I am finishing up the latest for NUELOW Games... a little product which will be our first straight-up fantasty-themed d20 System release. (Well, sort of... the artifacts in question were inspired by the real-world 9th century King of Wessex, Alfred the Great.)
By way of a preview, here's Alfred's Scepters... with stats for OGL d20, OpenD6, and ROLF! (Everything here is released under the Open Gaming License, except the paragraph starting "ROLF! System Rules" although if someone is really interested in ROLF! OGL, I will make an SRD and work up a license. :) )
 |
| Alfred, King of Wessex |
Alfred's Scepters
Two feet in length Afred's Scepters are a matched set of gilded wooded rods crowned with highly stylized, floriated gold Celtic crosses covered in a delicate web-like pattern of silver. The head-pieces can be removed from the wooden rods by simply twisting them off; this does not disrupt the magic inherent in these artifacts, as it resides in the gold crosses.
When subjected to spells that reveal enchantments, the scepters radiate mild divination magic.
D6 System Rules
When separated, one of Alfred's Scepters grants the character holding it a +1 enchantment bonus to Strength checks to avoid damage. However, the real power of this two-part artifact are revealed when the same character is wielding both of them--one in each hand. To gain the full benefit of Alfred's Scepters, the character cannot be wielding any other weapons.
When both scepters are used at the same time, the character still gains the +1 enchantment bonus to Strength checks, but gains limited precognative abilities that means he or she gains automatic initiative in any round that he or she is attacked. Essentially, when wielding Alfred's Scepters, the character cannot be taken by surprise. Additionally, he or she gains a +2 bonus to all Diplomacy skill checks and Sense Motive skill checks.
When out-of-doors, characters wielding both of Alfred's Scepters may, as a full round action, commune with trees and other plant-life to discover what Intelligent beings hostile to the user or his or her subjects, allies, and loved ones, have most recently (within the past month) passed nearby. The level of success and detail of the information gained depends on a Perception roll against the follow target numbers:
Target Number Result
1-4 Whether someone has passed.
5-8 Roughly how many creatures have passed
9-12 Exactly how many have passed, what race/nationality
13-17 Same as above, the exact day they passed, name of leader
18+ Same as above, where they were traveling to.
D20 System Rules
When separated, one of Alfred Scepter's grants the character holding it a +2 enchantment bonus to Armor Class or Defense Rating. However, the real power of this two-part artifact are revealed when the same character is wielding both of them--one in each hand. To gain the full benefit of Alfred's Scepters, the character cannot be wielding any other weapons.
When both scepters are used at the same time, the character still gains the +2 enchantment bonus to AC/DR, but also cannot be surprised by an attacker and never suffers any penalties from being flat-footed or flanked. Additionally, he or she gains a +4 bonus to all Diplomacy skill checks and Sense Motive skill checks.
When out of doors, characters wielding both of Alfred's Scepters may, as a full round action, commune with trees and other plant-life to discover what Intelligent beings hostile to the user or his or her subjects, allies, and loved ones, have most recently (within the past month) passed nearby. The level of success and detail of the information gained depends on a Wisdom check against the following DCs:
Wis Check DC Result
1-7 Whether someone has passed.
8-10 Roughly how many creatures have passed
11-15 Exactly how many have passed, what race/nationality
16-20 Same as above, the exact day they passed, name of leader
21+ Same as above, where they were traveling to.
ROLF! System Rules
Alfred's Scepters are small items. They are melee weapons that deal 2 points of damage each, although the character can only strike with one each action. While wielding them--carrying one in each hand--all damage suffered is reduced by 2 after Armor has been subtracted (to a minimum of 0). If the character loses one, through a successful Disarm from an enemy, the reduction is lowered to 1 point
