| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons | - | Dragon | - | Dragon 145 |
| - | - | - | - |
In any
AD&D®
game campaign containing characters
that
reach sufficient levels to build sacred temples
and
dark, forbidding towers of their own, a
natural
avenue opens for creating magical items for
use
in and around these characters' homes. Castler-elated
magical
items have an innate value awaiting
them
in most campaigns because of the levels of the
characters
who would seek them out. As prestigious
devices
that are neither overly powerful nor harmful
to
game balance, castle magical items help Dungeon
Masters
as well as players. In fact, DMs may use castle
magical
items as tools, dropping them in the paths
of
qualified characters in order to encourage them to
build
strongholds. Adventures may be built around
the
recovery
of such items, since the logical places to
find
them would include ruined castles and gutted
temples
out in the middle of nowhere.
Table 1
herein is for random determination of castle
magical items. If a DM wishes
to incorporate this
table into his AD&D®
game listings, he can allow a
straight 15% chance that
a random roll indicating
Table
III.E.2 in Unearthed Arcana actually results in a
roll on the castle magical-item
table. Treasure rolls
must be tempered with logic--for
example, a fragile
mirror of travel will not
be found in a rough cavern
housing trolls.
Included in Table 1 is a scroll
of new spells for
magic-users; a DM who does
not want to include
these new spells in his campaign
could transfer their
powers to a suitable staff
or ring. The value of a
stone of the well is discussed
in its description. Note
that XP and gold-piece values
of gems of
detection accrue for each
gem discovered.
| 1d100 | Item | XP value | GP value |
| 01 | Basin of the angel | 7,500 | 33,500 |
| 02-03 | Basin of hidden dangers | - | 3,000 |
| 04-08 | Danleor's dungeon chains | 1,500 | 20,000 |
| 09-19 | Flag of untrue colors | 750 | 12,000 |
| 20-27 | Gems of detection | 150/gem | 500/gem |
| 28-29 | Horn of war (warriors) | 1,000 | 41,000 |
| 30-33 | Libram of teleportation arches (wizards) | 7,500 | 35,000 |
| 34-35 | Mirror of travel | 4,000 | 15,000 |
| 36 | Improved mirror of travel (wizards) | 8,000 | 50,000 |
| 37-58 | Oil of eternal fire | 300 | 500 |
| 59-63 | Scroll of new spells | - | 25,000 |
| 64-67 | Sphere of warning | 2,500 | 18,000 |
| 68-72 | Sphere of false calling | - | 1,000 |
| 73-85 | Stone of the well | 500 | Special |
| 86-94 | Cursed well stone | - | 1,000 |
| 95-00 | Tablecloth of feasting | 500 | 4,000 |
Basin
of the angel
A basin of the angel
is a rare, highly
prized item sculpted of precious
metals. A
spidery design composed of
thousands of
interwoven holy symbols adorn
its silver
base, while its copper bowl
is smooth and
reflective. Each basin of
this type has a
particular good alignment
(either lawful,
neutral, or chaotic), and
each of these
basins is sworn to a particular
goodaligned
deity.
Within the basin's bowl stands
a tall gold
statuette of a movanic deva
(sometimes
resembling a servant of the
deity to which
it is dedicated, with back
arched and arms
high) which pours water into
the basin
from a crystal vial held
in its hands. The
water appears and drains
away magically,
and the basin is always full.
Any evil being touching a
basin of the
angel takes 2-12 hp damage
and must save
vs. spells to avoid being
teleported three
miles in a random horizontal
direction. The
basin does not affect neutral
characters or
creatures, but it comforts
any good-aligned
being who views it or touches
it, providing
a 5-30% morale bonus from
the DM based
on exact alignment, piety,
and so forth of
the viewer or toucher.
Water from the basin tastes
cool and
refreshing to all good-aligned
people who
drink from it. For drinkers
of the same
alignment as the basin, it
cures
disease
and cures light wounds with
a single sip,
once per week per person.
A cleric of the
basin's alignment who worships
the basin's
patron deity may drink of
its special
waters and gain their benefits
as often as
he likes. Still, a basin
of the angel will not
realize its full powers until
a 9th-level
cleric places it within a
permanent shrine
to the proper god. If the
cleric then further
conducts himself in the best
manner
of his religion at all times,
never straying
from his alignment, the following
latent
powers accrue to the device:
1. It radiates protection
from evil in a
240-yard radius.
