Magic Items Are Gone for Good - Except for Arbiter

When a magic item is sold in Felltower, it's gone. Lost. Gone for good. It disappears from the game - you can't sell something now and get it back later. It's one of a few reasons you don't see Raggi anymore - he died in two delves, and the PCs sold his Weapon Bond-linked axe to pay for bringing him back. That was the final straw for his fun and value as a character, and he'd need a replacement he wasn't likely to ever encounter.

There is an exception - Arbiter.

Arbiter was given to the church, which paid out its full value - $60,000 - for its return.

But Arbiter is a potentially useful tool for the church in the hands of a Holy Warrior. It's a Fine, Meteoric Holy Sword. That's potentially +3 to hit, +4 damage in the hands of a Holy Warrior with Holiness 6. Few weapons like it exist - there are perhaps a handful of Holy Swords in the world, and likely this is one of only one or two that are meteoric.

Therefore, the church would be willing to put it back in the hands of a PC . . . for $60,000. Naturally, PCs are totally able to use clever explanations, carefully-worded speeches to the church, appeals for charity, good deeds, and reaction rolls to attempt to get it. That's fine. Any and all of those, plus $60,000, no less, will get them the sword. Heh. Just heading off the usual "but we'd really benefit from it and the church would benefit from giving us $60K and then the sword just because" stuff I expect to come along.

So this rare weapon is still available, for now, at a high price. Is it worth the price? It will be when you're chopping at a lich unable to stop your sword with its Shield or Iron Arm and hitting for swing+5/cutting. I don't expect anyone to see it that way, not until $60K is something people have laying around.

Intelligent Items of DF Felltower

DF Felltower features some intelligent items. Not a lot.

There are several items people have ascribed intelligence to, but which totally lack it - they're merely magical effects. One example is the Targe of the Tiger (a variant Ward of the Wolf). It does something on its own, kind of, but it's just an effect of magic that makes it appear to be a living thing in some ways.

A couple of items and spells summon intelligent-ish beings - temporary magical effects in the form of an animal or humanoid form. The Statuette of the Death Goddess and Dragon's Teeth do that, as do Create Servant and Create Warrior and Zombie. They have some intelligence, but they're not sapient or independently thinking. They're more akin to a pre-programmed thing that can handle limited if-then situations.

There are all of three known intelligent weapons in Felltower. Agar's Wand, Malice, and Sigurd's Sword (aka Gram, Balmung). That's it.

Sigurd's Sword is intelligent, and communicates in feelings to its owner. It has its own goal - dragonslaying* - and imparts some of that onto the bearer directly, and the rest by projecting feelings the bearer can sense. Sigurd's Sword can't do much of anything on its own, it needs a bearer it can push and steer.

Malice is semi-intelligent. Possibly more, but there isn't anything to support that. Malice can only be malicious, and remember slights and force the bearer to strike first, strike hard, and show no mercy. It also can't do much directly to affect the world around it without a bearer.

Agar's Wand is intelligent. It is self-willed and able to act on its own. It sometimes will. Its goals are broadly clear (fight evil) but vague in implementation and in what "counts" towards that goal. You can count on it to defend a good bearer, and fight effectively when it has something to fight for, but you can't direct it around. It won't direct its bearer, either - you're either allies or it's not working with you. It's also, incidently, the only Weirdness Magnet in the campaign, given that I do not allow it as a disadvantage on PCs.

That is a complete list of known intelligent items. There may be more, but I wouldn't bet a PC's life on it.

Intelligent items are an interesting plot device and Deus Ex Machina in books. They're a bit more of a problem in games, in my experience. I don't use them heavily because I don't want to either hand out an Ally or have another NPC to run. I have one - Agar's Wand - and that's plenty. My players tend to ascribe intelligence and will to things that lack them, which is interesting, but doesn't add an IQ stat to anything.

The intelligence on those items serves a purpose. If they weren't intelligent, they wouldn't work as effectively. Sigurd's Sword without intelligence just has a negative effect ("Go fight that dragon, NOW!") that people would want to resist because, well, rationally, fighting the dragon later is a better choice. With intelligence you're angering your magic item and might not get to keep using it. Agar's Wand without intelligence has nothing except a PC to direct it, just making it a weapon that fights for you, and, thanks to conflicting enchanments, doesn't do it very well at all. Malice without intelligence is just a cursed sword with some upsides, and sparks questions about Remove Enchantment and Remove Curse as way to keep the upsides and remove the downsides. Intelligence binds their properties together into one thing - you can't see removing one without the other, or ignoring part and keeping the rest.

