10 Magical Relics for Cairn

Part Two Here!

I've been getting restless as I wait for a chance to playtest the Cyclopean Organ - I'm kind of in a weird spot game-wise right now, a long-running campaign being revived, a couple of other campaigns starting up and all the impatient anticipation that goes along with that. So I've been wanting to work on something in the meantime, even though my time is limited.

It just so happens I had a blast working with Cairn on the Organ, especially the template for Relics. Giving most items limited charges and a specific criteria to recharge them gives you so many cool levers for balance and extra opportunity for flavor. Ever since I first read them I've been fixated on the potential for little recharge mini-quests in my games that can serve as instigators for exciting, dangerous, and silly tangents.

Yochai Gal, Cairn's designer, mentioned that he was planning on throwing together a larger list of Relics, and I got excited by the prospect, so here we are. Possibly the first in a series of Relic collections for Cairn, Mark of the Odd or frankly whatever you've got rattling around.

1. Gaea's Grasp, 5 charges - A wristlet of fine, woven vines. When the wearer grasps someone or something, the vines sprout tough tendrils that secure their grip - they will only release if lit ablaze or at the wearer's will. Recharge: Plant the withered wristlet in rich forest soil and water liberally with the blood of a fae. It will bloom into a new wristlet overnight.
2. Crow Porter, 1 use - A large brown bottle full of dark, bitter beer. The label sports a block print of a crow with its beak wide, jagged noise-lines jutting out of its mouth. While it's being consumed, the drinker will boast loudly and incautiously about their deepest secrets, whether or not said secrets are worthy of boasting about.
3. Contender's Belt, 3 charges - A wide belt of creased black leather, the large brass buckle shaped like a clenched fist. Unarmed attacks may be made as if enhanced (d12 damage). Recharge: Win a fist fight against a determined opponent while wearing the belt, without using its power.
4. Wringing Wings, 2 charges - A very tight choker necklace decorated with the feathers of a domestic bird. The feathers rustle and catch the wind, allowing the bearer to fly for as long as they can hold their breath as they're painfully choked by the necklace. Recharge: Wring the neck of a domestic bird and weave its feathers into the choker.
5. Covenant Quill, 1 charge - A feather quill, black flecked with gold. When a contract is written with this pen, all who sign in agreement are magically compelled to follow its tenets, except the one that wrote the terms. Recharge: Abstain from reading or writing for a full lunar cycle, while keeping the quill on your person.
6. Ghoul Fingers, 3 uses - A bundle of three severed human fingers, gray and partially mummified. The fingers can be snapped if bent against the joint, releasing a puff of dust. Anyone that inhales the dust is temporarily paralyzed, takes d8 DEX damage, and gains a permanent immunity from sleep and charm effects.
7. Rune of Thud - A heavy, palm-sized plate of shale with a strange symbol scratched deeply into the face. When pressed to a mundane or magical lock, roll a d6. On a 1-5, the lock unlocks silently. On a 6, the shale cracks with a thud that echoes for miles, leaving the bearer's hand temporarily numb and weakened from the shock. Recharge: If the cracked Rune is placed in a locked receptacle, the next time an unsuspecting thief picks the lock they will find the rune whole and functional within.
8. Vibramail, 1 use - A full suit of armor made of long metal bars running horizontally (2 armor, bulky). Moving in the armor causes the bars to knock together and vibrate, creating pleasant, resonant, and decidedly un-stealthy musical tones. When the wearer is reduced to 0 STR, all of the bars activate, vibrating and ringing out. The wearer's death is delayed, their body is held together and energized by the vibration, allowing them to stay on their feet and function as if they had 18 STR. This lasts until the sustained tone of the mail builds to a deafening level and the bars shatter, about a minute or so. They then die normally.
9. Master Map, 2 charges - A folded sheet of waterproof vellum, brown and well worn. When opened a map of the local region blooms on its surface in a wash of ink, showing major geographical features and all nearby settlements. At the cost of one charge, write in the name of a place that does not appear on the map but that is known to exist somewhere in the region. The label will move, settling on this place's actual location on the map. The label spontaneously appears on all other extant maps of the region. Recharge: Sleep with the map under your pillow. When you wake, the map will have consumed your memory of the location of a place important to you, one that is not widely known.
10. Sack of Schemes, 1 charge - A rust-colored suede bag that hosts a mischievous spirit and its host body, a random animal no larger than a dog. The host body shrinks to the size of a walnut while it is inside the bag, growing back to its normal size when it is released. After release, the spirit can be commanded for an hour, after which it will act according to its own capricious will. The spirit can speak in a wry, singsong voice regardless of its host body. If harm comes to its host body while or after it's been possessed, the spirit will become hostile toward the bearer. Recharge - Return the spirit to the sack. Its host body is spit out unharmed, the spirit bored of its form. An appropriately-sized creature of a species the spirit has never possessed before must be captured in the sack before it can be released again.

Let me do some CROSS PROMOTION for a moment - if you liked these or anything else I've put up here, I'd appreciate it if you followed me on Twitter. I frankly have no idea how to do the social networking thing, so call this the path of least resistance. Thanks!