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Post by Finarvyn on Apr 1, 2008 14:28:42 GMT -6
In the Men & magic board there is a thread which essentially asks: if you had only the M&M book, how would the game be different?
A couple of us mentioned that treasures would be less generic and more specific. Swords would have a name. Books would have a title. Magic would have some history, and probably not just be "sword +1" from a random table.
So, how about if we started a list of magical items from literature (along with specific powers if the reference is too obscure). I'd think mainstream fiction would be the best starting point, but if someone has a real favorite they can add it anyway. Also, picking fiction based on a game (such as DragonLance) might be interpreted as cheating since that book might not have been written if D&D hadn't come along....
Here's a start of some famous magical items:
Stormbringer (soul-stealer sword from Elric)
Excalibur (King Arthur)
Orcrist and Glamdring (Orc bashing swords from LotR)
Sting (shortsword/dagger from the the Hobbit)
Rings of Power (the Hobbit and LotR)
Necronomicon (Lovecraft)
Alladin's Lamp (Arabian Knights)
Who wants to add more?
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Post by coffee on Apr 1, 2008 14:35:21 GMT -6
I would immediately add The Luggage from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Although it, too, might not have been written without D&D; Terry used to run the game as I understand it, although he had his own unique take on it. I haven't been able to find any more information than that.
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Post by makofan on Apr 1, 2008 20:36:28 GMT -6
I'm partial to Greyswandir, Corwin of Amber's sword. It was a magical runed silver sword. I would make it +3 to hit, double damage vs summoned/magical creatures. Maybe even give the wielder a plus to save vs spells
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Post by brumbar on Apr 1, 2008 20:42:34 GMT -6
From Terry Brooks. The sword of Shanarra or the elfstones
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Post by Thigru Thorkissen on Apr 2, 2008 17:09:56 GMT -6
I'm partial to Greyswandir, Corwin of Amber's sword. It was a magical runed silver sword. I would make it +3 to hit, double damage vs summoned/magical creatures. Maybe even give the wielder a plus to save vs spells For that matter, how about the Trumps? Magical and unique... tauman |
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busman
Level 6 Magician
Playing OD&D, once again. Since 2008!
Posts: 448
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Post by busman on Apr 2, 2008 17:22:55 GMT -6
*THE* Vorpal Sword (Decapitating sword from Through the Looking Glass)
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Post by makofan on Apr 2, 2008 20:43:01 GMT -6
Another Amber treasure would be the jewel of Judgement
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Post by brumbar on Apr 3, 2008 8:06:18 GMT -6
fROM THE LATER BOOKS THE STRANGLING CORD OF CORWIN'S SON MERLIN.
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sham
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 385
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Post by sham on Apr 3, 2008 8:47:45 GMT -6
*THE* Vorpal Sword (Decapitating sword from Through the Looking Glass) I love that poem: "One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back." I'd be galumphing back with a Vorpal Sword as described in D&D as well. I wonder how one might describe it with no Gygaxian influence, though. I like Gary's take on it. It's the accepted form of Vorpal Blade, even though it was derived from a non-sensical poem. Mythological influences could be taken into consideration, as well. A few more off the top of my head: Mjolnir The Golden Fleece Flying Carpets Medusa Head The Wicked Witch's Mirror from Snow White Magic Beans ala Jack (sounds like a culinary delight), the Harp, the Goose. Crystal Balls Clive Barker's Cube (an adventure unto itself) The Wardrobe (Narnia, as above) probably quite a good amount of magic items to lift from CS Lewis that I'm forgetting. Ruby Slippers (Oz) Seems that there would be tons of quaint magic from fairy tales, but I'm drawing a blank. |
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jochen
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 22
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Post by jochen on Apr 4, 2008 9:13:18 GMT -6
Siegfried as he appears in the Nibelungen-Saga has a sword of which I think was called Balthung. I tried to search it in the web but could not find it. I guess I heard it in school back then. One can imagine that it has to be a very special sword since it belongs to a hero with the charisma to command armies, the guts to challenge a valkyrie (Brunhilde) and slay the Grendel.
