Pixie Dust Greaves

From: Twisted Labyrinth of the Fae

These lightweight boots are crafted from enchanted leather and pixie wings. They allow the wearer to levitate for short periods, granting an advantage in navigating the labyrinth’s treacherous terrain and evading ground-based traps.

Lore of the Pixie Dust Greaves: In the halcyon days before chaos marred the Whispering Woods, pixies were known for their playful flights through the air, their laughter like tinkling bells as they danced among the leaves. Their wings, delicate and iridescent, were said to be imbued with a magical dust that allowed them to defy gravity and soar through the skies.

As the woods succumbed to the growing darkness, this magic became twisted and corrupted. The pixies’ playful flights turned into frantic escapes, their laughter replaced by shrieks of terror. Their wings, once symbols of joy and freedom, became tools of survival, carrying them away from the encroaching darkness.

The pixie dust, once a source of innocent wonder, took on a darker aspect. It became imbued with the chaotic energy of the labyrinth, granting those who possessed it the ability to levitate and navigate the treacherous terrain, but at a cost. The dust whispered of danger and deceit, luring its users into perilous situations with promises of escape and freedom.

Use of the Pixie Dust Greaves: The Pixie Dust Greaves are a double-edged sword for adventurers brave enough to venture into the Twisted Labyrinth of the Fae. On one hand, they offer a significant advantage in navigating the labyrinth’s treacherous terrain. The wearer can levitate over dangerous pitfalls, avoid ground-based traps, and reach otherwise inaccessible areas.

On the other hand, the greaves’ magic is not without its drawbacks. The levitation effect is temporary, and overuse can lead to exhaustion and disorientation. Additionally, the chaotic energy within the dust can cloud the wearer’s judgment, luring them into dangerous situations with the promise of easy escape.

Despite these risks, the Pixie Dust Greaves remain a sought-after artifact, a symbol of both freedom and danger. They offer a unique opportunity to explore the labyrinth’s hidden corners and uncover its secrets, but only for those who are willing to embrace the chaos that lies within.

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Tier: 1
• Type: Boots
• Cost: Uncommon (100 gp)
• Armor Class: 10 + Dexterity Modifier (max 2)
• Skills: Acrobatics +1
• Weight: 1 lb.

Properties:

• Levitation: As a bonus action, the wearer can activate the greaves to levitate 10 feet off the ground for up to 1 minute. The levitation ends if the wearer is incapacitated, takes damage, or dismisses it as a bonus action. Once used, this ability cannot be used again until the wearer finishes a short or long rest.
• Chaotic Whispers: While levitating, the wearer hears whispers of encouragement and temptation, urging them to take risks and explore dangerous paths. The wearer must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled to move towards the nearest perceived danger or hidden area.

Tags: Magic, Flight, Fey

Given their unique nature and alluring properties, Pixie Dust Greaves are not easily found in common markets. However, discerning adventurers may stumble upon them in the following places:

• Wandering Merchants: Traveling merchants who specialize in rare and exotic goods may occasionally offer these enchanted boots for sale. Their prices will vary depending on their knowledge of the greaves’ true value and the desperation of the buyer.
• Hidden Fey Markets: Deep within the Whispering Woods, rumors speak of hidden markets where the fey creatures trade their enchanted wares. Gaining access to these markets requires knowledge of secret paths and the trust of the fey folk.
• Relic Hunters’ Stashes: Experienced relic hunters who delve into dangerous ruins and forgotten temples may occasionally uncover these enchanted boots among their treasures. They might be willing to part with them for a price, or perhaps in exchange for another rare artifact.
• Crafting by Skilled Enchanters: While rare, skilled enchanters who possess the knowledge and materials might be able to craft Pixie Dust Greaves. Such a commission would be costly and time-consuming, but the result would be a unique and personalized pair of enchanted boots.

Environment and End Results: Pixie Dust Greaves are most effective in environments with treacherous terrain, such as the Twisted Labyrinth of the Fae itself. They allow the wearer to navigate over dangerous pitfalls, avoid ground-based traps, and reach elevated areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. This can be crucial in exploring the labyrinth’s hidden corners and uncovering its secrets.

The end results of using Pixie Dust Greaves are as varied as the adventurers who wear them. They can be used to gain a tactical advantage in combat, allowing the wearer to outmaneuver foes and strike from unexpected angles. They can also be used to explore areas that would be otherwise inaccessible, leading to the discovery of hidden treasures or secret passages.

However, the greaves’ influence can also lead to reckless behavior and unnecessary risk-taking. The whispers of the pixie dust may tempt the wearer to take dangerous leaps of faith or explore areas they are not prepared for. The resulting consequences can be dire, but the allure of the unknown and the promise of hidden rewards often prove too tempting to resist.

