The exploration challenges here provide a plethora of ways to make journeys impactful and memorable, but Narrators can also create new obstacles for their campaigns.

Each campaign is different—every magic item may not be the best fit for a game, or the Narrator may need something that no one has thought of yet. In these instances, use the rules below to guide the process of coming up with new magic items and the ways a character might craft them.

For those who have reached the height of mundane crafting there is the intricate practice of creating magical items. This can be done during downtime, like crafting mundane items, but is often a more finicky process. Magic items can be as unique as their crafters, ranging from potions to armor sets, and a particular magic item can look different every time someone new crafts it. Unlike crafting mundane items, crafting magic items is rather hit or miss. Crafting a magic item is either successful or it is not.

Some magic items are sentient and sapient, possessed by a spirit or given life through arcane power. Despite their outward appearances these objects are full fledged characters with their own agendas, desires, and personalities. Unless otherwise specified, sentient items are NPCs under the Narrator’s control, and adventurers must negotiate with and become allies to them rather than simply use them as items. A sentient item’s properties and abilities are under their own control rather than the wielder’s, and accessing them requires the item’s willful cooperation.

Being the Narrator is a gratifying and rewarding experience, but that doesn’t make it easy. This chapter is a trove of advice for running Level Up to be as engaging, enjoyable, memorable, and worthwhile as possible with a focus on two aspects of play: player archetypes and safety tools. When the group isn’t getting along, the party is led astray, or the campaign goes off track Narrators are encouraged to try to better understand the players, focusing on what they’re enthusiastic about so the story and gameplay better suit their passions.

Prayer books—any specific collection of scriptures which may include sacred stories, wisdom literature, hymns, creeds, codes, and liturgical formulations—are to divine casters as spellbooks are to wizards. You must have spells from the divine school on your class spell list to attune to a prayer book, and you may only be attuned to one prayer book at a time. Each prayer book has a spell list, and once attuned you may cast those spells, even if they are not otherwise prepared or known. You still must have spell slots of an appropriate level to cast those spells, even as a ritual.

Valuables include jewelry, equipment, art, and other objects, and can come in nearly limitless varieties. Each of the following tables contains some examples. Of all forms of treasure, valuables are the most useful for showing the characteristics and history of a treasure hoard or its owner. These may include items that point the way to further adventures, like letters and treasure maps.

25 GOLD VALUABLES (D12)

1 Arms and armor. Rapier or shortbow