But the meta-game cost of it is high - lots of work for the GM, another NPC to run or to hand off to the players to min-max value out of. And therefore intelligent items are going to remain rare in DF Felltower.



* And presumably, saving Bwunhilda, she's so wovwy.

What's your GURPS DF / DFRPG magic item placement approach?

Magic item in placement in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game is naturally of a lot of interest to me. I started playing DF a bit late in the line's life - I wrote DF12 before I was able to get my first pure DF game going. I felt like I had to come up with my own approach since there was no system being handed down from above to determine treasure by level or monster type, as I had back in my AD&D and then Rolemaster days.

DF8 provides random treasure tables, which of course can place magic items. You can determine the total value of treasure to be placed used the tables in DF21 Megadungeons. The latter is what I developed out of my own thoughts on how to randomly allocate total value of treasure.

But I largely place magic items directly - either on a cost basis ($10,000 worth of enchanted items, and then I go pick) or a wing-it basis (I think these guys should guard Grimslaughter.)

I have an idea of what kinds of items I prefer to put down in the loot, too, as discussed previously.

But what about everyone else? What systems and approaches do you find works for you? What hasn't worked? Where are you at now, and where would you be if you started over again (or plan to do next time)?

DF Felltower: Looking back on magic item placement

Looking back on my Magic Item Placement post.

How am I doing on these themes?

The best is found, not bought.

This is still true for magic items. The opportunities to buy magic items are even more restricted than when we started the game and no freer than in 2016. PCs generally buy their consumables and armor, but the best armor out there was found in the dungeon - Magescale, Sterick's Plate, and the Targe of the Tiger - the latter two since lost and destroyed, respectively, the shield in the act of finding the first. Hooded Robes of Protection have turned up pretty often, but that's all of DR 2 and mostly useful as a Power Item.

But the good stuff is still found. Doing okay here.

Offensive is better than defensive.

The tendency of my players - maybe players in general, I can't say for sure - is defense. Given a choice between offensive firepower and survivability, they'll choose survivability. It makes sense, but it does mean they'd rather have DR than damage, HP than to hit, and immunities over attacks. So as stated in the original post, I lean heavily towards the former. I give out more offensive items not defensive items. That may encourage defensive builds even more, but I'm inclined to think not. Back when I gave our more armor and defensive magic items people just doubled down to maximize their value.

The PCs have found a few items which can be either/or - a Potion Ring, for example, which the players immediately decided was best for defense and allocated as such.

But largely, I've placed a lot of offensive weapons. Aecris came along, but Vic handed that out. I don't love it - I try to avoid post-DR damage adds as they are rarely decisive and always time-consuming - but it's an offensive weapon. Agar's Wand, which does fight for its wielder, is primarily defensive. It's the only one you'll see in my game. Even then, it is its own thing, and isn't just a magic sword someone can sic on foes. The players really want it to be a self-propelled semi-autonomous killing machine and try to use it as such, but it's one of the rare mostly defensive items I put out here.* Magebane (technically not magical), a Universal Sword, and Shieldslayer were all pulled out of Felltower.

I've put in magic arrows (which amusingly got sold, because they just tossed them in a pile of saleable weapons and didn't investigate them at all), a Wand of Fireballs (given to the best possible user in terms of accuracy, but who usually has 3-4 better things to do than fire 4d Fireball spells), and a few unique potions that largely disappeared into the "we'll use it someday" pile and may have been lost.

I feel like I've largely kept on with this one. Yes, I put in Gorilla Gloves and the armors mentioned above, and there are a few more items out there, but it's magical offense that is found most often.

Enhance but don't replace abilities.

I think I've done well on this one. One swords that'll fight for its wielder, a bracelet that dispelled magic, and a few utility items that do things nothing else quite does. But in general, the majority of items just enhance what people do already. They mostly let them do them better.

Not a lot of detail here, but I think I largely kept to this.


So far, I think I'm doing okay on this. I do it all by feel. But we're mostly on track.