2. It causes all evil characters
or creatures
who attempt to enter the
temple that
houses it to save vs. spells
at -1 or be
affected as per the mage's
spell repulsion.
3. It endows the shrine with
a "guardian
angel," a movanic
deva of average hit
points and abilities. This
guardian angel
appears only once, at the
time of the temple's
greatest need (as determined
by the
DM).
A basin of the angel is about
5' tall and
2' in diameter, and it weighs
180 pounds. It is
very clumsy to carry. All
water taken from
it becomes nonmagical unless
drunk within
three rounds.
Basin
of hidden dangers
This magical item appears
to be a basin
of
the angel, even to the point of radiating
a strong aura of good. However,
any evil
creature may handle this
item with impunity,
for it is actually a device
built by evil
gods. A basin of hidden dangers
is constructed
by forces of the Outer planes
directly opposed to those
who have basins
of the angel dedicated to
them. Thus, Loki
may create a basin of hidden
dangers that
appears exactly like a benevolent
basin
dedicated to his brother
Thor,
and Set may
do the same to a basin dedicated
to Osiris.
A basin of hidden dangers
immediately
and permanently defiles any
good temple
it enters, simultaneously
inflicting the
temple?s high priest with
a powerful curse.
Unless the defiled temple
is razed, the
ground beneath it sown with
salt, and a
new temple of at least the
same size and
value of the old one is built
elsewhere, the
cursed high priest will carry
temporary
defilement (lasting 10-100
years) to any
good temple he enters. Furthermore,
he is
unable to learn any spells
above third level
until he receives an atonement.
This is
such a powerful curse it
may only be
removed by the methods prescribed
above
or by employing a full wish.
A basin of hidden dangers
may be easily
destroyed and does not ?follow?
a character
the way some cursed items
do. Note
that the destruction of the
basin does
nothing to alleviate its
curse, however.
Danleor's
dungeon chains
Hundreds of years ago, there
lived a
great wizard
named Danleor who created
dozens of sets of magical
dungeon chains,
which he used to confine
his numerous
and unusual enemies. Some
of these
enchanted shackles have survived
the
centuries to the present.
Individual sets of chains
vary in power
and effectiveness; the stronger
ones are
noticeably thicker and sturdier
than the
weaker ones. The iron chains
and shackles
are built to confine any
creature from hill
giant to halfling size, and
Danleor?s
dungeon chains weigh so heavily
on a
captive that he is almost
totally immobilized.
To determine the strength
of the
chains discovered, roll on
Table
2.
Danleor's dungeon chains
are much too
heavy to be thrown or otherwise
used as
weapons. Anyone aside from
the chains'
captive may open the magic
shackles, if he
knows the command word.
In some of Danleor's ancient
records,
which are now kept by an
isolated clan of
elves, there is mention of
strange types of
dungeon chains which are
particularly
effective against undead,
and others which
are actually sized to hold
larger giants. To
date, however, no such chains
have been
discovered.
Table
2
Strength of Danelor's
Dungeon Chains
| 1d100 | Result |
| 01-30 | Restrains to 17 STR |
| 31-60 | Restrains to 18/00 STR |
| 61-90 | Restrains up to 19 STR, prevents captive from becoming gaseous |
| 91-97 | Restrains up to 19 STR, prevenst captive from becoming gaseous, escaping to the Astral or Ethereal planes, teleporting, or using dimension door |
| 98-00 | Restrains up to 20 STR, prevents captive from escaping by any means short of a wish |
Flag
of untrue colors
A flag of this type appears,
(in its neutral
state) as a large rectangular
or triangular
piece of dull, light-gray
fabric. This magical
flag is meant to be flown
over a castle
or keep. When it is placed
atop any structure,
all creatures viewing a flag
of untrue
colors (from any distance,
including scrying)
see it either as a bold crest
of a family
or country the viewer deems
friendly, or
of any other force the viewer
recognizes
as benign. Whenever possible,
the flag
appears the same to each
person in a
group; what's more, if blank
gray flags are
flown from a structure with
a flag of
untrue colors, they also
take on the illusory
hues and colors of the magical
item.
Any creature with a wisdom
of 14 or
higher receives a saving
throw vs. spells
(with wisdom bonuses) against
the flag's
effect. Creatures not affected
by illusions
are immune to this item.
Gems
of detection
Gems of detection appear
to be highly
polished miniature ioun stones.
