"Before the time of sundering, when the land was still one land and the god kings walked the earth. Their rose amongst them a cruel and spiteful young man named Manos."

"Manos was handsome and strong, loved by all. Yet he was cruel and filled with greed. Not satisfied with the power of the God Kings, he wanted more. He wanted to be like the sun itself, worshipped and seen by all."

"Manos spent many years and much of his energy in the creation of a device that would allow him to be like unto the sun. When he was done he had created a headdress in the shape of the sun and bestowed with the power of the sun."

"When Manos put the headdress on he grew in might and stature until he could see to the farthest shore and hear the whisper of the winds."

"Men trembled at his passing and even the other god kings knew fear. Millions worshipped in his wake and named him Rha, which means Sun."

"Yet despite all this, Manos was not happy. He had power the likes of which no other had ever had, yet still the sun hung in the sky above him. Mocking him."

"If I can not be the sun, then I shall destroy it!"

"Gathering even more power to himself, Manos took to the sky to wage war against the sun."

"Fool be he."

"Manos Rha was never herd from again for none save time can dim the light of a Star, and so Manos in his folly was destroyed."

"As time passed, tales began to spread that Manos' headdress was still on this earth and still possessed with the power of Manos Rha."

"Many brave men have sought out this artifact, as of yet none have found it."

"For it is said he who stares to long at the sun is blinded."

Appearance: The headdress of Manos Rha is a large Egyptian style headdress like those seen on the Pharaohs of old (or in Star Gate). It is made of solid gold and inlaid with jewels. It is made in the shape of a human face with a sunburst over the head. It is very large and heavy and was obviously designed for a giant of a man.

It weighs at least 150 pounds and the gold and jewels alone make the thing worth several hundred Gold Coins.

Powers: The Headdress constantly gives off warmth. Being within ten feet of it is like being within ten feet of a open fire. Anyone wearing the headdress will be rendered immune to cold due to this aura of warmth.

Other powers gained from wearing the headdress are as follows:

Sight. While worn the user can see clearly any object up to two miles away and he can see in the dark as if it was day.
Hearing. While worn the character's sense of hearing is heightened to the point where he can pinpoint a whisper in a crowded room or hear his name called from almost a mile away.
Enhanced Charisma. While worn the character is surrounded in an aura of godlike awe. He will appear to be eight feet tall and filled with a commanding presence. All viewing the person must make a Saving Throw vs. Intelligence or feel a sense of reverence and awe towards him.
Flame Control. Manos Rha wanted to be the sun and so he bestowed the headdress with this power. The Headdress' user can project bolts of flame from his hands -- R=15" D=3d6.

Curse: The Curse of Manos Rha and his folly is also bestowed upon this headdress.

First off is the curse of Greed. Any one seeing the Headdress will want it. The longer they remain in its presence, the stronger this Greed will get, until they are willing to do anything (Including killing their teammates) to get it.

The second curse of Manos Rha is the curse of blindness. Anyone wearing the Headdress and using the Enhanced Sight power for longer then one hour will be struck instantly blind.

This blindness can be cured be removing the headdress and staying away from it for at least a week, after which time the eyes will open again. Of course, getting the victim to remove the headdress and stay away from it will be a chore.

The third and most powerful Curse of the Headdress is the Curse of Manos' folly. Anyone in possession of the headdress for longer than a week will begin to desire worship much like Manos did.

The longer they are in possession of the artifact, the more this desire will take hold of them until they are actively seeking out followers and demanding to be worshipped as a god.

Yet no matter how long this goes on, the character will not be satisfied; even were he somehow to gain millions of devout worshippers, he would still not be happy, for always over head would be the Sun mocking him.

The character will slowly be driven insane by the fact that no matter how powerful he gets, the sun is still more powerful then him. Only by taking the sun's place will the character at last achieve what he seeks.

To do this the character MUST destroy the sun and take its place. He must go to the sun and kill it.

Which of course is impossible, you CANNOT destroy the sun (or at least the GM should NEVER allow it). The character will be destroyed should he go to the sun and the headdress will fall back to earth ready for another victim.

2: The Black Dagger (Turkey)

"Everything that happens is part of a plan"

"Everything that can go wrong...Will go wrong"

"Yet somehow it all works out for the best...Sort of"

***Murphy***

"It is a known fact that tales grow in the telling and that sometimes the truth is not quite as interesting as the myth."

"Years ago a great war was fought over a dagger. The tales of this Black Dagger's power are such that to this day Orcs quiver in fear at the mention of its name. The truth behind the tale ... well ..."

"The story goes that a tribe of Orcs had laid claimed to a valley and many an adventurer had tried to shake them loose and failed. Till one day a group of adventurers came, and with them was he who had the dagger"

"The Orcs sent their spies to watch the party as they dealt with the threats in the valley."

"The spies came back with tales of a man who could shoot flames from his hand, rip a tree from the ground and slay a great bear with one swing of his dagger. His Black Dagger"

"The Orc Chieftain was intrigued by tales of this dagger. He sent an Orc party to claim it and kill the adventurers. With the party was the chieftain's son."

" Only One Orc survived the encounter to tell the tale of how this man, armed only with a dagger, was able to slay the chieftain's son and his two guards. How the very heavens themselves seemed to respond to the dagger."

"That was enough for the chieftain; he had to have the dagger and avenge his son. He called forth the entire population of Orc warriors and shamans in the valley to do battle with this man and his dagger."

