Bazaar of the Bizarre
Oriental Magic Items
by David Sweet
 
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - Dragon - Dragon #40
1. Pearls 2. Crossbow of Multiplication 3. Snake Necklace 4. Staff of Jizo 5. Tamate-Bako
6. Spear of Yang 7. Willow Wand Swords 8. Bimbomushi 9. Kusunogi no Tsurugi -
-
1. Pearls -- A Pearl must be held in the mouth for the entire
duration of its spell. If spit out or swallowed, it ceases to work. These
pearls look like ordinary ones and only Detect Magick or the like will
distinguish them.

a. Giant Black Pearl—Also featured in Gods, Demi-Gods and
Heroes. Negates all wind and earth turbulence in a one-mile radius,
once per day, for 1-6 hours.
    <Giant Black Pearl, DDG>

b. Serpent Spirit Pearl—Once per day for 1-6 hours allows user to
Speak with Animals.

c. Pearl of Flying—Once per day allows user to fly at speed 12 for
1-6 hours. Beginning at 10 minutes before the end of the spell, the
pearl will send impulses to user indicating the spell is about to end.

d. Pearl of Ultimate Wisdom—When placed in the mouth, its
outer coating dissolves immediately and the pearl disgorges lethal
poison. If the user makes his ST against poison he is assumed
to have spit enough out to have survived. After 1 use, the pearl is
totally consumed whether or not victim dies.

2. Crossbow of Multiplication--May be either light or heavy,
and uses the range of fire of the proper class. However, the weapon
creates its own bolts. These are treated as +0, +0 magic bolts but can
hit any target capable of being damaged at all by physical weapons
(even those, for example, which can only be hurt by +3 weapons or by
blunt weapons). Bolts disappear after hitting or missing. On each shot,
roll a 20-sided die for the number of bolts fired, subtracting 5. Results of
5 or less are treated as 0 (that is, there is a 25% chance the crossbow will
fire nothing at all—otherwise, it fires 1 to 15 bolts). The bolts spread out
in an even cone in a forward direction, from a single bolt straight ahead
to 15 in a 90-degree cone. Therefore, unless the target is very wide or
very close, no more than 1 or 2 bolts will strike a single TARGET.
    <01-50 = light crossbow, 51-80 = heavy crossbow, 81-90 = repeating crossbow, 91-00 = hand crossbow>

3. Snake Necklace--Made of golden snakes twisted together.
The user is immune to attack from serpents of any size (meaning snakes
only, not dragons, crocodiles, or other relatives). However, there is a
10% chance that each apparent Snake Necklace is in fact a Necklace of
Strangulation fashioned to look like the real thing.

4. Staff of Jizo--Usable by clerics, including druids, only. Has <add shukenja, add sohei>
1-100 charges of Protection/Undead 15’ Radius. each charge lasting
1-6 hours. While any charges remain, staff is also a Staff of Striking +2.
Striking with this staff does not use up charges; only using the protection
does. This staff has no Final Strike.

5. Tamate-Bako--Small box, often with a jeweled hand carved
on the lid. Each time it is opened, all within a 12-foot radius must roll a
ST against magic. Each creature which fails receives the effect
of 4 simultaneous charges from a Staff of Withering; each creature
which succeeds receives 2 charges. Dragons are unaffected by this
box. After 1-20 times being opened, the box disintegrates.

6. Spear of Yang--Like an ordinary spear + 1 (roll of 1, 2, or 3
on a 6-sided die), +2 (4 or 5), or +3 (6), except user may turn on and
off Continual Light 15’ Radius, full daylight strength, an unlimited 
number of times per day. The act of turning on or off will occupy user

for one battle round.
 

7. Willow Wand Swords--Roll as ordinary magick swords (intelligence,
ego, bonus, possible curse, etc.) and treat as such with the <make table of oriental swords>
following exceptions: They float and are immune to Rust Monsters and
other metal destroyers, and are also immune to ordinary termites and
the like, although magical termites or such might be able to disintegrate
them.

8. Bimbomushi--May come in 2 imitative forms. either like a
magic gem or like a magic stone (Stone of Weight, <Stone of Controlling> Earth Elementals, etc. ).
When carried on the person, if the carrier is in battle with a creature of
more than his hit dice (in a mixed group, if any one of the enemy has
more hit dice), as long as any such creature or creatures is conscious
and in battle the Bimbomushi acts as a Ring of Protection Minus Three
for its carrier.

9. Kusunogi no Tsurugi, or Grass Quelling Sword--Roll randomly
for alignment. No intelligence or ego. Ordinary bonus +3, +3.
Best quality katana for a Samurai. When this sword is drawn, it automatically
casts a Continual Light 10’ Radius of full daylight strength,
and all fires with a 10’ radius, normal or magical. go out. Thus when the
sword is drawn the user is immune to all forms of flame damage. In
addition, the sword does quadruple damage to all vegetation or plant
creatures, and allows the user to cut through thick brush, tall grass, etc.
with great ease, or to chop down trees as if with a timber axe. However,
the sword is created from a dragon. No one (including the carrier)
within a 5’ radius of the sword can do any damage to dragons, and the
sword itself will never do any damage to dragons.