New magic items for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game that you take directly from your foes’ corpses.
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Fetishes are easily introduced to a campaign: characters simply make Knowledge (nature or religion) checks (DC 20) after combat against eligible creatures. This provides a way to grant treasure for creatures that normally have only incidental treasure or none at all. Of course, with characters sporting bits and pieces of various creatures, NPCs will judge them based on their own experience. In savage societies, characters wearing fetishes enjoy a +2 bonus to Diplomacy while in more civilized areas they suffer a −4 penalty to Diplomacy checks but gain a +2 bonus to Intimidate checks. In civilized lands, characters bearing trophies of humanoids automatically fail Diplomacy checks against those of that race but gain an additional +2 bonus to Intimidate checks against them…
Activating a fetish requires a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Each fetish is CL 5th and occupies a 1/2 neck slot or 1/4 belt slot. All fetishes give off a faint aura of transmutation, even those that have been expended. Exceptions to the above rules are noted in a fetish’s description. The price listed for each item is included for purposes of calculating treasure values and imbuement feats.
Sample Fetishes
The following items present a wide range of creatures from which your characters can obtain fetishes. There are many more possibilities beyond those presented here.
Ankheg Jaw
Price 600 gp
This mighty jaw grants you the ability to spit acid 1/round, as the spell acid splash, for up to 5 rounds.
Bulette Claw
Price 250 gp
This fetish, capable of cutting through natural stone, grants you the ability to ignore either 2 points of DR or 2 points of hardness with your melee attacks for 10 rounds.
Cheetah Paw
Price 750 gp
The rear paw of the swift cheetah provides you a burst of speed. When activated, you gain the effects of haste for 5 rounds.
Crocodile Jaw
Price 500 gp
Your mouth extends into a toothy maw (10 rounds), during which you can make bite attacks (1d6 for Medium creatures, 1d4 for Small creatures).
Dwarf Heart
Price 500 gp
This foul trophy grants you 5 temporary hp when activated.
Elephant Tusk
Price 500 gp
The tusk gives you Improved Overrun (or Greater Overrun if you already possess Improved Overrun) for 5 minutes regardless of meeting the requirements for either feat.
Elf Ears
Price 250 gp
This grisly trophy provides you a +5 competence bonus on Perception checks for 2 hours.
Giant Eagle Feathers
Price 250 gp
These massive feathers grant the effects of feather fall for 5 rounds. This can be activated as an immediate action, rather than as a standard action.
Human Knucklebones
Price 750 gp
Another grisly fetish, these grant a one-time use of a feat for which you have met the prerequisites.
Lion Paw
Price 300 gp
Upon activation, this golden paw grants you the one-time ability to make a full attack after a charge.
Manticore Spikes
Price 400 gp
When activated, these spikes cause the fingernails on your off hand to lengthen into razor sharp spikes. You can break off these spikes with no damage to yourself and throw them: 20-ft. range increment; +1 enhancement bonus; and 1d6+1 damage (this includes the enhancement bonus).
Owlbear Paw
Price 500 gp
This powerful paw gives you a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength for 5 minutes.
Rat Skull
Price 500 gp
For 5 rounds, this grinning fetish grants you a bite attack (1d4 for Medium creatures, 1d3 for Small creatures) which inflicts filth fever (DC 13) on the first successful attack.
Rhinoceros Horn
Price 500 gp
The horn provides you a +4 enhancement bonus to Constitution for 5 minutes.
Roc Feathers
Price 750 gp
For 5 minutes, these impressive feathers grant you the ability to fly, as the fly spell.
Rust Monster Antenna
CL 7th; Price 700 gp
This powerful fetish gives you the ability to use rusting grasp on your first successful melee touch attack. The power fades when discharged or after 7 rounds.
Shark Teeth
Price 1,000 gp
These serrated teeth provide two benefits: a bite attack (1d6 for Medium creatures and 1d4 for Small creatures) you can use for 10 rounds and a +5 competence bonus on Swim checks for 2 hours.
Shocker Lizard Tail
Price 500 gp
This fetish gives off static electricity even when it is not empowered. You may either make a melee touch attack that deals 1d6 electricity damage or add 1d6 electricity damage to a successful melee attack (1/round for 5 rounds).
