Fantasy Chainsaws

 Bit of a weird project, but if you ever want to include some form of chainsaw in your fantasy games, at least one of these should fit the tone. Maybe that's just me! If you're doing full gonzo, go ahead and roll that wonderful d20.

1. Lotus Petal Saw

Softly shining, pink petals spin along an ornamented bar, conjured by a Blades of the Endless Wheel mantra.

Exactly this, by me

2. Thornwheel Blade

A great enchanted rose bush, grown by fairies to have a rotary thorned stem.

3. Jaguar Claw Macuahuitl

Empowered by a jaguar spirit, its many obsidian blades command incredible cutting power even when swung like a normal sword.

4. Necrospinner

A spinning weapon of animated bone, using fangs and teeth along the whirling edge.

5. Meatcutter

So named for cutting meat as well as itself being meat. The blade is comprised of sharp, hardened claws, and it spews its own blood when spinning.

6. Crystal Prismus

Enchanted weapon of polished stone and gems. Each tooth is a different kind of gem, and they can create a glinting rainbow of slicing power.

7. Brimstone Spinblade

Spewing hellfire when it spins, the heat of its flames can burn through steel as well as any warhammer punches through.

8. Starlight Spinner

An elven weapon of silver, hammered as fine as eggshells, with a radiant blade that captures the light of the stars.

9. Slimesaw

Somehow when spinning, the goopy edge of this blade cuts much faster than the slime can normally corrode.

10. Classical Sparksaw

Ancient spinning blade crafted of olive wood and bronze, spits blue sparks as it spins. Made by a brilliant inventor centuries ago.

Ancient Bladesaw, from Zelda

 

11. Trimerian Sawbeetle

The curious horns of this giant beetle can spin to cut through wood or, presumably other Trimerian creatures. They are carefully bound to be used as tools.

12. Winding Sharp-Frost

 Unnaturally hardened frost, spinning and cutting with a fractal edge.

13. Whipsaw

A bladed whip that can be activated to coil in an elongated shape, spinning to cut more effectively, in exchange for shorter reach.

14. Terracotta Blade

A living clay weapon that spins with razor sharp clay shards along a lengthened edge.

15. Runic Stormblade

Constructed of tin and pewter, by wizards. The runes etched into its surface conjure the vortex of a storm into its crackling, whirling edge of deep indigo lightning.

16. Gilded Relic Blade

Built of marble set with gold and finely cut gems, this spinning blade contains a warrior-saint's fighting hand bones, and radiates with divine cutting light.

17. Trimerian Wasps

Angry insects that have been specially bred and trained to fly in a long, rounded formation and devour anything they touch. This was the only formation in which they wouldn't turn back and attack whoever holds their hive.

Lasersaw, by Andrea Sibilla

18. Jade Dragon's Fang

Gifted by a divine being from an unearthly realm, it is surprisingly easy to carry.

19. Spectre's Wrath

 As ghostly mist whirls and spins, the hatred of the dead calls out in a hollow wail.

20. Splitting Organistrum

The powerful tune of this slow instrument projects a small aura of cutting sound near its neck when played properly.

Many of these were inspired with help from Gal Paladin on Discord!

Arcane focus

Magic users must have an arcane focus to use their techniques in combat. Just about anything can be selected as a focus, but for players who really need some help, they can roll on this table. None of these can be reasonably sold, their only value is sentimental and personal.

1. Instruments

1. Lute
2. Lyre
3. Drum
4. Flute
5. Trumpet
6. Bagpipe
7. Tambourine
8. Bells
9. Rebec (medieval violin)
10. Crotals (finger cymbals)

