We Come From The Land Of The Ice And Snow…

by mshrm

Some items of interest to the Barbarians of the North.

Horned Helmets:  These are all leather helms with horns.  The horns give the wearer an effective +1 SM for intimidation purposes, but remove the first -1 of any penalty to grapple one of the head locations. Anyone trying to find the wearer in a melee gets a +1 to the Vision check for this purpose, thanks to the distinctive and highly-visible horns.

  • Basic Horned Helmet: Provides DR 2 to the face and skull. $40; 1.5 lbs.
  • Dragon’s Head Helm: Crafted from dragonhide, and styled to resemble a dragon’s head. Provides DR 4 to the face and skull, and counts as Ornate +2. $1,080; 1.75 lbs.
  • Enchanted Dragon’s Head Helm: As the previous item, but enchanted so that the wearer, if a mage, may cast Breathe Fire. This includes adding gold and and a $500 ruby, usually mounted decoratively in the center of the forehead. It appears to be worth only $2,080 if one is unaware of its magic. $22,080; 1.75 lbs.

Some weapons. These are all assumed to be dwarven work. They’re really fond of the orichalcum.

  • Bloodthirsty Axe: An orichalcum great axe, sized for SM +1, enchanted with Quick-Draw. It becomes ready at it’s owner’s mental command, instantly, so long as it is within a yard and not somehow restrained. Aside from the obvious benefits, this means that it does not become unready after being used to parry. Appears to be worth no more than $6000 to the mundane merchant. $102,000; 16 lbs.
  • Hammer of Thor*: Another oversized orichalcum warhammer, but dwarven as well, and so does not become unready when used to parry through design, rather than magic. It is decorated with platinum and opals. Enchanted with Lightning Weapon and Puissance +3, and so does 3 extra damage, plus 2 points of follow-up lightning damage when charged. Appears to be worth $7,100 if not enchanted. $122,100; 14 lbs.
  • Warhammer of the Thunderbolts: An oversized (SM +1) orichalcum warhammer, enchanted with Loyal Sword, Quick-Draw, and Thunderclap. It will not only leap to its owner’s hand, it will also return from a distance if dropped or thrown. The wielder may cast the Thunderclap spell (Magic, pg 171) at a cost of 2 Fatigue at a skill of 15. Appears to be worth $6,000 as a mundane object. $306,000; 14 lbs.

And some miscellaneous magic:

  • Arm Ring of Might: An individual oversized (SM+1) orichalcum armband. Choose which arm to wear it on, left or right; provides DR 3 to that arm. The wearer enjoys +2 ST. Appears to be worth $5,400. Actual value: $65,400; 6 lbs.
  • Gauntlets of Ogre Power: A pair of fine, oversized (SM+1) heavy gauntlets, DR 5 for the hands. Enchanted with Might to give the wearer ST +3, while worn. Appears to be worth $5,000; actual value $95,000; 3.75 lbs.
  • Girdle of Giant Strength: Oversized (SM+1) fine mail loincloth, DR 4/2* for groin. Wearer enjoys ST +5 while the girdle is worn. Appears to be worth $1,200 without enchantment. Actual value $151,200; 9 lbs.
  • Horn of Valhalla: A silver horn, extensively etched with scenes of drinking and/or fighting barbarians. (It’s sometimes hard to tell the difference, with barbarians…) The user can blow the horn and spend 2 Fatigue to create a single Northern barbarian warrior with DX 15, as with the Phantom spell (Magic pg 97). For 6 Fatigue, the warrior appears with ST 30. In either event, the warrior appears without gear. (As I aim for PG-13, so for that reason and for the sake of ethnic identity, I would allow a furry loincloth, furry shoes, and a furry hat. Maybe some crude costume jewelry – arm rings and such. No armor, no weapons.) To the untrained eye, the horn appears to be worth $700.  Actual value: $43,700; 2 lbs.

 

* I’m working up a much better homage to Mjolnir, but unsurprisingly, it turns out to be really expensive. That’s end-game content, there, that is, boys and girls. This one’s just a pale imitation.

 

 

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