Snake Fangs
Price 500 gp
For 5 rounds, this fetish causes your incisors to grow and grants you a bite attack (1d4 for Medium creatures, 1d3 for Small creatures) that injects black adder venom (DC 13) on the first successful attack.
Stag Antlers
Price 250 gp
This item uses the head slot, rather than the typical slots, and it gives you a gore attack (1d6 for Medium creatures, 1d4 for Small creatures) for 5 rounds—you are considered proficient with the antlers for the duration. If used while depowered, the antlers count as an improvised weapon, do less damage (1d4 for Medium creatures, 1d3 for Small creatures), and have a 25% chance of breaking on a hit.
Wolf Pelt
Price 500 gp
This grey pelt takes up the shoulders slot and gives you Improved Trip (or Greater Trip if you already have Improved Trip) for 5 minutes regardless of meeting requirements for either feat. You can still be affected by a trip attempt.
Wolverine Teeth
Price 500 gp
You gain the barbarian’s rage ability for a number of rounds equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier (unmodified by the rage). If you already have the rage ability, you gain 2 extra rounds. While under the effects of this power, your hair (if any) gains stark white stripes from your temples back.
(This post is Product Identity.)
I like these! However, now that I’ve seen the fetishes I do believe that the penalties described in the feats do not serve a purpose beyond enforcing flavor – creating magical items is draining, I understand that.
Whoops!
“If the fetish’s owner does not repower the fetish within 1 week’s time, the fetish no longer functions as a magic item.”
OK, scrap previous comment. Now I think that divine caster are penalized too much. Shouldn’t it be easier for them to imbue a fetish, being workers of magic?
These are seriously cool.
Very clever – well done!
Very nice. I’d like to see a few more defensive fetishes. Fetishes for Big Bads like Dragons, Linnorms, Liches (smashed phylactry?), and some of the monsterous humanoid races too.
Fetishes from the big bads sounds …. dangerous. I like it!
Perhaps Mike should get crack-a-lackin’ on an addendum / Part 3? Make it so.
Very nice. I like how it turns the bodies of dead monsters into possible treasure.
And don’t forget hydra teeth…
I think I like the application as a one shot magic item. And even after it has served its purpose, it is still stylish.
Very interesting concept – I plan to use it in my campaign. One question, do you have some suggested guidelines for pricing and statting our own custom fetishes?
Now this is a fun article.
The article is thoroughly good, but I have to agree with Darkjoy. The penalties for creating these magic items are too severe, especially given that they still cost a fair bit of gold to make. In other words the Craft Fetish feat should work like all the other Craft feats unless you gain some substantial benefit for the draining you receive.
Two more things:
The Ankheg fetish is probably not good enough for its cost (even if you followed all the rules for item creation). A wand of acid splash is cheaper and better.
Also what is the duration of the dwarf fetish? I know that most PCs won’t hold onto those temporary hps for long but they should probably still have a duration (like the false life spell).
I really still like the article though. :)
Aha! I see where the confusion is, and I apologize for it. The price is not an actual gold piece cost needed to create the item. Rather it is a way to measure how much personal power must be invested to charge up the fetish, which is the only cost to be paid. The resulting reduction of spell casting ability or rage represents that cost.
I hope that makes more sense and addresses Darkjoy’s and your concerns. Given that it does, do you think the ankheg jaw is still underpowered?
The duration for the dwarf fetish should be 1 hour.
It looks like I’ll need to do some follow up work to discuss my design decisions and work up a system for more powerful fetishes. The cost as written would be prohibitively expensive for a “higher tier” of items.
Thanks for all the great comments. I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
Now, that makes much more sense!
As for the ankheg jaw, it really depends on who buys it. Acid splash is one of those spells that people only use if they really need to (generally because their higher level spells have run out or some such). For a spellcaster a wand is better, and most martial types a going to take out their crossbows or bows instead.
It should give you a one-shot breath weapon attack. Something like a 15-foot cone that does 2d6 acid damage (Reflex DC 13 for half). That makes it more like a less expensive elixir of fire breath but still useful for a martial character or spellcasting character who wants to damage multiple opponents at once.