Gentlemens' Rings of Fortitude
A ring that is not just magical, but stylish as well.
A gentleman, be he a noble, a wealthy merchant, a knight of the Kingdom, is not always going to be riding about clad in armor and draped in steel chain. There are certain occasions when he will be forced to don his finer attire, and pay attention to the small details, such as the disposition of his doublet, the turn of his tunic and the lacing of his hose. But such gentlemen are never completely assured of their protection at such soiree. Being unarmed and unarmored, and often bereft of their retinues, bodyguards (save for perhaps a single manservant or man at arms) they are considered easier targets. It is also considered scandalous and insulting to appear at such a social gala in armor, underarmor, bearing weapons, or traveling with a group of obvious soldiers and mercenaries. Such actions insult the host of the event, as the guest is obviously dubious of their host's security and hospitality. Secondly, the gentleman so insecure in his own martial prowess that he requires a vangard at a dance and feast is going to be a subject of laughter and ridicule.
So it is that magical jewelry will appear. These pieces of magical decoration serve two very important functions: being fashionable and conveying magical protections to their wearer. The oldest of these lordly magical rings are known as the Gentlemens' Rings of Fortitude. These are large ornate men's rings, with wide bands. There is never a central jewel or setting in these rings, and some can be cleverly carved and shaped metal, always precious, and when precious stones are present, they are small, in number, and usually part of bands or greater patterns. The interesting thing about the Gentlemens' Rings of Fortitude is that they can be linked together.
Individually each ring itself is rather thin, but when you put them together, usually a fashionable maximum of 5 of the smaller bands, their magical effects are stacked, and a variety of rings of different function can be put together. These type of rings add a bonus to the defense of the wearer, either tied to a natural armor attribute, or an increased defensive score, depending on game system.
Some other potential rings to add into the band mix:
Ring of Truth Detection
Ring of Evading Difficult Questions
Ring of Suave Charm for the Ladies
Ring of Poise and Grace
Ring of Drunkeness Detection
Ring of Alcohol Negation
Ring of Warding: Perspiration
Ring of Warding: Stomach Illness
Ring of Dancing
Ring of Boudoir Potency (a must have)
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? Responses (9)
The Ring of Protection has been around since magic rings began with GG. However, I like the extra backstory and description. It creates a reason for the ring rather than just MinMaxing your PC. The idea that each ring has very little effect but can be stacked with other rings is a clever variation. The concept is very transferrable. Well done!
I echo OmegaDraco's comments. Magic items that are not game breaking are ones I prefer, and the backstory presented does a great job of setting them up as having a reason for existing. Well done.
I was thinking this would be about an entirely different 'fortitude' required by a gentleman.
I was thinking this would be about an entirely different 'fortitude' required by a gentleman.
Magical bodyguards, a must have for the noble scared of assassination.
are there magical body guards in this post?
A nice item most would like to have on their character sheet, and the extras are also items that creative PCs could use to come up with novel solutions to problems. Somebody once said for every uber saga and quest sword he need ten of these simple, easy, ulitiarin magic items
A good redo of the common rings - these things could easily escape the world of nobility into the general world, perhaps the product of a particular phase of history amenable to the production of such magic trinkets, one now long gone.
Many game systems institute a limit to how many rings that can be worn, so just having that particular restriction puts them above the typical magical ring in such worlds.
I'd make it so that these rings would not function and would interfere if non-related magic rings were worn as well.
I like the background that justifies the abundance of magic rings. Now, finally, something that helps it all make more sense.