DMing Chemistry

 All cultures in the world have legends about a strange being approaching rulers and offering their services. They wear a long purple cloak, and their face is always shrouded in a strange shadow. They call themselves the Royal Advisor Tecarys. They ask only for  a token payment for their services, but they always have a few stipulations. First, nobody is to see what they look like under their cloak. Second, nobody is to enter their room uninvited, no matter what. Third, they require a black goat on every winter solstice to do with as they please. If a ruler agrees to these stipulations, Tecarys will serve them for an undisclosed length of time. The shortest they agreed to remain was three years, and the longest just over a century. However if any of their stipulations are violated, they leave on the spot. According to all available records those rulers that listened to their counsel and stuck to the agreement all left a flourishing and powerful state to their successors, but t...

  Made from a strange type of fabric that's soft yet strong, the Mantle of the Stars is practically humming with magical power. It is a heavy black cloak, lined with melinkar  fur. On its back small magical lights, which may look like especially brilliant gems from afar depict the constellations of the night sky. Whoever puts on the Mantle will be able to see the starts, even in broad daylight. They will also be able to perceive their slow movement across the sky, and even be able to accurately estimate when certain celestial events will be happening. Additionally they will gain the ability to fly, and move items up to the size of a large cow with their minds. Currently the Mantle is in the possession of Nefter-Atla, High Priest of Khepsu , who uses it to predict the annual flood with amazing precision, which has earned him the ear of the Reptilian Pharaoh.

 Made from the bleached skull of some unknown monster, this helmet is enchanted to strike fear into the hearts of enemies. This effect has a deceptively large radius, and can easily turn the tide of battles of the wearer is deployed tactically. For this reason it is highly sought after by both warriors and generals. The helmet itself is an ancient skull of some beast with large canine teeth and ram-like horns mounted on a pretty basic bronze helmet. Two large emeralds are embedded in the skull's eye sockets.  The helmet was last seen in possession of the great human warlord, Edereth. Unfortunately it was never recovered after his death, and it is suspected that it lays with him in his tomb, which nobody has managed to find so far.

 Temples are the dwellings of the gods. This is not just a metaphor, they are constructed according to precise measurements and floorplans to align with the chosen deity's palace in the realms of the gods. The innermost sanctum corresponds to the throneroom of the deity, and houses their statue. What the statue is made of can vary depending on the deity in question and the local availability of materials, but marble, gold, bronze, and ivory are popular choices. If constructed and consecrated properly, the temple will act as a bridge between worlds. Those that enter will not only be in the temple upon the earth, but will simultaneously be in the deity's palace in the divine realm, able to directly converse with the deity, who will be superimposed with their statue. This of course means, that since the temple exists on both the physical and the divine realms, everything that is in the temple is also on the deity's plane of existence, and is henceforth their property. This inc...

 This one-of-a-kind magical spear is special not just because of the powerful enchantment it has, but because it is made entirely of steel - shaft and all. It is engraved with runes both sacred and demonic, and its point has a red tint that no amount of cleaning can get rid of. Otherwise it is almost offensively bare, with no decoration, or seemingly even thought given to its aesthetics. As the name implies, the Demigod-Slaying Spear was forged for one purpose: to kill the offspring of gods, spirits and demons . Its maker, a smith named Nekar-Tash who lost everything in his life save for his forge, bled himself to death over it to empower its enchantment, and the royal sorcerers of Nashat-Ippur, who have studied it closely for four years after the city captured it in battle theorize that its ultimate goal is to kill full-bloodied deities, and that killing demigods is just a means to further empower it in service of that goal. Whatever powers it may unlock in the future, currently t...

 Ruler of the northern forests, and sovereign of all boars, Keranos is a respected deity of Caeledor , even if he isn't amongst the most powerful. According to legend it is he who digs spring out of the ground, and the Sorcerer-Kings of Caeledor trace their families back to him. Besides being the bringer of spring, he is also able to grant unending vitality, and even immortality for a short period. According to Caeledorians the first horn was made from his tusk, so he is also the patron of music and dance. This is reflected in the royal houses of Caeledor, whose singing can magically influence people. They are also supernaturally talented with musical instruments, and some may even be able to heal the sick. The latter ability is actually a requirement for someone to ascend to the throne of Sorcerer-King, as it is believed to be a direct blessing from Keranos.  To his priests Keranos grants the ability to heal, to enchant, and to make things grow. They may also bless warriors t...

