Featured Item
Today’s featured item is a mirror, that, when peered into, reveals the wearer’s deepest desire! Imagine no more what your beloved desires! Simply place the mirror in her hands, and you never need wonder again! Or show the mirror to your mother-in-law, and finally learn the manner of death she yearns upon you!*
* The Dead Sea Trading Company, Inc., is not responsible for family feuds or fatal conflicts which may occur in the vicinity of in-laws of varying descript.
Stats
The item is just what it sounds like: a hand mirror that, when held and gazed into, shows a person’s deepest desire. It’s intended to be a good role-playing tool: what the mirror shows should change if the character’s goals and motivations do, and it’s also possible for someone else to see (discretely or by invitation) what the mirror is showing to a person. The mirror also has a bit of a mind of its own – while self-deceiving characters will generally see what they want to see, every so often the mirror will flash them a gleam of the truth, which they may find quite distasteful.
Modifying the Mirror
A good dungeon master will understand that the mirror can be used to show other things than a person’s deepest desire; perhaps it shows a greatest fear, or a defining moment, or the fate of the heroes’ loved ones if they should fail. Have it show what you want to emphasize in the story you’re creating with your players.
A Story From the Frontier
Today’s story comes from the salt mines north of the city: it’s said that slaves there have begun to sing a haunting dirge which summons forth the dead; overseers have fled in terror before being sent back to their posts with a chastising for cowardice, and though many claim to have seen the walking departed, no confirmation has been obtained by our reporter. It is said they only emerge at dusk, right as the mine begins to close, and show themselves only to those who have been unusually cruel by means of warning. A visit from the dead is said to herald bad omen in one’s life, and the coming of fate upon a life. The management at the mine sees fit to allow the singing to continue, as it could not possibly do any harm.
In Other News
- The wolves of the eastern forest have been particularly active of late.
- A fire elemental has been seen near the tower of a reclusive wizard known for strange experiments.
- The mayor has recovered from his illness; we are much relieved.
Tuesday Titles
We are pleased to offer a selection of new books in each week from our distributor, the marvelous Mrs. Macready, who obtains them from all over and beyond the continent in exchange for all manner of fine goods.
| 1d12 | Book Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cooking with Newt’s Eye: A Practicum |
| 2 | On the Alchemical Properties of Sodium and other Explosive Metals |
| 3 | Lorwyn and Paris (Translated by M. Nimed) |
| 4 | The Journal of Abrius Cage, Necromancer * |
| 5 | Cosmic Origins, or, the Phenomena of Supernovae |
| 6 | Horse and Donkey Feed: Growth, Storage, and Quality Measures |
| 7 | The Collected Works of Hephesius Loverman, Mad Poet |
| 8 | The Collingwood Dictionary ** |
| 9 | Fantastic Rocks and Where to Find Them |
| 10 | The Compendium of Natural Phenomena (Geysers, Whirlpools, and Such) 349 2.a. – 1209 3.a |
| 11 | The Adventures of Dan Coyote, Knight of the Western Frontier |
| 12 | Bows and Ammo, 6th Edition |
* The final entry is a spell which claims to summon his ghost (and does so, for 300GP of material components).
** The center is cut out and contains two bottles of mysterious pills, a pocket watch, and an hourglass.
Featured Tale: Lorwyn And Paris
The tale of Lorwyn and Paris is a sad but beautiful one: she was an elven maiden and he a mortal man, and it is said they fell in love against the wishes of her father. The harsh action he took of imprisoning her bears witness, but it is said Paris would visit her every night until he grew old and could no longer climb her tower. He then had a wizard transform him into a dandelion and scatter him upon the forest, so that he might be with her whenever she wandered through the hills and streams. The story ends with tell that Lorwyn used her magic to turn a dandelion seed into a child, who she bore him and who he never saw, and that she then fled to the cities of man to raise the babe, who became the first half-elf.
The Dictionary of Time
The pills inside the dictionary could be many things, but one idea is to make them blink the user forward or backward in time an hour. The white pills take the user one hour backward, the blue pills bring them an hour into the future. Alternately, the pills could take them in and out of the astral plane or between the current timeline and a parallel one.
Silver Soul Gaming 