Strange items in markets and ruins

Beautiful merchants of strange wares. Art By: Leon Bakst

Pictures Mangled by Me: Any picture with this in its caption means it is a collage I made using 19th and early 20th century illustrations. All these illustrations are public domain, meaning I didn't rob anyone by using these pictures for my own gains.

Author's Note: Here are a couple weird magic items for your viewing pleasure. While they have backgrounds that are more geared towards my Infinite City setting, they can be easily integrated into any game. If you're tired of stocking your dungeon with +1 long swords and cloaks of Elven Kind, give these a try. 

Strange weapons with dangerous grins. Pictures Mangled By: Me

 

Grin Hatchet

Black iron axehead, crooked yellow embedded in the edge, greased metal replacing gums. More of a hatchet than an ax, its short haft ending in the pronged roots of a molar. The flat back of the axehead has a molar crown protruding from it, the enamel yellowed and chipped like the front teeth. An eye stares from either side of the axehead's midpoint, unmoving, the material of the eye as unyielding as the iron itself. Sometimes, when you're not looking, the pupil shifts to stare at the wielder, always shifting back when they turn to look.

These hatchets bear an unsettling resemblance to the full-sized axes carried by Smilers. Called Grin Hatchets, they will occasionally appear in black markets, ruins, and pawnbrokers with the proprietors having no information on how they came to own these items.

While their form is off-putting to most, the wounds they inflict are savage, making them prized weapons for people in the business of killing dangerous people and 'animals'. No one seems to have any information about the 'staring problem' the ax's eyes have, but it has yet to cause an issue... That you know of.

OSR / AD&D / LotFP

Damage: 1D6+1

Size: One-Handed (Light)

Speed Factor: 4

Bonuses: +1 to Damage (Sharp Teeth, Damage Already Figured Into Stats)

Special Abilities: Each time damage is rolled, damage may be rolled a second time, with the player always taking the second result. The spell Shillelagh may be cast on this ax as if it were a cudgel or unshod staff.

Pathfinder / DnD 3.X

Damage: 1D6 (Medium) 1D4 (Small)

Size: One-Handed (Light)

Critical: x3

Bonuses: Masterwork (+1 to Hit)

Special Abilities: Each time damage is rolled, damage may be rolled a second time, with the player always taking the second result. The Magic Fang spell may be cast on this item as if it were the natural attack of a creature. Furthermore, Druid's are considered proficient with this weapon.

Pits and Perils

Damage: 1 Hit

Size: One-Handed

Special Abilities: A number of times per day equal to the wielder's level, the player may re-roll one of their D6's to hit a target. The player must always take the results of the second roll.

Into the Odd

Damage: 1D6

Type: Hand Weapon

Special Abilities: Each time damage is rolled, damage may be rolled a second time, with the player taking the better of the two results. 

Twisting scarves to untwist mazes. Pictures Mangled By: Me

 

Maze Scarf

Made of cloth with a fine weave, the scarf looks positively ancient: fraying at the edges, holes in the material, and a slight musty smell. Its form isn't a straight line, rather it branches off at ninety degree angles to rejoin itself in a maze-like configuration. Most startling of all, the pattern which continually shifts as if in movement, despite the wearer standing still. Out of the corner of your eye you can see a new pattern emerge in its endless scrolling, only to disappear when it is looked at directly.

OSR / AD&D / LotFP / Pathfinder / Pits & Perils

Wearing this item grants the wearer certain abilities:

1/Day per Level of Wearer – Know the Path: This ability allows the wearer to find the shortest, most direct route that he or she is seeking, be it the way to or from or out of a locale. The locale can be outdoors or underground, a trap or even a maze spell. The spell will enable the wearer to select the correct direction which will eventually lead him or her to egress, the exact path to follow (or actions to take), and this knowledge will persist for 1 turn (10 minutes) per use of the ability. The ability frees the user, and those with him or her from a Maze spell in a single melee round and will continue to do so as long as the spell lasts.

Shorten Change's Journey: Those wearing this scarf roll 1D8 to determine the number of hours it takes to find the a Sarxist temple-clinics.

Link to post about Sarxists

Into the Odd

Arcana Type: Powers you cannot understand.

1/Day per Experience Level of Wearer – Know the Path: This ability allows the wearer to find the shortest, most direct route that he or she is seeking, be it the way to or from or out of a locale. The locale can be outdoors or underground, and even a trap. The spell will enable the wearer to select the correct direction which will eventually lead him or her to egress, the exact path to follow (or actions to take), and this knowledge will persist for 10 minutes per use of the ability.

Shorten Change's Journey: Those wearing this scarf roll 1D8 to determine the number of hours it takes to find the a Sarxist temple-clinics.

Link to post about Sarxists