Seasonal Wares of a Witch - Blog Carnival
This month for RPG Blog Carnival we got a call for Magic Shops:
https://advantageonarcana.bearblog.dev/magic-shops-and-their-alternatives/
Magic Shops are not my thing. I think they make sense only in high magic high power games and these are definitely not the games I play. I'm from the 'grounded fantasy' camp, I guess, I lately play mostly sci-fi and some crazy fantasy stuff.
So, the magic shops don't really do it for me. But there is still trade, I don't think all magical trinkets are held closely by families and pass them down generations. Though probably the less significant stuff is sold. And also consumables are a market to tap into.
Where all those things come from and who sells them? Witches! Ladies (mostly) who live out of the village and do some shady magical stuff. Maybe. Who knows? You won't know until you ask em for their wares. Depending on the season of course.
Spring:
- Healing Potion (2d4) - small ceramic vial with one shot of red liquid inside. It smells and tastes earthy. It works both as a small healing potion AND as a strong alcohol.
4 silver for one. "Don't get dizzy honey, it's strong but not in the good way." - Potion of Night Owl (1d4) - small ceramic bottle with light green liquid inside. It smells like swamp. When drank it grants very good vision and hearing in the dark which wanes after one night. It doesn't grant night vision just senses of a predator.
8 silver for one. "These are useful but using them too much can mess your eyesight for life. Better stick to candles, I'd say." - Spring Herbs (1d6) - assortment of dried herbs tied with a string. They smell very nice.
2 silver for one bunch. "If you knew the recipe for healing potion you could put me out of business with these, tee hee." - Wand of Plant Growth (1d4) - reddish brown twig, thick and healthy, sprouting a few leaves. Has 1d4+1 charges. When cast it causes single plant to triple in size. Effect wanes after an hour.
5 silver for a wand, charges signified by leaves. May discount. "Oh yes, you can make a lot of trouble and a lot of it go away with one of those." - Box of Stichor (1d3) - small wooden box as if for makeup, with green goo inside. Stichor is soft and slick but becomes very sticky when pressed - the more pressure the more stickiness.
2 silver per box. "Please don't try to eat it, please!" - Ring of Horns (1-in-6 chance for one) - small light brown ring with small yellow gem. When worn it slowly grows deer horns on users head. When they grow enough they fall off and process starts again.
7 gold. The price seems too much because it is, she acts like she doesn't want to sell it. "The funniest thing is when they don't know it's a magical ring! And wear it whenever they see you because it's a gift!" - Random Winter Ware (5-in-6 chance).
- Random Summer Ware (1-in-6 chance).
Summer:
- Barkskin Potion (1d6) - ceramic bottle with brown hazy liquid inside it. When drank it causes ones skin to harden, grants slight armour and protects from minor effects like bug stings, bruises and cuts. Lasts 12 hours.
4 silver for each. "This one makes your skin hard, don't let it sink to your heart though." - Summer Herbs (2d6) - assortment of dried herbs tied together. They smell nice and are very colourful.
1 silver for one bunch. "Some say these are weeds and I won't correct them." - Rage Potion (1d4) - small vial with intensely red liquid inside. It causes crying when smelled. When drank it fuels one with passion. Minor bonus to attacks in combat and passionate reactions.
7 silver for bottle, 3 if you're cute to her. "Don't mess with this magic for it brings jealous demons at your doorstep, hi hi hi." - Candle of Longevity (1d3) - yellow candle, smells of fire and honey. When burned it rejuvenates characters around it, making them feel younger, works like good night's rest and full meal.
1 gold per one candle. "Please, don't experiment with it to make yourself younger. Many have tried and most ended up drooling to death." - Ring of Inferno (2-in-6 chance for one) - small copper ring with missing gem. When worn it causes ones body to get hot and emanate a lot of heat. Body is resistant to external heat and contact with it is damaging.
2 gold coins, unless you make her laugh, then 1 gold. "I like to use it to shape wax for candles. And for cold evenings, to walk naked inside my house." - Stick of Harvest Golem (4-in-6 chance for one) - it looks like a regular short stick. When stuck in the "face" of a human sized figure made of grasses and stems it animates it. Stick loses magical properties after creation of its first golem.
1 silver coin if you're local peasant, 1 gold coin if not. "If you lack a strong body you can make it. It doesn't last long though..." - Random Spring Ware (4-in-6 chance) with discount.
- Random Autumn Ware (2-in-6 chance) with markup.
Autumn:
- Potion of Blur (1d6) - small ceramic vial with a shot of dark grey liquid inside. It smells of metal and ash. When drank it makes one blurry and hard to spot. Works for an hour. It is also very strong alcohol which effect doesn't wane that quickly.