  Alternatively known as Stone Sickness, or the Grey Plague, Basilisk plague is a slow-acting disease which gradually turns the infected into stone. The plague spreads by eye contact, and there is a small period of time where the infected don't show symptoms, but are already infectious. The infected are generally encouraged to blind themselves, and in most places are required by law to wear a blindfold at all times. While the plague can spread incredibly quickly, most of the population is actually naturally immune to it, even if this fact is not generally recognized, and the infected are treated as incredibly dangerous, and are usually quarantined into a separate building or district, where only the clergy that try to treat them are allowed. Unfortunately the Basilisk plague shows an unusual resistance to magic, with only the most powerful sorcerers being able to cure it.  Symptoms start with small gravel-like growths on the skin, usually on the arms, legs and neck, which then...

 In the deserts to the south-east lay the ruins of forgotten city-states inhabited by ghouls . They watched as the deserts slowly devoured their lands , just as people devoured each other. But ghouls aren't that bothered by this, after all they are always hungry. Occasionally a lost caravan finds these ruins, and ghouls fall upon them, regaining some of their former intellect, and civilisation starts again, until inevitably food runs out, and the inhabitants of the city return to hungry predators, then just ravenous bodies lying in wait once more. Like mayflies, the ghouls race against time to finish their projects as their memories return for a short while. A civilisation that lives in bursts. Of course the deeper a city is into the desert, the fewer people end up there, and the less frequent these periods of activity are. On the other hand, cities that are close to active trade routes, or just places where mortals live in general, are much more active. The city of Yttir-Gham for ...

 Memory Cubes are ancient magic, the secrets of their manufacture is lost to time. They can be found scattered all over, but the Metal Men  usually have more of them than others. It is unknown if that's because they made them, or because they come from the same source, or simply because they can live almost indefinitely with good repairs, so they have the time to collect them. Memory Cubes are (as the name suggests) small metal cubes with several buttons that can be pressed to activate different functions of the cube. The largest button recalls a memory stored in the cube. The memory appears as an incorporeal image or a short series of moving images above the cube. Other buttons allow cycling through the stored memories, one allows for the recording of a static image as a memory by pressing it quickly, and recording a moving image by pressing and holding it. There is also a button for deleting memories. Unsurprisingly most memories in extant cubes depict people trying to figur...

 Made from the mummified arm of a dragon , this gruesome magical artifact is both a defensive and an offensive tool. It has a hole in the back, where the user inserts their own arm, then activates the artifact by gripping the few remaining bones in what was once the wrist of the dragon. At this point the Gauntlet fuses with the arm of the user, allowing them to use it as if it was their own arm. Obviously the scales of the arm make it almost impossible to damage without appropriate tools, and it also protects from heat. Orcish ballads record an instance in which a wearer used the Gauntlet to reach into lava, and was unharmed. The other main benefit is of course the fearsome claws, which can rend leather and bronze just as easily as flesh. The only way to get rid of the arm after it has fused to the user is to completely submerge it in blood, at which point it will regenerate back into a full severed draconic arm, and needs to be hollowed out to be usable again. Dragon blood is of ...

  In almost every civilized place the name Nitir-Tan is a curse, only to be spat out with disgust or whisper fearfully inside, where it's more difficult for the god to hear. His home city of Amar-Itish (whose name had to be changed, and its temples re-sanctified after the full extent of his sin was discovered) holds a festival, where they ritually burn effigies of him. Any books written by him are burned, any tablets ground to dust. Any spells he helped to create are to be forgotten, and any mention of his name in the royal chronicles is erased. His followers, when found are tortured and killed. Yet people still follow his teachings, cast his spells, and read his writings. He had a certain way with words, and many still find his arguments persuasive. Those who follow him, refer to themselves as Tannites. During his life, Nitir-Tan copied and wrote many books, but the one that made him so reviled was called Man, and Divine. For this reason his followers are often called Mandies, tho...