* And it's aimed at wizards. It's a wizard's item, but a non-wizard stepped up and took possession of it. There has been discussion about finding a way to pass it on to to the wizard, but they haven't made any determination of how to do that. Or even ideas. The best so far is, "We should look into that" and fishing questions in my direction in the vague hope I'll provide a simple answer. No luck so far.

Who Gets the Magic Item You Found? - Addenda

This is related to Who Gets the Magic Item You Found?

Who is actually going to use it?

Another option for handing out magic items is simply, who will actually use it? This approach hands off items - especially charged or consumable items, although not always - to the person most likely to actually use it. Yes, the high-DX Thief might actually be the best person to give a grenade-type potion to, but if the Thief isn't ever going to be ready to throw it, it's not a great choice. The wizard might be the most likely to use a wand, even if giving it to another PC means you have multiple sources of magical attack. The cleric might benefit the most from an undead-turning item, but if the cleric will generally end up healing and not turning, giving it to someone else might be a better solution. Somethings this isn't template or character based, but player based - some players are more likely to hold on to items until they really need it, others to use it whever it seems like a good choice. Conversely, you might keep certain items away from certain PCs or players because they're unlikely to use it well - the guy who insists on using his new-fangled Wand of Fireballs every fight, or who tosses back rare potions just to get to use them up. This approach chooses actually basic utility over maximal utility, either chosen to avoid waste or avoid lack of use.

Finders, Keepers

Even in a cooperative game, sometimes the person who gets it is the person who finds it. Or the group that finds in. In a rotating cast of PCs game, a delve might leave out the dwarf fighter because that player is busy on game day, only to find dwarf-sized magic armor . . . and sell it, trade it, or give it to some dwarf NPC because the PC wasn't around to earn it. You may have to have some part in the finding to have any part of the keeping.



Any I missed, in this post or the previous one?

Agar's Wand, Loyal Weapon, and Dancing Sword

Agar's Wand is a unique weapon in DF Felltower. It has both Loyal Weapon and Dancing Sword, and is a Defending Weapon +3, on top of that.

How do these interact?

Since Agar's Wand is an intelligent, willful weapon, interaction between them isn't formulaic. Like the description says, "It sometimes uses its Loyal Sword and Dancing abilities on its own, without the command of its owner." It has a goal, and it's stubborn about its choices.

Dancing Weapon allows the wielder to set Agar's Wand dancing, fighting on its own on the wielder's behalf. I don't let the player run the sword - it's an NPC. The PCs are welcome to tell it whatever they like, but Agar's Wand decides what to do based on Agar's Wand's goals. They don't always match the wielder's.

It does tend to defend for the owner, interposing itself between enemies and the wielder, and/or parrying attacks coming at the wielder if that's possible and it seems like the thing to do. With a base Parry of 16, it's pretty good at this so long as only an attack or two comes through.

It will Dance, and if it critically fails, it will fall per DFRPG Magic Items, p. 7.

Otherwise, Loyal Weapon allows it to return to its wielder when called for (and obeyed - remember, willfull weapon that's an independent actor, not a servant) or after it's done Dancing, or if dropped by accident (or Critical Failure) and the sword doesn't just Dance, instead.

It's a good weapon, and it chooses well based on the circumstances, but it's unwise to bet on a particular outcome. It's going to do its best by its wielder subject to its traits, not necessarily what a min-max look at the situation would suggest. With that in mind, asking me, the GM, what could or might happen isn't really much more than a waste of time . . . Agar's Wand will do what Agar's Wand will do. Remember, it's old and intelligent, with a goal that might not be your goal . . . although to wield it, you did swear an oath to do the same things it wants to accomplish.

A few thoughts on PCs Making Magic Items vs. Buying Magic Items

This post is almost entirely in the context of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game. It's influenced by my current game's actual play, but also in light of the way my original game - AD&D - treated acquisition of magic items.

In standard DF and DFRPG, PCs cannot make magic items. That's exclusively something NPCs do. They can buy magic items in town - and quite a broad array of them, even using just DF1 or Adventurers for a list.

What are the implications of PCs being able to buy magic items?

PCs buying magic items:

- has a loot cost, primarily cash but also selling found items that don't match your preferences to fund the creation of one that does.