They are
discovered either already
embedded and
functioning (as explained
below), or dormant.
To activate a dormant gem
of detection,
it must be set into the armrest
of a
sturdy chair or throne by
the hands of a
skilled jeweler, and faerie
fire must be cast
upon it. If an activated
gem of detection is
pried from an armrest in
order to be
transferred to another, it
goes dormant
and must be reactivated.
To use this magical item,
a character sits
in the chair and touches
the activated gem
of detection to receive a
power from it for
as long as he remains seated
and in contact
with the gem. Only one gem
may be
touched each round.
Gems of detection are
not quite as sturdy
as ioun stones. They may
be destroyed
(AC -2, 5 hp), and make saving
throws as
hard metal with a + 1 bonus
(see the
AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon
Masters
Guide, page 80). The various
gems of
detection are listed in Table
3.
Table
3
Gem of Detection
Varieties
| Color | Shape | Use | Range |
| Pale blue | Rhomboid | Detect evil | 120' |
| Scarlet and blue | Sphere | Detect good | 120' |
| Deep red | Sphere | Detect lie | 30' |
| Pink | Rhomboid | Detect invisibility | 60' |
| Pink and green | Sphere | Detect enemies | 60' |
| Pale green | Prism | Detect life | 120' |
| Clear | Spindle | Detect undead | 240' |
| Pearly white | Spindle | Detect charm | 60' |
| Pale lavender | Ellipsoid | Know alignment | 30' |
| Vibrant purple | Prism | Detect psionics/psionic creatures | 240' |
Horn
of war
A horn of war is over 5?
long, made of
roughly carved, gold-colored
stone, weighing
120 lbs., and covered with
thousands
of magical symbols and glyphs
related to
the arts of summoning. Only
a non-elven
fighter of the 9th level
or higher (or a
ranger of the 11th, or a
barbarian of the
8th) with constitution and
charisma scores
of 14 or higher may sound
a horn of war;
a fighter-type of substandard
level or with
a less than 14 constitution
passes out from
the strain of attempting
to sound it, and an
elf or a fighter-type with
substandard
charisma is unable to command
the creatures
the horn summons.
The great call of a horn of
war carries
for 5-20 miles in any weather
conditions.
It magically summons an army
of 10-200
quaggoths,
with 10 hp each, in 1-6 turns.
The frenzied, battle-crazed
mob may be
commanded only to attack,
which the
monsters do until destroyed.
If not slain in
battle, the quaggoths serve
for one hour
per level of their summoner
before disappearing.
Quaggoths summoned but not
controlled run amok for 2-12
turns, attacking
everyone, before leaving.
Three years
must pass between each sounding
of a
horn of war. Regardless of
whether the
quaggoths are commanded or
not, they
will slay all elves they
see while carrying
out their other tasks.
Libram
of teleportation arches
Similar to a manual
of golems, a libram
of teleportation arches is
a treatise on the
construction of a pair of
magical arches
connected by teleportation.
The archways
are 10? tall, 3? wide at
the base, and each
takes 5-8 weeks to build,
costing (in fine
stone and craftsmanship)
40,000 gp total.
Any creature stepping through
one arch is
instantaneously teleported
to the other,
and although distance between
the arches
is not a factor, both arches
must be constructed
on the same Prime Material
plane. During the time required
to build
an archway, the magic-user
must not be
away from the construction
site for any
appreciable amount of time
except when
eating and sleeping.
When the archways are completed,
the
libram must be burned and
its ashes must
be sprinkled over both constructions.
Teleportation through these
devices is
without error, though if
one archway is
severely damaged, both cease
functioning
forever.
Mirror
of travel
All mirrors of travel
are large, obviously
valuable, highly reflective
silver mirrors
bordered in gem-encrusted
gold. These
magical items each function
only when set
into a sturdy wall.
Any character knowing the
proper
command word need only place
his hand
upon such a mirror, speak
the word, and
envision any place he has
previously "seen
casually" (as per the spell
teleport
in the
Players' Handbook).
An image of that place
appears in the mirror, and
the character is
teleported there, arriving
as if the place
had been ?studied carefully?
(again, as per
the teleport spell). The
image stays in the
mirror for three rounds after
the character
departs, and during this
time anyone
touching the mirror similarly
teleports to
the area it presents. This
device is quite
fragile and will break (and
become useless)
if it fails a saving throw
against any attack
form. A mirror of travel
can reveal and
send its viewer to places
only within its
own plane of existence.
