10,000 Magical Pipe Tomahawks

The raven's beak.  The kusarigama.  The atlatl.  The three-section staff.  History is full of incredibly cool weapons.

But what if I told you that the coolest weapon of all time was invented right here in America?  Simply put, the pipe tomahawk is the only weapon in history that you can also smoke out of.  

Tobacco goes in that bowl opposite the head.  Your mouth goes over a little hole at the bottom of the haft.

Tomahawks were developed by the Algonquians, and served both as weapons and general-purpose tools.  They were originally made of wood (most commonly hickory) and stone.  Europeans adopted the design and started making them out of iron and steel, with heads often modeled after naval boarding axes.

Eventually, European and American artisans developed the pipe tomahawk, which featured a hollowed-out haft and a poll (the counterweight opposite the head) which was hollowed out to act as a pipe bowl.  These were traded with Native Americans or given as diplomatic gifts.

Because the tobacco pipe was often a symbol of peace and diplomacy among Native Americans, pipe tomahawks represented the duality of war and peace, and were symbolic of the choice faced by people who encountered strangers of a foreign culture.  Whether they succeeded in promoting racial harmony is...questionable, let's say.

Interestingly, this same symbolism became a common motif in American culture, and can be seen in the Seal of the President of the United States, which features an eagle holding both an olive branch and a bundle of arrows.

The eagle is facing the olive branch, symbolizing the allegedly peace-loving nature of the American presidency.

Native Americans did eventually start producing pipe tomahawks themselves, of course.  However as far as I've been able to find out, it seems like they only started doing so after the days of the Wild West were over, meaning native-produced pipe tomahawks probably never saw combat usage.

As a weapon with peaceful symbolism and dual uses, pipe tomahawks present interesting potential as magical items.

Each tomahawk produced by the following generator has the base stats of a normal hand axe (d6 in most systems), and can be thrown.  Each one has two magical effects– one "weapon" enchantment, and one "pipe" enchantment.

Each pipe enchantment requires the user to smoke a psychoactive compound out of the tomahawk– tobacco will do, but cloves won't.  The user experiences all the normal effects of the drug in addition to the effects of the enchantment.  The effects of the "pipe" enchantment last as long as listed, or as long as the drug lasts– whichever is shorter.  If a duration isn't listed, it's as long as the drug lasts. 

All of the names in this generator, both of individuals and tribes/clans/organizations, are made up.

This generator was made using this translator by Meandering Banter.  Further instructions on using it can be found on this page.  

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!