Valance collapsed on the side of the road.

‘Are we ever going to get there?’ he complained.

‘I know, this is taking forever and I feel half dead, and this was the quickest route?’ said an exasperated Koram.

Nudge came back from scouting the road ahead.

‘Hurry! This dastardly red stone gives way just ahead to normal stone again!’

The party hurried on, longing to get off this narrow and dreadful path.

The Red Road is a mysterious anomaly, usually encountered where it can be avoided the least, such as narrow mountain passes, the Red Road can continue for miles without rhyme or reason, then stop for no good reason only to pick up again later. A plague upon all who walk this strange and sometimes deadly path, the Red Road has no known origin, some saying that it is a curse from foul deities, others claim that the Red Road is a deity itself, spread about the land, absorbing what it can from those who tread upon it.

In the game: The Red Road can appear anywhere in a game world, changing the ground below and giving it a reddish tinge. This path may still seem more appealing as it will be drier in the rain, offer more traction, be free of impediments, etcetera. Those who tread this way, on the Red Road will feel fine at first, but every four miles on this road will drain those upon it of one hit point. This draining effect causes those on the Red Road to feel a certain despair, as if this road will take forever to get them to their destination.

The wily sorcerer Stork was sneaking up on the ogre mage when suddenly he felt a strange wave of panic and dread wash over him, and then he stood hundreds of miles away in the court of the vile king of Uvnar.

‘What is the meaning of…’ demanded the wizard and then he saw the smile on the king’s face.

‘Ah yes, a spell to be cast for you, for saving me from the Executioners of Swort-Bu….’

‘Precisely,’ the wicked king said, his smile becoming more sinister.

Promise of the Witch (Any spellcaster)

Level 3

Range: Touch

Duration: One year and one day.

The Promise of the Witch spell is an oath by a spellcaster to another to cast a spell for them at another time, anytime, within a year and a day. Many wizards, priests and druids are reluctant to give themselves over to such magic, which will take them away from wherever they are and instantly teleport them within the presence of the one they made the promise to, without any particular way back. Strage old magic usually only cast by desperate or extremely thankful spellcasters.

‘But, wait, how did that happen? Didn’t I win?’ a stunned Koram asked.

Chalk threw his cards on the table in disgust.

‘It’s his stupid looking hat! Isn’t it obvious?’ the sorcerer said.

Valance sat grinning like an idiot with his new foppish hat on.

‘But I won, how did I suddenly un-win?’

‘That treacherous hat he stole!’ snapped Chalk.

A gift from a minor godling of randomness or chance, the Hat of Happenstance is a lesser magic item that nonetheless can turn the tide of a battle, a physical feat among other things. Prized by the wily, also quite useful to the just.

Benefit: The Hat of Happenstance simply allows its wearer to re-roll any one roll per day with a +2 modifier and another with a +1 modifier. This can be done for anything that requires a roll of the dice.

Usable by: Anyone.

‘Shankles, the Master Thief!’ cried the captain of the guard.

A horn sounded, a commotion of men could be heard running about, the thief was chased into a high tower of the castle where he barricaded himself inside a room.

‘Break the door down, men!’ the captain shouted.

As the door finally splintered and gave way to the efforts of the guardsmen the captain stared, mouth agape, as the wily thief saluted him with one hand and carried a bag of pillaged coins and gems in the other. With a wink the burglar leaped out the window as crossbow bolts flew in his direction. The captain of the guard rushed to the window to see Shankles speeding off on a flying turtle of some kind.

A gift from elemental deities to a young princeling centuries ago that was chasing the kidnappers of his beloved through a variety of planes, the bizarre magic item is the perfect conveyance for those traveling ‘out there’.

Benefit: Appearing as a large sea turtle that can easily sit five Medium sized passengers (or four passengers and a bit of loot), the Elemental Turtle of Travel is a wondrous magic item that can be ordered to float above land, dive deep into the sea, stay steady in the roughest of winds or become a fiery creature to resist anyone trying to board the thing. One person must control this magical elemental steed, although all riding the thing are resistant to the effects of whatever elemental form is chosen and it will remain solid even if made of air, smoke or shadow to those that the ‘pilot’ deems to be passengers. Such protection is not given to non-passengers, who suffer 1d6 points of flame or similar damage per round without sufficient resistance and 5d6 points of crushing damage if the Elemental Turtle of Travel drops on them. Typically this magical conveyance will travel 8-10 feet above a surface, although it can fly as high as 200′ in the air when commanded to, landing at the command of its ‘pilot’. Such a magic item is never for sale and is usually stolen from time to time when it is not loaned out for difficult missions.