2. Apparel

1. Hat
2. Scarf
3. Glove(s)
4. Cape
5. Cloak
6. Coat
7. Bowtie
8. Mask
9. Ribbon
10. Shoe(s)

3. Jewellery

1. Amulet
2. Circlet
3. Bracelet
4. Necklace
5. Ring
6. Eyeglass
7. Armband
8. Brooch
9. Clasp
10. Earring(s)

4. Equipment

1. Shield
2. Scabbard
3. Fishing Pole
4. Wheel
5. Shovel
6. Hammer
7. Net
8. Oar
9. Fire poker
10. Torch

5. Melee

1. Dagger
2. Sword
3. Axe
4. Spear
5. Mace
6. Halberd
7. Poleaxe
8. Club
9. Whip
10. Flail

6. Fine tools

1. Quill
2. Armillary
3. Candle
4. Lamp
5. Needle
6. Hairbrush
7. Mirror
8. Hourglass
9. Spool
10. Scissors

7. Kitchenware

1. Cup
2. Bottle
3. Fork
4. Cauldron
5. Plate
6. Kettle
7. Spoon
8. Sieve
9. Millstone
10. Breadbox

8. Remains

1. Skull
2. Dried animal
3. Pickled organ
4. Pickled animal
5. Teeth
6. Scrap of skin
7. Eyeball
8. Preserved hand
9. Scales
10. Seashell

9. Art

1. Figurine
2. Painting
3. Plaque
4. Dream catcher
5. Poetry
6. Book
7. Engraving
8. Embroidery
9. Flag
10. Stained Glass

10. Other

1. Spellbook
2. Stone
3. Coin
4. Gear
5. Staff
6. Abacus
7. Broken sword
8. Braid of hair
9. Scrap metal
10. Bandage

Magic plants

All plants can be purchased as seeds for 3 gold, or transplanted for 5 gold. Remember, plants grown with druid magic don't grow seeds.

Bushes

1. Belligerent Kindler: a stiff fern that pushes back against force, igniting if necessary. The leaves are immune to burning, and can be useful in making flame-resistant materials. Those who live near these plants will sometimes compare a hot temper to a fern, much to the amusement of foreigners.
2. Acrobat's Brush: bushes with springy branches that cause any impact to bounce off. A person can use it as a springboard to leap up to 5 meters.
3. Blasting Cucumber: grows a crop of small round vegetables, more elongated and cylindrical than normal cukes. Whenever something jostles the bush too much, it blasts seeds in every direction, dealing heavy damage to anyone nearby.
4. Green Phantom Bush: related to a similar magic shrub in distant Centerra, these bushes turn any living creature that touches them invisible.
5. Cutpurse' Bramble: this underbrush is favored by bandits for the long, rigid leaves that can be used as makeshift daggers. Fully grown they usually have 1d4 usable leaf daggers, which dry out and become useless after a week.
6. Hedge Mule: able to pull up its roots and move at pace with a leisurely walk, for up to a day if it's had a week to rest, or an hour if it's had a day to rest. Can carry up to 9 inventory slots worth of items or one passenger.

Vines

1. Crushvine: looks like a benign ivy until a year of growth, when it blooms red flowers and suddenly pulls whatever it has grown on, crushing even stone walls into the ground. When someone is acting suspicious, people will sometimes say they are 'blooming red.'
2. Sentinel's Grape: these vines keep surreptitious watch through their leaves, growing small grey berries. When a berry is eaten, it reveals everything the vine has seen in the past month, though the eater must save vs poison or fall into fitful slumber for 1d4+1 days.
3. Jeweler's Ivy: so called as it seems to enrapture anyone who touches it. The truth is that its touch is paralyzing, and it will slowly consume anyone it traps unless they are pulled or knocked away.
4. Creeping Lover: black vines with hand-shaped leaves. They fall away from a surface and wrap around anything that touches them, often capturing the careless. For each additional person trapped, each victim gets +1 to escape.
5. Creeping Storm: famous in several tales for their ability to carry lightning along their stems. Less famous is the fact they carry flame just as well, flaring out at the leaves. Some extravagant nobles will have them grown at the top of a tower.
6. Rock Ivy: thick-stemmed vines that harden like stone when they die, becoming nearly unbreakable. Many castles will encourage these plants to grow along walls, but if allowed to grow wild the hardening roots can push apart bricks,

