Items: Shield of the Elder Wight Lord

 

This shield was looted from the Great Enchanter's hoard. Its origins are unknown, but it does have a certain Norscan (or even Chaos Wastes) aesthetic. When held by any Undead or Chaos creature or a character with MR 1+, the shield glows blue, and the twisted face of a Wight Lord can be seen, wordlessly screaming at an unseen barrier that is keeping it locked inside the metal.

Powers: The Wight Shield, a formidable magical artifact, bestows 3 AP, even against attacks that bypass non-magic armor. It possesses the unique ability to Parry any ranged attack, including magic missiles (it can oc also parry melee attacks). This is achieved through an opposed WS (+30 instead of the +20 normal shields provide) vs. BS/Spellcasting test, showcasing its unparalleled defensive capabilities.

Holding the shield grants the wielder an extra Toughness Bonus resistance to cold-based attacks and also makes him immune to non-magical cold (so you won't freeze to death in winter, but you could starve to death or drown in icy water). Any non-magical melee weapon wielded by the shield's wielder is considered magical.

Furthermore, the shield bestows the user with a unique power over the Undead. It enables the user to employ their Social skills on any Undead, even those devoid of morality, as if they were living beings. While the Undead may not always be cooperative, they will at least consider the shield's owner's input before making a decision. Mindless Undead will make simple choices, such as attacking or stepping aside, while Intelligent Undead can make more complex decisions.

Finally, the Wight Lord may be released from the shield. Make an opposed WP test at +20. If successful, the Wight Lord will obey the shield's owner before returning to the shield once the fight is over. On a failure, it makes a single attack that cannot be defended against, then returns to the shield. On a critical failure, it breaks free and tries to murder the shield's owner.

Item: Horn of the Norscans

 

This item can summon the spirits of dead Norscan warriors to fight again. While not inherently evil, any competent wizard can tell that the magic used is both powerful and dark.

Powers: The horn can only be used by Norscan characters or by someone with a Magic rating of 1+

Make a WP check with a +20 modifier. If successful, 1d3+1 (or d3+MR if a mage) Norscan berserkers will appear and fight for the summoner for 1 hour or until they are destroyed. The berserkers have normal berserker stats, except they cause Fear, and have Daemonic and Unstable traits (meaning they are hard to kill - but not impossible - unless you have magic or magic weapons).

On a double on the WP check, the berserkers will attack everyone, including the summoner and his allies, caring not from whence the blood flows. If the result is a double AND a failure, the berserkers will appear, but attack the summoner at the exclusion of anyone else. On a double '0' the summoner also suppers 1 CP (the horn is not of Chaos, but is still a dangerous object to fool around with).

The horn can be sounded once per battle (or possibly multiple times if the battle is very long), but if sounded again before the next full Chaos moon, there is a cumulative -10 penalty to the WP check.

Item: Boots of the Eonir

 

Many of these boots were made for elven hunters so that they could better protect the Laurelon forest against greenskins, dwarves, and humans.

Powers: Adds +20 to Perception and Stealth in natural surroundings (i.e. not inside a settlement or underground) as long as the wearer wears only light armor and no helmet.

Item: Vestment of the Stars

 

This magic robe is sewn with a staggering number of finely crafted silver stars that seem to move around in accordance with the movements in the heavens. It radiates softly of Hysh.

Powers: The robe grants a +10 bonus to all Heavenly magic.

The wearer can attack by hurling stars from the robe. The stars count as magical missiles, hitting automatically and doing 1d10+WPB+MR damage. The robe can either make 1 attack as a free action or MR attacks as a full action. Once per day, the wearer can make the full attack as a move action, allowing him to either attack with something else or cast an attack spell.

Using the robe to attack depletes the number of stars, but they can be slowly regenerated by leaving the robe hanging in starlight.

The robe can reasonably be worn over light armor if desired, but nothing as bulky as medium or heavy armor (so no breastplates - or, gods forbid, full plate).

Item: Flail of Vengenace

 

Part of the Drachnefels hoard.

Powers: The flail is magical.

If the wielder has lost any wounds (even self-inflicted) the weapon gains a +2 bonus to damage and +10 WS. If the wearer is heavily wounded (less than 1/3 W left) increase the bonus to +4 and +20. If the wearer has suffered any critical damage, the flail scores crits on any '0' and increases crit severity by 2.crit on any '0' and increases

Item: Gauntlets of the Griffon

 

These heavy steel gauntlets - recovered from Castle Drachenfels - are finely decorated with gold and radiate potent Amber magic. Wearing them literally gives the wearer ogre strength - but not ogre looks!

