The following magical items are intended for barbarians, but at the DM's discretion, other characters may use them, too. These items are extremely rare and should turn up no more often than a typical item listed in the Miscellaneous Magic Tables in Appendix 2 of the DUNGEON MASTER* Guide; if you like, use any of these items as an option when a DM's Choice is rolled.
A DM may forbid a barbarian from using a particular item if the raw materials aren't normally available in the barbarian's homeland, or the barbarian has cultural biases that restrict him from carrying certain objects. For instance, an arctic barbarian who's never seen flint may not be able to use a spirit arrow. A mountain barbarian who comes from a culture where eagles symbolize death might be afraid to carry a spear of the eagle.
Bone Seed[]
Bone Seed (500 XP). A bone seed looks like a human skull the size of a pebble. If buried beneath a foot of earth and left overnight, by morning the bone seed sprouts into a small tree made entirely of bones. The trunk of the tree, 2–4 feet tall and as thick as a man's arm, can be wielded as a club. The branches include 1-4 bones that can be used as daggers, 3d4 slivers that can be made into arrowheads, and an assortment of teeth, claws, and ribs that can be utilized as various tools, ornaments, or units of barter. If a bone seed is planted in a burial ground, there is a 10% chance that it will produce a monkey skull (see below).
Fish Dust[]
Fish Dust (200 XP). A handful of this dust may be sprinkled over any 10-foot-radius area of a lake, river, or ocean. If any fish are below, the dust paralyzes them and causes them to rise to the surface, making them easy to harvest. The dust affects up to 10 HD worth of aquatic creatures that have animal intelligence or less; no single creature can have more than 1 HD. Once the fish surface, the paralysis persists for 4d4 rounds.
Mask of Beastliness[]
Mask of Beastliness. Carved from wood and colored with dyes, the mask of beastliness resembles an animal head with grotesquely exaggerated features. The DM may choose the type or roll 1d10 on Table 43 for a random determination.
A mask of beastliness covers the wearer's entire face, secured by a leather strap around his head. The wearer sees through a pair of eye slits and breathes through holes in the nose. If the wearer presses the mask against his face for five consecutive rounds, it fuses with his flesh. The mask becomes animated, transforming the wearer's head into the head of the animal it represents. The mask lets the wearer make a special attack, as described in Table 43; he may make this special attack in place of any attack he's normally allowed.
A mask of beastliness can be activated for one hour per day. The wearer deactivates the mask by slipping his fingers under the chin area and gently pushing it away from his face, a process taking one round; the mask can't be reactivated until the following day, even if a full hour hasn't yet expired. While using an activated mask of beastliness, the wearer can't speak, eat, or cast spells with verbal components; he continues to breathe normally through his nose.
| D10 Roll |
Animal Head, Damage, and XP |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Raven (bite: 1d6+2 damage; XP 500) |
| 3-4 | Wild stag (horns: 2d6 damage; XP 700) |
| 5-6 | Lion (bite: 4d4 damage; XP 800) |
| 7-8 | Rhinoceros (horn: 3d6 damage; XP 1,000) |
| 9 | Buffalo (horns: 2d10 damage; XP 1,200) |
| 10 | Cobra (bite: 1d3 points of damage; venom results in death 2d4 rounds after a strike unless victim saves vs. poison at -2, in which case he suffers only 10 hp of damage; XP 2,000) |
Monkey Skull[]
Monkey Skull (2,000 XP). This resembles the skull of a small monkey, four inches in diameter, mounted on the end of a stick. If a chunk of fruit, a plump insect, or other food item normally eaten by monkeys is placed in the skull's mouth, the item vanishes and the monkey skull activates; its teeth begin to chatter and bulging eyeballs appear in its eye sockets. It remains activated for an hour. It can be activated once per day.
An active monkey skull has the following properties:
- Anyone other than the person who activated the monkey skull who sees its face must save vs. spells. If the save fails, the victim reacts as if he had been subjected to the 1st-level priest cause fear spell. The victim flees in panic at maximum speed for 1d4 rounds.
- A monkey skull may used as a weapon. It may be thrown (short range 10 yards, medium 20 yards, long 30 yards) or used as a club. If using it as a club, the attacker may strike a victim with the front, back, or side of the skull, depending on how he holds it. If a victim is successfully struck with the back or side of the skull, he suffers 1d4 bludgeoning damage. If struck with the front, the skull attaches itself to the victim, causing 1d4 chewing damage. The skull continues to chew, inflicting an automatic 1d4 damage per round until the victim yanks it off with a successful Strength check. A thrown monkey skull that successfully hits causes 1d2 damage and also attaches to its victim, chewing for 1d4 damage per round until removed.
Potion of Pebble Flesh[]
Potion of Pebble Flesh (1,500 XP). The user rubs his entire body with this greasy potion before he goes to sleep. When he awakens, his skin has become rough and lumpy, as if it were made of pebbles, and colored a dull green. The pebble flesh improves the user's natural Armor Class by +4; a human's AC is boosted from 10 to 6. The effect is cumulative; a human with pebble flesh wearing leather armor has an effective AC of 4. Pebble flesh lasts for 1–4 weeks.
Because of pebble flesh's rough texture and odd appearance, the user also suffers the following penalties:
- His movement rate is reduced by 1⁄3.
- He cannot swim. The extra weight of the pebble flesh pulls him down, as if he were wearing metal armor.
- His Dexterity and Charisma checks are made at a 2 penalty.
- He is vulnerable to store shape and any other spells that affect stone. (Stone to flesh negates pebble flesh, causing the skin to revert to its normal form.)
