So, a lot of the relics are
1, mundane items like “burning coal in a silver censer” or could be created by the Theurge like “A blessed sickle” but then there are
2. items which appear to be Named Relics but do not follow the Named Relics rules like Freydis’ Sickle/Njor’s drum/Hyresti’s Silver Chalice/Hlin Hearthmisstress’s Ring of Keys (named, but only applies to one invocation), and then there are
3. a number of just ambiguous items like Sol’s Disc (is this the same as the Amulet of Sol the Daystar? If not, what is it?)/Harpa’s Eye (is this an amulet or literally an eye of an Immortal? If the latter, why does it not follow the Named Relic Rules?)
Is something like the Crown of the Lords of Law unique or just a piece of regalia? If unique, how does this interface with there being many Theurges/Shamans in the world? Are relics a zero-sum game?
The named items we listed as relics don’t seem to break the rules to me.
Most of the first circle invocations just need an appropriate ritual item. That’s why most of them don’t have a name associated with them. You can just make them or get someone to make them for you.
Many higher circle invocations require an actual relic – an item connected to an appropriate immortal in life. So, for instance, the “Crown of the Lords of Law” is a relic for the Interlocution of the Lords of Law and Wrath of the Lords of Law invocations. In the Middarmark, the Bjornings currently recognize Sigbjorn as the face of the Lords of Law, so a Bjorning theurge could seek one of the crowns used by Bjorn Longfarer in life to serve as a relic for that invocation. The Gotts, on the other hand, recognize Sigtyr as the face of the Lords of Law. So a crown he wore in life would be appropriate for them.
Of course, it would also be perfectly fine for a theurge from either tribe to seek out a relic from some other immortal if it fits the bill. A Gott theurge could use Sigbjorn’s crown if they acknowledge him as a Lord of Law. Or they could seek out the crown of some forgotten Lord of Law and venerate them.
It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a crown. That’s just an example of the relic most likely to fit the bill. Maybe a scepter is a more appropriate relic of rule? Or a spear? It depends on the immortal and might have symbolized their rule. If your setting has King Arthur as a Lord of Law, the relic might be the Sword of King David and/or Excalibur.
Here’s the important thing: Most relics are not something you’re meant to pick up at the town fair. A cult of a Young Lord might entrust you with one, but most likely they’re things that you have to research and then go on an adventure to obtain.
Also, our intent with designing named relics and then attributing invocations was never to provide an equipment list of relics and their invocations. My plan was to gradually attach more invocations to named relics and invite you all to do the same in your own campaigns.
Luke, I have been thinking about this last post a lot and talked about it with both my current GM and some of the folk on the Discord, none of whom got that this was the actual intent. I really like this interpretation (it reminds me in a good way of the rules for tying threads to items in Earthdawn), and I wonder if you might write something longer—formally or informally—about how you use relics in play. Currently, it does feel a bit like being a junk collector, and if there is a chance I can make or buy a relic, I want to to that, since the penalties are quite steep. Named relics appear as examples in the invocations, but are extraordinarily rare in the treasure tables, and so would almost always need to be placed by the GM, but I can’t see a lot of examples of people doing so.
There are at least five relics scattered throughout the Bridge of the Damned adventure and several others described.
They’re not really meant to be bought and sold (IMO). Your mileage may vary. They’re all of enormous significance to somebody, that’s how they became relics. They’re symbolically (or more often literally) associated with a particular spirit’s or immortal’s life, story and deeds.
Theurges and Shaman are meant to carry around fetishes and totems and reliquaries associated with the various spirits and immortals they’ve learned to venerate (or propitiate). Some are more potent symbols than others and are thus associated with mulitple deeds. Bjorngrim’s Broken Sword from BotD is thus a relic for at least three invocations. Theurges and Shaman have enormous flexibility. Part of their price is they carry around a lot of junk.
I think the relics listed with the invocations are implicitly examples. If you’ve created one or more Young Lords of the Lords of Battle for your own campaign, it won’t make sense for them to have a shield painted with Sigrun’s runes for the Voice of Thunder invocation. If you were playing in the Forgotten Realms, for instance, it would be something associated with Bahamut or Tempus or Bane, etc. If you were playing in Greyhawk, it would be something associated with Heironeous, Kord, Hextor, etc. You have permission to change things up for your setting/world!
You could potentially uncover new associations of a relic via research. Theologian is the obvious skill to associate with this but Scholar might apply too. Find a settlement with a shrine or temple associated with an immortal you’re interested in and then ask around or do research for leads to learn of a place associated with an invocation you’re interested in. Make a pilgrimmage to that place and either find a new relic or perhaps ritually associate an existing relic dedicated to that Lord with the new invocation.
Or, if you’re playing with the Middarmark cult rules (Sworn to the Young Lords), maybe you can just ask your cult for a relic you’re interested in. They’ll probably assign you an adventure to prove your worth.
When you say they are not meant to be bought and sold, I assume you mean named relics? Presumably I can buy an idol of the lord of plagues at a temple, or scrawl a rune into a spindle without any particular adventure?
I suppose part of the disconnect for me is that I have not seen people actually creating young lords or the like in any campaign I have been involved with or read about. My Shaman in my current campaign started with a spindle and a lock of Njor’s hair, and has been awarded a “sol’s disc” (an amulet/holy symbol?) on level up. As a Rover from the Nomad Caravan, we have been assuming that he is devoted to the Lords of Paths and Ways, but there are no actual rules about being associated with one set of Lords, as far as I can tell, and in any case, the invocations for those lords are split across There and Shaman, making the distinction less clear to me.
I missed Bridge of the Damned (I think I was moving at the time), and had avoided reading it in case someone ran it and I was playing in it, but I suppose it is time I picked it up.
I suppose from the examples, I also struggle with what is a minor relic, since we get those on level up, but Njor’s hair seems like a named relic, as does the Skull of St Barnabas from the Theurge list, for example. Do you play with those being useful for more than one invocation? If not, how is the skull of a saint a minor relic?
In my view, no one would be dedicated to the Lords of Paths and Ways (again, your mileage may vary). Unless embodied by a Young Lord, the Lords are too vast and impersonal for that. In D&D’s cosmology, the Lords would be the various Spheres that deities belong to.
Someone might adopt Ondurdis, Lady of the Winter Hunt, as an immortal they’re especially close to. Ondurdis is a Young Lord that is a face of the Lords of Paths and Ways. A campaign can have many localized cults dedicated to immortals that might embody the Lords of Paths and Ways. Every town and village you go to might have a different Young Lord or Young Lords they venerate. The ones presented in Torchbearer are not prescriptive. Use them, add to them, change them, make ones that are appropriate for your world. You have permission.
Unless they join the hero cult of a particular Young Lord, theurges and shaman don’t really dedicate themselves to a particular immortal. And even those that join such a hero cult would still venerate all th Lords. They can pick and choose among the Young Lords though. The rules for hero cults are in the Middarmark Gazetteer.
The skull is a minor relic because it offers access to one invocation. But the name certainly implies that it could be more than that. You could use the procedure I described in the previous post to unlock more potential. I think it’s reasonable to assume that you could do the same with any of the starting relics with a name that specifies a particular Young Lord.
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