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Post by jdrakeh on Apr 4, 2008 11:02:32 GMT -6
Siegfried as he appears in the Nibelungen-Saga has a sword of which I think was called Balthung. I tried to search it in the web but could not find it. I guess I heard it in school back then. One can imagine that it has to be a very special sword since it belongs to a hero with the charisma to command armies, the guts to challenge a valkyrie (Brunhilde) and slay the Grendel. The sword isn't really considered treasure in the Saga, though. The only thing that is really characterized as treasure by the poets is the Nibelungen Hoard. The view of many swords as magical treasure is more the product of contemporary romantics than the poets and authors of the period. For example, in the Nibelungen Saga (which is itself a revision of the Volsunga Saga), Siegfried's sword was just a sword, albeit a very fine one. It was the man who was magical (impervious to wounds, according to some folklore). [Edit: The sword was named Gram in the original Saga, revised as Balmung in the Germanic version.] |
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Post by calithena on Apr 4, 2008 18:23:38 GMT -6
The King's Ankus, from Kipling's Jungle Books:
He stared with puckered-up eyes round the vault, and then lifted up from the floor a handful of something that glittered.
‘Oho!’ said he, ‘this is like the stuff they play with in the Man-Pack: only this is yellow and the other was brown.’
He let the gold pieces fall, and move forward. The floor of the vault was buried some five or six feet deep in coined gold and silver that had burst from the sacks it had been originally stored in, and, in the long years, the metal had packed and settled as sand packs at low tide. On it and in it, and rising through it, as wrecks lift through the sand, were jewelled elephant-howdahs of embossed silver, studded with plates of hammered gold, and adorned with carbuncles and turquoises. There were palanquins and litters for carrying queens, framed and braced with silver and enamel, with jade-handled poles and amber curtain-rings; there were golden candlesticks hung with pierced emeralds that quivered on the branches; there were studded images, five feet high, of forgotten gods, silver with jewelled eyes; there were coats of mail, gold inlaid on steel, and fringed with rotted and blackened seed-pearls; there were helmets, crested and beaded with pigeon’s-blood rubies; there were shields of lacquer, of tortoise-shell and rhinoceros-hide, strapped and bossed with red gold and set with emeralds at the edge; there were sheaves of diamond-hilted swords, daggers, and hunting-knives; there were golden sacrificial bowls and ladles, and portable altars of a shape that never sees the light of day; there were jade cups and bracelets; there were incense-burners, combs, and pots for perfume, henna, and eye-powder, all in embossed gold; there were nose-rings, armlets, head-bands, finger-rings, and girdles past any counting; there were belts, seven fingers broad, of square-cut diamonds and rubies, and wooden boxes, trebly clamped with iron, from which the wood had fallen away in powder, showing the pile of uncut star-sapphires, opals, cat’s-eyes, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and garnets within.
The White Cobra was right. No mere money would begin to pay the value of this treasure, the sifted pickings of centuries of war, plunder, trade, and taxation. The coins alone were priceless, leaving out of count all the precious stones; and the dead-weight of the gold and silver alone might be two or three hundred tons. Every native ruler in India to-day, however poor, has a hoard to which he is always adding; and though, once in a long while, some enlightened prince may send off forty or fifty bullock-cart loads of silver to be exchanged for Government securities, the bulk of them keep their treasure and the knowledge of it very closely to themselves.
But Mowgli naturally did not understand what these things meant. The knives interested him a little, but they did not balance so well as his own, and so he dropped them. At last he found something really fascinating laid on the front of a howdah half buried in the coins. It was a three-foot ankus, or elephant-goad—something like a small boathook. The top was one round, shining ruby, and eight inches of the handle below it were studded with rough turquoises close together, giving a most satisfactory grip. Below them was a rim of jade with a flower-pattern running round it—only the leaves were emeralds, and the blossoms were rubies sunk in the cool, green stone. The rest of the handle was a shaft of pure ivory, while the point—the spike and hook—was gold-inlaid steel with pictures of elephant-catching; and the pictures attracted Mowgli, who saw that they had something to do with his friend Hathi the Silent.
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jochen
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 22
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Post by jochen on Apr 5, 2008 5:11:13 GMT -6
[Edit: The sword was named Gram in the original Saga, revised as Balmung in the Germanic version.] Jdrakeh, thank you for helping out there and setting it straight. What I knew was very vague. But now as you say it, I remember it right - Balmung it was, not Balthung. And what I wrote concerning Grendel was wrong, too. Siegfried was said to have slain some type of Dragon, but not Grendel. This must have been Beowulf then. |
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Post by brumbar on Apr 5, 2008 11:45:54 GMT -6
Some versions of the Siegfried lengends have the metal of the sword falling from heaven (meteorite) which to people of tehtime would have made it magical.