2 silver per vial, comes with discount if you buy more. "It makes other see you as you see them, in a way, he he he." - Autumn Herbs (1d4) - assortment of dried herbs and mushrooms, tied together. It smells earthy.
1 silver for a bunch. "Maybe not pretty but truly my favourite!" - Poison Candle (1d3) - large pale candle with slight shade near the wick. When burned it slowly poisons people around it. After one candle person becomes slightly sick (cannot regenerate naturally), after two they slowly lose life, after three are considered on deaths door. Undetectable by mundane means.
1 gold for one candle but she needs you to earn her trust. "Death magic is not for weak to wield." - Wand of Fog (2d4) - twisted pale twig. When used it slowly conjures thick fog for over ten minutes. Fog disappears after an hour. Holds 1d6+3 charges.
4 silver per wand, charges visible as small thorns, may discount if pointed out. "The best tool for a witch, a gnome and mischievous adventurer!" - Hat of Shadows (1-in-6 chance for two) - large, spiky, used-to-be-black hat with wide brim. When worn it let's one summon tiny little shadows in form of mice, beetles or frogs, one per hour. Shadows are independent but initially friendly to the wearer, they can merge to get bigger and can change shapes. Shadows disappear when they are in darkness.
1 gold unless you're unfriendly, then it's 20 gold. "I call it a hat of friends!" - Storm in a Jar (2-in-6 chance for one) - small ceramic jar, tightly closed with yellow lid. It buzzes and cracks like a far away storm. Whoever holds it is able to move faster and jump higher, it also grants resistance to electricity. If opened it releases the storm in one go, releasing the water and lightning (works like a strong lightning spell with added damage to wet creatures). After that jar loses it's magical properties.
5 gold but you can pay by questing. "Be careful, the storm is a strong element, and this one is angry." - Random Summer Ware (3-in-6 chance) with discount.
- Random Winter Ware (3-in-6 chance) with markup.
Winter:
- Warming Potion (2d6) - small ceramic vial with hazy orange liquid inside. When drank it warms the user and makes them immune to environmental cold and resistant to magical one.
5 silver per vial, can be discounted if you take more. "Oh, the lumberjacks, guards and travelers love this one, keeps 'em ready to work" - Heat Orb (1d6) - grey metallic orb a few centimetres in diameter, upon closer look some runes are visible on the surface. When thrown into the fire it charges and runes start to glow a little. Then when rolled it gives out the heat as would bonfire for a few hours.
2 silver per orb, she'll try to upsell you separate pouch to carry it for a few coppers. "Be careful, don't burn your backpack down." - Wand of Freezing (1d3) - wand made of dark wood, tangled and thick. It holds 3d4 charges. When activated it summons freezing cold that is slowly dispersed for 10 minutes. If put in a bucket of water it can freeze all of it with one charge.
6 silver per wand, cannot detect charges left. "I find them useless but peasants seem to love them." - Blizzard in a Jar (2-in-6 chance for one) - small ceramic jar, tightly closed with white lid. It radiates cold and sounds like a far away blizzard. Whoever holds it is immune to knockback and environmental cold. If opened it releases the blizzard in one go (works like strong frost-based area damaging spell) and the jar loses it's magical properties.
3 gold but you can pay by questing. "How did it get here? When did I sealed it anyway?" - Whistle of Snow Meadow (3-in-6 chance for one) - small white wooden whistle. When blown it creates an area of dim light, cold and silence that lasts for around 4 hours.
1 silver if you're nice, 10 gold if you're an ass. "I remember when I used it to hide my countless lovers from witch mother..." - Carrot of Snow Golem (1) - it looks like a regular carrot, maybe a little wilted. When put in the "face" of a human-sized figure made of snow it animates it. If carrot is removed from animated golem it loses the enchantment.
1 gold coin but it has to be one singular gold coin. "I hope this one is the enchanted one, I keep mixing them up in my pantry" - Random Autumn Ware (4-in-6 chance) with discount.
- Another Random Autumn Ware (5-in-6 chance) with markup.
Golem Descriptions
Harvest Golem - construct, health as four people, attack as a mace. It is as strong as a capable human and similarly fast. It will follow it's creator for as long as it can and actively protect them from obvious harm. Understands simple commands. It's body decays and dries just as regular plant matter and cannot be healed.
Snow Golem - construct, health as regular human, minimal attack unless grappled then as a bear or constrictor snake. It is sluggish creature, although strong it is terribly slow. It can lift up to three times a human can, it will follow it's creator for as long as it can. Understands simple commands. It can be healed by filling holes with snow and letting them settle. It can "live" indefinitely - only by melting whole or removing/destroying the carrot it is completely destroyed.