Activation Perception of the Pixie Dust Greaves:

• Sight:
  • Perceived: A faint shimmering glow emanates from the pixie wings attached to the boots. The wings seem to flutter slightly, even though there is no wind.
  • Description: The glow is subtle and ethereal, reminiscent of moonlight or fireflies. The wings’ movements are almost imperceptible, like a gentle tremor.
  • Positives: Visually appealing and enchanting, subtly hinting at the magical properties of the greaves.
  • Negatives: May attract unwanted attention if observed closely in dimly lit areas.
• Sound:
  • Perceived: A soft tinkling sound, like wind chimes or tiny bells, accompanied by a gentle humming.
  • Description: The sound is delicate and soothing, almost like a lullaby. It may be mistaken for the sounds of the forest if not listened to carefully.
  • Positives: The pleasant sound can be calming and reassuring, helping to ease anxiety or fear.
  • Negatives: May be difficult to distinguish from natural sounds in a noisy environment.
• Smell:
  • Perceived: A sweet, floral scent, reminiscent of wildflowers and honey. A subtle undertone of ozone, like the air after a thunderstorm.
  • Description: The scent is delicate and pleasant, evoking a sense of nature and magic.
  • Positives: Can be a pleasant sensory experience and may help to mask other scents.
  • Negatives: May attract insects or other creatures drawn to sweet smells.
• Touch:
  • Perceived: A slight tingling sensation on the feet and legs, followed by a feeling of lightness and buoyancy.
  • Description: The tingling is subtle and almost ticklish, while the sensation of lightness can be exhilarating and freeing.
  • Positives: Provides a tactile confirmation of the greaves’ activation and a sense of anticipation before levitation.
  • Negatives: May be slightly distracting or disorienting for those unaccustomed to the sensation.
• Taste: (Not applicable as it would be inadvisable and potentially harmful to taste the Pixie Dust Greaves)
• Extrasensory Perceptions:
  • Empathy: A sense of playful mischief and a yearning for freedom emanates from the greaves, subtly influencing the wearer’s emotions.
  • Aura Sight: The greaves’ aura glows with a vibrant green light, intertwined with sparks of chaotic energy.
  • Spatial Awareness: The wearer’s perception of their surroundings shifts, allowing them to intuitively sense the layout of the terrain and potential hazards even in unfamiliar environments.

Activating the Pixie Dust Greaves is a multi-sensory experience that combines subtle visual and auditory cues with distinct tactile sensations and extrasensory perceptions. This creates a sense of wonder and excitement, as the wearer is imbued with the magical power of flight and guided by the whispers of the chaotic energy within.

Crafting Pixie Dust Greaves: A Guide for the Aspiring Artisan

• Materials Needed:
  • Enchanted Leather: Leather tanned under the light of a full moon and imbued with the essence of wild lavender.
  • Pixie Wings: Delicate wings shed by pixies during their molting season. These must be collected with care and respect, as harming a pixie is said to bring misfortune.
  • Featherlight Thread: Thread spun from the down of a cloud giant, known for its incredible lightness and strength.
  • Levitation Rune: A small rune inscribed on a thin silver plate, containing the magical formula for levitation.
  • Pixie Dust: A pinch of magical dust collected from a pixie’s wings, containing the essence of their flight.
• Tools Required:
  • Leatherworking Tools: A set of tools for cutting, stitching, and shaping leather.
  • Rune-carving Kit: A set of tools for inscribing runes on metal.
  • Enchanting Table: A flat surface imbued with magical energy, used to enhance and imbue objects with magical properties.
  • Fine Tweezers: Used to handle the delicate pixie wings and dust.
• Skill Requirements:
  • Leatherworking: Proficiency in leatherworking is necessary to craft the greaves’ sturdy yet lightweight structure.
  • Rune-carving: Knowledge of rune-carving is required to inscribe the levitation rune onto the silver plate.
  • Enchanting: A basic understanding of enchanting is necessary to imbue the greaves with their magical properties.
• Crafting Steps:
  • Prepare the Enchanted Leather: Tan the leather under the light of a full moon, using a mixture of wild lavender and moonflower petals to imbue it with magical energy.
  • Craft the Greaves: Using the leatherworking tools, carefully cut and shape the enchanted leather into the desired form of the greaves. Stitch the pieces together with featherlight thread, ensuring a secure and comfortable fit.
  • Inscribe the Levitation Rune: Carefully carve the levitation rune onto the thin silver plate using the rune-carving kit. Ensure that the rune is precise and accurate, as any imperfections could disrupt the spell.
  • Attach the Pixie Wings: Using the fine tweezers, carefully attach the pixie wings to the sides of the greaves, ensuring they are securely fastened. Sprinkle a pinch of pixie dust onto the wings to enhance their magical properties.
  • Enchant the Greaves: Place the greaves on the enchanting table, along with the levitation rune. Focus your mind on the desired properties of levitation and channel your magical energy into the greaves, activating the rune and imbuing the leather with pixie dust.

The completed Pixie Dust Greaves will hum with magical energy, ready to grant their wearer the gift of flight. Remember, crafting these enchanted boots requires skill, patience, and a deep respect for the magic of the fey.

Legend of the Winged Steps

In the before-days, when laughter filled the air, Pixies danced on sunbeams, with nary a care. Their wings, a gift from the sky’s embrace, carried them aloft, in a joyful chase.