Pouch of Protection[]
Pouch of Protection. This is a pouch the size of a man's fist, made from the hide of a particular animal. The DM may choose the animal from Table 44 or roll 1d4 for a random determination. (The DM may use other animals if he likes, providing they have hides similar to the animals in Table 44.)
The pouch of protection contains products of the animal from which the hide was obtained, such as teeth, claws, powdered bones, and dried meat. The pouch is sealed with the products inside. The owner ties the pouch to his clothing, hangs it from his neck, or attaches it to his shield
Every pouch of protection has its own hit point total. When a pouch is acquired, the DM determines its hit point total by rolling the indicated dice on Table 44. For instance, if a character has a shark pouch, the DM rolls 8d8. This total should be noted on a scrap of paper.
A pouch of protection absorbs damage normally suffered by the owner. If the owner is a victim of a successful attack, the owner has the option of suffering the indicated amount of damage or saving vs. spells. If the saving throw fails, he suffers the indicated damage from the attack. If the saving throw succeeds, he suffers no damage; the damage is subtracted from the pouch of protection's hit point total.(Example: An enemy makes a successful spear attack against Grog, calling for 5 points of damage. Grog makes a saving throw vs. spells. Grog's pouch of protection, made of shark hide, currently has a hit point total of 34. The pouch absorbs the damage, reducing its total to 29. Grog is unharmed.)
A pouch can't lose more hit points than its current total. In the previous example, if Grog's pouch had a current total of 3, the pouch would absorb 3 points and Grog would suffer the remaining 2 points.
All losses suffered by the pouch are permanent; it doesn't "heal," nor can it be repaired. When a pouch is reduced to 0 hit points, it crumbles to dust.
A pouch of protection is effective against all forms of magical and nonmagical attacks. However, it provides no protection against disease, poison, or any other attack form that inflicts cumulative damage over time.
| D4 Roll | Hide Type | HP Value | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Boar | 4d8 | 300 | |
| 2 Crocodile | 7d8 | 500 | |
| 3 Shark | 8d8 | 600 | |
| 4 Elephant | 11d8 | 1,000 |
Spear of the Eagle[]
Spear of the Eagle (50 XP per feather). This resembles a normal wooden spear, with 4d6 eagle feathers (the exact number is determined at the time of acquisition) attached near the blunt end. When thrown, the spear of the eagle sprouts a small pair of wings in mid-flight, allowing it to unerringly strike its target, much like a magic missile. As with a magic missile, the target must be seen or otherwise detectable to be hit. Unlike a magic missile, a spear of the eagle can be directed to strike inanimate objects. The target suffers 1d8 damage. The spear of the eagle has the same range as a normal spear.
After each strike, the spear of the eagle loses one of its feathers. When all of its feathers are lost, the spear loses its magical properties; it still functions as a normal spear. Feathers may not be reattached.
A spear of the eagle only gains its magical properties when thrown. If used as a thrusting weapon, it functions as a normal spear. Successful thrusts won't cause it to lose feathers.
Spirit Arrow[]
Spirit Arrow (500 XP). The spirit arrow consists of an arrowhead of white flint attached to a wooden shaft. It may be fired from any bow, and if the attack is successful the victim suffers 1d6 points of damage.
Spirit arrows ignore various protection spells that seek to protect the target of the attack, such as stoneskin, fire shield, and others. In addition, Armor Class gained by magical means (armor, bracers of defense, rings of protection, cloaks of protection, etc.) are also totally negated. Only the actual armor class of the target is used for determining attack rolls; a wizard wearing bracers of defense AC 2 and a ring of protection +3 is considered AC 10 for purposes of striking.
Regardless of whether the spirit arrow strikes its intended target, the arrow is destroyed. Spirit arrows have no bonuses to hit save for any granted by the wielder from high dexterity, magical items, or other abilities.
War Paint[]
War Paint. This magical paint increases the wearer's natural Armor Class. The amount of increase depends on the color of the paint, as shown in Table 45; a human with a natural AC of 10 has an effective AC of 1 when wearing gold paint. The DM may choose a particular color, or roll 1d12 on Table 45 for a random selection.
At least half of the user's skin must be bare to use war paint; in general, this means that his arms, legs, and head must be fully exposed. The paint must be applied to approximately 75% of the exposed skin. Additionally:
- If the user covers more than half of his exposed skin with a blanket, cape, or other garment, he loses the benefit of the war paint.
- The user receives no additional benefits from wearing armor. For instance, a character may wear leather armor along with his war paint, but he only receives a bonus from one or the other (whichever is greater). If the armor covers more than half of his body, he can not benefit from the war paint. A war paint user may carry a shield, however, which boosts his AC by the standard +1 (a human wearing yellow war paint and carrying a shield has an effective AC of 5).
- If available, two colors may be combined;the effective AC is determined by adding the bonuses shown on Table 48. For example, a character wearing white and red paint receives an AC boost of +8. In no case, however, can war paint can produce an AC better than 0.
War paint lasts for 1d4 weeks. If the wearer or other character with the artistic ability proficiency (with a specialty in painting) applies the war paint and makes a successful proficiency check, the effects last for 2d4 weeks. War paint is unaffected by rain, extreme temperatures, or the normal wear and tear of the road. Dispel magic and similar spells, however, can render it useless.
| D12 Roll |
Color | AC Boost | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | White | +3 | 1,500 |
| 4—6 | Yellow | +4 | 2,000 |
| 7-9 | Red | +5 | 3,000 |
| 10-11 | Green | +6 | 4,000 |
| 12 | Gold | +9 | 7,000 |
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