What sort of magical tools and artifacts would an occult detective employ in his work?
Assume a Victorian-era D&D mid/low-fantasy setting. The character in question is a necromancer (Speak With Dead type, not zombie overlord type) with a couple of levels in Rogue to get that "going where you're not supposed to go smooth talker" build. Basic firearms are available in the setting, any other questions regarding technology level or anything else that could give you a better picture of what items would be suitable, please ask away.
>multiclassing rogue and wizard
Top kek, enjoy your shittified caster.
>>46810619
I'm not going for an optimized build, I'm going for one I want to try out.
>>46810640
Go into Evangelist instead, it's the one PrC for wizard skill monkeys.
Or try an occultist. It's a little more skill monkey than the regular wizard AND it uses occult relics for magic anyway.
>>46810674
I'm playing 5e, is there a conversion for that?
>>46810680
>5e
Variant human or elf wizard gets you a total of 5 skills. Choose whatever the hell you want. You can pick up thieves' tools proficiency from a background too.
Multiclass into rogue = fucks you over, gets you only one more skill
Occult tools = generic arcane focus, maybe a component pouch
I don't think I really made it clear what I'm looking for in this thread.
I'm looking for different types of tools, each with a singular function that would aid a detective with a spooky flair.
An example off the top of my head would be like a pendant that glows when near bloodstains or something similar.
Any ideas?
Literally just a component pouch.
>pendant that glows when near bloodstains or something similar
You'll need a spell for that. Go pick up the spell, check the component. That's your occult relic.
Ask if you can reflavor it.
>>46810740
What I need are ideas that aren't covered by the spells in the book. Things that would be useful on their own merit with unique effects not seen in a wizard's/cleric's arsenal that a detective would have kept with him.
>>46810816
Detecting evil to find crimescene clues
object/spell identifiers
trap detection
truth serums/spells
Can you enchant a quill to jot down notes for you?
>>46810816
>>46810859
You really, reeeeeeally don't need to expand the wizard's spells in 5e.
>>46810929
Then feel free to help out with some artifacts and their effects.
>>46810590
> Who is John Constantine
Drugs to trip balls on and commune with the spirits.
"Dragons Breath" Napalm shotgun shells filled with blessed shrapnel and silver mercury. Sawed off shotgun to go with it.
Gnarled fetishes to track blood, fear, "taint", and magic. An eye wrapped in hair for example, or a wooden disk carved with lips that form the words "hot" or "cold" when held against your palm and occasionally writhe disturbingly and which you can feel teeth grinding behind. A gemstone that quivers and vibrates and induces nausea the closer you are to taint. A bag of dust the floats and clings in tantalizing directions like it's caught in a wind you cannot feel.
Complex glass and stone apparatus used to scry on maps, resembling a compass or a plumb bob.
Mother fucking Molotovs.
An old kitchen knife worn to to a slivered razor, used for ceremonial purposes, mostly cutting yourself for blood sacrifices. Also used to cut non-magical wankers, and even the occasional magical wanker when necessary because if it don't hurt them it might at least annoy them and sometimes that's the best you can do.
A key ring of religious symbols, because when you're a man facing the beasts of the night you're going to need all the divine help you can possibly get (especially since it usually isn't very much).
A trenchcoat with handy pockets for nicking shit on the downlow.
Flask of whiskey - distilled with holy water.
ONE Candle made from the hand of a hanged man.
Magical card that shows as any identifying badge you need so long as you have the confidence to carry it off.
>>46810590
Are you asking game wise or flavor wise? If you want flavor find a copy of 2nd ed Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death its all about a spoopy victorian setting and will have a wealth of information
>>46810944
Theae are the exact types of things I'm looking for. Any other ideas?
First, use a better system.
>Victorian-era low-fantasy
Grimoires, so much grimoires, a revolver with hand-loaded rounds that have enchanted powdered bone mixed into the gunpowder (the spirits will have their due).
A knife of some description. Actually two, one for gathering ritual components, one for combat or adding your own blood to a ritual.
Pretty much just >>46810944 from there, really
>>46810979
Cigarettes. They were at one time marketed as expectorants, and the character can be seen to be constantly smoking them. They smell unusually foul, and appear to be hand-rolled. They're used to both provide protection from possession by "expelling" foul humors, and also to annoy the fuck out of people with as well as give a sensory clue to the person being around if they're an NPC.
Occasionally he'll use surprisingly good smelling cigars to bribe the undead with, as they give them a sensation of warmth that they are unused to. Only works for physical, sentient undead and the cigars are rare/difficult to get and have mysterious origins.
This also gives you a way to tie the guy to some more powerful undead who gets him to bring or buy the cigars, or sells the cigars to him. Something that acts human and friendly, but creeps him out all the more so because he knows that at some level they're all monsters.
I dunno man, kind of feeling like I blew my wad there.
