February and the RPG Blog Carnival Ends

Thanks toall who help out with this month’s RPG Blog Carnival!  It was fun and I hope to host again soon.

With the start of March, the Equinox and Spring draw ever nearer.  The name of March is drawn from the Roman month Martius which in turn gains its name from Mars, as you would expect.  Mars being the Roman god of war (and more a soldier’s god than a warrior as contrasted with his Greek counterpart Ares)

The theme for March will again be the military and things martial.  If there is anything in particular you would like to see, please let me know.  I will try to do something, spell or item, for the Equinox as well.

February, 2021, saw the following post in the journal:

Gifts of the Gods, divine artifacts, ending the RPG Blog Carnival

February comes to an end and with it, my time as host of the RPG Blog Carnival, though I am sure that I will host again soon.

The framework for Gifts of the Gods, divine artifacts, is here.

Firstly, Roleplay-Geek provided thoughtful advice on handing out A Gift from the Gods.

Moving through time and space to Campaign Mastery who presents the Forbidden Weapons of the Omega Archive, a very Whovian trove of items but with suggestions to adapt them to other settings.

Out of the mists comes Owlbear Games with a look at how divine gifts might be twisted in the realm of Ravenloft.

A silver flame leads us to Codex Anathema exploration of the Relics of Old, with a focus on Eberron.

The gentle flow of water is the core of Full Moon Storytelling‘s tale of how the Everflow became a central point of their campaign world.

At Five Foot Square we are introduced to the mysteries of the Hidden Queen in A Gift or a Curse?  The Cult of the Hidden Queen.

Cruel Trinkets of the Mad Gods are presented by Rising Phoenix Games as their contribution to the Carnival.

My contributions were: the Third Celestial Armory, where the gods used to keep their weapons and now the Draconic Imperium does.  Divine Artifacts in the Sea of Stars, where to look for them and where the few new ones come from.

Thanks to everyone who participated and spread the word!

Notes:  March’s RPG Blog Carnival is “Say yes to your players“, hosted by the Roll4 Network, hope to see you there as well.

Image “Keith Haring – The Marriage of Heaven and Hell [1985]” by Andrea Sartorati is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Superheroes – Once upon a Time in 1967 – Holiday Special – White Christmas

Several months after Issue 5:

Cover:  One corner of the 1967 Holiday Special featuring the Freedom Five shows the team waving with a Christmas tree in the background.

Opening page:  “It is Christmas time in New York”  Showing the team walking down Fifth Avenue in their secret identities.  “I like your festival of lights,” says Bob.

Shadowfist has been teaching 808 Mandarin Chinese so that he can work on the investigation in Chinatown and try to track down Miss Ood with some success and some frustration.  Vulpix continues her training, works with her uncle and the charities her family is associated with and continues avoiding her cousin.  While Roboto has been helping the Professor trying to work out what went wrong with the project to create Computo.   Horizon cautiously works to master his powers, as away from people as he can get in NYC, as he is still worried about accidentally causing destruction and injury.

Tuesday Magic Item – God Seed

“Something feels wrong,” said Gollaon, suppressing a shiver.  “Something in the air?”

“I feed it too, like the sky before a storm,” said Voddick.  He scanned the way ahead, his crossbow at the ready.

“I fear it is tied to that amulet of employer has, it has a powerful aura, and it is calling upon powers . . . well, powers that are not always welcome,” said Gollaon.

“Well, at least we were paid half in advance if we have to scarper.”

God Seed

These fragments of divinity come in many forms as varied as the divine being that they are tied too.  Direct symbols are the most common: swords for martial deities, a lantern for a god of travellers and so on though amulets engraved with divine symbols have been used by all.

Tuesday Magic Item – Powdered Chaos

“I would have asked for double if I knew we would be fighting hollows,” said Voddick loading another bold into his crossbow.

“Agreed,” said Gollaon.  He paused to draw another dagger.  “It has cost me two daggers already.”