- no time cost; time to enchant is a delay on receiving but doesn't take the PCs out of play.

- limits on what you can buy can seem arbitrary but can be tied to in-game social abilities (Status, Wealth, Social Stigma, etc.)

- no template limit on purchases.

Cash found in a dungeon, and things exchanged for cash, can be swapped into magic items of whatever sort the PCs need unless the GM puts on specific limits or creates sale item lists. PCs just delve, spend, repeat. Time delays on purchased items can be imposed but the time limits are on the item, not the PC.

What about making items?

PCs making magic items:

- has a loot cost, some cash but also finding the "right" ingredients, if required (either as baseline rules or color.)

- has a time cost, because time spent enchanting is time not spent delving.

- if the loot cost is primarily finding ingredients, this can have a neutral effect on selling found items.

- limits on what you can make can seem arbitrary but are more easily tied to in-game magic/knowledge abilities.

- template limits.

If you take an AD&D-style enchantment approach, you're going to need a lot of monster bits and specific gems to make things go. Even a GURPS Magic approach will have some specific requirements on design and ingredients. Cash alone will usually suffice but may not for all things. There will also likely be time costs - if it takes 100 days to make a magic items, you're out of play for 100 days. What templates and abilities you need to enchant are likely to limit item access. Bards and wizards may be able to make items, clerics some other items, but most other templates might be out of luck. Or maybe not, if you allow shamanistic barbarina practices, fighters to hone steel so well that it becomes enchanted, or thieves to go through certain rituals to make magic keys and dead man's candles and so on.

All of them come with time out of play, definite needs to find ingredients before you can just go get the custom magic widget of your dreams, and in-game advantgae or skill acquisition.

It might be that to make money less of a way to get custom magic items, and make found items more important, you might benefit from letting PCs make the items. It seems a little counterintuitive but the thoughts above point that way.

I need to spend a bit more time noodling this over. Maybe the future of magic items in Felltower is PC made?

New Felltower Magic Items

Here are a couple of new magic items for Felltower!

Al-Jaffee's Book of Quips and Comebacks

This convenient pocket-sized book is made with a soft cover, and weighs only 0.5 lbs. Using it requires holding it open with one hand (a Ready maneuver.) Using the Book allows for multiple uses of Rapier Wit on the same foe as long as the user succeeds. If the victim successfully resists, they are no longer vulnerable to Rapier Wit for 24 hours.

Attempts to use Rapier Wit against the holder of this book are risky, too. When held ready, if an opponent tries Rapier Wit on the holder, roll a quick contest of Will - and the loser suffers stunning normally.

Price: $1000

Dwarven Hammer, Loyal Thrower
Power Item: 4 FP

The Dwarven Hammer, Loyal Thrower can be thrown with these stats: Acc 1, ST x 2 / x3, sw+3/crushing. One second after impact, it summons the bearer to wherever the hammer hits, pulling the thrower along at Move 12 as if under Flight spell. The bearer travels by the most direct route possible for the hammer to pass; be careful throwing it through narrow gaps! If the thrower's path intersects a barrier, foe, or ally, treat like a slam at the thrower's ST and Move 12 (so, +5 per die.) The bearer will keep being pulled to the hammer until they meet. When the bearer arrives at the hammer, the thrower immediately falls down and takes damage as if from a fall from the height the hammer hit or 2 yards, whichever is higher.

This can be used to travel. Simply throw it to whereever you'd like to go and brace yourself for impact! The pull of the hammer is equal to the ST of the thrower, if that becomes relevant.

In melee the hammer is sw+3/crushing, Parry 0, Reach 1.

Price: $25000, 5 lbs.

Magic Loot of Felltower, the Cold Fens, Lost City, and the Caves of Chaos

Out of curiousity, I decided to pull a list of all of the magic items I have marked down as being taken out. I removed common consumables from the list. Many of these were sold, others lost in the dungeons, some taken by PCs that have since retired, and still more are just . . . gone . . . because no one kept track of them.

A few notes:

- This might be missing a few items I overlooked as I passed through looking for bolded, strikethrough items.

- This is just for information purposes. I won't answer to the current location or disposition of these. A good number of them were sold, though, and more are back in the dungeon thanks to people dying there.

- I do expect some of my players to read this and want more information. This is it.

