade). Adornal thinks this all so much bluster from those who presume that elves created everything and anything noteworthy of magical power, and fail to see that humans were responsible for much in the way of great magic. According to Adornal the first true Spellcatch Daggers were Halruaan in origin, dating back to the founding of that far away land. Their creation was a practical extension of the Halruann’s everyday use of magic and a natural development by warrior mages wishing to have at their disposal any of several means of protecting their Archwizard masters. Still others claim Spellcatch Daggers have no first inventor, rather that the idea has come and gone many times down the centuries and has seen use in a variety of applications. For example, the bard Tellhance “Black Harp” Ormparl credits the singing knights of old Chessenta for briefly popularizing amongst their kind the use of Spellcatch Daggers. As Tellhance describes them, singing knights would do battle in front of a large audience while attempting to outsing each other. First one knight would sing a verse while on the attack, then the other knight would attempt to sing the same verse louder while the first knight was obliged to go on the defensive, each choosing an attack routine timed with the verse they sung. Then the first knight would pick a new verse and the second would defend, until one or the other was slain. Those Chessentan knights who were of a dishonorable nature held minor spells in their daggers capable of stealing the breath of the other knight. Being struck and effected by such a spell in the midst of combat when already winded usually resulted in the death of a combatant, much to the delight of the crowd and the satisfaction of the cheating knight. Tellhance claims to own a pair of such daggers from the time of the singing knights, adding that in the wake of the Spellplague his daggers no longer catch spells; one nullifies any minor spell (of 3rd level or lower), while the other seems to have permanently absorbed the last spell it held. This last dagger delivers an effect similar to a Ray of Enfeeblement once per combat. *Handrabar also claims that agents working for the Crown of Cormyr have stolen the secret of creating true Spell Daggers from their elven allies and are producing them at a furious rate to equip companies of Cormyrean Swordmages, though he could give no proof to backup his claim beyond, "They're Cormyreans! Of course they've stolen from the elves! How do you think they recovered their magical might so quickly in the wake of the Spellplague?"