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Post by redpriest on Apr 5, 2008 13:12:33 GMT -6
From Cherryh, Morgaine's sword Changeling is interesting. Changeling is a bit of a counterpoint to Elric's Stormbringer, in that, where Stormbringer invigorates Elric as it feeds, Changeling actually draws the energy it needs to work from it's wielder. Cherryh seamlessly integrates technology into her fantasy story, and Changeling's operation is a good example of that.
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yesmar
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Fool, my spell book is written in Erlang!
Posts: 217
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Post by yesmar on Dec 13, 2009 1:13:59 GMT -6
Bump to an old thread... The Locnar and the Nar Stones, both from Richard Corben's DEN comic series. |
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Post by Mr. Darke on Dec 13, 2009 12:18:24 GMT -6
Tyrfing from myth would be one I would use.
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Post by Morandir on Dec 13, 2009 18:25:06 GMT -6
From REH:
The Staff of Solomon
Carried by Solomon Kane. Allows communication over great distances, very powerful against evil sorcerers and spirits.
The Heart of Ahriman
A flaming gem which is a source of cosmic power. Used to revive Xaltotun in The Hour of the Dragon.
The Serpent Ring of Set
Gives a Sorcerer vast powers. Wielded by Thoth-Amon.
The Heart of the Elephant
Another powerful gem. Used by the Sorcerer Yara in The Tower of the Elephant.
Golden Wine of Xuthal
A gold-colored liquor which has miraculous healing properties.
The Staff of Death
A staff cut from the living Tree of Death - used by Khitan Sorcerers to deliver death blows.
The various Lotus powders and extracts would be great inspiration for various potions as well.
Mor
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yesmar
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Fool, my spell book is written in Erlang!
Posts: 217
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Post by yesmar on Dec 13, 2009 19:23:22 GMT -6
Also from REH, the Fire of Ashurbanipal - A great gem, the touching of which brings a hideous guardian to life.
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Post by Garolek Dolgarukii on Dec 16, 2009 1:25:04 GMT -6
I'll bring up someone from Appendix N whom I haven't seen mentioned on these boards (or among any of the bloggers, for that matter) - the mighty and sagacious James Branch Cabell. For sheer volume of inventiveness, breadth of romantic and legendary research, he can't be beat. He's also one of the few authors that makes me laugh out loud, and every time I re-read one of his books I find more subtle jests.
From the second book of James Branch Cabell's "The Silver Stallion", a selection of amulets, periapts and other manifestations of lithomancy:
"fetched from the fiery heart of the very dreadful seven-walled city of Lankha"..."was that agate which had in the years that are long past preserved the might of the old emperors of Macedon. Upon this strange jewel were to be seen a naked man and nine women, portrayed in the agate's veinings: and this agate assured its wearer of victory in every battle. The armies of the pagan Isles of Wonder would be ready, at the first convenient qualm of patriotism or religious faith, to lay waste and rob all the wealthiest kingdoms in that part of the world..."
..."the onyx of Thossakan. Its wearer had the power to draw out the soul of any person, even of himself, and to imprison that soul as a captive inside this hollowed onyx; and its wearer might thus trample anywhither resistlessly.
"Beyond the somber gleaming of this onyx showed the green lusters of an emerald, which was engraved with a lyre and three bees, with a dolphin and the head of a bull. Misfortune and failure of no sort could enter into the house wherein was this Samian gem."
"But the brightest of all the ensorcelled stones arrayed upon the ebony table was the diamond of Luned, whose wearer might at will go invisible."
"the gray sideritis, which, when bathed in running waters and properly propitiated, told with the weak voice of an infant whatever you desired to learn. The secrets of war and statecraft, of all that had ever happened anywhere, and of all arts and trades, were familiar to the warer of the gray sideritis."
"the moonstone of Nagar Tura, whose cutting edge no material substance could resist, so that the strong doors of an adversary's treasure house, or the walls of his fortified city, could be severed with this gem just as a knife slices an apple."
"a jewel of scarlet radiancy streaked with purple. All that was needed to ensure a prosperous outcome of whatsoever matter one had in hand could be found engraved upon this stone, in the lost color called tingaribinus. For the wearer of this stone - a fragment, as the most reputable cantraps attested, of the pillar which Jacob raised at Beth-El, - it was not possible to fail in any sort of worldly endeavor."