- I left on the oddball potions and the best of the healing potions, and the scrolls. I don't really put in many scrolls.

All that said, what's been pulled from the dungeons?

11 thonged spears, SM-1 - Penetrating Weapon (3), Puissance +1 (both only when thrown, one shot)
Black-painted star-motif Light Shield - Deflect +1, Lighten 25%, Fine
14 Arrows +1/+1
Fine Brass Knuckles, +1 Puissance
Fine Balanced Dwarven Mace, Puissance +1
3 Undead Hunting Talismans (see Demon Hunter's Tassals)
Bat-winged fine greathelm (Fortify +2) (treat as Ornate +2)
Long Bow (ST 17, Elven, Accuracy +1)
Two vials of Thieves’ Oil
Meteoric small falchion
Scroll (Wizardly; Charged, skill 18, Jump 5, Heat 5 cycles)
Hooded Robe of Protection (blue, with silver and gold stars on it) enchanted with Fortify +2 (DR 4) and Clean (easily cleaned).
Fine staff w/Staff
8 blocks of Incense of Meditation
1 Fire Fountain
Potion of Great Heal
Potion of Gaseous Form
Wand of ice daggers (21 charges, no recharge)
Fine Dwarven greataxe (Accuracy +2, Puissance +2)
Minor Ring of Wishing (appears to be a gold ring with three diamonds. As a Great Wish, but only about 1/3 power - equal to a 300-point spell casting, diamonds disappear as wishes are used, last wish turns ring to lead)
Deadly Ring (special, see file - appears to be a gold ring worth 800 sp) (Also in DFT3)
Iron Ring of Endurance (DF8, pg. 38 - 1750 sp, holds 6 FP)
Amulet of Fireballs (DF1, 10 uses, 7200 sp, 0.25 lbs.)
Gem of True Healing
Clerical Scroll (charged, skill 15) of Restoration
Cleric Scroll (charged, skill 15) of Great Heal
1 Hero’s Brew
Dwarf-sized Scale Armor (Lighten 50%, Fortify +3)
Four blocks Incense of Choking
A beaker of potions (Healing - dispenses 1 major healing potion per day, until 15 potions have been dispensed)
Shortsword (Fine, Accuracy +1, Puissance +1)
Wand of Electricity (5 charges left)
Flying carpet (one man size, Move 15, max 200 lbs)
Potion of plant control
Sterick's Armor
Magebane
Shieldslayer
Boots of Walk on Air
Scroll of Protection from Weapons
Potion of Giant’s Strength
Potion of Treasure Finding
Ring of Animal Friendship +2
Sigurd’s Sword (aka Balmung, aka Gram)
Dueling Halberd (Dwarven, Balanced, Accuracy +1, Puissance +1)
Lightning glove
Wand of Fireballs
Transparency Potion
Amulet of Shapeshift Other (Fish)
Fine Thrusting Greatsword Puissance +1
Belt of Might +3
Staff of Healing
Sling (Made out of fine leather, Accuracy +1)
Headband of Mind Shielding
Salamander Amulet
Fine SM+1 Mail with Fortify +3 and Lighten 50%
SM+1 Axe Accuracy +1 and Puissance +1
SM+1 Broadsword Accuracy +1 and Puissance +1
Valmar's Sword (Fine Balanced Longsword with Puissance +2, Continual Light,)
Laccodel’s Rune
Elf-sized heavy elven mail Fortify +2
Bronze Corselet Fortify +1
Cornucopia Quiver of Arrows
Bottomless Purse
Mythic Corselet (Spiritual)
Fine Thrusting Broadsword w/Puissance+1
Necklace of the serpent (a silver necklace with a green jade symbol of two snakes facing each other over a rising sun.)
Crystal Ball (+2, 20,000 sp 4” ball, $40,000 with enchantment)
6 Javelins of Shock
5 Javelins of Penetration
7 Javelins of Fire
Scroll (Cursed, inflicts a fatal fungal disease, die in 0+HT days, resists healing with skill 20)
Scroll (4 wizard spells, charged, skill 15 – Aura, x 4)
Iron Lamp
Fine Thrusting Broadsword, Puissance +1, Flaming Weapon
Scroll of explosive fireball 6d6 (charged!)
6 arrows +1/+1
Protection from Good Supernatural Powers amulet +3
Balanced Fine Spear (Puissance +1)
Light Plate (+1 Fortify, 75% Lighten, Ornate +1)
Medium Iron Shield (+1 Deflect, 50% Lighten, Ornate +1) (with big demon face carved into it)
Gold and Silver Amulet of Evil: 10 FP power item, gives wearer +3 vs. Good Supernatural Powers and Deflect +1 vs. Holy attacks and acts as +2 Holy Symbol.
In it are a suit of Vineshield, two Clouds of Fire Potion of Puissance
Luck Charm (One shot Luck, then it becomes dust)
Potion of Great Healing
Mana Gout potion
Hero’s Brew potion
Bracers of Shock
Clerical Scroll of Resist Disease-20, Stop Paralysis-20, and Banish-20
Ring of Strong Will
Fine Silvered Huge Machete w/Demonhunter Talisman on hilt (3750 sp, 4.5 lns)
4 vials of Oil of Puissance
Ebony Death Goddess Statuette
Necros’s Finger
Hooded Robe of Protection w/Fortify +3
Helm of Command
Targe of the Tiger
Black Knife is Fine, non-metallic (it’s obsidian), Shatterproofed, Puissance +1
Hooded Robes of Protection with Fortify +1
Several suits of Magescale
Universal Sword
Ring of Protection
Staff of Nature

