Treasures of the Fey Market

If you’ve been following my series on the fey, you already know that I love goblin markets and their curios. In this article, I’m offering a combination of new magic items and reskinned magic items from the DMG, tweaked to suit a fey merchant or a Ye Olde Curiositie Shoppe. I make no secret of my love for curiosity shops in games, such as Arkham Horror. In the Dust to Dust LARP, there’s an in-game location called Daynor’s Curiosity Shop that is intermittently open, and (other than the translation to tabletop use), any of these items might be found there, if you’re lucky.

Fey Chivalry | Fey Huntsmen and Leashed Terrors | Faerie Tales: Naiads, Pixies, and Sprites for 5e | A Visit to the Shadowfell – Shadar-Kai & More | In a Goblin Market | Fey of the Elder Starlight | Fey Enchanters and Their Lairs | Treasures of a Fey Market

To use the table below, when the PCs come to a particular shop or market stall, roll 1d20 and use that result. Roll a second d20 and use the sum of the results so far. Repeat three more times. In this way you are randomly generating five magic items of increasing rarity. Pick one item of the five that the merchant values more highly than its worth, and one item of the five that the merchant values less than its worth. If PCs go to another market stall on the same evening, items are not duplicated, so adjust to another item up or down, or decide that this stall simply has fewer items of great interest. On average, of course, 5d20 comes out to a mere 52.5, so if the players spend time looking for the best stall in the whole market or the shop with the rarest of all treasures, roll a few more d20s to generate higher-end items, and disregard the lower-end items.

If you need just one item, perhaps as a treasure hoard generator for a fey enchanter, just roll d100.

New Magic Item Descriptions

Cerulean Candle

Wondrous item, uncommon
This foot-long blue wax candle is engraved with flowing letters, and decorative golden emblems are set into its length at intervals. Creatures sleeping within 30 feet of its light experience unfamiliar but joyous dreams, clearly from someone else’s life. If they sleep long enough to complete a long rest, they have Inspiration when they wake. This use expends the candle. If they already have Inspiration, there is no further effect. (An identify spell reveals that the cerulean candle is giving the user a little of what its maker took from someone else.)

Warding-stone of the Black Crypt

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This flat, round stone is dark gray with reddish flecks, and about six inches across. While you carry it on your person, you gain a +1 bonus to your Armor Class and saving throws.

While holding it in one hand, you may spend a bonus action to invoke its power. For the next minute, all animate dead spells cast within a 60-foot radius automatically fail. Once during this duration, you can force all undead within 15 feet of you to succeed a Wisdom saving throw (DC 14) or be turned until the end of your next turn. This ends the ban against animate dead spells. After the warding-stone has been invoked, its power recharges at dawn.

Ashila’s Mask of Hammered Gold

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This mask is made of finely hammered gold, and covers a wearer’s face from the chin to the top of the forehead. The mask’s expression shifts between three different states: solemn, fierce, and mournful. At the end of any long rest, you may choose the mask’s current state.

• While the mask is fierce, gain advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks, and add 1d6 to any psychic damage you deal with an attack or spell. The mask becomes solemn if an ally within 30 feet fails a death saving throw.
• While the mask is solemn, gain resistance to psychic damage, and gain advantage on saving throws against the frightened condition. The mask becomes mournful if an ally within 30 feet dies. At any time, you may suffer 1d10 psychic damage to shift the mask to mournful. This damage ignores resistance and immunity to psychic damage.
• While the mask is mournful, you and all allies within 30 feet gain advantage on death saving throws. The mask becomes fierce if you or an ally within 30 feet regains hit points while at 0 hit points.

Mask of Horn and Scale

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

The face of this mask is made from rune-etched black scales, with large, backward-curling horns. While wearing this mask, you are immune to the frightened condition whenever one of your allies within 30 feet is frightened.

As a bonus action, you may force one creature within 30 feet to succeed a Charisma saving throw against DC 13, or become frightened for 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, an affected creature may roll a new saving throw. On a success, the creature is no longer frightened. Each failed saving throw after the first causes the creature to suffer 1d6 poison damage. Once used, this power recharges at midnight.

Pseudodragon Skeleton

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This delicate skeleton of a pseudodragon is typically stored in a satchel or, rarely, in a birdcage. Carrying the pseudodragon skeleton (including stowing it in a pack) grants a +1 bonus to all saving throws. As an action, you can crush the bones, which turn to powder and blow away. One dragon that you can see gains vulnerability to one damage type to which it is not already immune. This vulnerability lasts for 24 hours. Once the bones are used in this way, the item no longer grants its bonus to saving throws.

Cloak of Anla the Herald

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

When you are wearing this cloak and roll initiative, you may cast sanctuary on yourself immediately. The cloak has three charges, and all charges are renewed at dawn. While under the effects of any sanctuary spell, your speed increases by 10 feet and you gain resistance against damaging effects that force a Dexterity saving throw. The cloak is particolored and decorated according to the heraldry of the wearer’s liege lord. If the wearer has no liege lord, the cloak is plain black.

Phial of Elder Starlight

Potion/Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

While you have this phial attuned and stoppered, it grants a +2 bonus to all saving throws and sheds pale blue light. This provides bright light to a radius of 30 feet and dim light 30 feet beyond that. Up to ten creatures may simultaneously attune to the phial, but it does not grant a saving throw bonus if more than one creature is attuned to it. When you open the stopper as a reaction, the elder starlight pours forth and fills a 60-foot radius centered on the phial. When a creature that is not attuned to the phial starts its turn in the area of elder starlight, it must succeed a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or suffer 3d10 radiant damage. On a successful saving throw, the creature takes half damage. This area fades after one minute.