Trees

1. Bandit's Oak: grows broad but not very tall. Within it's mostly hollow, with inconspicuous entry points at nearly every side.
2. Dreambirch: anyone going to sleep within one kilometer of this tree's pale blossoms will be trapped in a somber, eerie dream world. Each night roll 1d100, if the result is lower than the number of trapped people, one will awaken. Strong willed individuals make a will save to escape.
3. Cloud Willow: sheds its leaves when endangered, causing any creature they touche to become weightless for an hour. If they fail an agility save to grab something, they will drift upward 2d20 feet before falling. The leaves last an hour if gathered carefully.
4. Siege Spruce: this tree builds up explosive deposits in the trunk, and grows flammable nuts. When chopped down, it fires a natural cannonball from the trunk, dealing 3d6 damage. If burned, it will launch up into the air and come crashing down.
5. Razorbark Sycamore: looks like a normal tree with low, climbable branches, but the bark is razor sharp. 1d6 of the branches can be broken off and stripped to use as axes which will break after 1 damage marker. The bark can be peeled off for other uses, but the task is risky.
6. Sovereign Hickory: when this hearty tree takes damage, it becomes immutable like a giant immovable rod for one minute. Some alchemists insist that its wood is the key to creating immovable rods, but none have yet managed it.

Weapon Generator

I've seen a few magical weapon generators around, and wanted to design one for lower magic settings, creating specialized nonmagic weapons, or just as a baseline before adding magic powers to it. Some thought should be put into how the weapon looks and works, for example a short blade with a long haft would be a spear, whereas a short blade with a one handed haft would be a dagger.

Table

Head

1. Long blade
2. Short blade
3. Axe
4. Mace
5. Hammer
6. Scythe

Haft length

1. One handed
2. Hand and a half
3. Two handed
4. Medium length
5. Long
6. Chain

Decoration area

1. Head
2. End
3. Side
4. Cross guard
5. Handle
6. Pommel

Sword tip (for long blades or short blades)

1. Pointed
2. Curved
3. Angular
4. Square
5. Forked
6. Round

Sword shape (for long blades or short blades)

1. Straight
2. Narrow
3. Curved
4. Weighted
5. Round
6. Wavy

Axe type

1. Straight
2. Curved
3. Bearded
4. Narrow
5. Round
6. Angular

Mace type

1. Flanged
2. Morningstar
3. Club
4. Round
5. Skull
6. Figure

Hammer type

1. Four pointed
2. Flat
3. Pick
4. Flared
5. Tapered
6. Figure

Scythe type

1. Curved
2. Straight
3. Angular
4. Rounded
5. Squared
6. Double

Handle material

1. Dark wood
2. Light wood
3. Red wood
4. Ebony
5. Ivory
6. Copper

Grip type

1. Leather
2. Cloth
3. String
4. Steel
5. Silver
6. Gold

Pommel shape

1. Circle
2. Ball
3. Diamond
4. Triangular
5. Broad
6. Curve

Crossguard

1. Straight
2. Curled
3. Flared
4. Basket
5. Circular
6. None

Decoration type

1. Lining
2. Engraving
3. Embossing
4. Filigree
5. Painting
6. Plating

Head material

1. Steel
2. Stone
3. Bronze
4. Iron
5. Silver
6. Gold

Examples

Mace head, medium length, decorated crossguard, morningstar head, ivory handle, string grip, broad pommel, straight crossguard, plated decoration, iron head

Classic morningstar mace, of an old design but with fine materials, probably made for a wealthy warrior or leader in bygone eras. The head is made of iron but the hilt is long and carved of ivory, with a grip of string wrapped in a fine pattern. It possesses a guard just below the head that has been plated with gold, further emphasizing its value.

-

Long blade, one handed, decorated pommel, square tip, round blade, copper handle, cloth grip, triangular pommel, curled crossguard, filigree decoration, silver blade

Holy sword with a wide curved, silver blade representing the cleansing power of the moon against the accursed. There is a twin weapon of gold representing the sun which supposedly wards off demons. The pommel is a wide cone with a delicate filigree across the rounded surface, and the handle is copper wrapped in silk.