Even More Felltower Rulings to Remember

Lend Energy scrolls are available, and can be charged and/or universal.

Lend Energy can only be cast on another person, never on the caster. This is true even in the case of scrolls of Lend Energy. This prevents "lending" yourself FP from your Energy Reserve to allow for never being down FP, only ER, amongst other abuses.

Cancelling Spells is now a free action; this is a change to the RAW from our house rules. Each and every spell cancelled costs 1 FP. You may cancel one at a time; cancelling multiple spells takes a Concentrate action.

Potions sell in town for $100/per, per DFRPG Exploits, p. 76. This is not a change, it's a standard rule, but is often forgotten during discussions of the "value" of found potions, especially if unique. It's also specificially potions, not all "concotions" or alchemical mixtures.

Notes on the Magic Items in Felltower

I noted in the comments on my magic items post that the PCs need to delve deeply, boldly, but cautiously to find magic items.

I'd like to expand on that.

The reason why this is the case is simple:

The upper levels have been largely scoured for magic items. Not everything has been found . . . but for the most part, the major magic items have been found.

If the PCs want the stuff that hasn't been found . . . it's deeper, or beyond gates.

Agar's Wand? It's out there.

Atregex's items? Go deeper.

Frenzy? It's not hidden in some nook on level 1, I'll say that for sure.

Grimslaughter? Same.

The PCs have missed items, behind the Unopenable Doors, in the Lost City, in the Cold Fens, and in Felltower. But mostly, they're deeper than people are willing to go. If they want better stuff, especally epic, unique stuff . . . it's going to take some deeper delves.

I have restocked the upper levels, so there are things to do up there, but it's not going to inclue too many unique, powerful magic items. Those are down deeper. With the nastier, more formidable monsters.

Have fun . . . the only way your paper man is getting more powerful magic items in GURPS in by risking their paper lives.

Where is the magic treasure in Felltower?

Following up on my post about treasure in Felltower . . . let's talk about magic treasures in Felltower.

Note that in my previous post I didn't really talk about magic vs. mundane treasure.

That's because my treasure generating system - displayed in DF21 - is a total value of a hoard. It's not the mundane value, just the value.

What does that mean for magic loot?

Short version, magic loot is more likely to turn up in big hoards than in small ones. Look at the previous post - the bigger sources of loot are also likely to be the bigger sources of magical loot.

Longer version?

It's complicated.

Big hoards often have magical treasure.

Intelligent monsters will use magical treasure actively.

Abandoned loot might include magical treasure . . . but it's generally consumables and the odd minor item.

Wandering monsters actually have a higher chance of magic loot than non-magic loot. In that there have been a few special wandering monsters - the original Sword Spirit, Valmar, carried a significant magical sword, for example, and Durak has some magical items he uses. There might be others. But these are also especially lethal encounters and aren't the norm.

With those caveats, what I said last time on treasure still stands.

