Faces of the Market
Hello everyone, and welcome to another great edition of Magic Market, where each week we add a few new magic items to fill your treasure chests and stock the shelves of your local magic item shops. To date, this article has always been full of nifty items including magic rings, magic weapons, and various apparel items, but we have spent little time focusing on the head slot. The head slot is one of those magic item slots most of us choose to ignore, so it’s no wonder there just isn’t a lot of fun items to put there. The aim of this article, then, is to create a number of cool new items for the head slot which adhere to the same high standard of quality you have come to expect from Magic Market.
Mask of Angels
A simple mask made from plaster painted silver and gold has been carved into the rough outline of an androgynous face. White feathers adorn the simple disguise, and cheap glitter has been glued around the eye holes. Despite its cheap and trashy appearance, any living creature who dons the mask can’t help but feel a great sense of well-being and safety.
The mask of the angles is a deceptive magical item, created by a rogue carnival performer to look after him during his sordid activities. The rogue jokingly called the mask his “guardian angel,” which is where the item gets its name. The mask allows the wearer to use a number of unique abilities prized by its former owner. Firstly, once per day the mask allows the wearer to look at any container, be it a coin purse, backpack, chest or barrel, and magically know the exact gp value of any and all items contained within the object. Secondly, once per day the wearer may pluck a single feather from the mask in order to be affected as though by the spell feather fall for 6 rounds. Finally, once per week the wearer can invoke the mask’s magic in order to speak a more eloquent lie, allowing him to roll his Bluff check twice and take the higher result.
Mask of Demons
Wrought of blackened iron and stained with the blood of an astral deva, this horrid mask is twisted in a vague and horrifying image of a grinning demon. The iron burns to the touch, as though constantly exposed to a low fire, and the faint smell of sulfur fills the air around the mask. Those foolish enough to don the mask feel a maddening sense of elation, accompanied by a rush of dark power.
The wearer of a mask of the demon feels invincible, as he is infused with dark power. This energy allows the wearer of this mask to speak words infused with demonic energy, causing his foes to suffer terrible pain, bouts of maddening laughter, or even to lose control of their own actions. Once per day, he may use one of the following abilities.
Word of Pain: The wearer speaks a dreaded word that causes a single living creature within 30 feet who can clearly hear the wearer to suffer terrible, wracking bouts of pain, causing the target to become nauseated for 1 minute. Creatures with 76 or more hit points are immune to this effect. This is a mind-affecting pain effect.
Word of Madness: The wearer speaks a dreaded word that causes a single living creature within 30 feet who can clearly hear the wearer to begin laughing uncontrollably. Each round for one minute, the target suffers a 50% chance of doing nothing but laughing uncontrollably on his turn. Creatures with 101 or more hit points are immune to this effect. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Word of Uncontrollable Moves: The wearer speaks a dreaded word that causes a single living creature within 30 feet who can clearly hear the wearer to begin to suffer terrible injuries, which cause him to dance uncontrollably. Each round for one minute, the target suffers 10 points of damage. This damage is not subject to damage reduction and cannot be prevented by any means. Additionally, each round the target must succeed on a Will save (DC 16 + the wearer’s Charisma modifier) or be forced to spend the entire round dancing in place, provoking attacks of opportunity from all creatures that threaten him, and preventing him from taking any other action. Creatures with 76 or more hit points remaining are immune to this effect. This is mind-affecting effect.
Mask of Kings
This shining alabaster mask is carved into a perfect representation of an idealized human male, complete with a shining crown of gold. Copper studs adorn the face of this exquisite mask, and seem to collect an unnatural amount of light from their surroundings. Any living creature who dons the mask can’t help but feel extremely attractive and personally powerful.
The wearer of a mask of kings gains exceptional powers of personal persuasion. By merely pressing the mask’s lips to a living creature and whispering a command word, the mask’s wearer can invoke the mask’s power to perform one of the following actions, each usable only once per day.
Kiss of animal kinship: If the wearer of the mask presses the mask’s lips to any creature of the animal or magical beast type, he gains a +10 bonus to Handle Animal checks made to handle that creature for the next week.
Kiss of the kindly lord: If the wearer of the mask presses the mask’s lips to any creature of the humanoid or monstrous humanoid type, he increases the attitude of that character towards himself by one step for 24 hours. (See Diplomacy in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.)
Kiss of the compelling king: If the wearer of the mask presses the lips of the mask to any creature of the outsider type, he gains a +5 bonus on all Charisma checks and Charism-based skill checks made to deal with that outsider for the next hour.
In the case of any creature unwilling to be kissed by the mask’s wearer, he must make a melee touch attack which provokes attacks of opportunity to accomplish the feat.