Phoenix-feather Necklace

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

This leather cord has four reddish-orange feathers hanging from it. The coloration of the feathers seems to shift before the eye, as if looking at a candle-flame. While wearing this necklace, you gain advantage on death saving throws, and when you die, you are the target of a revivify spell. The following round, you regain 2d8+5 hit points and receive a fire shield spell (warm version only). Once used, the phoenix-feather necklace recharges in one week.

Ivory Helm

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

While wearing this barbuta helm, which appears to be carved from two pieces of ivory, you gain immunity to the damage from dream. As long as the helm is exposed to sunlight for an hour each day, your Armor Class is 14 + Dex modifier while you wear the helm. You suffer disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks if you are not invisible or in total darkness, however, as the helm reflects light so greatly that it almost seems to intensify it.

Ivy Hauberk

Armor (chain shirt, scale mail, or chainmail), very rare (requires attunement)

You gain a +1 bonus to AC while wearing this armor, which has tiny steel ivy leaves, lacquered green, woven among the mail. While in forest or swamp terrain, you may cast tree stride. Once used, this power recharges at dawn.

While you are prone and your current hit points are less than half your maximum hit points, you may spend your action to reduce your speed to 0 until the beginning of your next turn and regain 1d8+5 hit points. If you are at 0 hit points, the armor activates this power automatically. Once used three times, this power recharges at dawn.

Invitation to the Yew-Lord’s Banquet

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

As long as this invitation, written on parchment in red ink and richly illuminated, is carried on your person, your maximum hit points increase by 5. As a bonus action or reaction to an enemy, you may accept the invitation (even though the Banquet is long past). You are whisked away to a safe place you have visited before, as a teleport spell that effects only you, or to a predetermined location in the Feywild. This destroys the invitation.

Shawl of Elder Starlight

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

This shawl is a deep blue color, like the sky at twilight. It occasionally sparkles with starlight, particularly when an attuned wearer calls upon its power. It is woven from strands of elder starlight, which only the fey know how to spin. You gain advantage on all saving throws against effects created by a fey creature, and you gain advantage on all Charisma checks when interacting with the fey.

When you take any amount of radiant damage from an enemy creature’s spell or attack, the shawl glows with power and grants you immunity to necrotic damage until the end of your next turn.

Between dusk and dawn, you can withdraw from reality entirely for a short time. As a reaction, you decide how long you want to be outside of existence, as little as until the start of your next turn or as long as one day. You return to existence at the end of that time, in exactly the state you were in when you left. Once used, this power recharges at dusk.

Orichalcum Lily

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

While you carry this lily, fashioned from a metal that looks like red copper (and is in fact orichalcum), you gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls with cantrips, and the saving throw DC of cantrips you cast increases by 2. As a reaction when you fail a saving throw, you may choose to succeed the saving throw instead, as per Legendary Resistance. Doing so destroys the orichalcum lily.

Loqui, the Songbird

Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

This mechanical songbird is made of gold and copper, with inset jewels that gleam with potency. At the end of any long rest, you can instruct Loqui to sing one of three different songs: a joyful tune, a marching song, or a dirge. You may instruct Loqui to begin singing or fall silent as a bonus action. Loqui may begin singing or fall silent any number of times in a day.

• When Loqui sings a joyful tune, add 1d6 to the result of any saving throw you roll except for death saving throws. If you critically hit an enemy, Loqui begins to sing a marching song.
• When Loqui sings a marching song, add 15 feet to your speed, or increase your overland marching speed by 50%. If you suffer a critical hit, Loqui begins to sing a dirge.
• When Loqui sings a dirge, you and any allies within 30 feet gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage while your current hit points are less than half of your maximum hit points. If you receive a healing effect that restores enough hit points that your current hit points equal your maximum hit points, Loqui begins to sing a joyful song.

Long Teeth

Wondrous item, uncommon

These half-rotted teeth are as long as a thumb, but decidedly identify as human. It may be best not to think about that. As an action, plant one in dirt to conjure a skeleton for up to 1 hour. If you conjure more than one skeleton at the same time in this way, each skeleton after the first lasts half as long as the one you conjured before it.

Long teeth may also be fitted onto arrows or crossbow bolts. Such ammunition counts as magical piercing damage. On a hit, the creature must succeed a Constitution saving throw against DC 12 or contract flesh rot.

Design Notes

I’ve consciously made changes to many of the magic items from the DMG that make them unrecognizable, and perhaps even call into question how to use them. Making them unrecognizable to players is the goal; I trust that player and DM ingenuity can sort out the details once a treasure has been bought and paid for.

I’m trying a whole lot of different things in the fifteen new magic items, including playing with the tension between passive and active benefits. It’s really hard to use a consumable item that you might need later, even harder if hanging onto it grants a passive bonus – so how impressive does the active use have to be?

I’m also experimenting with things like Legendary Resistance (that PCs wouldn’t usually have any way to gain), lesser forms of immunity (I hate player-accessible immunities, so I’m trying to design ones I don’t hate), and magic items that change state according to things that happen in the environment. Keeping track of an item’s current state is a bit more overhead than many magic items, but it’s nothing compared to the apparatus of Kwalish or the rod of lordly might, so I made sure those items required attunement and went for it.

Finally – judging rarity (that is, overall power level) on magic items is unbelievably difficult to any level of accuracy. I gave it my best guess and called it a day.