Friday, September 24, 2010

Lock and Key Tokens

The shadowy figure crawled along the peak of the roof.  The copper panels had long since turned green, which dulled their appearance in the faint moonlight.  Reaching the middle of the roof, it ever so gently slid down the west side, coming to a stop at the gutter.  The perimeter guards moved slowly along the outer wall of the grounds, and even the dogs hadn’t noticed the shadow. 

The figure eased itself over the gutter, and slowly climbed down onto the 3rd floor balcony.  The door proved to be only a moments delay, and the figure was inside before anyone was the wiser. 

A small bed was occupied by a single child sized form.  The shadowy figure came right up to the foot of the bed, and spied the child breathing deeply in its slumber.  The bedroom door was unlocked, and the house silent.

Moving ever so slowly the figure skulked out of the room, and down the stairs.  It slipped through the manor’s main hallway, creeping along the shadows, careful not to allow a single sound.  At the far end of the hall it paused before a door, listened once again, and gently opened the door just enough for it to enter. 

The master bedroom was dark, and the curtains were drawn on the bed.  A glint of steel appeared briefly as the shadow eased the curtain aside.  The poisoned blade struck silently, the burgomaster's eyes startled open, he gasped silently, and bloody foam began to bubble out of his mouth.  But by then the room was empty, the door closed. 

Some hours later, when the burgomaster failed to appear for breakfast the servants went to his door.  They knocked, but he did not answer.  They tried the door, and found it locked.It was one of the guards who noticed the small copper token affixed to the door, bearing the image of a key hole.




Lock and Key Tokens


These single use magic items are always created as a matched pair.  The lock token, often appearing as a key hole or a stylized lock, needs to be merely pressed against a door or lid to invoke the magic.  Once affixed it acts as a wizard lock cast by a level 1d8+4 level wizard.  The lock will remain in place until dispelled, the door is destroyed, or the matching key token is used to end it's magic.  Whatever means are used, once the spell is broken these tokens become non-magical trinkets.

2 comments:

  1. These are awesome! Very very cool idea.

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  2. As a big fan of magical locks and keys I love these. Will be using them in LL/AEC.

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