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    Magic Items of Ull: Part 2
    Posted on Tue, July 26, 2005 by Trickster
    mortellan writes "Loremasters of the arcane can tell much of a magic item’s history just by studying the age and design of it. However time to time an unearthed magical treasure will confound cursory examination and reveal a possible new layer to a region’s past. It is in the unlikely armpit of the world called Ull that a few such items have been rumored to exist.

    Magic Items of Ull: Part 2
    By: mortellan
    Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

    Author’s note: Due to the unreliable information given by Uli ‘experts’ to certain members of the Moquollad Consortium and the Seekers, the following survey can only provide rough histories of the magic items and vague descriptions of their rumored powers. Those wishing to use these items for their own campaign will find they may be more or less powerful than hinted at, the benefit of which is that you can customize them as you need for your own style of play. Furthermore, no information has been obtained on the means for their creation or a fair market value since the locals seem to eschew the Moquollad’s standards. Blame it on Ull.

    Gloryseeker
    This now legendary sword is an indelible part of Kester urban legend. As the stories are often retold around the fighting pits, Gloryseeker’s true origin is unknown for certain. A popularly held belief however, is that the fabled sword was used extensively in ancient gladiator combat; primarily a symbol of excellence among many real and falsely celebrated champions. Where fiction and fact become further jumbled is in the exact dating of the blade. Most will proclaim it to be the steel of the great west Paynim riders, others attribute the sword to the pre-migration Oeridians that left eastward before the Uli came to claim the land and even more deluded opinions state the blade is of neither and really comes from someplace called Tdon. Attempts at authentication have been few and far between since counterfeits have been created and because the real sword has changed hands more times than can be tracked. Gloryseeker actually has not been seen for over two decades, but popular opinion is the blade still rests in the Kester area.

    Gloryseeker is a shortsword of extreme sharpness and adamantine toughness. Its make is of a curious sort for the region being both broad and double edged with a strong parrying crosspiece. It is not generally agreed on how strong of a magical emanation Gloryseeker exudes nor are the tales confirmed of the sword’s special ability to increase the wielder’s popularity to gladiatorial crowds.

    Ring of the Yorodhi
    This magic ring is held in high regard by the Yorodhi hill folk as a symbol of tribal heritage and tenacious strength. It appears as a thick band of silver etched with airy Oeridian glyphs and inset with several tiny sapphires between the linework. The origin of the ring, like anything else in the region has been spun into tall tales to facilitate the Yorodhi’s self importance. Most stories claim it to be crafted in a time before the Baklunish-Suloise Wars when the Oerid people were at their strongest in the West and not to be outdone it was supposedly worn by a great King of their people. Whether this apocryphal Oeridian monarch and his kingdom truly existed within present day Ull is debatable but what isn’t generally dismissed is that the ring was first turned up in the foothills of the Barrier Peaks by tomb plundering Uli shortly after their occupation. Infuriated by these robberies, the Yorodhi have waged years of secret vendettas against any Uli or foreigner who have ties to the stolen ring. The ring’s powers have not fully been studied since its owners have been on the run constantly, but legend states that it brings great morale to the hearts of those around the wearer much akin to a paladin’s Aura of Courage. Other fanciful tales relate that the ring can only truly be used by one of pure Oeridian blood, a claim at the heart of the Yorodhi vendettas. Allegedly the wearer can also boast to be imbued with heroic physical prowess but to what extent it hasn’t been verified yet.

    Staff of the Barrier Peaks
    No magic item in Ull legend has vexed more minds than the enigmatic Staff of the Barrier Peaks. Less than a century past, a strange pole made of metal was first brought to the land of Ull by a dying slaver whose band had ventured deep into the Barrier Peaks for humanoids to capture. The last survivor of the expedition related mad delusions of a hidden valley with marshy ground and filled with seemingly intelligent plant-life and grotesque animals unknown in the West. According to his story a lucky few in the party found temporary refuge within a bizarre cave of light and sound. It is there that they found many strange treasures including the staff. Normally such a rant would have been dismissed if not for the proof of burns and abrasions on most of the man’s body and the curious metal pole that allegedly saved him alone from the horrors of that place. First thought of as a weapon, the staff has since passed on to many ambitious if not failed gladiators and slavers who put too much stock in the tales. Interestingly the most recent sighting of the metallic staff was on its way back to the Barrier Peaks as its last owner decided to retrace the origins of the item there in search of answers.

    The Staff of the Barrier of Peaks is the length and weight of a normal quarterstaff, yet it is composed of bands of very strong, interlocking metal. It is topped with an embedded crystal that can be hid by a button activated shutter built into the bands. The craftsmanship is a point of contention among lore seekers for some would quickly attribute the staff to dwarves while experts of that race would point to the Mage of the Vale for such a strange item but others would say it is perhaps something of the UnderOerth. In any case the item is hypothesized to emit an inaudible antipathy effect on intelligent plant-life and in less sentient creatures it has even been known to cause them unseen pain. The staff has otherwise proven itself to be slightly ineffective in combat compared to normal bludgeoning weapons, except in durability of course.

    "
     
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    Re: Magic Items of Ull: Part 2 (Score: 1)
    by cwslyclgh on Tue, July 26, 2005
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Another good article Morte, my only complaint (and it is a slight one) is that you have been somewhat too vague on what powers the objects actually have. Still a very decent peice of writing and a good addition to your growing body of Ullore... hmmm... Ullore... I like the sound of that maybe I should trademark it... ;-)




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