 Similar to Incantation Bowls , Curse-Pots are small ceramic containers inscribed with a spell to trap demons or spirits . Unlike Incantation bowls, however, they are designed to just for containment, but also for eventual release. With spirits one would usually bargain to release them in exchange for some boon, while demons-filled Curse-Pots are used as a weapons. Simply throwing the pot at someone with enough force to break it releases the demon, which will most likely attack and/or curse the closest person, who is usually the one the pot was thrown at. Of course not all Curse-Pots are created equal. Even disregarding the entity housed within, older pots have a much higher effectiveness than ones created recently. With a 'fresh' pot, the released entity might just ignore the target, and fly off to take revenge on the one that trapped it, while a pot that has been left undisturbed for hundreds of years will have its entity be much more violent, and much more indiscriminate in ...

  Originally invented by the humans of the northeast, Horned Helmets have been widely adopted by the Invaders , then after having seen them in action, even armies led by mighty Sorcerer-Kings decided to make their own variants. The Helmets were originally worn by priests of Kertoi , known to the humans as Pawu. While nowadays more of them are worn in combat than during rituals, they retain Kertoi's blessing. Most Horned Helmets carry two blessings. The first simply makes the spirits of the winds take notice, and try to help the wearer out. This usually isn't much, but people routinely wearing these helmets usually have good luck with the winds, and get set upon by storms noticeably less. As the Invaders mostly get around by boat, this is obviously a huge perk for them. The second blessing allows the wearer to sprint fast, as the wind, though they will be hit with unearthly fatigue when they take off the helmet. The Invaders use this ability charge at the chariots of their enem...

  While every culture has their own myths and stories featuring the local flora and fauna, there are certain animals that are almost universally associated with and/or used as an allegory for certain things - most commonly personality traits. Exactly where these associations come from is lost to the mists of time. Mortals have been travelling and sharing stories for thousands of years after all. The following list is of course not exhaustive. Worms are associated with curiosity. It is widely believed that certain birds will tap their feet on the ground to entice the curious worms to poke their heads out, so that the bird can eat them. Another common theme is curious worms spoiling the fruit they inhabit. This is usually meant to parallel how curious people can bring misfortune to their entire community. Otters , mammoths, and ducks are collectively known as 'the three wise beasts'. They are popular symbols for sorcerers, clerics, mystics, and others who commune with gods and sp...

  Kar-Narash is one of the most feared gods of the Underworld . Just as how the souls of the most heroic and virtuous mortals are spared from wandering around the Underworld until their memories are all gone, those that have committed grave sins against the gods are thrown to Kar-Narash, who then proceeds to gnaw on them, breaking their bones over and over again, just as his saliva re-knits flesh and heals the broken bones after each bite.  According to ancient tablets kept in the royal libraries of the Bronze Elves , Kar-Narash is one of the many souls of Gar , that the gods separated from his body, and banished to the Underworld. The humans of Caeledor on the other hand believe that he has always been gnawing at the roots of the world, before he was pulled off by the legendary demigod hero Aetias, who threw him to the Underworld. Whatever his origins, he is known for his insatiable hunger and his predilection for crushing bones.  Unsurprisingly he has very few priests o...

 Excavating underground can be a dangerous proposition . For this reason, many cultures have have magical rituals that can be used to locate and identify dangers lurking underground. In Caeledor , the most popular method is called the Rite of Finding What Should not be Found. Despite the long name, the ritual itself is quite easy to perform. First one needs a claw from a Tunnel Beast . This will be the focus of the ritual, and will need to be kept on hand until the ritual is finished. Then one needs a paste made of honey, limestone and charcoal. Then one adds seven flowers to this paste. The identity of the flowers is not set in stone, though usually ones with medicinal or unusual magical properties are selected, as they enhance the effectiveness of the ritual. Almost every sorcerer who knows this ritual has their own selection of flowers that they swear by, and this can be cause for a long argument. After the paste is completed, one must slather it on their forearm, then use the c...

  Giant ground sloths  were once a relatively common sight in many parts of the world, but nowadays they are vanishingly rare save for some in the collections of some sorcerers, and a group that became the tunnel beasts. It is well known amongst scholars that giant sloths love to burrow , so it is unsurprising that some, having heard the call of chthonic deities, continued to dig, until they reached vast underground caverns filled with strange creatures, and even stranger magic.  Over the years, living in such places slowly changed them. Their diet changed from plants, to mushrooms, to anything even vaguely edible. The deep is not kind to large-bodied animals after all, and these sloths probably wouldn't have survived if they didn't inherit their relatives' slower metabolisms, allowing them to subsist on less food than other similarly sized mammals. That said, they are always on the verge of starvation, and they need to stay on the move, always looking for food, always d...