Magic Items: Inherited Traits and Accidental Enchantments
I just love Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGtE). It’s got something for everyone. And unlike a lot of other sourcebooks, each dose of “something for everyone” is big, not small. That is, there’s a lot of crossover value (i.e., value for Dungeon Masters and Players) to the rules and information in the book.
Pages 136-140 provide a list of Common Magic Items. Nice thing about a short and sweet list of new magic is that the door is wide open for creating backstories and histories for each item.
So, let’s assume there is at least one version of every magic item in XGtE that was made unintentionally. Now, we just have to go down the list and figure out the how and why for each item.
Ten ideas to break it down. Here we go.
Item the first: Armor of Gleaming.
• Fledgling war wizards don’t just learn to cast spells. On the contrary, they are trained to investigate and ferret out lies.
• War Wizard trainees are guarded by veteran Purple Dragon soldiers. Otherwise it would be easier for foes of Cormyr to slay groups unguarded magelings than to hunt down and assassinate experienced members of the Brotherhood of the Wizards of War one at a time.
• As such, when war wizard trainees fail to discern when a lie is told during class (such as when a pair of Purple Dragons roleplay the part of inspector and merchant, respectively, who have met at the city gates of one of Cormyr’s major cities—where all goods and wagons are inspected before entry), the trainees are given cleaning duty: clean the guard Dragon’s armor and clothes—all of it.
• An hour of dirt, dung and stench duty (i.e., doing laundry) is a humbling experience (and teaching humility to nascent Wizards of War is a good thing as far as the Mage Royal of all Cormyr is concerned), and not a task that most war wizards look forward to.
• Generally speaking, Wizards of War are smart, not wise. Experience is the best teacher here, though for some war wizard trainees no amount of drudgery helps.
• Sometimes, day after day, the same poor trainee can be found behind piles of armor, stormcloaks, boots, socks and clouts, carefully casting Prestidigitation before wading into their work.
• One such trainee, Feldran “Doraunk” Durvorkar, simply could not tell a lie from the truth, even when it was obvious. Possessed with half a helping a wits, the poor fellow would look to the sky in wonder if you told him all the clouds had turned into anvils that were just now floating overhead.
• Worse, Feldran enjoyed the work of removing the stench of sweat from armor and cleaning clothes. Gift him with a pile of sodden clothes and he would gift you with a smile. Soon Feldran was doing the laundry of his fellow students, in addition to that of the Dragons.
• Feldran favored the armor of Dragon officers most of all. Each piece he meticulously cleaned, sometimes casting Prestidigitation ten times before moving from one gauntlet to the next, even though one casting would suffice.
• Upon Feldran's departure from Stormhaven House (an academy where would-be war wizards come for training and instruction, located within sight of the farming village of Espar), a pair of junior Purple Dragon officers found their armor to remain unsoiled and never carry a stench, even after a tenday spent on patrol, for Feldran had unwittingly enchanted their armor.
One down, 47 to go!
I just love Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGtE). It’s got something for everyone. And unlike a lot of other sourcebooks, each dose of “something for everyone” is big, not small. That is, there’s a lot of crossover value (i.e., value for Dungeon Masters and Players) to the rules and information in the book.
Pages 136-140 provide a list of Common Magic Items. Nice thing about a short and sweet list of new magic is that the door is wide open for creating backstories and histories for each item.
So, let’s assume there is at least one version of every magic item in XGtE that was made unintentionally. Now, we just have to go down the list and figure out the how and why for each item.
Ten ideas to break it down. Here we go.
Item the first: Armor of Gleaming.
• Fledgling war wizards don’t just learn to cast spells. On the contrary, they are trained to investigate and ferret out lies.
• War Wizard trainees are guarded by veteran Purple Dragon soldiers. Otherwise it would be easier for foes of Cormyr to slay groups unguarded magelings than to hunt down and assassinate experienced members of the Brotherhood of the Wizards of War one at a time.
• As such, when war wizard trainees fail to discern when a lie is told during class (such as when a pair of Purple Dragons roleplay the part of inspector and merchant, respectively, who have met at the city gates of one of Cormyr’s major cities—where all goods and wagons are inspected before entry), the trainees are given cleaning duty: clean the guard Dragon’s armor and clothes—all of it.
• An hour of dirt, dung and stench duty (i.e., doing laundry) is a humbling experience (and teaching humility to nascent Wizards of War is a good thing as far as the Mage Royal of all Cormyr is concerned), and not a task that most war wizards look forward to.
• Generally speaking, Wizards of War are smart, not wise. Experience is the best teacher here, though for some war wizard trainees no amount of drudgery helps.
• Sometimes, day after day, the same poor trainee can be found behind piles of armor, stormcloaks, boots, socks and clouts, carefully casting Prestidigitation before wading into their work.
• One such trainee, Feldran “Doraunk” Durvorkar, simply could not tell a lie from the truth, even when it was obvious. Possessed with half a helping a wits, the poor fellow would look to the sky in wonder if you told him all the clouds had turned into anvils that were just now floating overhead.
• Worse, Feldran enjoyed the work of removing the stench of sweat from armor and cleaning clothes. Gift him with a pile of sodden clothes and he would gift you with a smile. Soon Feldran was doing the laundry of his fellow students, in addition to that of the Dragons.
• Feldran favored the armor of Dragon officers most of all. Each piece he meticulously cleaned, sometimes casting Prestidigitation ten times before moving from one gauntlet to the next, even though one casting would suffice.
• Upon Feldran's departure from Stormhaven House (an academy where would-be war wizards come for training and instruction, located within sight of the farming village of Espar), a pair of junior Purple Dragon officers found their armor to remain unsoiled and never carry a stench, even after a tenday spent on patrol, for Feldran had unwittingly enchanted their armor.
One down, 47 to go!
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