The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

Armour and Weapons
Roll Effect
1-11 Item functions as intended
12-13 Item is non-magical
14-15 Item has a drawback
16 Item has half the expected effect
17 Item is cursed
18 Item is intelligent
19 Item is insane
20 Ghost anchor
however, is still that of a +2 longsword. In the case of a
caster only making a +1 item, or in the case of a special
set of armour or weapon, the Games Master should give
the item a drawback instead.
� Item is cursed: Much more dangerous than a mere
drawback, this item’s function was shaped by the last,
cursing shrieks of the sacrifice. It has the ‘opposite
effect or target’ curse upon it (see DMG), which cannot
be removed from the item by any means, save destroying
its enchantment.
� Item is intelligent: Some part of the unwilling sacrifice’s
soul and intellect has passed into the item, making the
new magical creation intelligent and forever inimical
to the spellcaster who performed the lifebinding and
anyone it perceives as aligned with or related to the
spellcaster in any way. To determine the exact abilities
of the new, intelligent item, consult the DMG. Games
Masters may consider giving this item a Special Purpose
(see DMG) to defeat/slay the spellcaster’s race or any
members of the religion to which he adheres.
� Item is insane: As an intelligent item, but the terror
and hate felt by the sacrifice in his last moments have
infused the item, making it completely and hopelessly
mad. This item will ferociously resist being used by
anyone, and will strike with all its power against any
wielder overcome by its Ego (see DMG). Additionally,
Games Masters may consider boosting the Ego of the
insane item by five or even 10 points, to reflect its
overwhelming hate and rage. Even someone strong
enough to master the item’s Ego will be subjected a
constant bombardment of insane babbling, feelings or
even thoughts, depending upon the insane item’s means
of communication (see DMG).
� Ghost anchor: The item works normally, but holds a
significant and unseen danger. Rather than travelling on
to whatever afterlife awaits it, the fury of the unwilling
sacrifice at the spellcaster has caused it to linger on this
plane as a ghost (see MM). The ghost is tied to the item
it unwillingly helped create, though it now spends most
of its time in the ethereal plane. Every day, there is a
five percent chance the ghost will appear and attack the
possessor of the item for which its experience was used.
The creator of the item suffers a –4 penalty to all saving
throws against the ghost’s special attacks. The ghost
may be turned, though it enjoys an additional +4 to its
turn resistance (granting it a total of +8). However, it
may never be permanently destroyed or banished as
long as the item it is tied to still exists; the item anchors
it to this world and to its undead existence. Note that
destroying the item does not, in and of itself, destroy the
ghost; rather, it makes it possible to destroy the ghost.
Rods, Staves and Wondrous
Items
Like armour and weapons, rods, staves and wondrous
items are among the most common items created through
lifebinding, but there are almost as many potential side
effects with these as with armour and weapons. These
items are commonly created through lifebinding only by
the very powerful who feel certain of overwhelming any
sacrifice, and by the inexperienced who have no other
option to create the powerful items they crave.
Effect Descriptions for Rods, Staves and
Wondrous Items
� Item functions as intended: The item is in all ways
indistinguishable from one created without the
lifebinding ritual.
� Item is non-magical: The experience points invested in
the item by both the sacrifice and the caster are lost,
leaving only a non-magical item. The item is still
considered enchantable, if the spellcaster wishes to try
again.
� Item has a drawback: The resistance of the sacrifice has
altered the enchantment of the item in some minor way.
Roll on the drawback table (see DMG) to see what
effect manifests.
191