Bushi d6 - Sorcerer's Tools

As with anything, this is subject to change. 

If anyone has some cool ideas to replace the Cloak and Staff, I'd love to hear them. They may stay, but something more in keeping with Japanese myth would be great.

Sorcerer’s Tools

Some special enchanted items are of use only to those capable of using spells. Activating the bonus granted by an item does not count as an action. When found as treasure, a sorcerer must attune the item before he can use it. This requires the passing of three days while keeping the item close. 

The Cloak grants +2D to the Sorcery skill test required to use the Cloud Chariot and Teleport spells.

The Magic Mirror (Makyoh) grants +2D to the Sorcery skill test required to use the Beast Tongue and Charm spells.

The Turtle Shell grants +2D to the Sorcery skill test required to use the Clairvoyance and Divination spells.

Prayer Strips (Ofuda) grant +1D to any Sorcery skill test when used for the spell inscribed upon them. They burn away when used.

The Spell Staff grants +1D to Sorcery once per day.

Thief-Bait (magic item)

Thief-Bait

Thief-Bait looks like a fancy money pouch. It cannot be cut. An evil noble had a few made. He wears them about town in a sort-of obvious location that a pickpocket can easily reach. The noble wanders through an area notorious for thieves and lets the pouch be stolen. He then leaves.

When the thief reaches into the bag, he must make a saving throw vs. Spells. If he fails, the bag shuts itself and cuts off his fingers. It also eats the fingers, so they may not be recovered.

If the thief makes his Save, he manages to get his hand out in time as he realizes the bag is magically trapped.

Ghostshot (BFRPG Artifact)

Ghostshot is a magical flintlock pistol, from a long-gone era. It is an artifact.

Ghostshot (flintlock pistol)
Damage 1d10
Range 25/50/75

Ghostshot can damage any creature, including those only affected by magical weapons.

It can be used by any class. 


It magically reloads itself, and can fire once per turn, even underwater.

Users can pistol whip an opponent in melee, causing 1d4 damage.

Ghostshot ignores non-metal armor. Anyone in leather or similar armor is treated as being unarmored.

It is loud, especially indoors. Anyone within five feet of the pistol when it is fired takes a 50% penalty on all Listen checks for the next 1d6 rounds. All nearby creatures will hear the pistol's report, unless they are behind sealed doors or walls, or are deaf.

Lightsabers (final)

This is my final version of the lightsaber for BFRPG. Feel free to use it or not. I personally like it.

Lightsaber
Cost: Artifact
Weight: 1
Damage: 2d6

Lightsabers are artifact weapons which can only be used by Force-wielders such as the Sith and Jedi.

Lightsabers have a thrown range of 10/20/30.

Lightsabers ignore non-magical armor and also ignore 5 points of Hardness when used against objects.

If a natural 6 is rolled for damage, immediately roll an additional 1d6 for damage. Continue rolling for each additional natural 6.

(For example: if your initial damage roll is a natural 12, you would roll another 2d6 and add that to the damage. If either of these dice is also a 6, you would roll another 1d6 and add that to the damage, as well.)

Lightsabers count as magical artifacts for the purposes of hitting creatures immune to non-magical weapons. They are very valuable.

Each Jedi or Sith usually creates his own lightsaber, from items either given to him by his master or by acquiring the items through quests. To make a lightsaber, the Force-wielder requires a hilt, a guard, and a crystal imbued with magic. He then uses the Force to combine these items into one weapon.

A master can gift his apprentice with a lightsaber if he so chooses, though this is rare. Jedi usually require their Padawans to craft a lightsaber as their final test to become a Jedi. Some Sith require their apprentices to defeat some monster or a Jedi, after which the apprentice will be either granted a lightsaber by his Master or he gets to keep and use the lightsaber of the Jedi he killed.

Lightsabers for OSR games (Revised)

Lightsaber
Cost: Artifact (Gift from master)
Weight: 1
Damage: 1d10


Lightsabers are artifact weapons used by Sith and Jedi.

Range: Lightsabers can be thrown by jedi and sith only. They have a range of 10/20/30.

Lightsabers ignore 3 points of non-magical armor and also ignore 3 points of Hardness when used against objects.

If a natural 10 is rolled for damage, immediately roll an additional 1d10 for damage. Continue for each additional 10.

Creatures with 3 HD or less must Save vs. Death or die if struck by a lightsaber.

Lightsabers count as magical for the purposes of hitting creatures immune to non-magical weapons.

Wegmar's Wondrous Wagon of Wonders!

This is a take I've had on a post someone had made a few years back regarding magic shops, which is a topic currently at the RPGSite.

