mrjamesgifford

Golden Hearted Needle

A prized gift from the goddess of lust and vengence, this slim gold-veined dagger burns with a passionate heat that is almost consuming.

Not sure about the concept of this one. For context, it is an item I used in one of my own games. The player infiltrated a hidden temple to Calistria - goddess of lust and vengeance. Upon solving her trials, she received this dagger. I like the idea of it burning hot enough to cast fireballs…a passionate golden flame perhaps.

What do y...

Fiddle of Flames

Warm to the touch, the notes from this instrument sing clear and bright. Embers and sparks dance off the glowing strings, ready to set the audience’s hearts aflame.

I’ve had this idea in my mind for a while. Something about violin’s burning with passionate music. Perhaps it’s the way it’s played, much like rubbing sticks to create a fire.

I went with a more traditional appearance for this one. Tweaking some of the details to give them a curled flame-like appeara...

Fiendish Feather

Writing an important letter? Perhaps to your liege? Beloved? Santa? Well, how about I lend you this gorgeous pen?

Another old one I’ve decided to revisit. This item is purely to create mischief, and provides a vital opportunity for players and DMs to come up with insults, swears and vulgarities that might grace any important document or letter.

I like the idea of the words changing when no one notices. Look away for a moment, put the letter in an envelope, and who knows what wil...

Ironsilk Tunic

Another one repurposed from the old archives,

Simple, but oh so good to have. Especially for characters who are unable to wear armour! A lot of games already have ‘mithril’ or ‘adimantium’ as their version of rare magic armour, but I figured making a garment like this is universally useful.

This should be one-of-a-kind. Something that everyone in the party will want to fight over.

Just like at Xmas! 🎅

Puzzles: Magnetic Arena

Had this one going for a while, a great one to humble over confidant fighters who are relying on their precious metal items!

As with all of these puzzles, there’s a lot of ways you can customise this. What the “arena” may be is entirely up the the DM. I would bear in mind, since the players are somewhat disarmed, enemies that would normally be a breeze, may be much more difficult to handle!

How would you improve/change this puzzle?

Dragon Mask

Another one from the archives, i imagine these masks having different colours, perhaps only allowing wearers to transform into specific dragons. Maybe they are given as gifts from the dragons as rewards for loyal followers.

The DC is intentionally meant to be challenging - though having a dragon on the battlefield may be useful, one that is wild and may turn on you can be risky, especially if it lasts for 1 hour. As such, the DC is there to tempt - to say "well…you COULD succeed…pro...

Puzzles: The Court of Gifts

This was a complex one! But one that I feel lends itself to the scholars and detective skills within a party. It’s a classic “follow the clues” setup, where the players have to investigate and experiment. How much time you want the players to spend on this puzzle depends on how many statues or evident clues there are to find.

I imagine it working best where the players are learning the story of some long-gone group of NPCs. Perhaps deceased heroes, giving their weapons to the corr...

Starstone Circlet

This is an old design I’ve re-worked. I always like the idea of ambient, low-damage, projectiles which a character can draw upon. Flinging a spray of homing projectiles feels very satisfying.

The number of projectiles can be adjusted I think depending on the GM and the game. Game systems where monsters have less hitpoints, I might suggest making the stars refresh once a night, or reduce their damage to 1 or 2.

I’m quite pleased with the design of this. I’m always a fan of el...

Wispfire Wood

Cut from trees that grow on unhallowed graves, this wood is an effective ward in lands where the dead roam restlessly.

I figured in the run-up to Halloween, you may be in need of a gloomy campfire in the haunted woods? Well this is for you! As we roll into the autumn months, I thought I’d do some more spooky items. Particularly consumable ones.

What setting could you imagine these existing in? Some kind of cursed shadowland perhaps? Or the shadow fell? I enjoyed drawing...

Occulus of the Deciever

Few things can pierce the veil of deception better than a demonic eye. However, woe to anyone foolhardy to keep one for devils make it a mark of pride to collect what is their due.

A good one for Halloween! Demonic seeing eyes, corrupt seeing stones, orbs of detection and deception, these are all strong concepts that I’ve had swimming round for some time. When I was playing ‘Pathfinder: Kingmaker’ one of my favourite items in the game is the demonic seeing stone that you ...

Tome of Endless Pages

This was actually one I drew a while ago, but I just love it. I wanted it to look like a simple exercise book that you get in school.

Assuming the player cannot scribe spells in a single day, I think the ever-replacing spell is safe enough to give out to wizards.

Mirrored Mask

These strange masks were once thought to be used for protection. However, some esoteric texts on soul transference describe such masks as being a means to immortality.

Love strange and interesting masks! I considered how best to draw this, at first wondering if it should be smooth, but something about the jagged facets made it seem more eerie.

I also added segments to go over the head, imagining that it protects the mind as well as the face.

The entity trapped in th...

Ghostcrow Quill

The nocturnal Ghostcrows were said to be visible only by moonlight. Sadly, they are now thought to be extinct, their iridescent feathers are all that remain.

Another Dolmenwood inspired item! Though perhaps not quite as useful as some of the other items, I do like the flavour of this one. Perhaps, it could be used as a wand of invisibility?

I played around with the iridescent colours half way through. I was playing a little Hades, and I always loved the subtle hints of br...

Jar of Seasons

These small painted clay jars are created by witches who keep them in order to tend their gardens. Such jars can only be created at the height of a particular season’s solstice.

Part if this made me think of the old Zelda game boy game ‘rod of seasons’ and how cool it was to change to different seasonal environs at a whim.

I also feel it best to keep the descriptions of these effects vague enough for the players or the DM to describe. The temperature should never be...

Harp of Hearts

A pluck of the strings sends an uncomfortable shiver through your heart. A gift from a demon of desire, it’s original owner played it for hours, hoping to save their beloved from death. Though their love was eternal, their lifespan was not.

