Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - Dragon - Dragon 145
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Bazaar of the Bizarre
The magic fortress: magical items for fantasy castles
by J. Jasper Owens
illustration by Ned Dameron

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.

Table 1
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.

Table 4
Special Scroll Type
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