“Out employer had better have a solution, these hit and run attacks are costing us nearly as much as the damage we inflict on the things.”

Gollaon looked back to see.  “I think they have something that will help . . . but we should give them room.”

Powdered Chaos

This substance is as much metaphysical as physical, magic as material.  It changes from moment to moment, from small pebbles to fine dust, multicolored to dull brown, never the same twice.  It is used to enhance spell casting adding special punch against the agents of the Law Lords.

Divine Artifacts in the Sea of Stars

We are about halfway through February’s RPG Blog Carnival for the Month of February, 2021, on the theme of Gifts of the Gods, divine artifacts, so time to add some more to that theme.

Unlike many worlds, the Sea of Stars has almost no new divine artifacts being created, almost all of the such items date to before the Sundering.  The God of Smiths, whose portfolio also included creation, was slain before the Gods War even began, throwing the primary chain for the creation of artifacts into chaos and confusion.  Of course, the forges of the militant gods keep working and the Law Lords and the Shadows of Chaos prepared for the coming war, sadly, they were preparing for the wrong one.

But at the end of the Gods War, almost all of the surviving divine artifacts were seized by various dragons, the majority (about three fifths) were grasped by the Empress and her agents, the next largest amount fell into the claws of Ba’ai’ai, the Dark Star, with the remained shared among the other dragons, almost every dragon who fought in the Gods War managed to acquire at least one divine artifact in the process.  Over the years, the Empress has drawn more and more of the surviving artifacts to her, soliciting them as gift, accepting them in lieu of taxes or fines, or, rarely, purchasing them. 

The Empress keeps these artifacts sealed against times of great need, for example she is well equipped to repulse any attempt by the Law Lords or the Shadow of Chaos, should either return by some means, to restore their power using the arsenals prepared by their opposites.  Further, the Imperial Arsenal lacks no number weapons optimized towards the slaying of angels, demons and devils.  For most situations, normal draconic might and enchanted weapons are sufficient, divine weaponry is only used when it is desperately needed.

Naturally, there are very few divine artifacts made in the Sea of Stars now, the Sun Cult produces a small number of items (such as the Sun-Blessed Diadem) but no weaponry . . . that the dragons know of.  (There may be a cyclops smith still producing Sun’s Champion’s Blades somewhere.)  The Moon Cult sporadically produces divine items for its members use, though with little rhyme nor reason.

There are a handful of hidden artifacts left, placed for divine quests which were . . . interrupted or never started.  It is possible that someone could stumble onto the items or into the quests (and thus, eventually to the items).  Unfortunately, the cyclops who made the divine artifacts were almost wiped out, a few were captured by the Empress, if any other survived they were likely hidden away by one of the Draconic Houses or the Dwarven Holds, the only groups with the resources to hide such a valuable being from the eyes of the Empress.

Notes: Who makes the divine artifacts in your campaign world?

Image “Venus at the Forge of Vulcan” by Louis Félix de La Rue (French, 1731-1777) is marked with CC0 1.0.

Tuesday Magic Item – Sun-Blessed Diadem

“Must everything be so . . . bright in the Sun Temple,” said Gollaon, looking around through squinting eyes.

“You did not have to indulge so much last night,” chided Voddick.

“The wine was good and the acolytes were . . . friendly,” smiled Gollaon taking brief comfort in the hazy memories.

“Come on, the high priestess awaits.”

Sun-Blessed Diadem

These diadem are made for the highest priests among the followers of the Sun.  Made of gold, often decorated or bejeweled as fits the personality of the person it was made for (and the pockets of those commissioning it).  It is a potent symbol of status.

Tuesday Magic Item – Red Banner Flight Lance

“While they would be useful, I am not sure if I would be comfortable on a flying horse,” said Voddick.

“Perhaps to your surprise, I agree,” said Gollaon.  “The fall from a horse on the ground can be painful enough.  And there you are only likely to break one or two bones.”

“Truth . . . and you are a much better rider than I.”

