Lesser magic item homebrew: d100 charms

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Third time's a charm

tl;dr

Wondrous items that provide a moderate 1-off bonus or very weak benefit which can be commonly acquired and require about 1/3 of an attunement slot.

Image 1. Design for a necklace with fish motif, c. 1900-05

Charm bands

A common charm band requires attunement and holds 3 charms, although rarer iterations can hold more. Changing the charm loadout on a charm band requires the band to be attuned to again. Charm bands are typically worn around the neck or on a belt.

Active charms

Most charms break or pop in some way after the wearer wishes to obtain its benefits. Any charm that is expended must then be repaired by a charm seller for a fee, or with a kit check of an appropriate type to be used again. Unless specified, willful activation of the charm requires a bonus action. If no means of activation is specified, or the activation has it's own trigger regardless of the wearer's desires, assume the charm confers a passive benefit.

Rarity

Most NPCs with a CR of at least 1 are given a set of charms in the campaign I run (so charms are commonplace, more or less). The players quickly got their hands on charm bands of their own and have done some pretty clever things with the charms they’ve obtained.

Disclaimer

Of course you can change the rules entirely in your game, but that should go without saying.

Not all charms are created equal. If a charm appears to be more powerful than others, it’s likely rarer and more expensive than the others as well (DM’s discretion of course). Some charms are quite similar, and so are listed together.

Image 2. Drawing for necklace - Two Chameleons, c. 1895

Charms list

Passive Charms

These charms provide a continuous benefit or activate of their own accord.

Glowing Swarm- Magical glowing bugs the size of gnats will assist finding things. +3 to investigation, -3 from stealth.

Pact Stone- If you know Eldritch blast, it now deals 2d4+1 force damage per hit instead of 1d10.

Dark/Divine Nexus- Any radiant/necrotic damage you deal is necrotic/radiant damage instead.

Greedy Heart- Any time you receive a healing benefit, you regain an extra hit point. This charm cannot be removed when it is attached to a charm band.

Greedy Strength- You gain a +1 benefit to Strength (Athletics) checks. This charm cannot be removed when it is attached to a charm band.

Bloodcoil- You deal 1 extra damage on all melee attacks, but also take 1 damage when a melee attack hits.

Soulbound Fortitude- A hit that would take you to 0 hp or lower instead takes you to 1 hp, expending the charm in the process.

Shaman Stone- Upon casting a damaging spell, flip a coin. On heads, the spell deals an additional 1 force damage.

Bloodseeker's Talisman- Dealing damage with a critical hit heals you 1d4 hp.

Sprintmaster- Movement speed increased by 5 feet.

Dashmaster- If you use your action to dash, you may expend your bonus action to gain an additional 10 feet of movement.

Sweet Crescent- If you see something that is in direct moonlight, it will give off a blue glow if it is in any way magical. [/u/RhysNorro]

Lifeblood Heart- Grants the wearer additional hit points equal to the maximum outcome of their base hit die (6 for a wizard, 10 for a ranger, etc.). The charm breaks when the hit points have been expended.

Blood Fury- When your health falls below the maximum outcome of your base hit die(6 for a wizard, 10 for a ranger, etc.), the charm is expended and all of your weapon or spell attacks deal an additional 1d6 damage until you are healed in any way.

Unholy blood- Increases max health by the maximum outcome of your base hit die(6 for a wizard, 10 for a ranger, etc.), but you are vulnerable to divine damage, gain the sunlight sensitivity feature, gain disadvantage in all religion checks, and are classified as undead.

Scales of Zenithar- +1 on persuasion checks to reduce buying prices.

Word of Talos- +1 on intimidation checks requiring a raised voice.

Prism of Julianos- +1 on investigation checks requiring deduction.

Mask of Dibella- +1 on performance checks involving seduction.

Sun of Arkay- Upon casting a damaging spell, flip a coin. On heads, the spell deals an additional 1 radiant damage.

Mark of Pride- If making an attack with a reach weapon you may ignore half cover.