Maybe a hat that has sentimental value, which while in and of itself isn't magical is used to misdirect and draw attention away from his actual magic use (and to assist in the aforementioned nicking of clues, small valuables, or other things of appropriate size).
An unknown charm of possible power that the character is mostly sure will damage undead or spirits. Mostly sure. It may do nothing at all, or it might damage undead, spirits, and anyone standing nearby.
>>46811007
I've always been partial to the whole Pratchett approach to ceremonial knives. Namely that they're bollocks and having a sharp knife with a good grip is the most important part.
>>46810590
Literally describing Hellblazer.
>>46811038
I've never read it, so is there anything noteworthy in there I could use?
>>46810936
>Then feel free to help out with some artifacts and their effects.
If you're a player in 5e, why the hell are you expecting to get free magic items?
>>46811046
> Who is John Constantine
Seriously, you prick, why did you not google that name.
Everything in that comic is noteworthy. The Keanu Reaves movie "Constantine" is half-way decent as well although Keanu's character is very . . . American compared to the original.
The British sitcom is pretty true to the comics, although also very British and goes from terrible to Amazing in erratic moments. The main character plays Constantine to a "T" though.\
Also >>46811030 Your character talks about their mystery charm all the time, andIt's a grenade!At least that's the first time he uses it, turns out he has an actual danger! charm as well.
>>46811046
Yes, it's exactly the sort of occult-loose morals character you're looking for and has several instances of scenarios and tools/fetish/totems described in it.
Also you can refer to the lame movie and tv-series it spawned called Constantine
>>46810590
Occult bat-belt, with a bit of sketchiness thrown in. So, one shot items that have a chance to fail, or work poorly, or have an exhorbitant cost to use. They can help, but no sonic screwdrivers.
And always be prepared to try out 5 rounds rapid if necessary.
>>46811163
>one shot items
Not opposed to that, adds a good element of risk.
You seem like you'd be better off playing something other than 5e or homebrewing some class from scratch, because all of the shit you want isn't in the rules.
>>46811304
Stuff like this >>46811030 >>46810944 is exactly what I want. Why is that hard to do?
>>46811324
Because you're playing a rigid-ass system with a hilariously limited amount of character customization options despite being a D&D game released 20 months ago, and magic items are all "neener neener GM only territory," whereas in 3.X and 4e you could at least craft them yourself by default.
>>46811339
Good thing my DM is an actual person that I can have conversations with regarding homebrew content.
>>46811346
Get ready to homebrew your whole spell list then.
>>46811349
You're still not understanding for some reason. How can I better explain to you what this thread's purpose is?
Look at the items in these two posts:
>>46810944
>>46811030
None of those require me to write up an entire new spell, it's just an effect of an appropriately flavored magic trinket.
>>46810619
>>46810740
>>46810929
>>46811065
>>46811304
>>46811339
>>46811349
Are you being stupid on purpose?
>>46811363
>None of those require me to write up an entire new spell, it's just an effect of an appropriately flavored magic trinket
Hey, if you're not using homebrew spells, then guess what, that's what an arcane focus/component pouch is for.
Have you tried actually reading the rules?
>>46811391
Anon, I'm clearly not playing the game right. Guess I'll go toss my dice bag in the fireplace. You win, you can close this tab now.
A shrivelled, mummified ear which creates a zone of silence, so interviews can be private.
A set of knuckle bones, used to belong to a Priest, which grow warmer around areas where magic has been used. The stronger the spell/closer to the site you are, the hotter they glow.
A bag of metal filings made of the silvered back of a mirror, which, when thrown on/near a corpse, will form a greyscale picture of the last image the corpse saw.
>>46810590
>D&D
It can work, but will be difficult. Try using something different, like Warhammer Fantasy second edition, or basic role play (Call of Cthulhu Gaslight or something like that).
>>46810680
>>46810674
>wanting to convert the shittery of 3.5
>>46810721
While everyone saying "just cast a spell" or making CharOp suggestions is missing the point, it does point out one problem with mysteries in D&D: spells are too useful, and can end investigations in one turn.
Without an enemy magician countering your spells, a moderately leveled wizard detective can
>spy on suspects at any time
>compel the truth
>instantly befriend an informant with Charm Person
>hang around invisibly
>"detect" spells acting as moral radar
Any occult tools would have to give you something that you can't get from a spellbook, or you'd have to gimp the spell list.
>>46810590
Watch a shitload of Supernatural (the first five seasons) and Constantine.
Since you're lazy and don't wanna look things up:
Iron and silver repel the dead and demons. Salt is also a must - spirits and salt apparently don't get along.
Outside of that there's the usual silly shit like inscribing crosses on your bullets despite the fact that bullets deform as they're leaving the chamber and therefore no cross shape would ever hold, various religious books and icons to ward off evil and exorcise it from a person, ritual knives to draw blood and stab fuckers, tattoos to prevent possession and ward against spirits, all that good shit.
