The following are cursed items that may arise from faulty item crafting—or in some cases, deliberate construction. Unless the item says otherwise, it cannot be discarded unless it is successfully dispelled with the Remove Curse Power Modifier, or the subject of a wish or similar magic.
Cursed items are identified like any other magic item with one exception: a second raise on an Occult roll to identify the item reveals it's cursed and the general nature of the harm it may cause.
This blade seems to be a sword of subtlety until actually drawn for combat. Once it's been wielded in battle, however, it imposes a -2 penalty on all Stealth checks and makes it nearly impossible for the owner to tell a lie or engage in any other sort of subterfuge. Each time he does so, he must make a Spirit check at -2 to avoid blurting out the truth or taking some other involuntary action that spoils his attempted ruse.
Price: —; Weight: 2 lbs; Creation: Sword of subtlety.
This simple copper ring appears slightly tarnished, but seemingly wards off the effects of hunger or other sorts of deprivation, so all tests reveal it to be a ring of sustenance. After wearing it for seven days, its owner instead comes to suffer from almost constant hunger and thirst, which, if not sated, ultimately drives him mad enough to become a cannibal.
The wearer must eat and drink a full day’s worth of food and water each hour to avoid making a Vigor check for starvation or thirst (see Hazards). Once the wearer suffers Fatigue due to failed checks, he begins to experience ever more powerful cravings for the flesh of intelligent creatures!
If the wearer feasts in such a manner, he recovers all Fatigue sustained from hunger and thirst. The next time he is in a situation in which he could eat part of an intelligent being, he must make a Spirit check or dine on the forbidden meat.
On any day he eats at least one meal of flesh from an intelligent creature, he does not have to make hourly starvation and thirst checks, and recovers any accumulated Fatigue from failing these checks. Once its curse activates, the ring cannot be removed until the curse is broken.
Price: —; Weight: —; Creation: Ring of sustenance.
This cloak is a finely made garment that radiates protective magic. It can be handled or examined without harm, but when it's put on, it immediately bursts into flames! The fire starts at d6 and may grow (see fire in Hazards). From that point on it burns continuously but does not harm the cloak, only its unfortunate wearer.
The cloak cannot be removed unless the curse is broken. Sufficient amounts of water or other smothering materials can douse the flames temporarily, but the cloak reignites once possible. Spells like environmental protection can protect the wearer against the cloak’s flames while they last.
Price: —; Weight: 1 lb; Creation: Any cloak.
This fine silver circlet is often set with a milky moonstone. When a wearer places it on his head, the stone quickly goes dark like the waning moon and the wearer gains the Blind Hindrance.
Price: —; Weight: 1 lb; Creation: Headband of mental prowess, headband of mental superiority, moon circlet.
This hat seems to be a hat of disguise until its owner attempts to use it to disguise himself in the presence of a hostile creature. Once he does so, the hat causes him to assume the guise of the creature or person the hostile creature most wants to harm.
The hat actively changes the wearer's guise any time it senses a new opportunity to cause him grief. It might even make the new guise appear disoriented, injured, or weak to encourage its attackers to strike.
Once the hat reveals its true abilities, it no longer responds to attempts by its wearer to change his appearance.
For example, in a goblin lair, the wearer might look like the tribe’s chief, but sleepy and vulnerable. In a human town, the wearer may look like the hated local bully, drunk and staggering. In an evil town, the wearer might appear as a paladin or other hated foe.
Price: —; Weight: —; Creation: Hat of disguise.
Deceptively pleasant looking, a ring of truth bears images of childlike angels and broadly smiling divine creatures holding onto links of a heavy chain. The wearer of this cursed ring is rendered unable to tell a deliberate lie, in either speech or writing.
The wearer may simply omit the truth or choose not to communicate, but even then must make a Spirit check at -4 to avoid answering a direct question truthfully. The wearer cannot remove the ring unless the magic of the curse is negated.
Price: —; Weight: —; Creation: Ring of mind shielding, ring of x-ray vision.
All tests indicate this hollow metal tube is a rod of flame extinguishing until its owner uses it to extinguish or suppress a fire in any sort of dangerous situation. Once he does, rather than quenching the flame, the rod causes the flame to enter his body.
The flame persists for the next 24 hours, causing minor discomfort and Distraction, but no visible injury.
When the wielder is adjacent to or within a flammable object or structure, however, he must make a Spirit roll each round to avoid setting it ablaze with whatever means are at his disposal. A raise means the desire passes and the victim may act normally.
The victim must also make a Spirit roll each round he's within 12" (24 yards) of a fire he didn't start. If failed, he must attempt to extinguish the flame as if he were a rod of flame extinguishing.
Price: —; Weight: 5 lbs; Creation: Rod of flame extinguishing.
Once picked up, this dark, polished stone reduces the possessor’s base Pace by half (round up).
Price: —; Weight: —; Creation: Ioun stone, stone of good luck.