Tuesday Magic Item – Naming Love Poem

Gollaon watched their charge from around the corner speaking to the one who had caught their eye, being careful not to be seen by either.

“Foolishness, it is,” quietly grumbled Voddick.  “We should have kept safely locked in the inn.  Where trouble would have to find us, not the other way around.”

“You have not a single romantic bone in your body, my friend,” replied Gollaon with a smile.  “Let young love run free.”

“As long as it does not run us into trouble, I will be happy.”

Naming Love Poem

This poem is a form of ritual magic, the poem itself has become so well known that it has acquired its own magic.  To activate its magic, the person who wishes to confess their love must copy the poem by hand or recite it in front of at least six witnesses.  They must either have a token of the person they wish to confess their love to, a lock of hair is preferred, or name them at the end of the poem.  The whole process cannot take less than two minutes and usually takes more, especially if the poem is being copied.

Completing this task, fills the person who does so with the confidence to confess their love to the person to whom the person named or has a token from.  This manifests as a +2 morale bonus to any Charisma checks and rolls to resist fear or intimidation as they seek to reach their love and the same bonus to Sense Motive to discern their love’s true feelings.  However, if the person does not confess their love to the named person within a day and a night, they are stuck with a deep gloom, losing all bonuses from the poem and suffering a -1 morale penalty to all skill checks for the next 1d3 days.

The power of the poem can be called on no more often than once a month, those who fall in love more frequently than that will just have to suffer.

Aura faint enchantment; CL 5th
Slot none; Price 50; Weight –
Construction Requirements
Craft Wondrous Item or Scribe Scroll, charm person, remove fear; Cost 25

For D&D 5E:

Wondrous item, common

First and third paragraph as above.

Completing this task, fills the person who does so with the confidence to confess their love to the person to whom the person named or has a token from.  This manifests as a bonus of 1d4 to any Charisma checks and saves against fear or intimidation as they seek to reach their love and the same bonus to Wisdom (Insight) rolls to discern their love’s true feelings.  However, if the person does not confess their love to the named person within a day and a night, they are stuck with a deep gloom, losing all bonuses from the poem and suffering a -1 penalty to all ability checks for the next 1d3 days.

Notes: Loosely inspired by the Welsh poet Dafydd ab Edmwnd but the magic of poetry is something that should be explored further.  Note sure on the pricing for Pathfinder, but it is almost more a roleplaying device than a magical item.

Image is “[The Westmoreland manuscript of the poems]” by Donne, John (1572-1631) is licensed under CC0 1.0