Re: Create Helms

Paul Westermeyer wrote:
>
> Brings up a larger question:  How many
> of us only allow Arcane to create spelljamming helms,  and how does that
> relate to the odd helms like a radient helm, lifejammer,  psionic helm or
> Ki-helm (which Realmspace said was made by a Wa Wu Jen and a Cormyrean
> mage)?
>
	In the last game that I ran, I did let only the
Arcane build helms of any and all varieties.  However, if
I had to run another, I would take the following view:

	The Arcane WERE the only race to be able to make
helms.  In the past, they used powerful magics, dire threats,
as well as their (at that time) economic monopoly to enforce
the idea that these magics were theirs alone.  Any other who
tried to duplicate the magic would be found out and killed.
	However, certain things cropped up the required
more of the Arcane's attention than tracking down people
who would try to duplicate a helm.  Specifically, the
Dzintar.  (For those without one of the SPJ Monstrous Manuals,
the Dzintar are another giantish race which are seen dressed
only in full plate armor weilding wicked polearms.  Their
favorite, and seemingly only, activity is to hunt down and
kill the Arcane.)  With the Arcane's attentions now focused
on staying alive as opposed to policing their inventions,
others finally were able to invent their own versions of the
spelljamming helm.
	Some were poorly made knockoffs that didn't quite
work the way they were intended (lifejammers), others managed
to hit the mark and do their job, but only for a specific race
(radient helm, Ki-helm, etc.).  Of course, these other "successes"
actually have some dark secret in their making which still makes
the Arcane the preferred providers (perhaps the sacrifice of a living
being to seal the enchantments).
	But while everyone (nearly) can make a helm, (nearly)
everyone still BELIEVES that only the Arcane make them.  This is
because either the recipie for the others has been lost (lifejammer)
or is a very closely guarded secret (Ki-Helm) such that for
security people let others think the Arcane made the helm.

	And thus, TSR canon about the Arcane still holds, but
freedom now reigns for the DM to come up with all sorts of
fun things.

--
Ken Lipka, Project Engineer                 klipka@????.com
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