Sunday, May 24, 2009

A Score of Sundry Rings

[Tucked in a dim and lightless dungeon, a small casket of aloeswood is opened -- and handfuls of rings tumble free. Magical? Cursed? Or simply small objects of wonder ...?]


1. A broad ivory band etched with hundreds of tiny runes picked out in cinnabar

2. Two “ropes” of silver and gold wire, twisted together and tied into a square knot; the silver rope tipped in gold, the gold in silver

3. A heavy signet carved from a single piece of carnelian, its bezel etched with the device of a long-extinct noble line – a crane with a rose in its beak

4. A braided band of hair from a dragon's mane, bound with thin black iron rings

5. A plain gold band inlaid with twinned clusters of grapes, mosaic style, of amethyst and green tourmaline

6. A thin and flickering “band” of brilliant scarlet flame, magically bound together; pleasantly warm, it does not actually burn

7. Two conjoined rings of electrum, meant to be worn on adjacent fingers; atop the join is set a cluster of dog's-tooth pearls in the shape of a rosette

8. A smooth, weighty band of highly polished black iron; the inside surfaced is etched in silver with arcane runes that read “Yours Ever”

9. A smooth, iridescent naga's scale, shaped and bent into the form of a ring and trimmed with delicate gold wire

10. A band of tortoiseshell, inlaid in electrum with a repeating and esoteric symbol resembling a predator's fang

11. A ring of smooth-polished bloodwood, unadorned; a tiny hidden compartment contains three seeds

12. Three golden rings – one for each joint of the finger – linked by delicate golden chains; the least ring is mounted with a long, curved spur or claw of white coral that arcs over the fingertip

13. Endlessly-looping miniscule clockworks of brass and crystal, held in a frame of mirror-bright steel

14. Twenty round beads of emerald and sapphire, threaded on a heavy golden wire

15. Seven motes of brilliantly-coloured light orbiting in a tiny circle

16. A malachite serpent with tiny golden eyes, biting its own golden-plumed tail

17. A tiny, perfect, and ever-living rose vine, its blossoms deep velvety black

18. A pair of intertwined bands of greenstone, cradling a sphere of transparent golden amber

19. A circlet of fresh blood, held intact within a magical field

20. A plain silver band, cool to the touch and perpetually coated in frost

7 comments:

trollsmyth said...

Very nice! I already know where a few of these will be making an appearance in my LL game. :)

taichara said...

@trollsmyth:

Thank ye! :3

May I ask which ones caught your eye, or would that be revealing too much?

trollsmyth said...

1, 2, and 5 (though I should probably abstain as grapes are a motif I reach for too frequently, I think) are just neat and I'll be keeping those in mind.

7 has me in mind of a magical item suitable for a concubine, but I should probably not say any more.

8 would be fitting for a dwarven love token in my LL game, the sort of gift given to one who has your heart, but whom you could never be married to.

9 is just a cool idea. Going in the idea-box.

10 is likely to show up on finger of a gnoll hunt-mistress, or possibly a red-cloak.

11 Of course the seeds suggest all sorts of possibilities. May be added to an elven ruin, or be held as a treasured keepsake for an enslaved elf far from home.

12 probably won't appear as-is, but linking rings together with chains like that is a cool idea that I keep forgetting about. I can sometimes be too conservative when inventing jewelry for my games.

13, but that may already be saying too much.

16 will likely show up on an agent of of your Sshian.

17 is the crown of one of the princes of Fey.

20 is tempting, but I'm not entirely certain what I want to do with it yet.

Chris said...

#6, #11, #13, #15, #17, #19 - <3

I'm loving the esoterica, and my players will fight over even just one of these like cats in a sack.

Rae7910819 said...

I think some of these may make an appearance in mine as well.

#1 makes me think of a group of humans I have going...

#3 will probably make an appearance on a guy I know...

#6 really reminds me of an item I already have in mind...

#8 I like, and wanna use. For what, not sure yet...

#11 does indeed make me think of Elves...

And 16, 19, and 20 I'm thinking about as well.

Anonymous said...

I can think of a group of warrior/priests who might find certain of these represent their individual temperments quite well. ;)

taichara said...

@trollsmyth:

If you find you use a certain theme too often, make an excuse for it? ;3

As for 13 ... maybe it gives away too much, but hey! I couldn't resist. Hehehe.

Also, sweet that you're using the sshian --


@Chris:

Hehehe. That's the kind of response that makes me giggle evilly ;3


@Rae7910819:

Interesting choices also! I have to admit to being amused at how various people seem to automatically think plants = elves ...


@eliyes:

Yes, I imagine you could ;3