Usable by: Anyone.

Valance raised an eyebrow at Nudge.

‘What’s wrong?’ the gnome asked.

‘Nothing, nothing,’ chirped the priest of the Spider God with a wry smile.

The small thief began to panic a little. He ran over to Chalk who started to laugh.

‘What? What?’ demanded the gnome, exasperated.

‘You do realize that you have ears like a rabbit, don’t you?’ the wizard asked Nudge.

The gnome thief slowly lifted his hands and felt his ears and screamed.

‘How?’ he screamed.

‘I am not sure, but I wouldn’t sleep in that weird temple to the prankster god, there is probably some odd magic there,’ replied Chalk.

These bizarre coins are obviously from antiquity, relics and treasures of a bygone age. Their exact origin is unknown, as many speculate that these were either created by mischievous gods or prankster wizards long, long ago. Having one coin upon one’s person is innocent enough, but more than one of these magical coins too close together invites all sorts of mayhem.

Benefit: Singularly these magical coins are harmless enough, causing no ill effects to anyone, however, whenever two or more of these coins are within 25′ of each other the magic begins to take affect. The magic first affects others than the coin holder, for example if the bearer found a similar coin in some manner while already possessing one in the company of others, if nobody else is around the magic will affect the bearer. If two or more people possessing Strange Change come within 25′ of each other then the person affecting is chosen randomly, still favoring those without one of these coins on their person. The magic is subtle, yet relentless, bestowing upon those affected random animal physical traits, like fox’s ears or a dog’s tail, with no saving throw. None of these traits are particularly useful, but will make those affected stand out in a crowd unless they can hide these minor curses. One trait from an animal (the same animal or a different one) will appear each week for as long as the coins are within 25′ of those bearing these traits for at least one hour per day after the initial exposure. Remove Curse will restore those affected to normal.

Usable by: Anyone.

Valance strolled back to camp with a quiet young fighter in tow.

‘Who is this?’ Chalk asked quizzically.

The priest of the Spider God looked over at the fighter and nodded.

‘Lanrik, sir,’ came the answer.

Valance had that look on his face, the look of a scam that went right.

‘Won a scroll and read it off, and Lanrik appeared,’ he is loyal and seems to appreciate spiders.

Chalk looked dubious at this. Something would somehow go wrong.

Also known as the Page of Heroes, a Parchment of Partnership is a scroll that anyone of a certain stage in life can utilize to call forth an assistant that will help them and remain loyal to that person for life. Very valuable, many duels, jousts or other battles are waged over these magic items.

Benefit: When read by someone of 4^th level or higher a Parchment of Partnership this magical scroll summons an NPC of a class chosen by the player of the 1^st level of ability. This NPC is fiercely loyal to the PC and will follow orders without question, being of the same alignment/outlook. This NPC gains experience at half the rate of normal characters (rounded down).

Usable by: Anyone level 4+.

Stork snarled as another arrow whizzed by his head. The sorcerer glared into the gloom, unable to tell exactly where the arrow came from, only a general direction.

‘Spell?’ Vistis the Blue Mage asked.

‘Something that will….’ an arrow to the shoulder cut the wizard short. Stork groaned in pain and dropped to one knee. ‘Let’s just head for cover!’

The two spellcasters ran in a haphazard manner to avoid the next two arrows and seek shelter from the hidden archer.

Created by wily sorcerers to thwart the keen ears of elves, halflings and other demi-humans, Silent Arrows are a boon to archer-assassins and others that do not want their location to be easily determined after loosing an arrow.

Benefit: Unlike normal arrows, Silent Arrows make very little sound when fired, there is no typical ‘twang’ of a bowstring when one of these arrows is loosed from a bow. Humans and dwarfs can only determine the source of a Silent Arrow on a result of ’1′ on a d6 roll, elves, halflings, gnomes and similar creatures can tell which direction a Silent Arrow came from on result of ’1-2′ on d6 roll. These arrows are very valuable obviously and most archers try not to lose Silent Arrows. These arrows typically come in a quiver of 15-20.

Usable by: Anyone who can fire a bow.

‘This isn’t going to work!’ snorted Valance in disgust.

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Koram.

‘I can’t hit anything with that lantern of yours shining on me! This is terrible! It makes me itch!’ replied the priest of the Spider God.