But as shadows grew long, and laughter turned to cries, a clever soul sought, to touch the skies. From leather of beast, and wings of the Fey, they crafted boots, to guide their way.

With dust of magic, and a rune’s soft hum, the boots took flight, the wearer overcome. Over hill and dale, they soared and they leapt, dangers below, forever outstepped.

But whispers of chaos, in the dust’s soft sigh, tempted the wearer, to reach ever high. A perilous path, with promises untold, led them astray, their fate uncontrolled.

So heed this legend, of the Winged Steps’ might, for freedom’s allure, can lead to the night. And remember this well, as you tread the earth’s floor, that even the highest flight, has a price to soar.

The Moral: Let not ambition blind your sight, for true freedom lies, in balance and light.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Type: Magical Artifact
• Description: Enchanted boots that allow the wearer to levitate for a short period (Keeper’s discretion), typically 1D4 rounds. The wearer must succeed a POW roll to control the levitation and avoid mishaps.
• Sanity Loss: 0/1 on first use, due to the unsettling sensation of defying gravity.

Blades in the Dark

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Quality: Gear
• Effect:
  • Allows the wearer to levitate for a short time, granting access to otherwise inaccessible areas or avoiding ground-based hazards.
  • May cause the wearer to become distracted or disoriented, requiring a test to maintain control.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)
• Properties:
  • As a bonus action, the wearer can activate the greaves to levitate 10 feet off the ground for up to 1 minute. The levitation ends if the wearer is incapacitated, takes damage, or dismisses it as a bonus action. Once used, this ability cannot be used again until the wearer finishes a short or long rest.
  • While levitating, the wearer hears whispers of encouragement and temptation, urging them to take risks and explore dangerous paths. The wearer must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled to move towards the nearest perceived danger or hidden area.

Knave

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Type: Trinket
• Special Qualities:
  • Once per day, the wearer can levitate for a short period (GM discretion), typically 1D6 rounds.
  • While levitating, the wearer must make a WIS save or become reckless and take unnecessary risks.

Fate (Accelerated Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• High Concept: Boots of Ethereal Flight
• Trouble: Whispers of Mischief
• Aspects:
  • Lightweight Grace
  • Airborne Agility
  • Chaotic Guidance
• Extra: When used to create an advantage related to movement or evasion, grant a +2 bonus or reroll. May be invoked once per scene to avoid a physical obstacle with a minor cost.

Numenera & The Cypher System

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Level: 1d6
• Form: Artifact (Clothing)
• Effect:
  • When worn, the user gains the ability to levitate for a short duration (GM discretion), typically 2 rounds.
  • While levitating, the user can ignore difficult terrain and gains +1 to their Speed Pool.
  • The greaves may whisper suggestions or temptations to the wearer, potentially leading them into danger.

Pathfinder (Second Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)
• Properties:
  • As a bonus action, the wearer can activate the greaves to levitate 10 feet off the ground for up to 1 minute. The levitation ends if the wearer is incapacitated, takes damage, or dismisses it as a bonus action. Once used, this ability cannot be used again until the wearer finishes a short or long rest.
  • While levitating, the wearer hears whispers of encouragement and temptation, urging them to take risks and explore dangerous paths. The wearer must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled to move towards the nearest perceived danger or hidden area.

Savage Worlds

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Type: Arcane Background (Supernatural)
• Trappings:
  • Levitation: Activate as an action to levitate for 2d6 rounds.
  • Chaotic Whispers: While levitating, the wearer must make a Spirit roll each round or suffer a -2 penalty to Smarts rolls due to distraction and temptation.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Type: Gear (Cyberware/Bioware)
• Rating: 4
• Essence Cost: 0.2
• Capacity: 1
• Special:
  • Levitation: Allows the user to levitate up to 10 meters for 1 Combat Turn.
  • Chaotic Whispers: While levitating, the user must make a Willpower Test (2) each Combat Turn or suffer a -2 dice pool modifier to all actions due to distraction.

Starfinder (First Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Level: 1
• Price: 1,000 credits
• Category: Technological
• Activation: Standard (command word)
• Capacity: 1 charge
• Usage: 1 minute
• Effect:
  • The wearer gains a fly speed of 30 feet for 1 minute.
  • While flying, the wearer must make a DC 12 Will save at the end of each of their turns. On a failed save, they become distracted and must move towards the nearest perceived danger or source of excitement.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Type: Personal Equipment
• Price: Cr500
• Encumbrance: 1
• Effect:
  • The wearer gains the ability to levitate for a short duration (Referee’s discretion), typically 2d6 Combat Rounds.
  • While levitating, the wearer must make an INT check at the end of each Combat Round. On a failure, they become distracted and must move towards the nearest perceived danger or source of excitement.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Pixie Dust Greaves

• Type: Arcane Item
• Availability: Rare
• Effect:
  • The wearer gains the ability to levitate for a short duration (GM’s discretion), typically 2d10 rounds.
  • While levitating, the wearer is subject to the Whims of the Fey and may be compelled to perform erratic or unpredictable actions. The GM may require the player to roll a Challenging (+0) Willpower test to resist these urges.