Sunday, March 29, 2020

Three Wondrous Items Inspired By Food

One exercise I've started engaging in to build my creative muscles is to pick out either random phrases from the books I read, or the brand names of various things that I see, and try to come up with ways to turn those into magic items or other content for an RPG.

Somehow most of the stuff I come up with ends up being inspired by food.  Here are three of my favorites.

Physician's Spice Mix

Inspired by: Doctor Pepper

This pepper causes any dish cooked with it to take on the properties of a healing potion, with the effects depending on how well the chef cooked the food– the tastier, the more effective.

A bag of spice mix contains enough for d4+1 servings.  Cooking a really good meal takes a half hour.  The chef makes a cooking skill roll; whoever eats the meal heals d8 + half the total number rolled.  On a critical success the meal can also heal a disease or regenerate minor permanent injuries, such as scars or a bad knee (not regrow an eye or anything that big).  The meal must be eaten shortly after cooking or it loses potency.

Bell of Feasting

Inspired by: Taco Bell

This appears as a small, fancy silver dinner bell that never tarnishes despite seemingly being made of normal silver.  When rung, a sumptuous meal materializes; enough to serve however many people are nearby, but no more than ten.  The plates, silverware, and any uneaten food disappear after an hour.  The bell can be used once a day.   

Anyone near the bell when it is rung gets a pleasant feeling of anticipation, and their mouth starts watering.  This effect carries for a mile in every direction, and every creature affected by it just knows that there's food around where the bell was rung.  Every time the bell is rung, the referee should secretly roll for a random encounter, ignoring any result that indicates a creature that doesn't eat normal food.  If creatures that do eat normal food are rolled, they show up, hungry.  

Evolve Nano-Shake, or Potion of Adaptation

Inspired by: Evolve Protein Shake

I originally conceived of this as an ancient piece of medical nanotechnology, but it could easily be re-flavored as a potion.  

After consuming the nano-shake, nothing happens at first.  It lies dormant in the body for 24 hours.  This is the analysis period. 

After the analysis period is up, the imbiber suffers from a fever and flu-like symptoms for another 24 hours– the adaptation period– after which the symptoms subside and the nanoshake's work is done.  The imbiber feels great– but they'll never be quite the same.  

During the adaptation period, the person who consumed the shake adapts to become more resilient to the strongest stressor they experienced during the analysis period.  They also suffer some corresponding defect, though usually the benefit outweighs the drawback.  The referee will have to decide exactly what happens to them.  A few examples:

If they were burned during the adaptation period, they gain resistance to heat and fire but cold vulnerability.

If they were stabbed, they gain resistance to edged weapons but their skin becomes leathery, deadening their sense of touch and making them look visibly changed.  

If they spent all day reading and researching, they gain a superhuman memory but become somewhat more prone to fatigue from physical activity.  

If they spent all day just resting, they can sleep more efficiently.  Four hours of sleep is as good as eight; six is enough even if sick or wounded.  However if well-rested and not sick, wounded or fatigued, the subject becomes hyperactive.  

If you choose to make this a high-tech rather than magical item, it comes in a futuristic smart-plastic bottle with a badly faded label.  About half the words are still legible.  

Evolve Nano-Shake: _____ A New You!

Do you want to become _____ than a raging ______?  _______ the _____ of your enemies?  Never ______ suffer from ______ again?  Now you can!

Warning: Do not ______ if you are pregnant or nursing, ______,  ______, or suffer from ______, kidney failure, ________, ________, have a history of heart disease, or _______.  Side effects may include flushing, temporary nausea, sleep disruption, or _________  __________   ___________  _________  _____________  _________  __________ _______.

Disclaimer: By reading this label, you absolve Evolve, LLC of all ___________, _________ and agree to ________ your right to ____________ ___________.  

Enjoy the new you!  











2 comments:

  1. right ok but what DOES happen if you take the nano-shake when you're pregnant? the fuck happens to the baby???

    ReplyDelete