 

Wegmar is a tall, thin man, wearing a silk smoking jacket and a top hat. He is loud, waves his hands a lot, and will try to sell a glass of water to a man standing next to a river. He has a large, enclosed wagon drawn by two small gray mules. He travels the dimensions, selling odds and ends and magic items. 

The first sign he is near is a glowing blue magical circle appears on a nearby road. Then the sound of wagon wheels rumbling, and his wagon appears. The gate vanishes shut behind him.

 

Most of his stock is useless junk. Things like small wooden toys, candy, and elixirs "guaranteed to heal any illness" (and which are just bottles filled with sugar water).

However, he does have a small selection of magical components, a few potions, and a few scrolls. He's also very likely to have some kind of miscellaneous magic item, such as a crystal ball or rope of climbing. He does not sell weapons and armor, magical or not.

Wegmar accepts coin for non-magical doodads, since they don't really cost him anything to acquire.If a customer wants to be something that is actually magical, he prefers to either trade for another magic item or he will accept a favor, to be collected at some later date.

The favor will be collected at some later date, and is generally going to have the players going on a short adventure to recover some magic item that Wegmar wants. If the players try to attack Wegmar, he and his wagon will disappear, never to be seen again.

Any players who owe him a favor must fulfill it when he asks, or they will suffer a non-removable geas that gives them a -1 to hit, damage, and all saving throws until they start trying to complete the adventure for Wegmar. After they acquire the item he wants, his wagon will reappear near the adventure site and he will collect it.

Starting level

I've pretty much always started every game at level 1. Not really sure why, but it's what I've always done. In one way, I like this because it allows players to grow into their characters. When just starting out, there's only a few things to keep track of, and the player is well aware that he is no superhero, so he is careful and doesn't usually just charge into a fight (I've definitely had exceptions to this, though).

I'm not sure this is a great idea, especially if the players are all experienced. Allowing them to start at level 3 or even level 5 really wouldn't overbalance anything, and would give them a solid starting point, where they don't have to run in fear if they encounter a small group of orcs.

The big hold-up for this is determining what, if any, magic items the characters possess at the start of the game. The old Companion set had some decent rules for starting at high level, but that's pretty much the only rules version that addressed this, if I recall correctly.

False Guardian

The False Guardian appears to be a wooden manikin with a pull cord on it's chest. When the cord is pulled, an illusion covers the manikin so that it appears like a soldier of the race that activated it. So, if a dwarf pulls the cord, it looks like an armored dwarf. If a goblin pulls the cord, it looks like an armored goblin.

The illusion will appear as if it is standing still, but blinking or maybe twitching a shoulder. Enough that it looks real. It won't move, though.

If the Guardian is attacked, whether by weapon or spell, it will immediately let out loud clanging noises and start flashing brightly. Anyone standing near it must save vs. spells or be stunned for 1d4 rounds.

Any creatures within sight or hearing distance will immediately be alerted to the attack. Wandering monsters may be attracted to it, along with the whoever posted the guardian in the first place.

False guardians are mainly used by military forces to cover areas of minor importance. They don't have to waste a soldier's time, and any stealthy attackers will assume the sentry is real and will probably attempt to eliminate it, with disastrous consequences. Smart commanders also place it in areas that are more exposed to special operations attacks, so that a guard isn't endangered.

Elf and Wizard Diaries

I would think elves and magic-users of all stripes would keep daily diaries. They might include some research notes, material components that need picked up from the local alchemist, theories on why magic works the way it does, and that the new girl apprentice is smoking hot.

While one day's entry could be personal stuff like how they'd love to date the princess, the next day's entry might have magical data like the fact that iron filings mixed with silver filings in a summoning circle help bind demons better.

To make diaries interesting mechanics-wise, when a magic-user or elf finds a mage's diary and reads it, he gains 100 XP based on the magical notes in the book. I would not include any full spells in such a book, just tidbits of stuff that might give a PC mage a "eureka" moment.

Tome of Spell-stealing

This large, obviously magical book is sometimes found in treasure troves. Characters looking it over will assume it is some kind of spellbook or even holy book. In fact, it is a clever trap.

If a mage or cleric reads this book, even just flipping through it, they immediately lose one random spell of the highest level they have currently memorized. The effect is as if they had cast the spell, so they cannot immediately just memorize another spell. If they continue reading, they will continue to lose spells at the rate of one spell per round of reading.

The book can be burned or otherwise destroyed, just as a normal book can be. Some spellcasters, after realizing what the book is, will keep it among their other spellcasting materials, to punish any would-be thieves.