Improved
mirror of travel
Although indistinguishable
from a mirror
of travel, an improved mirror
of travel
is a vastly superior magical
item that
requires an intelligence
score of at least 18
to operate. Teleportation
through this
device
is without error, and the mirror?s
activator may take any number
of characters
with him, as long as their
hands are
linked at the time of departure.
The destination
?s image in the mirror disappears
instantly after teleportation.
This mirror is
just as fragile as its lesser
cousin and is
activated in the same way.
Additionally, an improved
mirror of
travel can function as a
crystal
ball with
twice the usual viewing time
and frequency,
and it accrues no penalty
when viewing
into planes that are one
removed from
that which contains the mirror.
It allows
travel to once-removed planes
as well,
provided the mirror?s activator
has previously
?seen casually? the place
to which he
wishes to teleport. This
item must be set
into a sturdy wall, or it
will not function. It
may only be used by magic-users.
Oil
of eternal fire
This rather dramatically
dubbed oil is
typically found in 2 or 4
doses.
When a bit of this potion
is poured over a
torch
or other small flame, it causes the
fire to stay lit for a full
24-hour period.
One dose of this potion is
enough to treat
6 torches or keep an oil
lamp burning for
72 hours. Oil of eternal
fire does not
explode, nor does it affect
large or magical
flames.
Scroll
of new spells
The DM should make a die
roll on Table
4 to determine which spells
are written on
the scroll discovered. The
wizard Ballant
was a man much taken with
the theories
of siege warfare, probably
because his
own castle was frequently
beset with
humanoid invaders from nearby
mountains.
The 2 magic-user spells that
he
created speak of his singular
obsession.
| 1d100 | Scroll Value |
| 01-30 | Ballant's stonestrength |
| 31-60 | Ballant's stonesplit |
| 61-90 | One of each of above spells |
| 91-00 | Two of each of above spells |
Ballant's
stonestrength (Alteration)
Level:
5
Range:
20 yards
AE:
Special
Components:
V, S, M
CT:
6 segments
ST:
None
Duration:
3 turns + 2 turns/level
Ballant's
stonestrength
causes any single stone
structure,
no matter what its size, to
increase
in structural value by 10% per
level
of the spell-caster. For example, a
13th-level
magic-user casting this spell on
his
stone gatehouse increases its structural
value
by 130%, from 120 to 276. The stone
becomes
tougher and more resistant to
chipping
and cracking. Any damage done
to
it is first subtracted from its magically
gained
structural points (so even if greatly
battered,
it may escape uninjured at the
spell?s
expiration). Since this spell affects
only
stone, it cannot wholly buttress a
structure
composed of both stone and, say,
earth
or wood. A DM may either figure
out
how each piece of strengthened stone
affects
the structure as a whole, or simply
figure
the new structural value as a percentage
(e.g.,
if a wall is 40% stone, the
spell
is 40% effective).
Ballant's
stonestrength completely
repairs
any stone-composed creature (e.g.,
stone
golem, xorn, galeb duhr) it is cast
upon,
though this vigor is limited to the
spell?s
duration. When cast upon a petrified
character
(having suffered the effects
of
a medusa or flesh to stone spell), this
spell
provides virtual immunity to incidental
chipping
and breaking. It may be cast
in
conjunction with a wall of stone. The
material
components of this spell are a
small
granite wedge and a pinch of powdered
iron,
which is sprinkled over the
wedge
during the spell?s casting. When the
spell
is cast, both components disappear.
Ballant's
stonesplit (Evocation)
Level:
6
Range:
Touch
Duration:
Permanent
Components:
V, S, M
CT:
6 segments
ST:
Special
AE:
One 10'x10'x10' cube of stone/level
THE
WIZARD
who
casts this spell cleaves the next stone
object
he touches, the force from his fingertips
manifesting
in a spray of light and
a thick,
winding crack that appears in the
stone
with considerable force. The crack
reduces
an amount of stone to rubble
equal
to the spell?s area of effect, but it
does
nothing to clear this rubble away. For
example,
a 12th-level wizard touching a
100?-long
by 10?-thick by 30?-high stone
wall
cracks to rubble a 40?-wide section.
