Trappings of Wisdom
Hello everyone, and welcome to another fantastic edition of Magic Market, where we bring you fun new toys to play with each and every week. It’s Sage Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, due to the recent release of our new book, Character Guide: The Wise Sage, which I’m sure you’ve already heard all about, and maybe even bought already. In any event, this week’s offering brings you a number of items embracing a sagely theme.
TEA OF INSIGHT
Aura faint transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot -; Price 50 gp (1), 200 gp (2), 450 gp (3), 800 gp (4), 1,250 gp (5), 1,800 gp (6), 2,450 gp (7), 3,200 gp (8), 4,050 gp (9), 5,000 gp (10), 6,050 gp (11), 7,200 gp (12), 8,450 gp (13), 9,800 gp (14), 11,250 gp (15), 12,800 gp (16), 14,450 gp (17), 16,200 gp (18), 18,050 gp (19), 20,000 gp (20); Weight 1 lb.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, fox’s cunning, creator must have Wisdom 18 and must have a number of ranks in the Knowledge skill associated with the tea equal to or great than the tea’s potency; Cost 25 gp (1), 100 gp (2), 225 gp (3), 400 gp (4), 625 gp (5), 900 gp (6), 1,225 gp (7), 1,600 gp (8), 2,025 gp (9), 2,500 gp (10), 3,025 gp (11), 3,600 gp (12), 4,225 gp (13), 4,900 gp (14), 5,625 gp (15), 6,400 gp (16), 7,225 gp (17), 8,100 gp (18), 9,025 gp (19), 10,000 gp (20)
These humble leaves were grown in the garden of a learned sage, who watered them each day during the growing season with his own sweat. In addition to producing a tea with a pleasant and distinct flavor when brewed, these leaves bestow some of the knowledge of the sage that cultivated them onto those who drink it. A tea of insight is always grown with a specific Knowledge skill in mind, and as the plant grows, the gardener must tell the plant all it needs to know. As a result, each dose of tea of insight is associated with a specific Knowledge skill and has a potency rating that corresponds to a number of ranks in that Knowledge skill. The potency rating is typically equal to the number of ranks that the gardener has in the given Knowledge skill, although he can choose to create tea of insight with a lower potency rating, if desired.
The flavor and coloration of tea of insight is distinct to the Knowledge skill it is associated with, and the aroma is directly proportionate to its strength, making the tea easily recognizable by those knowledgeable in such things. Brewing the tea requires 10 minutes, and the ability to steep the tea in boiling water, and produces enough tea for 5 doses. Consuming the tea is a move action which provokes attacks of opportunity. Tea of insight spoils within 24 hours of brewing unless magically preserved or mundanely refrigerated (such as through use of an ice chest).
The imbiber may meditate on a specific question while he consumes the tea. If he does, he immediately learns the answer to that question, provided that that information could be acquired by a Knowledge check of the type associated with the tea, with a result equal to 15 plus the potency of the tea (for example, a character who was wondering about an unusual weather phenomenon could consume a tea of insight (Knowledge [nature]: potency 5) and instantly identify the phenomenon).
If the imbiber has no specific question in mind when drinking the tea, he gains some random piece of insight related to the knowledge contained within the tea. This could be expressed in one of two ways, depending on the individual drinking the tea. If the imbiber has one or more ranks in the Knowledge skill associated with the tea, then for the next 24 hours, he uses the tea’s potency rating instead of his ranks in the skill when making Knowledge checks of that type. Any other adjustments to the imbiber’s Knowledge checks (such as from Skill Focus, his Intelligence modifier, and so on) still apply normally. Alternatively, if the imbiber has no ranks in the Knowledge skill associated with the tea, he instead gains the ability to achieve results higher than 10 when he makes untrained Knowledge checks for that Knowledge skill for the next 24 hours.
STAFF OF SAGELY MIGHT
Aura strong divination; CL 13th
Slot -; Price 92,000 gp; Weight 5 lbs.
Construction Requirements Craft Staff, aid, commune, find the path, owl’s wisdom, vision; Cost 46,000 gp
Carved of finely-polished yew, this staff is knotted and curled in a deceptive fashion, providing exceptional grip while maintaining a humble appearance. The head of the staff is capped by a cluster of lustrous and multihued jewels which shine with inner light, as well as adding weight, which makes the staff ideal for striking. These features, combined with a potent magical enhancement, make the staff of sagely might a deadly weapon, in addition to a formidable staff.
Besides its powers as a staff, the staff of sagely might counts as a +1 quarterstaff which also functions as having the bane weapon special ability against any creature the wielder has successfully identified with a Knowledge skill. The wielder must actually use the Knowledge skill in question to learn about the creature in order to gain this benefit, and identifying the creature through prior knowledge is not sufficient. The bane effect lasts for 10 minutes after making the Knowledge check, and only functions against that particular creature and creatures of the same sort (for example, a character who identified goblins would gain this bonus against all goblins for 10 minutes, but not against bugbears, even though they are the same creature type and subtype, unless he identifies them separately). In addition, attacks made with the staff use the wielder’s Wisdom modifier rather than his Strength modifier to modify attack and damage rolls made with the staff.
Finally, the staff of sagely might functions like a staff and offers the following spells.
- Aid (1charge)
- Owl’s wisdom (1charge)
- Commune (2 charges)
- Find the path (2 charges)
- Vision (3 charges)
RINGS OF THE MENTOR AND PROTÉGÉ
Aura moderate divination; CL 9th
Slot ring; Price 19,000 gp (mentor’s ring), 1,000 gp (protégé’s ring); Weight -
Construction Requirements Forge Ring, telepathic bond; Cost 9,500 gp (mentor’s ring), 500 gp (protégé’s ring)
These rings come in a variety of styles for men and women, and are just as likely to be of simple leather as of jewel-encrusted gold. The rings were originally developed by an old, often cranky, wizard who served as a mentor to many young knights and frequently grew tired of their stupid questions. These two rings are designed to function together, and can be linked by touching them to each other for 5 minutes and speaking a fucking command word. A single mentor’s ring can be linked to any number of protégé’s rings at any given time, but a protégé’s ring can only be linked to one mentor’s ring at a time. A linked pair of mentor’s and protégé’s rings can be unlinked with a special ritual that takes 10 minutes and requires the rings to touch. The mentor’s ring is inscribed with an ancient and nearly forgotten rune which translates as the number 13 (“M” being the 13th letter in the common alphabet). The second ring is marked with a common “P” in a large and clear hand, designating it the protégé’s ring.
The mentor’s ring is considerably more powerful than the protégé’s ring, and when linked with a protégé’s ring, grants the wearer perfect knowledge of the distance and direction to the protégé’s ring, as well as granting the wearer the ability to communicate constantly and at leisure with the wearer of the protégé’s ring, as though by the spell telepathic bond, except that this communication is one-way only: the wearer of the mentor’s ring can mentally speak to the wearer of the protégé ring, but the wearer of the protégé ring cannot respond in time. Additionally, the wearer of the mentor’s ring is constantly alerted to the condition of the wearer of the protégé’s ring, for as long as the rings are linked. Conversely, the wearer of the protégé’s ring has only limited ability to respond to the wearer of the mentor’s ring: three times per day, he can activate the ring as a swift action in order to telepathically speak up to 25 words to the wearer of the mentor’s ring.
These rings function regardless of distance, as long as both wearers are on the same plane.