‘Maybe you need to just skulk around in the shadows and strike from there,’ suggested Chalk.

‘Not a bad idea! Or was that sarcasm?’

‘A little bit of both…’

The great city of the Gods of Law used to have one of these magical light sources in nearly every home, then, as a cataclysm hit centuries ago the world was plunged into a darker and more grim time and most of these arcane lanterns have been lost, or even worse, corrupted to the service of evil.

Benefit: When lit this ornate lantern sheds a warm glow in a 25′ radius. All within the glow of a Lawful (or good) nature receive +1 to any Constitution or Charisma rolls while the lantern is lit. Those of a Chaotic (or evil) inclination receive -1 to hit and -1 to damage while in the radius of the light due to its wholesome light. These magic items may be corrupted by priests of Chaos or evil sorcerers by casting a Curse upon the magic item. These lanterns of Chaos look a little warped or melted and shed a strange reddish light. All Chaotic individuals in the radius of these foul lights receive a +1 to Strength and Constitution while in this twisted light and those of a more lawful nature are -1 to hit and damage while in this foul glow. Neutral beings are unaffected.

Usable by: Anyone lawful.

Koram smiled and looked from face to face for approval, he received cocked eyebrows and questioning looks in return.

‘What are those things?’ Chalk asked.

‘You didn’t pay much for them, did you?’ questioned Valance.

‘Just my size!’ exclaimed Nudge the gnome thief.

Koram frowned.

‘ I thought that we were going into the dungeons to the north and these creatures would make excellent pack animals because they can carry so much,’ the fighter explained.

‘What do they eat?’ asked the priest of the Spider God.

‘Anything they can find, I understand that they are superb foragers,’ came the reply.

‘No feeding costs! I am sold!’ Valance said excitedly.

Noftol

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d8+2)

Alignment: Neutral

Movement: 120′ (40′)

Armor Class: 4

Hit Dice: 5

Attacks: 1

Damage: 1d4 (bite or gore)

Morale: 7

Hoard Class: XX

X.P.: 95

The noftol are scavengers of the highest order, scrounging sustenance from just about anything. This makes these creatures incredibly stout and tough over time and while they are small (about the size of a large dog) these creatures have a thick hide and equally thick bones. Looking like a cross between a rhinoceros and a bear, these two horned creatures make excellent underground pack animals, being able to see in the dark up to 60′ and having no fear of the land under the ground. Domesticated, noftol make excellent mounts and beasts of burden, being able to carry up to 350 lbs without a problem.

‘Ouch!’ grumbled Valance as he glared at the hideous creature that had clamped onto his arm with needle-like teeth. ‘Okay, we had better go back and see that the elf is alright!’

‘How did you get into this predicament?’ Koram asked with a huge grin on his face.

‘As if you didn’t know!’ chided Chalk. ‘Gambling with the priests of Law again! And cheating, obviously!’

The priest of the Spider God looked a little more at ease when the group turned back and the strange imp lessened its grip.

Oathkeeping Imp

No. Enc.: 1

Alignment: Lawful

Movement: 90′ (30′)

Fly: 150′ (50′)

Armor Class: 4

Hit Dice: 4

Attacks: 1

Damage: 1d6 (bite) or 1d8 (sting)

Save: F4

Morale: 10

Hoard Class: Nil

X.P.: 125

The result of a strange deal struck between the gods of Law and the infernals that follow laws to the letter (also known as devils), Oathkeeping Imps are vicious creatures that satisfy both sides of the equation: keeping promises and oath and punishing and causing pain upon those who break laws. These small creatures rarely stand above a foot in height and resemble a standard imp, with batlike wings and a stinger on the end of its tail. These creatures may be called upon by clerics or priests or even by magic-users with the appropriate summoning spell on a scroll. This simple summoning calls one of these creatures and an Oathkeeping Imp will obey only one order: making sure a particular subject keep an oath, if the promise is broken this creature will do everything it can to bring misery upon the oathbreaker, including attacking outright, chiding and babbling about the broken promise nonstop and even screaming or yelling at the worst possible of times. The Oathkeeping Imp will remain with its subject for one year and a day or until the oath/promise is upheld.

In combat or when punishing an oathbreaker an Oathkeeping Imp uses either its mouthful of needle-like teeth for a vicious bite or three times per day the creature can deliver a painful sting with its tail that causes damage and injects a poison that causes such pain that the subject has -2 to Strength and Dexterity for 1d4 hours per sting.