Powers: When wielding a 1-handed weapon, increase S by 1 or raise it to a minimum of 6. If a 2-handed weapon, add 2 or set S to a minimum of 8 instead.

Item highlight: Ghal Maraz, Hammer of Sigmar Heldenhammer

Ghal Maraz, which means "Skull-Splitter" in the Dwarf tongue of Khazalid, is the name of the legendary magical warhammer once wielded by the founder and patron god of the Empire, Sigmar Heldenhammer.

For millennia after Sigmar's disappearance at the end of his reign, the warhammer was lost, and various copies were added to the regalia of succeeding emperors. 

The true warhammer was rediscovered in 2501 IC and is now wielded by Wigmar von Liberungen, Prince of Nordland and Westland.

In many ways, Ghal Maraz is the stronger, meaner cousin of the Runefangs. It's highly magical and carries three greater runes.

Powers: This two-handed hammer is magical and of exquisite quality (forged from a unique gromnil alloy). It does SB +8 damage, increases the severity of crits by 2 (4 for head hits), and ignores all normal armor (special armor, such as magic armor, chaos armor, gromnil armor, etc., protects normally). 

Due to the hammer's history, it causes Fear 1 in greenskins (goblins, orks). The wielder may roll 2 damage dice and pick the better result as the hammer hunger for more ork blood.

The hammer can only be wielded by a descendant of Sigmar with at least 1 corruption point (but no more than 3).

• Greater Rune of Courage: The wielder is immune to Fear and Terror. Targets struck must make a -20 Ag test or gain the Ablaze condition. The rune can also be used to set stuff on fire (but using it to light your campfire is just wrong). 
• Greater Rune of Radiance: The hammer emits magical light (20 yards brightly lit, 20 additional yards dimly lit). Any Unstable creature engaged with the wielder suffers 3 Wounds at the end of each round. Any daemon or other otherworldly creature damaged by the blade must make a WP test or be banished.
• Greater Rune of Sundering: While attacking, if the attack roll is a double, the wielder can make a powerful slamming attack that damages each creature engaged with him. Roll damage 1d10+8, ignoring the test's SL and the wielder's Strength. Each engaged creature, including the original target, suffers that much damage (resisted only by T, not armor). If a creature takes any wounds, it must make a -20 S or Ag test or gain the Prone condition. The hammer can also be used to easily smash most things, although using it to chop wood or break stones is... and affront to the gods.

Item highlight: Ancient elven rune sword (UPDATED)

 

This ancient blade was created by elves and dwarfs in the time before the War of the Beard for use by the Phoenix King's guard. It's made from an unknown alloy (probably involving mixing gromnil and other metals, curiously including copper) and inscribed with numerous runes (12 in number, although the number of power combinations is probably lower). 

At some point, the blade ended up in the hands of a minor line of Reikland nobility and received a new hilt and guard, making it look like an Empire knight's blade to the uninitiated. Wigmar recovered it from the undead remains of a knight in the Barren Hills. He later had it rehilted in Parravon; it now looks very much like a Bretonnian longsword. 

For a time, Wigmar imagined it might be the lost Runefang of Solland, but after consulting with the remaining rune masters of Karak Azgarz, this was proven wrong. Its forging predates the Empire by thousands of years. The blade is so old the runes used are from a time before the dwarves standardized their rune magic (some would say the runes look a bit elvish), and the masters cannot for certain say what the blade's powers are.

Update 1: After the battle of Brass Keep, the runes will sometimes light up, seemingly of their own volition. This includes some combinations that haven't been active before.

Update 2: According to Alaric the Mad (or the madman pretending to be him), the runes are proto-Khazalid, but the language is Elvish. This explains why other rune masters don't understand shit - they don't know the language OR the runes. Moreover, each rune is NOT a complete rune of power. Instead, combinations of runes make up individual runes of power (this sword was made before the runes of power were perfected). No wonder the sword's inscriptions have been hard to interpret! 

It's also interesting because the sword would seem to violate the Rule of Three, which states that any item can have a maximum of THREE runes of power. It's also unclear how this relates to the Rule of Pride; the same combination of runes can never be inscribed on more than one item.