I think I've said this before, but:

All of the magic items in DFT3: Artifacts of Felltower? They're in, or accessible from, Felltower. Every single one.

DFRPG Magic Items? The unique items are all in, or accessible from, Felltower. All of the new consumables, too.

Other magic items books, like DF6 or Doug's excellent books? Some of the items are in Felltower.

More I cannot yet say. Hopefully, deeper delving will unearth more of these items.

More Lost Items of Felltower

I was just thinking of lost items of Felltower.

- Rangol Grot's mysterious stuff. The PCs kept trying to summon the lost spirit of Rangol Grot to get more loot out of him, but that's pretty much over. I can't see a plausible way for new PCs to try to pick up this thread. I'm sure one of my players will object, and point at the blog, and say people know about it. Which isn't ludicrous, but it also justifies other wizards in the world doing it, too, and then what? Will the new PCs win this race? Unlikely.

I think we can call Rangol Grot's spirit largely safe from summoning and interrogation.

- Dryst's key. Dryst's player shows no sign of wanting to play online, even almost 4 years into a drought of games. He's got the key to the otherwise-inaccesible door in the dungeon on level 2. It's not clear there is anything there worth getting at, but he's got the only way it and it's effectively out of play.

That also goes for the bone sword, Belt of Power, Staff of the Woodlands, Magebane, and a number of other items wielded by PCs whose players don't seem likely to make a comeback.

- the Black Library's books. Not actually lost - they're still in the dungeon. But the players aren't inclined to delve without a cleric. Not a single cleric anyone has run is willing to visit the library without attempting to destroy all the books. So, the books stay inaccessible. Not lost, but blocked by changed character approaches. We'll see if what's in there is ever really accessible.

Felltower quick update - items on the move?

I had a short window to do some work on Felltower today.

I found this list of lost items helpful:

Lost Items of Felltower

There are a lot of items just sitting the in the dungeon, too. The PCs gained - and lost - and in some cases re-gained and re-lost - dozens of significant magic items and interesting non-magical items in the dungeon.

The changes in the dungeon also afford a chance for items to change locations. Some of what was lost might end up with someone or something else. The dungeon doesn't stay static. There are a few ways that come up.

Long Overlooked

Some long overlooked items move around. What this can mean is that items long overlooked sometimes get discovered by new or old inhabitants. That's pretty rare, though. Generally, if something is so well hidden that PCs wandering around knocking on walls, casting See Secrets, casting Seek Earth for valuable metals, etc. couldm't find it, it's probably so well hidden that inhabitants and NPC delvers lacking this kind of perserverance are less likely to find them.

But it does happen.

Lost and Found

More commonly, items that the PCs just dropped - usually when dead - tend to travel around a bit. Many stay right where they fell. Most, even. But not everything that butchers a PC party keeps treasure. Sometimes, they leave it for scavengers. Sometimes, they take it and use it. Sometimes, even, they trade it for something else (goods, different items, as tribute in return for diplomatic gains, etc.)

Long Gone Lonesome Blues

Some items are loooooooong goooooone. Sold in town, dropped in the dungeon in places unconducive to their survival . . . and sadly, yes, in the clutches of retired PCs (or non-retired PCs run by players who aren't interested in coming back.)

Having a list of these has helped a lot. I know one of my players does, too, more as a checklist of things to find than my list of things to chuckle over.

Random questions as we're getting ready for Felltower

Just rounding up some questions I was hit with regarding our swapover to DF Felltower from Vic's Felltower Adjacent game.

Equipment

- anything with multiple prefixes is going to be a special order - 1d+1 weeks for manufacture or delivery. Getting something with one prefix is immediate, but then upgrading with another prefix will take 1d+1 weeks to do after it arrives, because don't get cute.

- any enchantment time starts after you take delivery of it, it's not concurrent but consecutive.

- you can get a Staff spell on a knobbed club and use that with Axe/Mace.

- You can do the whole rent-some-armor approach by buying and selling back at 100%, but I do apply a "used gear" wear factor on the base price, so expect it to come with some occasional losses per these rules.

- You can't get a Cornucopia of non-ammuniton items. It cannot be cast on a weapon - so no endless streams of daggers, shuriken, axes, swords, whatever. Just arrows, bolts, sling and prod bullets . . . and that's it.

