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Home / Delve into the Depths in the Kobold Blog / Midgard Monday: behold these wondrous dwarven magic items of the Ironcrags!

Midgard Monday: behold these wondrous dwarven magic items of the Ironcrags!

Midgard Monday: behold these wondrous dwarven magic items of the Ironcrags!

It’s Midgard Monday! Each week, we visit a corner of the wide world of Midgard. Look for standalone content you can drop into your campaign—whether it’s in Midgard or your own homebrew. Find new inspiration each Midgard Monday!

Here is a sample of the magic items made and used in the Ironcrags, both minor and mighty.

DIADEM OF DELVING DANGER

Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement)                   Price 3,000 gp

This simple bronze headband is set with a small, semi-precious stone that. Once attuned and worn, it gently vibrates and glows a dim green whenever a pit, cliff, or other drop-off of 10 feet or more is within 120 feet. The vibration and glow both become stronger as the wearer approaches a drop-off. Note that the diadem works even if the danger is not visible to the wearer, such as a hidden pit trap.

DOWSING ROD OF TREASURE SEEKING

Wondrous Item, Uncommon                     Price 1,000 gp

This forked yew rod is carved with an overlapping pattern like scales or coins with runes on one side. By stroking the runes, the rod will tug and point towards the nearest large mineral treasure, refined or otherwise, such as coins, gold bars, gems, or veins of mithril ore. This rod can only be used once until the following dawn.

GREAT HORN OF THE CANTONS

Wondrous Item, Uncommon                     Price 20,000 gp

These enormous, curved, brass warning horns are carved with runes around the mouthpiece. Only one of them weighs 2 tons, and they are sometimes found in pairs or trios just inside the fortified entrance of a dwarven delve.

The Canton-specific script used to carve the runes is highly ornate, to the point of obscuring their meaning. If no Canton horn blower is around to explain proper technique, a successful DC 20 INT (History or Arcana) check reveals the sounding techniques needed to invoke one of the three following effects.

Warning Call. On a successful DC 9 CHA (brass) or DC 11 CON check, you blow a mighty call that can be heard for at least 15 miles aboveground and 5 miles underground, even through solid stone. On a failure, you take 2d12 thunder damage.

Warrior’s Roar. On a successful DC 11 CHA (brass) or DC 13 CON check, you cause the horn to issue a growling roar. All enemies within 120 feet of the horn’s bell must succeed on a DC 13 CON save or be deafened and stunned until the end of their next round. On a failure, the horn issues an embarrassing sputtering noise, and you take 4d12 thunder damage. This effect can be used once until the following dawn.

Shake the Earth. On a successful DC 14 CHA (brass) or DC 16 CON check (with a DC 16 CON check, you can cast the earthquake spell from the horn (without the fissures effect of the spell). On a failure, your spit dribbles down the tube of the horn, erupt into a noisy coughing fit, and take 6d12 thunder damage. This effect can be used once per month.

You can invoke any or all effects at the same time. If invoking multiple effects, you must make only the highest check, and risk only the maximum possible damage for failure.

MATTOCK OF EARTHEN MIGHT

Wondrous Item, Uncommon                     Price 2,030 gp

This crusty, top-heavy mattock (also known as a “graveling axe”) doubles your lifting and dragging weights. When used to dig loose earth or stone, it can be used to move one 5-foot cube of earth each round or grant the user a digging speed of 5 feet. You can also use it as a two-handed improvised weapon which acts as a greataxe. The mattock deals double damage to items, constructs, and other creatures made of wood or stone. It is considered a magic weapon for purposes of penetrating resistance or immunity. Creatures made of pure fire, air, smoke, or light, are immune to damage from the mattock.

MINER’S LANTHORN

Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement)                   Price 7,000 gp

This cold iron shuttered lantern has dwarven runes etched on the bottom, a crystal lens, and a light that never goes out. Even unattuned, you can be use it as a normal shuttered lantern. Once attuned, as a bonus action, you can verbally command the lanthorn to dim or shutter its light, or point its light at a particular space. You can also command it to hover and follow you or another creature. If it follows another creature, and that creature moves farther than 60 feet from you, the lanthorn returns to hover next to you.

In addition, once per day, as an action, you can command the lanthorn to duplicate the effects of a sunburst spell, with the following changes: the area of effect is a 60-foot cone in front of the lanthorn, and deals 6d6 radiant damage. After you use this effect, the lanthorn only casts dim light in a 5-foot radius and does not hover or follow commands until the following dusk.

MINER’S CART OF HOLDING

Wondrous Item, Common             Price 50 gp

Each of these magical mining carts has an interior space considerably larger than its outside dimensions, roughly 8 feet in diameter and 16 feet deep. The cart can hold up to 1500 pounds, not exceeding a volume of 256 cubic feet. The cart weighs 150 pounds, regardless of its contents. Though designed to work on iron rails, they also can be pushed or pulled across firm ground and level stone without rails. Retrieving a specific item from the cart requires an action. If the cart is tipped over, using its built-in loading lever system, its contents spill unharmed in a 10-foot cube in front of the cart.

If the cart is overloaded, pierced, or cut open, it is destroyed and scatters its contents into the Shadow Plane. Placing an extradimensional magic item, such as a bag of holding, inside the cart instantly destroys both items and opens a gate to the Shadow Plane. The gate originates from the former location of the cart. Any creature within 20 feet of the cart when this happens is sucked through the gate to a random location on the Shadow Plane. The gate closes immediately after.


Get into Midgard with the Midgard Worldbook! This acclaimed campaign setting is rich and deep, with over a decade of support from Kobold Press.

Want a more focused start? Try the Zobeck Clockwork City Collector’s Edition! This detailed sourcebook
gives players plenty of room to run, and includes adventures within the Clockwork City itself!

about Adam W. Roy

Adam has been playing TTRPGs for almost forty years, and has been a freelance game writer and editor for decades. He has written for Kobold Press, Paizo, White Wolf, and others. He is also a full-time father, husband, and e-commerce guru…. He manages all of this by avoiding sleep altogether.

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