Greetings, Honored Guests!
In appreciation for the exemplary services recently performed by those who accompanied the "princess bride" (so to speak) here safely and securely, Mirumoto Sanjen, High Lord of the Dragon Clan, hereby presents to you the following gifts, to be divided up amongst yourselves as you deem most appropriate. (GM's notes -- prices are included for quick reference, he certainly doesn't mention them! DMG descriptions apply -- the parenthetical names are the DMG versions, the origami crane for instance really is a folded paper magic item of great value, you really don't want to hold it over an open flame...)
Jingasa (Helm) of Comprehending Languages and Reading Magic (2600)
Kaen (Pipes) of Haunting (6500)
Candle of Truth (2500)
Necklace of Fireballs (Type V: 9d6, 2x7d6, 2x5d6, 2x3d6) (6150)
Origami Crane (Stone) of Good Luck (10,000)
Furoshiki Sack (Bag) of Holding (Bag 2) (5000)
Gloves of Dexterity (+2) (4000)
Rope of Climbing (3000)
Ring of Jumping (2000)
Wand of Summon Monster II (fully charged) (4500)
The High Lord of the Dragon Clan hopes that you will find a use for these humble items of magic, even though they be mere baubles for such heroes as yourselves. Perhaps you will stay and enjoy the pleasures and the industriousness of the city of Hodate, as well as its sheltered temples and elegant parks. You are welcome to enjoy the hospitality of the Castle during your stay here, as the High Lord's guests.
In particular, Tsuruchi Zenako of the Unicorn Clan is welcome to avail herself of the High Lord's personal shrine if she wishes to engage in meditation upon the glories of her ancestors and her own duties as a noble samurai. For the crafters of magic among you, there are suitable working rooms for such activities here in the Castle which you are welcome to use if you wish.
And perhaps, if you are interested, there is a task or two that you might perform...
Side note -- Til'k'chek, with the Imperial Miya Hatori accompanying you, although as he says he does not haggle over prices, it seems that the local enchanters of arms and armor are more than happy to assist you in your quest for excellence with the scimitar. It seems that his mere presence at your side inspires them to their best (most obsequious and desiring to please) behavior, and they are happy to bring the enchantments on your Scimitar +2 up to +3 with Ghost Touch, to match the fine enchanted dagger of the same properties which you offer in trade. All they ask is that in addition to the dagger, you might provide a mere 500 gp in actual cash to help cover the immediate costs of materials... In this matter they are able to begin working on their enchantment of the Scimitar immediately -- they trust you of course (well, that is what they say anyway) and so while they are working on your scimitar they insist that you hold on to your dagger in case you should have need of it. And, if you do not have at least a masterwork scimitar handy, since scimitar appears to be your weapon of choice, they will loan you a finely crafted masterwork scimitar from their own stock. (They appear to treat your scimitar as they would treat a samurai's katana, with great respect and care.) As the enchantment will be being done by a single master of the craft, who is by Law allowed to work only 5 days (out of 6) per week, they calculate that it will be 28 days before the work is completed -- 24 days of work with 4 days of rest. If this is acceptable to you, then they will begin as appropriate, at dawn of the next day.
(GM to players -- there is nothing happening immediately that requires your group to respond, so if you wish, you may spend as much as a month here taking care of business, engaging in random activities, practicing your skills and so on. Consider Til'k's Scimitar enchantment to be a rough guide to how much time is available, if someone needs to take longer then there may still be enough time for that as well, but you can count on at least 28 days of activity after getting settled in at the Castle and receiving these gifts.)
(Note -- details to be determined later, but there is probably a haunted island or two that needs to be cleaned up, and according to all reports, you folks excel at that sort of thing... So that would be the next item on the agenda, if you are interested. No specific time limit in terms of actually doing it, but assuming you don't wear out your welcome, the High Lord (or one of his retainers or advisors) will at some point approach your leaders with a request for aid in some such matter.)
-- Ernie III / DrakaraGM)
P.S. -- Market limit in Hodate is 40,000 gold -- so lots of stuff is available here that would not be available in Marike. Also, as with most big cities, there may be a criminal element that might make it advisable for some characters to travel in pairs or larger groups, just to avoid attracting trouble. (Yeah, I know, some of you LIKE trouble...) -- E3
> Jingasa (Helm) of Comprehending Languages and Reading Magic (2600):
90% chance to read / understand any language, 80% to understand magic (although it gives no casting ability).
> Kaen (Pipes) of Haunting (6500):
When used with Perform (pipes) creates eerie entrancing sound. Will vs DC13 to resist, if fail shaken for 10 minutes. (-2 to attack, damage and saves).
Questions: Range of effect? Not clear in DMG. Perhaps with 30' or something have a normal DC, with lowered DC for each range increment beyond that, kinda like missile fire. Will immune to fear negate? Affects all or just targets? it seems like it would affect all in the AoE potentially. Would higher ranks in the instrument incease the DC?
> Candle of Truth (2500):
Cool one shot item. Creates a Zone of Truth effect for 1 hour within 30' of the candle. IT is only a 2nd level spell effect with a Will Save, and if you save are unaffected and if you fail you know that you are being compelled to not lie, so they might refuse to answer or be very evasive.
> Necklace of Fireballs (Type V: 9d6, 2x7d6, 2x5d6, 2x3d6) (6150):
As with previous ones, throwing range is 70'
> Origami Crane (Stone) of Good Luck (10,000):
+1 LUCK bonus to saves, ability checks and skill checks.
This appears to be a "slotless item" is that correct, so simply having it on your person will be enough to gain the boon? is that correct?
> Furoshiki Sack (Bag) of Holding (Bag 2) (5000):
This can hold up to 500 lbs, but always weighs 25 lbs even when empty.
> Gloves of Dexterity (+2) (4000):
Normal magic item.
>Rope of Climbing (3000):
60' magical rope that obeys certain commands and will move on its own. You must be holding the rope to command it.
> Ring of Jumping (2000):
adds 30 to jump roll results...
>Wand of Summon Monster II (fully charged) (4500):
50 charges, see short list in PHB. I assume that the wand is flexible and not constrained to what it can summon like some of our casters might be. Summon Monster is both a Divine and Arcane spell, however in OA it is listed as WuJen (and Maho). Since Hatori is already using the spell, clearly Sorcerors can also cast it. Anyone else?
Now it is also clear thay many of these items could also just be purchased if someone wants one and does not receive it as their gift.
It would also be potentially useful for some characters to know if they have advanced a level before they figure out how they intend to spend their loot, if you get a chance to estimate / calculate that for the PC's oh honroable DMsan.
I have July 18th and August 15th marked as the dates for the next two sessions.
I expect that we will be operating as characters out of the city for a few play sessions I would guess, and I would expect them to be "out and backs" or doing something in the city region type sessions, so missing one should not end up with characters being too seperated in time or space.
Zenako does intend to avail herself of the Lords gracious offer and spend 14 days (or possibly more) offering to her ancestors and awakening more powers of her families katana. She also has a number of other enchantments she seeks to obtain as well.