Cose Combat

- we're not using basket hilts, cutlasses, or backswords. If you want to hilt punch in close combat, see GURPS Martial Arts, p 111. Remember that Weapon Master may factor in to the damage if you're hilt punching with a weapon covered by your advantage.

- the other weapons in CC rule worth reading is GURPS Martial Arts, p. 117, Long Weapons in Close Combat.

Welcome to Stericksburg!

- The PCs will arrive in Stericksburg on 10/28, the day before our next session. Special orders can be made then. This does mean that people will need to delve with what they have now, plus any non-special order items. Minor Healing and Major Healing potions, as well as Paut, are available in unlimited quantities for anyone who feels the need to stock up before delving the next day.

- PCs will need to pay one week's upkeep before play on 10/29, to cover miscelleous costs for travel, etc. The usual modifiers apply (extra cost for Compulsive Behavior, having Chi Talent, whatever.)

- Training can take place between, for learning spells, adding lenses, whatever. Pay the cost and pay the points.

Game Inspiration: The Misenchanted Sword

Thinking more on cursed and semi-cursed magic items, here is one book I found inspirational:

The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evens


The plot is pretty much soldier stumbled across a hermit, who enchants him a magical sword that makes him unbeatable in combat. It has some downsides - he can't get rid of the sword, for one, and it is only undefeatable from when drawn until it kills someone. Then you have to sheath it and pull it back out before you use it again. Oh, and it has limited uses - not a small number, but a finite number of kills.

As books go, it's not the best book ever. But it's a good one, and the ideas in it are top-notch. There are demon-imbued enemy warriors, practical uses for a swordsman who can't lose (he gets pulled aside for special missions, no front line service for this guy), and lots of little details that make it feel like the consequences make sense.

The sword itself is really a lot like the kind of thing I'll hand out. You want it, but then again you kind of don't, but you'll use it, and your character will be different for it. It's not just a better weapon, it's a different experience. That's the kind of thing I am looking for.

Why all the semi-cursed items in Felltower?

Felltower has had a fair number of cursed items, and a number of items that aren't fully free of downsides.

The cursed items are mostly downside, maybe all downside. Any positive effect is just there to convince you to keep the item or use it long enough to suffer the bad effects.

The semi-cursed items are the ones that are largely upsides, but with a noticeable downside. The major magic weapons of Felltower are like this:

Gram helps you kill dragons, but makes you want to go kill them.

Frenzy is a great axe, but it drives you berserk.

And so on.

Why so many?

Out of Game: Because I like them. I grew up with them in my tabletop games - AD&D - and my computer games - Wizardry, noteably. I feel like they add a nice spice of challenge and concern - magic isn't always just a free benefit. And I was heavily influenced by White Plume Mountain and its trio of weapons with nasty downsides. You want them . . . but they'll change your PC or just change your whole PC's life. Nobody with Blackrazor gets to sleep soundly through the night, trusting and trusted by his or her friends. And I take it as a challenge to make an item so good you'll accept the downsides to get the upsides.

In Game: Because wizards are jerks, and magic is hard to control. The first means they set out to make cursed items out of ill humor, general malice, for vengeance, or for some subterfuge. The second means that even when they don't, sometimes that's what you get.

So in my games, you'll get cursed stuff popping up. Rather frequently.

Artifacts of Legend & Artifacts of Saga arrived

These showed up yesterday. Thank goodness for delivery notifications, because the delivery person stuck it partly into the mailbox in a way where you couldn't quite see it . . . I had to fish around to free it up from where it was jammed. They were unharmed, just slightly too big to drop down in the box.

Now comes the process of reading them and seeing what can be useful for Felltower.

Update: KS Status

As of the time I write this, Doug's KS is still not funded, with 10 days to go.


It's not far off - 270 backers, $9486. Needs $13,000. Another 100 backers at Print + PDF would add $4000 and we'd be over the line. So please share the project and give it a boost. I'd really like access to more magic items not made by me, to add to DF Felltower, so the PCs can recover them and then lose them in a TPK fighting eye monsters or gnolls and cultists or norkers or what have you. Help me lure more PCs to their dooooooooom!

New DFRPG Magic Items Book Kickstarter

This is on the way - the Kickstarter starts Thursday.

Here is the link: Artifacts of Legend KS.