Clefty’s Magical Bag of Nails

Clefty’s Magical Bag of Nails

Clefty’s Magical Bag of Nails is a curious little item with the most mundane of beginnings. It all began when Clefty, a novice rogue, was down on his luck and eager to make some coin. The local blacksmith should be an easy enough target. He’s sure to have some coin or a nice weapon to purloin

To his dismay, the blacksmith didn’t have jack squat. Heck, the whole town seemed destitute. Not wanting to leave with an empty hand, he snatched a handful of nails from a barrel on his way out and put them in his bag.

A bag of nails, what would he do with them? He felt like a complete fool. Just then a great idea came to him. He’d sell them as magical nails that could do all sorts of wondrous things. A fortune waiting to be had. It was pure genius. Everyone would vie for his magical nails. These fools wouldn’t know the difference, or so he thought.

Not a single nail sold. They scoffed and laughed at him. Even trying to sell them back to the blacksmith. Despite his continued failures, he kept trying. Failure followed him like a plague. Clefty persisted, telling even taller and taller tales of the wondrous things his nails could do. It became a game that amused him greatly.

Then disaster struck. He missed a magical trap, and everything made of metal on his person turned to dust. Clefty managed to escape with his life, but his beloved nails were gone. Only the dust-filled bag remained. Sure, he could procure more nails, but it wouldn’t be the same. He always managed to get them back, ready to sell to the next fool.

Years later, he remembered his little bag of nails. A fond memory of his youth. What if he could have his bag of nails back? What fun an old coot like him could have. He had amassed a modest fortune before retiring. He’d get his old mage friend to make a Magical Bag of Nails!

Clefty spared no expense. The new bag was crafted with fine fire salamander hide, dyed black, and resistant to non-magical fire. Golden leaf was intricately embroidered on the bag with a red silken drawstring. Finally, he filled the bag with silver nails.

Per Clefty’s request, the mage enchanted the entire magical bag of nails with a return spell. Once per day, the owner can summon the bag back. It will magically appear on the owner’s belt with all original contents included. There is only enough space in the bag for the silver nails. Anything else placed inside the bag will not return when it’s summoned.

Oh, what fun he would have. The shenanigans would be epic, and the coin would flow. His first target was a traveling merchant selling fine rugs, jewelry, and cloaks. The merchant was already leaving town, which made him the perfect mark. Closing the deal easily and, making 100 gold. The following day Clefty tried to summon the bag back. It didn’t work! In his haste, he forgot to perform the ritual to attune his precious Magical Bag of Nails to himself. The traveling merchant was long gone by then.

DM Note: Clefty’s Bag of Nails has a distinct look and has gained a bit of notoriety over the years. Once attuned, the owner can recall it once per day and gains a +1 to a Persuasion check. A DC:20 History check reveals its back story and requirements. It is immune to all non-magical fire.

Weapon Classifications

I am thinking of grouping all standard weapons into one general type. Each weapon classification would have a preferred damage type. Swords would be slashing, bows would be piercing, hammers would be blunt, etc.

Then assign a preferred weapon damage type per class. When a class uses their preferred damage-type weapon they get a bonus for its use.

A standard troupe fighter for example would get at least a 10% damage bonus when using slashing weapons. This could extend to penalties for using opposing damage types like blunt.

The penalty could be greater than the bonus to help reinforce the use of appropriate damage types.

This could lead to a mastery system where a character could take additional skills/training to improve or learn new damage types without a penalty.

Not to get off track, iron out the basics of the system first.

Basic weapons would be listed under General. Basic Armor would follow this same path.

Each weapon or armor would be assigned a class preference. When matching that class preference the character would enjoy a bonus. When not matching, the character would receive a small penalty for its use. If the item is in opposition, they would receive a severe penalty.

All general weapons and armor would be under the same arch type. The bonus/penalty would be assigned directly to the item in use.

Now, how to make it work in RPG Maker 😉

Update: 05/27/2023 All weapon types will need to be grouped into their basic damage type. Blunt, Slash, Pierce.