Powers: The blade is magical (curiously, it radiates very little magic when examined) and of premium quality, doing +2 damage and granting a +10% bonus to WS when wielded. 

• Rune of Illumination: The blade can be made to emit magical light at will (10 yards brightly lit, 10 additional yards dimly lit). 
• Rune of Banishing: Any daemon or other otherworldly creature damaged by the blade must make a WP test or be banished. This rune has also proven effective at banishing daemons possessing physical hosts, although the exact process isn't known.
• Rune of Annulment (?): Alaric isn't entirely sure yet, but it looks like when this rune is active, the blade sucks in magical energy, making spellcasting in the vicinity (even for the wielder) much harder, if not outright impossible. The runes glowing at random could be the sword eating magic. It's a theory, anyway.

Legendary items

 

Magic items are quite rare in the Old World, but they are not as rare as to be unknown. Some items, however, are a bit more special than others. The most special of all items fall into the "Legendary" category.

Such items have a set of starting abilities but have additional "hidden" powers that can develop during the course of play. This is a cool way of keeping items relevant for longer without making them too powerful when introduced.

Current known (others are certainly possible) legendary items: The rune-fang axe and the elven rune sword.

Mechanics: When the owning character progresses his story in a manner that fits the item, it will grow in power. 

Crow Feeder, for example, will grow more powerful if Wigmar furthers the cause of Northland. It could include something as boring as building up the province, but in the case of the axe, that's not really in its nature (turning back a Chaos incursion would be a better fit). And the elven rune sword would probably enjoy slaughtering dark elves since it was made for the Phoenix Guard...

Finally, it will be possible to invest a Fate Point into a legendary item once it is sufficiently attuned to its owner. This will unlock the item's final form.

Item highlight: Crow Feeder (Krähenfresser), Runefang of the Jutones (Nordland)

 

Crow Feeder is not a sword at all but a bearded axe in the Norscan style. The Electors of Nordland don't really talk about this much. For one, the Emperor holds this Runefang following the fall of Westerland. Secondly, the Princes of Nordland always carry sword and axe together, probably to make people not think too hard about this issue.

The axe was given to Wigmar by Emperor Lutipold during the Spring of 2500, basically confirming Lord Liberungen's ascension to the high office. This will, of course, have to be ratified by the Electorate when they assemble in Altdorf for Wigmar's marriage to Katarina Todbringer, but that should be a mere formality.

The axe bears a striking resemblance to the Axe of Khorne Wigmar threw away at Brass Keep. Almost like they were twins, separated at birth, with one turning twisted and evil. Perhaps there is some significance to this, or maybe it is a fluke - or just Khorne playing a prank.

Powers: The axe is made from an enchanted gromnil alloy (same as all Runefangs). 

It counts as a magic weapon, does +4 damage, increases the severity of crits by 1, and ignores all normal armor (special armor, such as magic armor, chaos armor, gromnil armor, etc., protects normally). 

If the weapon defeats an opponent without slaying him, the wielder must make a WP +0 test or immediately kill this unworthy foe. If the test is successful, the wielder MAY instead make a bonus attack at full WS against another enemy within striking distance.

If the owner of this weapon is defeated in personal combat, the axe will deem him unworthy, and he suffers WS -20/BS -40 until he has atoned by some extraordinary feat of arms. No known magic has the power to break this curse.

The axe probably has other powers as well that can be unlocked by furthering the cause of Nordland and exploring the legend of the blade itself.

Item highlight: Wizard's staff

 

Most wizards (and other powerful magic-users) are often seen brandishing long walking sticks, sometimes plainly made, other times set with gems or other items of power. There is a very specific reason why the staff is such a popular and iconic part of a wizard's inventory:

Powers: While wielding the staff, the risk of Tzeentch's Curse is NOT increased when over-channeling.

Individual staffs can have various additional powers. Some may provide bonuses to attack or defense (and are considered magical weapons) or provide bonuses when channeling a specific color of magic.

Staffs are attuned to a specific wizard but can, with some time and effort, be attuned to a new wielder.

Wizards are not penalized in any way for NOT using their staff. So it's perfectly possible for a wizard to go "undercover" by leaving their staff in the broom cupboard at home. 

Note: Some rare wizards have wildly different channeling items.

