Welcome back to a new series on magical items because I just picked up an old 2e book full of them! This is pretty much the only reason I do anything new.
But hey, if we’re going to get started again after a huge break like that it might as well be with a totally untested format! Why? Because I make poor choices.
Anyway, click below for the Artificer’s Almanac, vol. 1!
Arcane Inventory - Artificer Vol 1
Click here to see the Homebrewery version!
The Artificer’s Almanac is a famed, if rare, collection of magical mechanisms and arcane artifices. Coming in at an estimated 23 to 37 volumes the collection is highly sought after by adventurers and inventors alike.
Volume 1 contains…
- The mystical eggs of vapor, magical items shaped like eggs that release magical gas when broken. The egg of stench also tops the charts for “item most commonly confused for a mundane household occurrence.”
- The grand and subtly named tuning fork of travel, perfect for long journeys and short ones alike! Just remember, if you ask it for the most dangerous path you will get what you wish for, so watch out.
- And lastly, the dread assassin’s eye. Need to peek around a corner? Need to scout down a dark hallway? The arcane eye spell is probably your best bet. Need to do either of those things, and then shoot a lightning bolt out from the eye? Here’s the item for you!
It also has one new spell of interest to artificers and wizards alike…
- An older creation of a sands-dwelling arcane society, the bands of glass spell is perfect for tying up loose ends with burning hot magical glass. A win-win!
Design Notes
- This is a new format for me which partially combines my earlier technique for new spells with magical items. I’ve made full spell compendiums before, complete with 20 to 30 spells, but I’ve found that to be inefficient for gathering feedback. Kinda hard to comment on spells if you’re expected to read through twenty of the things.
- So instead we have these! By having a smaller quantity of homebrew in each release, hopefully it’ll be easier to comment on it.
- The items in most of these are going to be coming from the Encyclopedia Magica series of books from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2e. Most have been pretty severely changed, but its unfair not to at least mention the inspiration for them.
- The spells, meanwhile, are pulled from varying sources. Some are my own creation while others are adaptations of or inspired by spells from the Wizard’s Spell Compendium series or the Tome of Magic.
- I’m not too worried about the balance of these, since the items are primarily just using various established spells. The spell has more potential for brokenness simply because it’s not a pre-existing thing, but even then I don’t think it should be an issue.
Let me know what you think!