Pillar of Madness

A pillar, about 30 feet high and 10 feet in diameter, is situated on a plain, hill, or large clearing in woodlands. It has been there for centuries. No one knows where it came from. It is inscribed with strange runes, that match no known language. Anyone who comes within 100 feet of it must make a saving throw vs. magic, or be compelled to approach the pillar. This saving throw must be made each round that the person is within 100 feet of the pillar. The pillar also affects animals, monsters, and even insects.

When the creature touches the pillar, it immediately goes berserk. It will attack anyone nearby, friend or enemy, with whatever is at hand. Affected people may not use spells, only melee combat. The berserker will continue to attack any living creature nearby until it dies. The berserker will not eat or drink, just wander out from the pillar, killing as it goes. A Remove Curse spell will grant the affected person or creature another Saving Throw.

No known magic has been able to destroy the pillar. Even wishes fail. It is a powerful artifact, that is truly too dangerous to use.

In some worlds, a paladin order or similar organization sets up a perimeter to prevent creatures from being affected. Unfortunately for them, birds, ants, bees, and other such creatures still reach the pillar, and then end up attacking the guardians.

Read Magic and Item Creation

These are the rules I'm probably going to use for my own version of the game. Just wondering if anyone has done something similar or has additional input.

Read Magic: All spells are written in arcane script, which all mages can read. It takes one hour to read a scroll so that a mage can use it, and one week to read a spellbook.

Magic Item Creation: Mages can create potions and scrolls at first level, at a cost of 100 gp per spell level. These items take one day per spell level to create. Mages can create other magic items once they reach 5^th level, at a cost of 1,000 gp per spell level or item bonus (a sword +1 costs 1,000 gp to make). These items take one week per spell level or item bonus to create.

Fountain of Restoration

Here's a random room for a dungeon:

Fountain of Restoration
This small room (10' x 10') has a fountain in the center. The fountain is a cleric healing a wounded warrior woman lying on the ground, with water pouring from the wounded woman's mouth. Characters that drink from the fountain recover all levels and ability points lost due to undead draining.

If the water is taken from the room, it becomes poisonous. Anyone who drinks the water after it has left the room must Save vs. Poison or permanently lose one point of Strength. If they try returning to the fountain to recover this lost point of Strength, it will not work, because the fountain only repairs losses due to undead.

Exploding Arrows

These magical arrows are found in groups of 10-20. They function as a standard arrow in regards to weight and range. When fired at an enemy, they explode on impact. All creatures within five feet of the impact take 1d6 damage. In addition, they must save vs. spells or catch fire. Creatures take 1d6 fire damage per round until the fire is put out. The initial burst and the following flames both harm creatures affected only by magic.

Magic Shops

The thread at Dragonsfoot had some pretty cool ideas about magic shops that I might be stealing. I have usually not allowed them, but these guys persuaded me otherwise. (Be warned that the thread degenerates after a bit and got locked, but the first few pages are good stuff).

Ideas I liked (none of these are mine, but they are cool):
The wandering witch who buys and sells items, and just happens to show up when needed.
Temples being the place to buy healing potions.
The Apothecary Shop that sells minor potions and low-level scrolls, but nothing else.
The dimension travelling salesman who has a shop in whatever city the PCs find themselves in. He's shady, and has to move a lot.

Spellbooks

Planet Algol has an interesting post on unique spellbooks HERE. I really, really like this idea. It's a fairly easy way to add flavor to your campaign setting, and even little tidbits of history. And the possibilities for adventure seeds are pretty much included with any given spellbook. A spellbook written and used by an evil lich instantly provides a general theme for the spells within, a monster that must be defeated, stories of heroes who fought the lich and lost, and a cool description such as the book is encased in bone and the words are carved into the smaller bones that serve as the pages of the book.

Unique spellbooks have a fairly long history in fantasy and even D&D. More than a few articles were written about them in Dragon magazine. They also provide the DM with ways to include variant spellbooks. A massive tome wrapped in demonskin is pretty cool. A set of wind chimes that whisper the spells into your mind when exposed to a breeze at midnight is even cooler. And the chimes spellbook is something that the players will remember years later, long after they've forgotten much of the actual campaign.

Magic Items - I don't use random tables very often

Generally, I like to preselect the magic items that will be available to the players in the game. And I make most of them readily usable by the characters. If a fighter prefers to use a halberd, odds are he will find a magic halberd instead of 10 different magic swords. It makes the game more fun for the players, and avoids the "every fighter uses a sword, since most magic weapons are swords" syndrome.

I do use some random stuff, though. It's not completely missing. Usually this is stuff like a miscellaneous item or a potion. If I just want a magic item as a treasure, but I already have my placed items decided, then I will roll, though on the potion, etc. table, instead of the main generic tables.

I know a lot of DMs aren't really into this, but I like doing it. And sometimes I can add in a cool item that would probably be impossible to get by random rolls.