Illus. by W. England
ITEMS OF LEGACY
CHAPTER 3
FULL MOON’S TRICK
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as tall as herself, and left a counterfeit of such quality that the theft went undetected for three weeks. This undersized short sword gleams with a bright, silvery sheen. The grip is wrapped in simple, unadorned With daring raids such as these, Rosie quickly made cowhide, and the guard is worked into the shape a name for herself in the local thieves’ guild. (DC of a pair of wolf heads. 18; Sneak Thievery) Rosie’s star was rising rapidly, and she Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Small +1 silvered short sword; Cost 2,330 gp; Damage 1d4; Weight seemed destined for a job at the top whenever 1 lb. Since this sword is a Small weapon, creathe current guildmaster retired. (In fact, some tures of other sizes take a –2 penalty on attack said the old man running the show should retire rolls with it. early.) But her meteoric ascent faltered when she Omen: Etched into the blade is a stylized tried to steal the renowned Eye of Boccob diamond from a powerful wizard. Exactly how she moon disc, which magically alters to match the actual phase of the moon. In addition, ended up in the wizard’s menagerie instead although the blade is polished to a of his treasure room is a mystery; perhaps the plans she had studied were mirror finish, with a simple act of outdated or sabotaged by a rival. Maybe will you can cause it to cloud to a Rosie simply made a mistake. Whatever dull, matte gray. the cause, instead of the Eye of Boccob HISTORY resting on its plinth, she found a slavering When folk think of lycanthropes, they viwerewolf. Badly mauled, the halfling burglar sualize a giant, ravening beast or a shaggy, managed to escape, keeping just ahead of the strange-looking man with a single eyebrow wizard’s guards. Dodging from safe house to safe house, she struggled to contain the or hairy palms. They seldom expect such a monster to be contained within the body beast within her over the nights of the next full moon. Despite her horror at the deeds she of a sly halfling burglar, but the existence sometimes committed while in the grip of the of Full Moon’s Trick shows that werewolves curse, she nevertheless felt a certain purity of come in many guises. Originally carried by purpose in the actions of the wolf—something the famous halfling Rosie Applecask, Full that could benefit her as a thief. (DC 25; Skin Moon’s Trick was initially nothing more than of the Beast) a magic blade belonging to a particularly When the full moon had passed, Rosie went skilled thief. When Rosie had the misfortune to contract lycanthropy on one of her to a local weaponsmith to have her sword alchemically silvered. She decided if she could not learn jobs, her strange destiny intertwined with to control her curse, she would commit suicide. the magic of her sword and the dark workings of the curse she had fallen under. That interWhen the next full moon came around, Rosie mingling of magic somehow made this short again resisted the change, keeping the picture of that bright, silvery blade sharp in her mind. To sword unique. (DC 15) her amazement, the rage abated, and she managed Originally, the name Full Moon’s Trick had nothing at all to do with lycanthropy—it arose to retain her natural shape. After using Full Moon’s from Rosie’s penchant for performing her skullTrick as the focus of her meditations and avoiding duggery on nights with a full moon, despite the the change for the entirety of the full moon, Rosie fact that the brighter light made her easier to knew that she had mastered the affliction. She had spot. Such additional challenges were Rosie’s a moon glyph inscribed on the blade by a sorcerer in the employ of the thieves’ guild way of thumbing her nose at The name Full Moon’s Trick had nothing at all and carried the sword with her those who tried to catch her. to do with lycanthropy—at first She even had the habit of leavfor many years. When she finally ing high-quality fakes in the passed on at a ripe old age, she entrusted Full Moon’s Trick to the local priests of the place of objects she stole. In one instance, while she was still new to the trade of burglary, she slipped into moon goddess, with the request that they give it to a mansion under the noses of forty guards by the some unlucky lycanthrope who needed it. (DC 31; light of the full moon, stole a priceless vase nearly Mastery of Form)