Red Banner Flight Lance

These lances were designed for the elite flying cavalry of the Red Banner Flight by the God of Smiths, though made by his cyclops servants for the most part.  The lances are beautifully crafted and perfectly balanced, the shaft is highly polished reddish wood, the spear head and butt-spike are of gleaming bright steel, though when it reflects light, it seems to be a crimson red.  Streamers and banners are common accoutrements but not universal.

Fantastic Location – the Third Celestial Armory (landed)

Third Celestial Armory

Before the Gods War, the gods maintained homes and more in the floating heavens above the world, the Gods of War maintained four armories for the storing of weapons for the hosts of the heavens.  They were among the first targets of the dragons, quickly overrun by the surprise assaults.

The First Armory was destroyed by the determined actions of its last defender, being consumed by divine fire and lightning.  The Second plunged into the Silver Sea, breaking apart and vanishing beneath the waves.  The Fourth was the site of the counterattack by the Red Banner flight and the Seven Sons of the Sword, Ba’ai’ai held the armory but it was almost entirely destroyed in the process.

The Third was seized by the General and deliberately brought down onto the lands where the Empress would establish her capital.  It landed at a slight angle and attempts to level it have never entirely succeeded, leaving the building canted at a slight angle (about 3 degrees).  In addition to what was captured in the armory when it was seized, various other weapon of divine origin acquire by the Empress and her servants have ended up there.  It is rare that such weapon are authorized for use by the Imperial forces but they remain as a potent symbol of Imperial authority.

The armory building itself is a massive pyramid of gleaming white stone with fitting of a bluish-white metal.  It is unadorned but imposing with its stark lines.  Only the most trusted of the Imperial military are assigned to duty guarding the armory while in buildings that have grown up outside, the military bureaucracy goes about its tasks.

Rarely, tours are offered of the armory usually for visitors from afar to impress them with the might of the Draconic Imperium, but, it is said, that a suitable bribe to the right member of the bureaucracy will allow one to join such a tour.

Why would one want to visit such a place?  To learn about the divine weaponry of the past, perhaps to compare to an item you have or have heard stories about.  To case the joint for a daring heist.   To understand the resource the Dragon Empress has.

Notes: My first contribution towards this month’s RPG Blog Carnival.

Photo Royal Armory at Leeds by Lofty found on Wikimedia Commons and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Gifts of the Gods, divine artifacts, beginning the RPG Blog Carnival

Welcome to the RPG Blog Carnival for the Month of February, 2021, on the theme of Gifts of the Gods, divine artifacts,

Such items figure in highly legends such as:

• The Aegis of Athena, the shield that protects her (and indirectly the Olympians).
• Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor, popularized in the Marvel comics and movies.
• The Yata no Kagami (the sacred mirror) of Japanese legend.
  
• And in fiction with such items as Stormbringer, the soul-drinking demonic sword and tool of the gods of Chaos.

A small number of such items, the thunderbolts used by Zeus, are mass produced.

So, let your imagination run wild!  Make up new items or stat up those from myth, describe places where lost items can be found or quests set by the gods for those who wish to “borrow” item for an important task, what artifacts would your campaign villain seek?  What is the craftsman of the gods working on?

I hope you find inspiration.  Please leave a comment on this post with a link to your submission.  As people post link, please take a look as the idea is to share, inspire and bounce of one another’s ideas.  At the end of the month, all of the links will be collected in a wrap up post.

If you are not a blogger hopefully you will be still be inspired.  If you start a relevant thread on Reddit or Discord or a forum or whatever, then please post a link to it in the comments so that can be shared too.  The more people involved, the merrier!  Let us create some wondrous things together!

My first contribution, the Third Celestial Armory.

Notes:  This will be the third time the Sea of Stars has hosted the RPG Blog Carnival, the first time back in May, 2017 with the theme of Occult Mysteries, and the second time in February, 2019 with the theme of Making Magic Wondrous.

Image Royal Armory at Leeds by Lofty found on Wikimedia Commons and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.