This magical consumable was inspired by the incredible magic system in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn fantasy novels. I know a lot of work has been put into bringing the forces of Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy to tabletop role-playing, including the Mistborn Adventure Game, and I’d love to see some of these ideas folded into rules modules for D&D – maybe new classes or variants of Sorcerer? But that’s a project for another day. For now, here is a consumable that takes inspiration from the effects of burning Atium, but with a somewhat more colorful delivery mechanism.

 

Ruin’s Presage Powder

Rare, consumable

This chalky white powder is refined from the ground bones of a long dead god or demigod. Sniffing the powder induces a narcotic high that enables you to see just into your future. Appearing as a ghostly overlay to your normal vision, you observe the actions of those around you just before they happen. The longer you observe the future in this way the further ahead into your own timeline you can see (never exceeding more than 5 seconds). But be careful, because the more intensely you embrace and react to the vision, the more your body will be feel its loss when the effect of the powder ends.

Inhale the powder from its small paper packet as an action. Beginning immediately, and for the next 1 minute, add a d4 die to a new, precognition dice pool each time that you:

• make an attack roll,
• are attacked or required to make a Dexterity saving throw, or
• make an ability or skill check that uses your Charisma modifier.

After the normal dice related to any of these events are rolled you may choose to roll all of the dice in your precognition dice pool and add them to the result of the original roll (or to your AC until the end of the current turn if you were attacked).

At the end of any turn during which you have rolled your precognition dice pool, you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 10 + result of your precognition dice roll) or the effects of the powder end immediately.

When the effect ends (either after 1 minute or due to a failed save), you suffer 1 level of exhaustion for each time you rolled your precognition dice pool since inhaling the powder

Apprentice’s Spell Die

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

This rough-hewn, die of bone is worn smooth at the edges. Its four runic inscriptions are stained dark from years spent in the pocket of a nervous young adept. Often crafted as an exercise by a student of the arcane, the runes on each of the four sides are imbued with the magical energy of its maker.

When the die is cast by a spellcaster, its own power can contribute to the strength of some types of spells.

As you cast a spell that has an “At Higher Levels” clause in its description, choose the spell slot level that you will use to cast the spell. Before any attack, saving throw, or damage rolls are made roll the Apprentice’s Spell Die as a somatic spell component of the original spell (use a d4 at the game table). Add a number of spell slot levels equal to the result on the die to the spell slot level you chose to cast your spell. Use the new, combined spell slot level to determine the effects of the spell, but only the original spell slot level is consumed. Once cast, the die remains inert and cannot be used again until the next midnight.