Item highlight: Gromnil armor

 

Gromnil armor is always of exquisite craftsmanship and is usually heavily ornamented, gilded, and so forth. Gomnil armor is VERY rarely made for human customers, and it's therefore quite rare to find armor that would fit non-dwarves. Furthermore, most dwarves would be very suspicious of any human wearing gromnil. He or she better have a good explanation of why they have it! However, if a rare dwarf-friend should be allowed to wear gromnil, this will increase his standing with all dwarves (a +10% bonus to Fel where appropriate).

Powers: Armor forged from gromnil has +1AP compared to equivalent steel armor.

In addition, it protects (through a combination of the material's strength and fine craftsmanship) against normal critical hits (i.e. doubles on the attack die) but not other sources of crits (e.g. weapon qualities that grant crits on '0s'). 

Some say that gromnil is more comfortable to wear and that it doesn't get as hot/cold as normal armor, but whether this is true or not is hard to say for certain.

Gromnil is never enchanted - the material itself isn't inherently magical either - but some sets of armor might be rune-marked (this is, for reasons unknown, quite rare). Since gromnil isn't magical, it can be used in conjunction with many other types of magical protection. For example, Wigmar's magical amulet stacks with his gromnil armor.

Gromnil is harder and has a higher melting point than steel, but claims that it is "indestructible" is obviously an exaggeration. If it was, gromnil would be the ultimate defense, impervious to any attack, no matter how lightly made.

Item highlight: Amulet of Warding

 

As magic items go, this protective amulet is about as common as they get. It's even possible to purchase such amulets from the Colleges if you have the connections and several thousand GCs.

Powers: The amulet adds 1 AP of magic armor to all locations. protects against both mundane and magical attacks. It doesn't stack with other magic armor, but it does stack with armor (even armor like gromnil that has enhanced protection but isn't actually magical).

Some powerful amulets have additional powers, such as protecting against poison and diseases and/or providing more than 1 AP (Wigmar has the common 1 AP variant)..

Item highlight: Dwarven Rune Axe

 

This axe was forged by the dwarf master smiths of old and inscribed by dread runes. While there are many (relatively speaking) such weapons, all are unique works of art, and priceless. Dwarfs will take offense at any non-dwarf (unless a dwarf-friend) wielding such a weapon.

Powers: The axe head is gromnil, so is immune to breakage from most sources (it's not literally indestructible, but all gromnil is nearly impervious to damage). 

The axe count as magic, does +2 damage, and scores crits on '0s' against orcs, goblins, and skaven.

Item highlight: Ring of the Desert Genies (aka Ring of Spell Storing)

 

This ring was pried from Zul's dead finger. It is not unique in function - other similar rings exist - but its Arabyan origins are certainly unusual.

Powers: Rings of spells storing can hold from 1 to 5 spell levels (Wigmar's holds 5 spell levels). They prepare these rings, a spellcaster casts their spells into the ring beforehand, then release the spells as needed.

Only spells with a casting time of up to 3 Half actions can be cast into the ring. It takes 10 minutes per spell level to cast a spell into the ring

Make a Spell test as normal. As long as the spell is successfully cast, it is absorbed by the ring - there is no need to record the exact SL. If the spell is normally opposed, the opposing test is made when the spell is later released from the ring (see below).

If more levels are put into the ring than it can hold, all spells are ruined and the ring becomes inert for 1d10+18 hours. The same happens if the caster fails his Channeling test.

Any spellcaster, the original caster or otherwise, can later release the spell from the ring. Casting time, range, effect, and so forth are normal, and SL is automatically set to 1. MR is based on the original caster's MR. There is no chance of miscasting (that's checked when the ring is prepared).

Spells stored in the ring can be used for Conterspelling.

The ring has several applications. A master could place a powerful spell into a ring and give it to an apprentice about to embark on a perilous quest. Or a pair of wizards could each power their rings, then swap them, thereby giving their partner access to some out-of-color spells. A wizard could prepare difficult spells ahead of time, with easy access to components and other support.

Item highlight: Jade Ring of Cathay

 

These magic rings (about a dozen are known to the Colleges) are said to originate from Cathay, but some of the ones found in the Old World are definitely made locally. The common denominator is being made of a solid piece of jade, without any other materials present. The purpose of the rings is to absorb magic energy and thereby protect the wearer.

Powers: Jade rings can safely absorb up to 8 spell levels (some rings may have higher or lower capacity). The rings will absorb any spells with the wearer as the target, where the wearer is within the direct area of effect, or if the wearer moves into an ongoing area of effect. Rings will also absorb spells cast by the wearer, although some rare rings are said not to eat the caster's own spells (Wigmar's ring is of this type).

