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Mephibosheth
2013-05-03, 08:46 AM
I was re-reading The Lord of the Rings recently. For unrelated reasons, I was also looking for ideas of fun and interesting stuff to homebrew. The passages in the novel that talk about food particularly caught my eye. The subtlety and power of things like miruvor and orc draughts are intriguing. I enjoy the idea of consumable items of great value and rarity that aren't necessarily magical; so many of D&D's consumable items are either cheap and fleeting or magical. The food and drink of The Lord of the Rings are more subtle.

This then got me thinking about the other interesting non-weapon items that appear in The Lord of the Rings. So I decided to write up a few. And then I figured that others might like to get in on the fun, hence this thread. I did some searching and didn't come up with anything item-related, though I know that there have been multiple threads discussing LotR creatures, weapons, and characters. If my Google fu failed, I'll gladly remove the thread. I'll probably be adding new items periodically, but I'd also love to see other people's interpretations of Middle Earth items, be they magical or mundane. Or a little bit of both.

I know that the Middle Earth is not a D&D world. Nor are these items intended to be Middle Earth items per se. I don't want to start yet another argument about the RPG rules set governing Middle Earth or what class/creature combination is most appropriate for Gandalf. They are rather D&D interpretations of the effects described in the books, altered to (hopefully) fit the power scale of 3.5 while maintaining their original flavor. I know that they're not the most earth-shatteringly powerful items in the 3.5 corpus, but hopefully they'll be interesting nonetheless.

I'd love to hear what you think and to see other D&D/PF interpretations of the items of Middle Earth.

Mephibosheth
2013-05-03, 08:47 AM
A Tolkien Inventory

Lembas – The Waybread of the Elves

“The taste brought back to them the memory of fair faces, and laughter, and wholesome food in quiet days now far away.”

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Made by the elves for long journeys, lembas is a type of sustaining bread that can be stored and kept fresh for many days. Cakes of lembas are thin, light brown on the outside, and cream-colored on the inside. They taste delicious and wholesome.

One cake of lembas is sufficient food to sustain a medium-sized or smaller creature for one day, even a day of marching or other strenuous activity. Additionally, consuming a cake of lembas grants a creature a +1 moral bonus on saves against fear effects, despair effects (like those imposed by the Crushing Despair spell), fatigue, and exhaustion for one hour.

While a price per cake has been given below, lembas is seldom available for purchase. Tradition dictates that stores of lembas can only be given by the queen of an elven kingdom. Elven queens are seldom careless or hasty in distributing lembas.

Cost: 50 gp per cake
Skill DC: Craft (baking) or Profession (cook) or similar, DC 20

Miruvor – The Cordial of Imladris


“As soon as Frodo had swallowed a little of the warm and fragrant liquor, he felt a new strength of heart, and the heavy drowsiness left his limbs. The others also revived and found fresh hope and vigour.”

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Miruvor is a potent spirit distilled by the elves of Imladris and used in hours of great need to bring hope to the hopeless and strength to the weary. Though it is clear as spring water and mostly tasteless, it warms the body and gives off a pleasant, clean fragrance.

One swallow of miruvor automatically cures the following conditions, regardless of their source: cowering, exhausted, fatigued, frightened, panicked, and shaken. It also grants the drinker a +4 moral bonus on saves against fear effects, despair effects (like those imposed by the Crushing Despair spell), fatigue, and exhaustion for one hour.

One flask of miruvor contains enough liquor for 30 swallows. A found flask of miruvor contains enough for 3d10 swallows.

Cost: 8000 gp per flask
Skill DC: Craft (brewing) or Profession (brewer) or similar, DC 35

Orc-Draught


“Ugluk thrust a flask between his teeth and poured some burning liquid down his throat: he felt a hot fierce glow flow through him. The pain in his legs and ankles vanished. He could stand.”

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
While not pleasant to consume, the liquor of the orcs can eliminate fatigue and pain. It feels hot when drunk; a feeling which lingers for a time after the liquor has been consumed.

One swallow of orc-draught suppresses any of the following effects and conditions, regardless of their source: exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, and sickened. It also suppresses pain effects (such as those caused by the Symbol of Pain spell). It does not, however, cure these effects. Instead, it grants the drinker a reprieve from their effects for one hour. Once this duration expires, the effect returns and the drinker suffers the remainder of the effect’s normal duration. For example, a creature affected by the Symbol of Pain spell can take a swallow of orc-draught to ward off the pain effect. If he drinks orc-draught five minutes after being effected by the symbol, he is free of pain for one hour, after which he still experiences the remaining 55 minutes of the pain effect’s duration. Orc-draught does not have any other effects, nor can a creature use orc-draught in place of water or any other normal beverage.