Plagued Swarm- A thin swarm of plagued magical insects now follows you. You gain disadvantage on all charisma checks requiring positive a disposition towards you, but in combat may command the swarm to attack for 1d4 poison damage as a bonus action. The swarm cannot leave a 15 foot radius around you, and is immune to all attacks. If you are subject to any conditions (blinded, prone, charmed, etc.), the swarm is as well.

Bat's Eye Gem- Grants the wearer 10 feet of darkvision if they do not have darkvision.

Noble's Crest- +1 to charisma checks interacting with upper class humanoids.

Celestial Soul- Grants temporary hit points equal to the wearer's maximum health. When they have been expended the charm breaks. The unique shape means this charm occupies 3 notches.

Song of the Ancients- When you fall below half health, the charm is expended and half of your used spell slots are restored.

Cosmic Pulse- At the start of each of your turns, flip a coin. On heads, you regain 1 hp.

Trueleaf Sprig- When using wild shape, your attacks deal an additional 1 poison damage.

Poem of Barrus- At full health, you deal an additional 1d4 radiant damage with your melee attacks.

Aazidal's Nexus- When casting a spell that deals fire damage, you may choose to have it deal cold damage instead.

Hunter Queen's Crest- When attacking with a loading weapon, roll 1d4. On 4, you may use the bonus action of that turn to reload the weapon if you desire.

Bloodseeker's Crest- Killing a living creature of CR 1/2 or higher heals you 1d6+1 hit points.

Jonathan's Lock- When prone or sleeping, your effective armor class increases by 1.

Doom of Hell- Take an additional 1d6 damage from fiends. For every fiend you slay wearing this charm add it's CR to a running total. You deal half of this total as additional radiant damage when attacking fiends with a melee attack (for example if the running total is 13+3/8, you deal 7 radiant damage to fiends you hit). This total resets if your hp reaches 0, or if the charm is removed from your attunement. In the infernal plane, the bonus damage is not halved.

Fey Slayer- Doom of Hell but for fey and the feywild.

Wet Feather- Ignore the first 10 feet of falling damage. Falling rate slightly reduced. Taking more than 15 damage from a fall pops the charm.

Witchlight Moth- A small glowing moth follows you around, shedding 3 feet of dim light. Only you can see the moth and the light it produces. The moth does not respond to verbal commands, but will remain within 10 feet of you at all times, and can be caught with a successful DC 15 acrobatics check.

Primal Hunger- Eating the heart of fallen enemies will restore health equal to your base hit die (1d6 for a wizard, 1d10 for a ranger, etc.). Plant based food deals 1d8 poison damage if consumed, and no health can be restored from rests. You do not contract any diseases from eating hearts.

Beacon Stone- You always know your direction relative to the last place you slept.

Crablord- You can speak to crabs.

Vile Shape- Wild shape turns into a monstrosity instead of a beast.

Merfolk’s Blessing- You do not expend an extra movement when swimming instead of walking. You require 3 times as much water per day. It appears to be an ornate fish made from bronze.

Feyblood Shell- If an enemy attempts to put you to sleep with magic or charm you, the attempt fails and the charm is expended. Bears the image of a greater fey wielding a shield.

Sweet Heart- If you take an action in combat to eat a sweet food, you regain 1d4+1 hit points. [/u/RhysNorro]

Sweet Horseshoe- You gain the ability to neigh like a horse. A successful DC 17 intelligence saving throw from a creature who cannot see you will reveal the true origin of the neigh to them. [/u/RhysNorro]

Iron Hide- AC increases by 1, but movement speed is halved and you cannot swim.

Lucky Coin- Once per day you can reroll a 1, and you must take the result. After using this, the next 20 you roll must be rerolled and you must take the result. [/u/lucky2u]

Unlucky Copper- You have a -1 penalty to all ability checks. Appears to be an orb of rusted copper.

Active Charms

These charms only provide benefit if the wearer wishes to use up the charm.

Lucky Copper- May expend this charge to add 1d4 to any d20 roll before the outcome is revealed by the DM. Instead of the usual effects of expending a charm, it is replaced by Unlucky Copper when used. Appears to be an orb of rough copper, except for the draconic symbol for 1 carved into it.

