Item Quirks

Item quirks are peculiar characteristics that make items unique in unusual ways. These can make individual items—particularly permanent items—stand out from one another, and can give additional wonder to magical items beyond just their mechanical benefits.

You can use the table found here to quickly apply a quirk to any item, such as items found as treasure or new items that a PC creates. Rather than rolling, you can instead choose one yourself or invent a new quirk. Item quirks don’t normally have any mechanical effect, since their only purpose is to be colorful and further flesh out the world, though you can add one if you so choose. Such

Quirk

Description 01

Melodic

Faint music plays when in use.

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Skin-altering Choral
Mood coloration Chatty
Spoiling
Friendly
Muffling
Runic
Comfortable Rain-blocking Clumsy
Elemental
appearance Magnetic
Aberrant
Dream-eating Clean
Hungry
Smelly
Flamboyant Verdant trail Complaining Detecting
Fibbing
Compressing Attentive

The user’s skin color changes to a bright color such as blue or green. Repeats everything the user says in a singing voice.

User’s mood affects the item’s color. Happily engages in small talk. Food within 1 foot spoils at twice the normal rate.

Requests to be introduced to everyone the user meets. Nearby sounds are slightly quieter. Runes appear on the user’s skin. Can serve as a pillow or blanket. The user remains dry in the rain. When unattended, knocks over other small items within 1 foot. Seems made of flame, water, or another elemental material. Small, ferrous objects of light Bulk or less adhere to it. Has tentacles, teeth, or other off-putting features.

Creatures asleep within 10 feet do not dream.

Remains pristine despite filth. Needs daily meals, often odd things like wood shavings. Smells like the last food the user ate. Flashes of light, sparks of color, and other effects shower from it. Small plants grow where the user walks, remaining for 1 hour. Grumbles when not in use. Aware of a specific animal or plant, such as squirrels or poison ivy, within 30 feet.

Tells grandiose and obvious lies. User is slightly shorter.

Turns to face the last creature to touch it.

effects should never grant more than a +1 item bonus or –1 item penalty, and even then the statistic or check it applies to should be narrow. For a quirk that grants an item the ability to speak, you choose the language based on the history of the item, or your best guess of what that history might be. It’s typically a language spoken by the item’s creator.

27

Soprano

User’s voice becomes higher.

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Shrinking
Decreases in size when used. Aromatic
Nearby air smells pleasant. Temperate
Slight warmth spills from the item. Slime trail

User leaves a trail of slime where they walk, remaining for 1 hour. Tetrachromatic

Colors seem more vivid to the user. Resounding

Nearby sounds are slightly louder. Insect-attracting

Harmless insects swarm around it. Ancient tongue

Speaks in a forgotten language. Bloodthirsty

The sight of blood causes it to quiver in anticipation.

Polished
Highly reflective.
Scribing

Absorbs ink for 1 hour, allowing its points to be used as a pen. Dirty

A layer of filth always remains. Eye-altering
User’s eye color changes. Preserving
Food within 1 foot spoils at half rate. Leafy
Small plants grow on or from it. Wet
It and its user are always damp. Encouraging

Offers encouragement when the user fails a check.

Loyal

Remains within 5 feet of the user, as if on a tether.

Ritualistic

Demands the user perform a simple act every morning. Restless

Slowly moves and fidgets. Displaced
Appears offset from where it is. Caring
Provides advice and reminders. Projecting

Light creates a kaleidoscopic effect. Hair-altering

User’s hair color changes. Watchful
Staring eyes cover it.
Generous
Produces small, token gifts. Bass
User’s voice becomes lower. Leaking
Secretes a harmless liquid. Taste-altering

Food tastes different, such as tasting sweeter or saltier. Bouncy

Bounces on collision.
Lucid

Creatures asleep within 10 feet see the item in their dreams. Decorous

Insists the user use polite language. Junky
Appears shoddy or made of scraps.

61

Cavorting

Dances in place when not in use.

62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84

Furry
Covered by a thin coat of fur.

Unusually colored An outlandish color, such as a bright purple suit of armor.

Sonorous
Sounds a pure tone when struck.
Starry
Seems made of night sky.
Compact
Packs neatly into a smaller form.
Misting
Constantly leaking mist or steam.
Chirping
Coos and squeaks when used.
Balanced
Always remains perfectly upright.
Sun-blocking
User never receives sunburns.

Animal-attracting Harmless animals follow the user. Flaunting

Forces user to move dramatically.
Tracing
Followed by thin trails of color.
Monologuing
Recites long lectures or speeches.
Foretelling
Makes mysterious predictions.
Adhesive
Sticks slightly to any surface.
Levitating
Floats slightly above a surface.
Slimy
Covered by a thin layer of slime.
Commentating
Remarks on its surroundings.
Numbing
User is less sensitive to pain.
Time-telling
Announces the current time.
Towering
User is slightly taller.
Absorbent
Absorbs up to one pint of liquid.
Faceted
Appears made of crystal or gems.

85

Bubbly

Creates bubbles when used.

86 87
88 89 90 91
92 93 94 95 96 97
98 99 100
Image-flipping Hair-growing Alternating Sweaty
Glittering
Molting
Echoing
Shadowless Storytelling Chilled
Color-washing Growing
Floating
Two quirks Three quirks

User appears to be mirrored. User’s hair grows at double rate. Appearance slowly changes. Becomes damp and pungent when used extensively.

Shimmers and glows with light. Sheds a thick film every morning. Sounds around the user echo. Item and user cast no shadow. Is inscribed with a story or knows a tale it can recite on command. Slightly cool to the touch. User’s vision shifts to a given coloration, such as sepia or monochrome.

Increases in size when used. Slowly descends when dropped. Roll twice on the table and apply both quirks to the item. Reroll any results of 99 or 100. Roll three times on the table and apply all quirks to the item. Reroll any results of 99 or 100.