After absorbing 8 levels, the ring will continue to absorb spell levels, but there is a cumulative 10% chance for each extra spell level that the ring will overload (check once after each spell is absorbed). For example, if a jade ring has 7 absorbed levels and is hit by an MR 3 spell, it's 2 points over, and there is a 20% mishap chance.

Removing a ring that has absorbed 1 or more spell levels is dangerous: there is a 10% chance per absorbed level a mishap will trigger.

If a mishap triggers, the ring is ruined and the wearer suffers 1 hit to the hand wearing the ring with S = absorbed spell levels. Armor does not protect against this damage.

The ring can be drained of spell energy by a magic user (MR 1+) by making a Channeling (any type) test, with Normal difficulty (Hard -20 if the ring is over capacity). This takes 10 minutes per level drained. All levels must be drained in one go, or the ring suffers a mishap as described above.

Cursed rings: Some rare jade rings are cursed. These appear normal jade rings when examined, but only work when used by a spell caster, and only to absorb their own spells! If a cursed ring is removed, it automatically suffers a mishap, but the ring is NOT ruined.

Runefangs

 

The Runefangs are twelve ancient (presumably magical) swords forged by the legendary Dwarf Runesmith Alaric the Mad. The Runefangs are, after Sigmar's hammer, easily the most well-known weapons of the Empire.

The swords were intended for the twelve tribal leaders who had followed Sigmar. Today they are the badges of office of the Elector Counts of The Empire. Rarely wielded in combat, they have become regalia rather than weapons of war.

While there are twelve Runefangs, there are now only ten Elector Counts and provinces that remain. The realm of Drakwald (located in the Drakwald Forest) was destroyed and absorbed by Nordland and Middenland. Solland, the southernmost province, was sacked and destroyed in the early 1700s by Gorbad Ironclaw. The Elector was killed, and his Runefang was taken as a trophy by the ork warlord. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

The Runefangs

Unless otherwise noted the Runefangs are all heavy longswords (bastard swords) better suited to barbarian warfare than modern combat.

Averland - Mutters Verderben: Mother's Ruin is one of few Runefangs to be carried daily by an Elector-Count. It's also one of few to be regularly wielded in combat.

Drakwald - Bestienschlächter: Beast Slayer, the Runefang of Drakwald is kept in Altdorf under the protection of the Emperor and Sigmar. 

Hochland - Goblinfluch: The Bane of Goblins is said to be badly corroded after slaying a terrible Chaos beast during the Great War Against Chaos. 

Middenland - Beinbeißer: The legendary Leg Biter is the blade of the Todbringers, rulers of Middenland and Middenheim. It's likely that the Todbringer carries a replica in public.

Nordland - Krähenfresser: Crow Feeder is, like Stone Breaker, not a sword at all, but a bearded axe in the Norscan style. The lords of Nordland don't really talk about this much. Indeed, they always carry sword and axe together, so it's a moot point really.

Ostland - Kopfzerstörer: Head Chopper (or maybe Destroyer is a better word) is a mighty zweihänder that rests peacefully in the Great Hall in Wolfenburg. None of the Tassenincks have the might to wield it.

Ostermark - Trollspalter: The blade Troll Splitter is forged in the manner of a Kislevite cavalry sword, a heavy curved blade well suited for mounted murder. The weapon earned its name in Troll Country.

Reikland - Drachenzahn: Dragon's Tooth is the blade of Riekland and thus the blade of the current Emperor, Lutipold I, long may he reign. The number of heroic paintings and statues depicting the Emperor and his blade is quite large. As far as is known, the Emperor has never wielded the sword in anger - or been in a battle.

Solland  - Groll Siedler: Grudge Settler was lost to the orcs many years ago and never recovered, despite many claims to the contrary (every few years, someone claims to have found the blade). 

Stirland - Ork-Messer: Orc-Chopper is the twin of Mother's Ruin; the blades are so similar they are hard to tell apart. Unlike the Averland blade, its role is mostly ceremonial.

Talabecland - Steinbrecher: Stone Breaker isn't a sword at all, but a mighty warhammer, not entirely unlike Sigmar's. It sits silently in a vault somewhere; it's been generations since any lord of Talabecland had the strength to wield it.

Wissenland - Blutbringer: Blood Bringer is the sword of Emmanuelle von Liebwitz. She does not carry it in public (nor is she strong enough to wield it).