-

Axe blade, chain, decorated crossguard, narrow blade, light wood haft, gold grip, diamond pommel, curled crossguard, gemstone decoration, gold blade

The blade of this weapon is narrow and golden, almost like a chisel, on the end of a lightly hued wooden chain and a golden handle. There is a diamond shaped pommel, with a crossguard on the handle bearing a large ruby.

Simplified examples

If you need to roll up something quick or aren't concerned with all the little details, you can just roll the head type, length, and decoration. I would recommend not rolling for the head material for most weapons either way, only on particularly special ones.

Long blade, one handed, decorated crossguard

Arming sword with a gilded crossguard.

Hammer, long, decorated pommel

Polehammer with a golden cap at the bottom end.

Short blade, one handed, decorated handle

A fine dagger with filigree along the grip.

Potion Generator

Random Potion Generator

Use this to generate some interesting random potions. Tables are written in descending order of significance, so you can just keep rolling until you get a potion exactly as complex as you want. You can even roll multiple times on a given table, especially side effects and flavors.

Effect 

1. Increased accuracy
2. Increased hit points (long-lasting)
3. Glow (long-lasting)
4. Invisibility
5. Darksight
6. Water breathing
7. Levitation
8. Haste

Side Effect 

1. Change skin color
2. Change hair color
3. Grow feathers
4. Grow scales
5. Eyes sprout from skin
6. Teeth sprout from skin
7. Gain weight
8. Vomit

Flavor 

1. Fruity
2. Citrus
3. Salty
4. Bitter
5. Sour
6. Bland
7. Spicy
8. Tangy

Texture 

1. Carbonated
2. Oily
3. Pulpy
4. Gritty
5. Creamy
6. Thick (like pudding)
7. Syrupy
8. Foamy

Size 

1. Microliter (droplet)
2. Millileter (dram)
3. Centiliter (10ml or two tbsp)
4. Deciliter (100ml or half cup)
5. Two deciliters (200ml or one cup)
6. Half liter (two cups)
7. Liter (one bottle)
8. Two liters (jug)

Container

1. Glass bottle
2. Clay jar
3. Waterskin
4. Stone pitcher
5. Crystal decanter
6. Metal vial
7. Wax-coated sponge
8. Magic field

Cursed Effect 

1. Blind
2. Numb
3. Paralyzed (short-lasting)
4. Asleep (after potion wears off)
5. Addictive
6. Repulsive (can't drink another)
7. Gibberish
8. Sluggish (half movement)

Examples

2, 7, 3, 3, 7, 5, 5

A semi-common drug known to those in the underground as Filler, it is relatively unknown in normal society. Its taste alone could be described as inoffensive, but the texture makes it highly unpleasant to most. Drinking it causes growth of a type of firm fat deposits that resemble muscle, but soften into normal fat over night. An adventurer's dose is usually sold in finely carved crystal decanters that would make the the whole thing hard to get down during the heat of battle, so most dealers will recommend drinking it at the start of the day.

5, 3, 1, 7, 6, 4, 3

Usually imported from tropical islands, this potion is kept in the same stone cups used to mix it from exotic fruits and herbs. It is known as Eagle Eye because it allows the drinker to see through any shadow, but causes feathers to sprout from the drinker's shoulders and hips. The shift in vision is deeply disorienting, and stuns anyone who drinks it for up to a minute. Certain adventurers tout it as a superior alternative to torches or oil lamps, but most stick with fire, and Eagle Eye remains a niche product.

7, 1, 4, 5, 8, 7, 8

Referred to as Cloud, or drinkable clouds, this is thought of by most adventurers as being of little use, but it retains a high price for its popularity among the upper class. The drinker will find themselves floating gently in the air, as though swimming. Most often it is stripped of the wax and then warmed until it becomes thinner and drips out of the sponge, giving it a flavor often compared to tea. The large size of the sponge is one of the biggest hindrances for an adventurer.

In my opinion these examples I rolled up are a perfect sign of how good this table is, and my only hope is that others will find it as useful and enjoyable as me.