With the aid of "the effigy of a bird carved in jade and carnelian ... you may enter the Sea Market, and may go freely among a folk that dwell in homes builded of coral and tortoise-shell, and tiled with fishes' scales. Their wisdom is beyond the dry and arid wisdom of earth: their knowledge derides the frictions which we call time and space: and their children prattle of mysteries unknown to any of our major prophets and most expert geomancers"
"a smoke-colored veil embroidered with tiny gold stars and ink-horns; and it enables one to pass through the ardent gateway of Audela, and the country that lies behind the fire. This is the realm of Sesphra: there is no grieving in this land, and happiness and infallibility are common to everyone there, because Sesphra is the master of an art which corrodes and sears away all error, whether it be human or divine"
"that sigil which gave wisdom and all power to Apollonius, and later to Merlin Ambrosius. It displays ... an eye encircled with scorpions and stags and ... with winged objects which do not ordinarily have wings: and it controls the nine million spirits of the air"
"the shining triangle of Thorston ... this triangle is master of the wisdom of the Duergar and of all peoples that dwell underground ... when this triangle is inverted ... it enables you to bless and curse at will, to converse with dead priests, and to control the power and the seven mysteries of the moon"
"in this shagreen case, the famous and puissant and unspeakably sacrosanct ring of Solomon, to whose wearer are subject the Djinns and the ass-footed Nazikeen and fourteen of Jahveh's most discreet and trustworthy seraphim"
"an altar carved from a block of selenite. Within this altar you may hear the moving and the dry rustlings of an immortal. Let us not speak of this immortal: neither the sun's nor the moon's light has ever shone upon him, and his name is not loveable. But here is the Altar of the Adversary; and the owner of this little altar may, at a paid price, have access to the wisdom that defies restraint and goes beyond the bounds permitted by any god"
All of these are wooing gifts brought to Morvyth, Queen of the Isles of Wonder, by seven third sons of kings. All of these over the course of a few pages...
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Post by thegreyelf on Dec 16, 2009 9:11:09 GMT -6
From Norse mythology:
Draupnir (the luck ring)
This ring is detailed in Supplement IV, but not very well.
The property of the goddess Freyja and obtained as payment after spending several nights in debauchery with the dwarves, Draupnir is a magical golden ring which will automatically size itself to fit the wearer. Once per week Draupnir can spawn nine exact copies of itself, which Freyja gives to those she favors. These Draupnir copies cannot in turn spawn further copies, but each has the other effects of the original. Draupnir and its copies impart +2 to all saving throws and +1 to attack rolls by the wearer.
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Post by thegreyelf on Dec 16, 2009 9:20:42 GMT -6
From REH: The Heart of AhrimanA flaming gem which is a source of cosmic power. Used to revive Xaltotun in The Hour of the Dragon. The Serpent Ring of SetGives a Sorcerer vast powers. Wielded by Thoth-Amon. The Heart of the ElephantAnother powerful gem. Used by the Sorcerer Yara in The Tower of the Elephant. Golden Wine of XuthalA gold-colored liquor which has miraculous healing properties. The various Lotus powders and extracts would be great inspiration for various potions as well. These are all detailed in Supplement IV, and more than a few of them, I've updated in my Secrets of Acheron PDF (I found the Supplement IV writeups to be lacking). |
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Post by Geiger on Dec 20, 2009 4:48:24 GMT -6
Pandora's box
The philosopher's stone
Freya's feathered cloak
Jack's seven league boots
The Nemean lion's hide
Tizona and Colada, El Cid's swords
The Monkey King's staff
Indra's lightning bolt, Vajra
Nuada's silver hand
The Graiae's eye
Orion's belt
Ikarus wings (reinforced)
The Palantir
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2010 10:57:06 GMT -6
An entire list of swords, missing you are. The twelve swords of power from Fred Saberhagen. Coinspinner, Doomgiver, Dragonslicer, farslayer, mindsword, shieldbreaker, sightblinder, soulcutter, stonecutter, townsaver, wayfinder, woundhealer.
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Post by Geiger on Jan 28, 2010 14:48:26 GMT -6
An entire list of swords, missing you are. The twelve swords of power from Fred Saberhagen. Coinspinner, Doomgiver, Dragonslicer, farslayer, mindsword, shieldbreaker, sightblinder, soulcutter, stonecutter, townsaver, wayfinder, woundhealer. Ahhh, the infamous Farslayer... |
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Post by vladtolenkov on Feb 2, 2010 14:33:45 GMT -6
The Shining Trapezohedron from Lovecraft's "The Haunter of Dark." When placed in total darkness it summons the Haunter. . .
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