Lucky Silver- May expend this charge to add 1d4 to any d20 roll before the outcome is revealed by the DM. Instead of the usual effects of expending a charm, it is replaced by Lucky Copper when used. Appears to be an orb of dull silver, except for the draconic symbol for 3 carved into it.

Lucky Gold- May expend this charge to add 1d6 to any d20 roll before the outcome is revealed by the DM. Instead of the usual effects of expending a charm, it is replaced by Lucky Silver when used. Appears to be an orb of shiny gold, except for the draconic symbol for 3 carved into it.

Sweet Comet- If you can see a shooting star, you can cast the Wish spell without using a spell slot. After you cast it, this charm disintegrates. [/u/RhysNorro]

Sweet Clover- You can expend this charm to add a +1 bonus to any d20 roll. [/u/RhysNorro]

Sweet Balloon- You can expend this charm to cast levitate on yourself without expending a spell slot. Shaped like a device from an unknown reality. [/u/RhysNorro]

Sweet Rainbow- You can expend this charm to immediately know the location of the most valuable object within 30 feet. [/u/RhysNorro]

Elven Mind- If used by a half elf, they may expend this charm to trance instead of sleep. Bears the image of a meditating high elf.

Sweet Hourglass- As a free action, you can expend this charm to take 2 actions on your turn. [/u/RhysNorro]

Holy Toast- It may just be coincidence, but the burn marks really look like your favorite god's symbol. +1 on religion checks. Can be consumed only once for 1d12 + 2 hp, after which the charm dissolves into burnt bread crumbs. [/u/TheBashfulPanda]

Raven Rock- You can expend this charm to summon a Raven under your command for up to a day. After the duration has ended or it reaches 0 hit points, the Raven turns into a puff of black smoke which rapidly dissipates.

Divine Shell- May expend the charm to take half damage from an attack as a reaction to being hit by any attack.

Frostbite/Flametoungue/Shockscar/Unholy/Blackhorn Shell- May expend the charm to deal 1d6+1 cold/fire/lightning/necrotic/piercing damage as a reaction to a melee attack hitting you.

Furious Wind- Can make a melee weapon attack as a bonus action when using the dash action, expending the charm.

Strength of the Noble- May expend the charm to deal double damage on a spell or weapon attack as a bonus action, provided your action was used to make a weapon attack which hit. If multiple attacks are made in your action, only the first receives any benefit from this charm.

Spellmaster- May expend the charm to cast a spell at 1st level that you have prepared.

Shield of Stendarr- May expend this charm to resist being knocked prone.

Heart of Mara- May expend the charm to heal 2d4 hit points to a creature you touch.

Breath of Kynareth- may expend the charm to triple your jump distance or double your jump height for one second.

Hourglass of Akatosh- May expend the charm to undo your turn in combat, after which your turn immediately ends, nullifying any influence your turn would have had on the tide of battle. The unique shape of this charm means that it takes up 2 charm notches instead of the usual 1.

Heavy Blow- May expend this charm as a bonus action to make the melee attack you use your action on push the target away up to 10 feet.

Second Wind- If you are fighting with 2 light weapons and use your action to attack with one of them may expend this charm as a bonus action to attack with each weapon, for a total of 3 attacks under normal circumstances. Do not add ability modifiers to the damage rolls of these attacks.

Dragonskin Shell- If you take damage before your first turn of combat, you may use your reaction to expend the charm and nullify the damage entirely.

Healer's Focus- If you know cure wounds and use it in combat, you may use subsequent actions to cast it again on the same target without expending a spell slot. The first action you take after sustaining Cure Wounds which does not sustain the spell breaks the charm.

Mushboom- Can expend this charm to grow an explosive fungus on an arrow or bolt before firing it. On impact, it explodes for 2d6 poison damage within 10 feet, or half as much damage to those who succeed the DC 15 constitution saving throw.

Lord and Lady Stones- This charm has 3 charges. 2 may be expended to cast a spell you have prepared at 2nd level, or 1 may be expended to cast a prepared spell at 1st level. Once all charges are expended, the charm breaks. Th unique design of this chrams requires 2 notches to use effectively.