One flask of orc-draught contains enough liquor for 30 swallows. A found flask of orc-draught contains enough for 3d10 swallows.

Cost: 4000 gp per flask.
Skill DC: Craft (brewing) or Profession (brewer) or similar, DC 25

Ent Draught (Minor Artifact)


“The drink was like water, indeed very like the taste of the draughts they had drunk from the Entwash near the borders of the forest, and yet there was some scent or savour in it which they could not describe: it was faint, but it reminded them of the smell of a distant wood born from afar by a cool breeze at night. The effect of the draught began at the toes, and rose steadily through every limb, bringing refreshment and vigour as it coursed upwards, right to the tips of the hair. Indeed the hobbits felt that the hair on their heads was actually standing up, waving and curling and growing.”

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Ent draught is brewed by the ents from the springs on Methedras, the source of the Entwash. It tastes like fresh river water, with certain subtle differences in flavor and effect. It brings vitality, growth and healing to whomever drinks it.

Ent draught will sustain a creature, even in the absence of food, provided she consumes enough to stave off the effects of dehydration. Additionally, a bowl of ent-draught acts as a Cure Minor Wounds spell. Finally, it completely removes fatigue and exhaustion, regardless of the source.

The Phial of Galadriel (Major Artifact)


`And you, Ring-bearer,' she said, turning to Frodo. `I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts. For you I have prepared this.' She held up a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand. 'In this phial,' she said, `is caught the light of Eärendil's star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. Remember Galadriel and her Mirror! '

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Slowly his hand went to his bosom, and slowly he held aloft the Phial of Galadriel. For a moment it glimmered, faint as a rising star struggling in heavy earthward mists, and then as its power waxed, and hope grew in Frodo's mind, it began to burn, and kindled to a silver flame, a minute heart of dazzling light, as though Eärendil had himself come down from the high sunset paths with the last Silmaril upon his brow.
The darkness receded from it until it seemed to shine in the centre of a globe of airy crystal, and the hand that held it sparkled with white fire.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

As if his indomitable spirit had set its potency in motion, the glass blazed suddenly like a white torch in his hand. It flamed like a star that leaping from the firmament sears the dark air with intolerable light. No such terror out of heaven had ever burned in Shelob's face before. The beams of it entered into her wounded head and scored it with unbearable pain, and the dreadful infection of light spread from eye to eye. She fell back beating the air with her forelegs, her sight blasted by inner lightnings, her mind in agony.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Phial of Galadriel is a small glass vial, intricately carved from finest crystal. It is filled with clear water taken from Galadriel’s mirror and mingled with the light from the Evening Star, where a silmaril shines, bound to the brow of Eärendel as he sails his flying ship across the circles of the world. It is warm to the touch, bringing light in dark places, lifting the spirits of good people, and driving away evil things.

When held by a good-aligned creature, the Phial of Galadriel clearly illuminates a 10-foot radius and provides shadowy illumination out to a 20-foot radius. This light is not canceled out by any type of darkness, even that created by a Deeper Darkness spell. All good-aligned creatures within the radius of its bright illumination gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, ability checks and saving throws.

All evil-aligned creatures must succeed on a DC 30 Will save to enter the Phial’s area of bright illumination or in any way harm any creature within this radius. Creatures within the radius when the Phial is drawn can remain within it if they pass their Will save, but must move beyond the radius as soon as possible if they fail. Evil creatures that do manage to enter the radius take a -2 morale penalty to attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, ability checks and saving throws. If any evil creature is damaged while within the light’s radius, it takes ongoing damage as if the weapon that harmed it had the wounding property.

Finally, twice per day the Phial of Galadriel can automatically suppress any ongoing magical effect within 30 feet generated by an evil-aligned creature or object. Activating this ability is a standard action but requires only that the Phial be brandished at the effect or its source.

The Phial of Galadriel is almost infallible, but can be overwhelmed by a powerful evil force. It will not function in any way while within 30 feet of an evil-aligned spellcaster with a caster level greater than 30 or within the boundaries of a land controlled by such a caster.

inuyasha
2013-05-03, 09:22 AM
I like these, I must ask though, why does ent draught only create a cure minor wounds? thats a cantrip :p

Mephibosheth
2013-05-03, 09:27 AM
I didn't want the healing effect of the draught to be the main focus. It only really serves to stop bleeding and end certain ongoing damage effects. It's not supposed to be a cure potion. I could see bumping it up to a more powerful cure spell if need be, but I don't think that should be the focus. I might also revise it to add a growth effect after prolonged exposure. Maybe powerful build or something of that nature. Just an idea I'm mulling over.