Rubble
fills the gap to a height of half that
of
the original wall and sloping away from
each
side at about a 45° angle. There is a
three-segment
delay between the magicuser
?s
touch and the full extent of the
spell?s
damage, which is usually enough
time
for a mobile caster to escape being
crushed
by his own spell. A successful
dispel
magic during this interval period
negates
Ballant?s stonesplit. If this spell is
cast
on a stone floor, a fissure opens and
the
rubble settles quickly, dropping the
floor
1-4? and causing 1-4 hp damage to all
in
the area of effect. The devastating
effect
of this spell when cast on a stone
ceiling
is limited both by its range (touch)
and
by its three-segment delay (enough
time
for the caster to get out of the way is
also
enough time for anyone else to get
away).
Ballant?s
stonesplit causes great damage
to
stone-composed creatures (such as
galeb
duhr) ? 1-8 hp damage per level of
the
caster, or half if a save vs. spells is
made
? although the caster must first
score
a hit in melee. This spell automatically
obliterates
a petrified character.
Magical
items composed of stone are
allowed
to save (at -4) vs. disintegration
to
avoid destruction. The material component
for
this spell is a single diamond-tipped
chisel
worth at least 1,000 gp,
which
disappears when the spell is cast.
Sphere
of WARNING
A sphere of warning is a
2'-diameter
globe suspended in gold or
silver framework.
The entire device is over
4? tall and
3? in diameter, weighing
about 300 lbs.
The outside of the magical
globe is bright
green marble streaked with
black or red.
This sphere is a divination
device that
begins to glow and hum exactly
three days
before the structure in which
it is contained
is to be attacked by any
force (an
attack is defined as any
outside party
attempting forced entry into,
or committing
hostile action toward, the
edifice
containing the sphere of
warning or the
proper ruler of this edifice).
The sphere is
capable of fine distinctions,
and generally
has the DM?s tastes with
regards to the
definition of ?proper ruler.?
The hum and
glow of the sphere begin
quietly but
increase in intensity during
the three days
before the attack. Unfortunately,
the
alarm of a sphere of warning
is always the
same, whether heralding an
army of 3,000
orcs led by a Arch-Mage or
signaling the
arrival of 3 hobbits
armed with pointed
sticks.
When a sphere of warning is
taken from
one structure to another,
it ceases to function,
resuming operation only when
a
command word is uttered (there
is a 50%
chance this command word
is engraved
somewhere on the sphere).
Sphere
of false calling
A sphere of false calling
exactly resembles
a sphere
of WARNING. This cursed
sphere, however, sounds a
random alarm
every 1-6 months, and it
also tends to glow
and hum at particularly inopportune
moments (such as before a
wedding or
visitation from friendly
forces). This
sphere never glows before
an attack.
Stone
of the well
A stone
of the well is highly prized in
villages
and castles located on dry plains
and
deserts. In spite of the facts that
these
items
command prices as high as 30,000
gp
in dry regions, and wars are sometimes
fought
for their possession, stones of the
well
are worthless over much of the
world.
Such an item appears as a perfectly
spherical
black granite rock with a smooth
surface.
It functions when placed within a
well
at least 30' deep, as long as the stone
is
covered by at least 2' of standing water.
The
stone immediately fills its well to a
depth
halfway between its bottom and
upper
rim, and similarly fills and maintains
all
wells within a one-mile radius.
The
water produced by a stone of the well
is
pure and refreshing. No well within one
mile
of the stone will run dry. A stone of
the
well placed in a totally dry well will
not
function until covered with water.
Cursed
well stone
Appearing
exactly like a stone of the
well,
a cursed well stone causes any well
into
which it is placed to dry up immediately;
likewise,
all wells within a one-mile
radius
of a cursed well stone also dry up
immediately.
This item counters a stone of
the
well, and no new well dug in the area
of
effect of a cursed well stone will yield
water,
even if the ground is saturated.
Once
activated, an exorcism is required to
be
rid of this malefic stone?s influence.
Tablecloth
of feasting
A tablecloth
of this type is thick, richly
embroidered,
and difficult to fold and
move
(it weighs 30 lbs.). It automatically
adjusts
to fit any table on which it is
placed,
up to 900 square feet in size. Once
per
day, a tablecloth of feasting can create
a meal
equal to a heroes' feast at the
15th
level
of priest?s spell use, although no
furniture
is created and the conjured food
bestows
no magical effects. An item of this
type
is typically found with 81-100
charges,
and it requires a command word
to
function. If the meal is interrupted,
however,
the food does not vanish.
MAY
1989