Wispy Cloak- Can expend this charm to become invisible. The effect ends if you move, typical invisibility ending actions are taken, or 1 minute passes.

Arcane Knowledge- You may expend this charm to cast any scroll, provided you pass the scroll comprehension DC. Even if you fail this check, the charm will still be broken. The scroll does not use a spell slot when cast.

Mindgiver- Can expend this charm to awaken a shrub or similar plant of CR 0. You command this creature, but it rapidly withers losing 1 hp every minute until it dies. It cannot be healed.

Violet Spore- Can expend this charm to summon a violet fungus from a nearby corpse. This fungus is hostile to all creatures (including the wearer of the recently broken charm) and its victims do not spawn additional fungi.

Acid Tongue- When you make an attack action with a weapon which hits, you may use your bonus action to expend this charm. The target’s AC is reduced by 1 until the end of your next turn.

Magician’s crest- You may expend this charm to cast prestidigitation.

Vile Swarm- Choose an enemy. As an action, you may expend this charm to summon a swarm of rats around this enemy. The swarm can only attack this enemy, and if the swarm hasn’t been killed by the time the target dies, they disintegrate.

Charm Charge- May expend this charm to use another charm that has been used. The other charm is then permanently disabled.

Weasel Tooth- You can expend this charm to summon an invisible weasel and give it one verbal command. If no command is provided, it disappears. It will attempt to fulfill the command to the best of its ability. After this attempt it will disappear.

Monk Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used ki.

Barbarian Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used rages.

Bard Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used bardic inspirations.

Cleric Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used channel divinities.

Wizard Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used Wizard spell slots.

Paladin Crest- May expend this charm to replenish ½ your used HP for Lay on Hands or ½ the uses for your Divine Sense.

Rogue Crest- May expend this charm to effectively double your dexterity modifier on an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw.

Sorcerer Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used Sorcery points.

Warlock Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used Warlock spell slots.

Druid Crest- May expend this charm to regain 1 wild shape use.

Fighter Crest- May expend this charm to regain 1 use of Indomitable or Action Surge.

Ranger Crest- May expend this charm to restore ½ of your used Ranger spell slots.

Living Tether- You can expend this charm to conjure a vine which binds you to another creature within 1 size rating of you that could be reached by a 30 foot vine. For example, a target 5 feet from you on the other side of a wall might still be tethered if the vine can reach through a small chimney or a window. This vine has the same statistics as a 30 foot rope. Neither creature is considered grapple.

Quipper Idol- You can expend this charm to obtain gills, and breathe water instead of air for 1 hour. You must choose either saltwater or freshwater when you use the charm. It appears to be an idol in the shape of a quipper.

Silent Claw- You may expend this charm to deal 2d4 psychic damage to a target you can see within 30 feet that has not detected you. It bears the image of a Tiger’s head.

Vicious Claw- You may expend this charm to deal 1d4 psychic damage to a target you can see within 10 feet. It bears the image of a roaring lion’s head.

Sleeping Eye- You may expend this charm to magically slow an enemy you see within 30 feet until the end of your next turn. Appears to be a closed eye forged from silver, which opens when the charm has been used. The charm then appears to be empty, and does not contain an eyeball.

Image 3. Studies for comb and choker plaque - Circle of Bats, c. 1900

d100

charms

This concept was inspired by Hollow Knight, but the campaign these were made for employs the Elder Scrolls pantheon so there are references to that as well. I had asked for assistance with this in an earlier post which has since been deleted. Contributors are credited next to their creations.

Credits

This document is not made for commercial use!

Concept and basic rules was created by user u/aquaticLandwhale with help from community on r/d100. Original post is here.

Converting the post for www.gmbinder.com made by u/pterodactor.

All images are created by an artist René Lalique (1860 - 1945).

Cover art: Drawing for pendant with fighting roosters.

Images sources

Cover Drawing for pendant with fighting roosters, c. 1899-1900

Image 1 Design for a necklace with fish motif, c. 1900-05

Image 2 Drawing for necklace - Two Chameleons, c. 1895

Image 3 Studies for comb and choker plaque - Circle of Bats, c. 1900

 

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