Wand Generator

Power

1. Fire
2. Ice
3. Lightning
4. Oil
5. Grasp
6. Shrink
7. Polymorph (bear, lynx, hawk, deer, rabbit, or horse)
8. Negation (magic/fire/sound)

Target

1. Individual (creature or item)
2. Line
3. Cone
4. Circle
5. Wall
6. Nearest sound
7. Nearest magic
8. Random

Material

1. Wood: Plain wooden wand.
2. Base metal: Iron, nickel, copper, lead, zinc, or a combination.
3. Noble metal: Gold, silver, platinum, mercury(?), electrum, or a combination.
4. Stone: Crude granite, fine marble, or even limestone.
5. Gem: Ruby or sapphire, maybe quartz if you want.
6. Glass: Preferably of a bright color, or hollow and full of liquid.
7. Animal: Bone, bound leather, or a living worm.
8. Reroll twice, combine results.

Shape

1. Straight: A plain, straight wand.
2. Forked: Splits into two ends, or maybe two handles.
3. Flat: Broad and flattened, like a small plank.
4. Crooked: Bent oddly.
5. Spiral: Twists around like a corkscrew.
6. Ring: Donut shaped, like a horseshoe or chakram.
7. Object: Looks like a random mundane object, but is still clearly magical.
8. Reroll twice, combine results.

Feature

1. Bulbs: Rounded irregularities along the length of the wand.
2. Thorns: Long spines or tiny bumps.
3. Ripples: As if it was the surface of a lake as a stone skips, frozen and coiled into your hand.
4. Grooves: As if gouged out with the tip of a blade.
5. Holes: Running through the wand, possibly making it a tube.
6. Runes: In whatever language you like.
7. Utility: Functions as or contains in its design a mundane item, such as a key behind the handle, or a small holding compartment.
8. Reroll twice, combine results.

Effect

1. Glowing: Could pulse, or glow at certain times.
2. Sparking: Might crackle intermittently, or when used.
3. Flaming: Illusory, harmless flames or a candle flame at the tip.
4. Oozing: Drips onto the floor, the user's hand, targets.
5. Distortion: Causes a lensing effect around the wand, like a black hole or heat waves.
6. Debris: Small chunks or dust float around it, or comprise part of its length.
7. Voice: Echoes, whispers, screaming, or humming
8. Reroll twice, combine results.

Examples

7: Shrink
5: Wall

7: Animal

Bone

2: Forked

Cracked and split

5: Holes

Cracks that run through the bone

2: Sparking

In the marrow

This dry, broken bone still feels somehow alive with twisted energy. It splits near the end, and inside the many cracks and holes there can sometimes be seen a crackle of dark energy. Casts out an elongated field of dark indigo lightning that will reach out to shock anything that passes over it, reducing its size dramatically for a brief period.

2: Fire
4: Circle

3: Noble metal (3: Platinum)

1: Straight

3: Ripples

Carvings of fish and waves

4: Oozing

Fish oil or algae

Powerful in the hands of a merfolk, on the surface world it feels slick and stinks of the sea. Some may call it cursed, but in truth it is simply out of place. Its power causes all liquid within the area of effect to ignite with green flames that burn water almost as if it were oil.

6: Negation
3: Cone

8: Combination of 6: Glass and 3: Noble metal (4: Mercury)

Hollow glass, full of mercury

4: Crooked

3: Ripples

5: Distortion

Extends the pattern of the ripples

An elongated, narrow cone of glass. It has a rough surface, carved in a wavy pattern that seems to extend an inch or so beyond the surface. Inside it contains some liquid metal that seems averse to heat.

Seems good for making some crazy looking wands. Maybe I'll come up with a wand effect table, or you can just use your spell list of choice.

Magic item: Saddle of Flight

This saddle will allow you and your horse (or other mount), to fly at high speed. It does not however, prepare the animal for this in any way, causing it to panic and requiring that you keep it calm and try to stay steady while flying.

In a roleplaying game, you could fly at a higher speed than your animal runs, but require handle animal or similar skill checks in order to remain on the animal. Maybe it could even grow accustomed to it over time, and require less difficult checks, or develop a desperate fear of heights and get even harder to stay on each time you lift off. Story-wise, it would be hilarious and terrifying, and probably create some tension depending on how everyone feels about the animal.