Which meant that, if I was running a campaign on Zendikar, there had to be some really cool, powerful treasures for people.
The first magical item I made as a cool reward was the Trident of Ula, a +1 guided trident, meaning it had a +1 bonus to attack and damage, and used the wielder's wisdom modifier instead of the usual strength modifier. It is somewhat unclear whether guided property is a legitimate Pathfinder rule or not, but, hey, I am the GM, and I can do whatever I want. Yes, it is a rather powerful and expensive weapon to give a low-level character, and generally, giving that to a single character can easily make them outclass the rest of the party, which is bad, as every player should get moments to shine. However, I was giving it to Dhamiran's merfolk cleric, Ler Mimir, who was not really supposed to be stabbing things in close combat. He had to pick his moments, and either use it to counter a charging enemy, or as a way to finish off an enemy already wounded by the other party members. It would be difficult for him to outclass the damage-dealers, and the party seemed to enjoy his trident-stabbing shenanigans anyway. Here is the trident I made:
Janus Trident
Aura: moderate evocation and necromancy
Caster Level: 10th
Slot: Wielded
Price: 18000gp
Description
Few know the truth of the connection between the gods Ula and Ulamog, and virtually none have heard whispers of how Ula takes the dark weapons of Ulamog, and bends them towards the light. The Janus Trident is a +1 conductive guided trident made of gleaming white coral and pink pearl that is inscribed with a faintly glowing symbol of Ula. As a standard action, the wielder can transform it into a +1 vicious guided trident made of chalky grey coral and black pearl inscribed with the symbol of Ulamog. The trident can be transformed back again as a standard action.
Well...that's not quite what I said it was. I may not have been completely honest with my players about some of their items. See, one of the major villains of the campaign, Lucrecia, has been planting cursed items in the path of the heroes, in order to gain an advantage if she is forced to fight them directly. This has included a ring that can bring the wearers fears to life, a hammer that casts daylight at inopportune moments, and the Janus Trident - originally a Trident of Ulamog under an illusion that made it appear to belong to Ula. But something (or Someone) has subverted Lucrecia's plans, and the illusion has somehow become reality.
Though the Janus Trident was something I planned out beforehand, the second item was something I had to throw together quickly when it became apparent that (with Dhamiran temporaily absent for a few weeks due to work) the group needed more healing than a few potions could provide. Originally I planned to give the party a wand of mass cure wounds, however, it turns out that such a thing does not actually exist, due to it being an item that is far too powerful to allow. The only thing that would be able to duplicate such power would be some sort of artifact. Enter one of my favourite cards from Zendikar: the Angelheart Vial.
Initially, the vial, which I had to quickly invent in a couple of days, was just a 10-charge wand of mass cure light wounds. (I limited it to 10 because, it really is an immensely powerful ability for low level characters.) The archangel Iona would appear and gave it to Sir Eleassar without explanation. However, I decided I could do better than that. Due to the fact that Sir Elessar was suffering from rolling really bad will saves against fear, and ended running away from enemies quite a lot, which was bad cause he was supposed to be the groups tank, I decided to make something that boosted his will save, gave me a panic button to press if he still failed, gave the group an extra way to deal with the upcoming enemy ghosts, and tied into his characters backstory, allowing his superiors in the Order of the Reliquary to go 'Well done on obtaining a powerful relic, here, you are promoted to knight-captain.'
I trawled through Ultimate Equipment for the rules about building intelligent items, and constructed a pretty powerful artifact with some powerful abilities and a really cool backstory. Sadly, none of my players have yet tried to work out what exactly the angelheart vial is, and why she seems to be able to cast spells of her own accord. The party has also consistently stymied my attempts to reveal this, by ensuring that Elessar never meets anyone who would recognise what she is, meaning her true nature has remained a secret. So then, here, for the first time, are the full stats and backstory of Numa's Heart:
Numa's Heart
Purpose: To defend the interests of Numa.
Aura: Strong Abjuration
Caster Level: 11th
Slot: Stone
Price: 25000gp
Stats
Alignment: neutral good
Ego: 11
Senses: 30ft
Intelligence 13, Wisdom 14, Charisma 11.
Communication: empathy (Common, Celestial)
Description
The archangel Numa was slain by Emrakul during the fall of the city of Nal-Kashel, but her diamond heart was recovered by Linvala, and Iona fashioned it into the most powerful angelheart vial ever made. Despite her power, Numa's Heart was kept secretly in the Sky-Ruins of Emeria during the second Eldrazi War. For reasons known only to herself, Iona gifted the vial to Sir Elessar of the Reliquary to aide him and his companions in their battle with a demonic barghest. Unlike most intelligent items, Numa's Heart is secretive, and prefers to conceal her true nature, demanding very little of her wearer, only using her spells and voicing her opinion in dire circumstances. Numa's Heart grants the wearer a +1 sacred bonus to their Will save and functions as a wand of mass cure light wounds with 10 charges. She can be used as an abjuration implement by occultists and knights of the Reliquary. In addition, Numa's Heart can cast spells of her own accord.
Spells
11th level divine caster:
3/day - remove fear
1/day - spirit-bound blade
at will - call spirit (purpose only)
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