Solo RPG DungeonHow to Use Magic Items and Treasure in Any RPG System
Playing well · 4 min read
The generators on this site describe items in words, not numbers, so they work with any game. This guide shows how to turn those words into your own rules in a minute, and keep them consistent.
Why the tools use words
A sword that adds two to a roll is perfect in one game and meaningless in another. So the magic item generators describe what an item does in the story: it hides footsteps, it turns aside a first blow each day. You decide once what that means in your rules, write it down, and from then on the item is simply part of your game.
Step 1: read the power as a situation
Every power says when it helps. "Hides footsteps" helps when your character sneaks. "Glows when enemies are near" helps when something tries to surprise you. Decide whether that situation is narrow (it comes up now and then) or broad (it comes up in most scenes). Narrow powers can be stronger, because they matter less often.
Step 2: use the strength line
Every magic item also rolls a strength: small, big or legendary. Small is the most common, legendary the rarest. Find your kind of game in the table and read across.
| Your game rolls... | Small | Big | Legendary |
|---|---|---|---|
| one die and adds bonuses (like a d20) | +1, or roll twice and keep the better in its narrow situation | +2, or roll twice and keep the better in a broad situation | once per adventure, succeed without rolling; otherwise +3 |
| percentile, roll under a skill | +5 to the skill in its situation | +10 to +15, or one reroll each session | once per adventure, choose the result |
| two six-sided dice | +1 in its narrow situation | +1 in a broad situation, or one reroll each session | once per adventure, treat the roll as a full success |
| pools of dice, counting successes | one extra die in its situation | two extra dice, or one in every scene | once per adventure, one automatic success that cannot be cancelled |
| no rules, only the oracle | move the oracle odds one step in your favour | move the odds two steps, or skip the roll once each session | once per adventure, it simply works, with a price to pay later |
If a power does something no bonus can, like letting your hero understand animals, the strength tells you how often and how well: small means briefly and simply, big means for a scene, legendary means whenever you need it.
Step 3: write it down once
Put the item in your Campaign Notebook inventory with one line in your own words, such as Ring of Quiet Steps: +1 to sneak, roll twice when barefoot. The next time it comes up, you read your note instead of deciding again. Consistency matters more than balance.
Quirks and drawbacks
Quirks are flavour: they make an item feel like one particular object, and they cost nothing. Drawbacks are a price. A simple way to use them: at the start of each session, ask the oracle "Does the drawback matter today?" on Unlikely. When it says yes, find a moment for it. A legendary item can ask on 50/50 instead, because great power should cost something.
Potions
A potion is used once, so it can be stronger than its strength line suggests: treat a small potion as a big effect for one scene. "Heals minor wounds" can mean whatever your game calls a good night's sleep. The side effect is the fun part; play it out.
Money and worth
Treasure and loot tables say what something is worth in plain words, from almost nothing to three heavy sacks of silver. Read them against wages: a few silver is a day or two of work, a sack of silver is a season, a hoard is a lifetime. The shop generator works the same way: every price is a percentage of the list price in your own game, with tiers measured in wages, so a bargain is a bargain in any currency.
Carrying it
The notebook tracks weight and a carrying limit without units. Use whatever your game uses: pounds, kilos, slots or simply "heavy things". If your game has no rule for it, give your hero ten slots and count a weapon, armour or a bulky item as one each.
How often items appear
A rough rhythm that keeps items special: a small item every two or three sessions, a big one every few adventures, a legendary one once in a long campaign. Roll on the loot tables for everyday finds, and save the magic item generators for moments that deserve them.
A worked example
My hero finds a ring in a dead smuggler's boot. I roll The Ring of Quiet Steps, which hides footsteps, with the strength small, a handy edge in the right moment. Sneaking is a narrow situation, so I play it as roll twice and keep the better when my hero sneaks on foot. With no rules at all, I would move the oracle one step: "Does the guard hear me?" goes from 50/50 to Unlikely. One line in the notebook and it is done.