I think I found a similar idea to this in an old 2nd edition DnD booklet of magic items. Powerful, but at a heavy price. Items that change the age of a character are rare it seems, but it can be just as much a number to keep track of as hi...

Molten Armour

I actually drew this years ago, but I was trawling through some of my old works and decided to repurpose it for a new item deck! (Yes, I’m working on another btw!)

I imagine it’s something you’d find at the heart of a volcano, guarded by some large magma elementals. Or maybe a nice suit of armour is melted down with dragon fire. I was originally going to have it grant resistance - but even with resistance, lava can deal an incredible amount of damage.

Immunity I felt was a l...

Leaf Patch

Before Elven scouts undertook dangerous missions, their loved ones would embroider these leaves onto their cloaks for protection. As time and love endured, some cloaks would be covered with as many leaves as the trees themselves.

I always wish I had the skill to sew and embroider. I think it is such a beautiful art form, one that takes time and patience but results in such beauty. I’m especially a fan of natural patterns and forms in needlework.

I like the idea of this ...

Fairy Pipe

A common pipe Imbued with subtle fey magic, It is supposed the older the wood used in the making, the more distinct the smoky illusions are.

Another item inspired from the Dolemenwood setting that I am running. It also comes with a variety of interesting ‘pipeweeds’ that each grant different behavioural effects. Great for roleplay!

Rings of the Faceless Sphinx

These twin rings are identical and appear to be from a far off desert land. Gazing upon the mysterious faceless sphinxes, carved from lapis lazuli, fills you with a sense of confusion and unease.

I created these rings for two players from my own dnd group early on in the campaign. They were unsure if they would be able to commit to regular sessions, so I used this as a convenient story explanation as to why they kept disappearing.

Turns out, they weren’t needed! ...

Shadow Bag

Something wriggles furiously within this dark leather bag. It seems to only rest when placed in total darkness.

A handy little pouch to have for when you want to sneak in places where you don’t belong, or make a quick get-away!

Sting

Once owned by a beekeeper, this slingshot feels warm to the touch and emits a frenzied buzzing when the string is drawn taught.

It’s been a long while since I drew some items, I thought I’d start with something small to get back into it. I’m going to do my best to make them as ‘system neutral’ as I can, so they can be better adapted. I recently gave this one to one of my players in my ‘Dolmenwood’ adventure group shortly after they investigated as quest to find th...

Breathing Jars

I used this jar puzzle as part of a ‘water temple’ dungeon one time, though an extra part of it was that the jars had to be sought out and placed in a particular room.

There aren’t many animals that are amphibious that can easily be identified, but if you can think of any then there’s nothing stopping you from adding more jars!

Slimy Corridor - Trap

This is a classic trap that I try to introduce in some shape or form in my campaigns.

It’s an especially great way to humble players who are over confidant in their combat skills, as it doesn’t matter how many slimes are defeated…there’s always more!

The slow movement of the slimes also allow tension to build. They’re to devour their prey, but the players need to act fast!

I've also added some notes on how this trap can be made easier or more challenging depending ...

Puzzles: The Aging Stairwell

This is an old favourite of mine. I’ve seen all kinds of approaches: feather fall, ropes, simply jumping straight down. Each time I judge what would be the most appropriate result.

once has someone summon a wolf to charge down the stairs…it did not end well.

What do you think? How would you approach this puzzle?

Puzzles: The Blood Chalice

Perfect for safeguarding any necromancer’s lair!

A good puzzle should risk resources for an adventuring party, and what more precious resource is there than juicy hitpoints?

The ammount of hitpoints sacrificed should feel steep for the party. Steep enough for them to pause, and maybe think of what solutions they can do to bypass the puzzle’s parameters.

I’m still figuring out what needs to be included in how these puzzles are described. One thing which may be useful is...

Traps and puzzles booklet - Draft Cover

Hey everyone! I’ve been planning and thinking a lot about my next booklet. Here’s a little work in progress for the cover. Going with blue and gold this time!

Usually my roughs for these covers help me get a general feel for the overall colour and composition. The general motifs which I think will work are: cogs and gears, keys and locks and mazes.

I’ll upload one of the puzzles i’ve done in a moment too!

Brewmaster's Guide - Patreon PDF download.

The long wait is finally done!

I'm really proud of this one. It was a fun challenge to think of all the different varieties of drinks adventurers might want. There's some super weird ones! I think the spread for the "Farmer's Stout" is my favourite.

I'm in the process of getting the hard copies printed which I'll sell on my shop. Just awaiting the draft copy to check the colours and quality are all good. I usually do a little photoshoot of the hard copy to display it, this time I'...

Puzzles: The Lightning Serpent

Hey folks!

I’ve been considering what I’m going to do next once I’ve finished the magical drinks booklet. One idea that I keep coming back to is a collection of ready-made dungeon puzzles and trap rooms. Here’s one example I’ve been working on!

I love a good dungeon puzzle as it gives more importance to characters who thrive outside of combat. Prepping a good puzzle room takes time though and there aren’t many resources out there that explain interesting yet accessible...

Caster’s Cordial & Forester’s Fruitpunch

More juices! These are some simple ones for any magic user or melee/ranged fighter.

Was counting the number of different drinks so far: 48 in total, not including the legendary drink options (which I recommend game masters use as particularly rare treasures) and variations such as the creature juices.

just cleaning up some of the text, editing and formatting the pages. Will get my first test print run soon, then once that’s all looking great I’ll put up the physical copies for...

Creature Juice

Pure silliness. But I just love the idea of small juice cartons of suspicious origin appearing about the world (provided such things would be acceptable to the world in question!)

For once, writing the horrific spelling on each of them, was intentional.