"Every Orc warrior over the age of five came to do battle with this party of adventurers. Woefully outnumbered, the brave men and woman of the party stood bravely in the face of the coming onslaught, the man with the dagger leading them."

"As it happened at the exact moment the Orcs were going to start the charge, a party of Dwarves happened by and well...."

"The tales of the Orc/Dwarf war are legendary as are those of the Black Dagger and its power. The Dagger is said to be able to project flames, control the weather and strike down a Orc in one swing."

"Many have sought it out, it has passed from hand to hand over the years and its legend has grown."

Appearance: The Black Dagger is a finely crafted dagger of Dwarven make. The blade has been dyed black by some unknown means and is wickedly sharp. The pommel is wrapped in fine black chain links and set with two rubies of some small value.

At the end of the pommel is set a small crystal that seems to glow with a wicked light.

Powers: As with all weapons of Dwarven craft, the Dagger is rust proof and fire proof; only a Dwarven forge can melt it. In addition, the blade is wickedly sharp and well crafted (the dagger is +3 to hit +3 to damage).

The Dagger gives off a pale glow when in complete darkness, equal to amount of light given off by a match. The dagger glows blue if Orcs are within ten feet or less.

The rubies in the pommel are of small value (15 GP) but both are enchanted. One of the rubies is enchanted to grant the dagger's wielder +1 to his Strength Score and the other grants +1 to the wielder's Charisma score.

But...

The Dagger's main power and the cause of all this is the stone set in its end. This is one of the Legendary "Murphy Stones," making the dagger a "Weirdness Magnet" and granting its wielder an equal share of both good luck and bad luck.

Curse: The Curse of the dagger is its legend. Everyone "thinks" the thing is the best thing since Gilcrest and as the years pass the tale grows. The Murphy Stone in the dagger only adds to the tales as while the dagger itself turns out not to be all that, the things that seem to happen when it is around make it appear to be all that.

The truth of the matter is that only a series of weird events led to the Orc/Dwarf war. Like the fact the man had lost his sword and the dagger was his only weapon, or the fact he had a girdle of Giant Strength so he could slay a great bear with one swing. Or that his girlfriend (the one with the ring of invisibility) was always three feet behind him and casting spells (like Fireball and Lightning Bolt) to help him in combat.

As for the Dwarves, they had been planing on coming to that valley and clearing out the Orcs for weeks, but due to one weird thing after another they only showed up just as ...well you get the idea. Have fun with this one.

3: Empathy Stones(family)

"Sometimes one chooses his family"

"Sometimes one's family chooses him"

"Sometimes we grow up with our family"

"Other times we find our family outside of our home."

"What then is the true meaning of family ?"

*** Nempo Riddle***

"The great Khan had a problem."

"His many concubines had given him many fine sons and daughters, all of whom were growing up to be as strong, clever and powerful as the Khan himself."

"The Khan had so many children he had trouble keeping track of them and he began to worry that one or all of his children may one day rise up against him."

"Not wishing to relive the mistake of his fathers, he sought a way to keep track of his children."

"At first he tried spies and camp followers, but that did not work. They could not be counted on and their loyalty was easily bought."

"The great Khan needed another way to keep an eye on his many children. For many days the Khan pondered his problem till at last he sought out First Wife to get her thoughts on the problem."

"'Tai Tay, I am bothered. I find it hard to keep track of my many sons and daughters and as I grow older I worry that they may raise up against me. I do not wish to relive my father's fate; what should I do?'"

"First Wife thought on the problem and then said, 'Old master it is said that children are a gift, but it is also said that one can have too many gifts and that one should share his gifts with others."

"'I say gather your many children in a great tent and make to them a gift. To each you will give one of your finest gems as a show of your love and loyalty.'"

"'What will this accomplish First Wife?'"

"'Ah, Old Master, please to let this simple woman finish. The night before the gathering, I shall have the shamans enchant these gems with great magic. As long as your children hold the gems each will be able to hear the others' thoughts and feelings. They will each know what the other is thinking.'"

"'Should any of your children plan you harm, the others will know of it and at least one would warn you of this in an attempt to improve their standing with you. They will be so busy mistrusting each other they will not have time or energy to harm you. You can live out your life as Khan till you are ready to chose your own successor.'"

"The Khan was happy with First Wife's solution and rewarded her by abandoning his other wives and making her only wife."

"Many years have passed since the time of the Khan and the gems have been scattered to the winds of fate. Waiting to be found."

Appearance: The Empathy Stones of the great Khan appear as small emeralds with fourteen facets. They are warm to the touch and glow faintly when held.

There are a total of fourteen in all scattered around the world. They re almost never found together.

On the open market the gems would net about forty Gold Coins each.

Powers: When in a person's possession for longer then two days, the gem attunes itself to that person's specific thought patterns and provides him with the following abilities:

Sense Lie. The individual can tell if someone is specking a falsehood to them. Untruths that are written down though are not affected by this power.
Empathy. The possessor of the gem can sense the base emotions of others if he concentrates on them and they remain within ten feet of him.
Sense other Empathy Stones. The gem can sense its siblings and will alert its owner if they are within a one-mile radius of another Empathy Stone.

Curse: The Curse of the empathy stone is pretty obvious. Anyone holding an empathy stone can read the thought of any other person holding an empathy stone if they are within a one-mile radius. This can not be turned off, the second another stone holder gets within a one-mile radius of you, you start to pick up their thoughts and broadcast your own.

This makes life...Interesting.

Hope these three items add a little sparkle to your game.

--Michael L Straus

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