by Steve Stewart The following article (written by your’s truly) appeared in Dragon 207 – Enjoy! The Celts Campaign Sourcebook states, “Magical items are comparatively rare in Celtic myth but are wide and imaginative in their variety.” Celtic magical items may be rare in comparison to those found in an average AD&D campaign, but Celtic myths are chock-full of them. Any perceived scarcity may be do to the fact that relatively few Celtic myths survive in comparison to other cultural myths. A unique category of magical items exists in Celtic myth which is not mentioned in the sourcebook, magical plants and animals. These magical plants and animals are ordinary natural examples of the species except that certain benefits can be gained by consuming them in some cases, or in others the creature or plant carries a dweomer that can be used by characters in game play without disrupting game balance. These magical plants and animals, as well as more ordinary magical items are detailed in the following article.
In recompense for the murder of Cian, the god Lugh required the three sons of Tuirenn to recover eight items as a blood fine. Six of those items were magical and are detailed below.
	Apples of Hesperides –These magical apples never get smaller when eaten. They can provide a character with as much nourishment as a full day’s meals. The apples originally came from the Garden of Hesperides. Experience point value: 300 each.
Pig skin of Tuis – Tuis, a Greek king, possessed this valuable item. When placed on the back of a wounded character it will heal 3d8+3 hit points. This healing property can be used once per day. It has no effect when placed over the body of an unwounded individual. The pig skin also has the property of being able to change water strained through it into wine of the highest quality. The pig skin can convert eight gallons of water to wine per day. Experience point value: 3,000.
	Spear of Pisear – This spear, which belonged to a Persian king, contains great power. It appears to be an ordinary spear shrouded in lapping flames. It has a +2 to hit and damage bonus and confers immunity to fire upon its wielder as a ring of fire resistance. When a successful hit is scored in melee, the spear will ignite combustibles, including living creatures. Creatures struck by the spear will take 1d6 points of damage per round until the fire is extinguished, which can be accomplished by ordinary means. A save vs. breath weapon indicates half damage. Note the spear's magical properties require that it be kept in a barrel of water when not held in combat. Experience point value: 2,000.
Chariot of Dobhar – Dobhar the King of Sicily owned this fantastic chariot. The chariot appears as a normal chariot of fine make and exquisitely carved. The chariot can carry up to three people over land or sea at a rate of 36" over land and 24" over water. Two normal horses pull the chariot. The horses pulling the chariot must rest every four hours. Each horse must make a saving throw vs. death magic for every additional hour over four that the horses pull the chariot or collapse from exhaustion. The saving throw is made at -1 cumulative per hour over four. Roll 1d6 to determine during what turn of the hour that the horse(s) collapse. One horse can pull the chariot at a rate of 12" over land and 8" over water. The chariot is also equipped with magical chariot scythes which inflict 1d6+2 hit points of damage on anyone within two feet of the chariot when it passes and who fails a dexterity check. Anyone who tries to climb onto the chariot in combat must make a successful dexterity check or take 1d4+2 hit points of damage. Experience point value: 8,000.
	Pigs of Easal – Easal, King of the Golden Pillars, owned seven magical pigs. These pigs had the magical ability to resurrect after being consumed. After eating the pigs their owner must lay their bones out to dry in the sun the day after they are eaten. At dusk of that day the pigs will rise from the dead, ready to be slaughtered again. The bones of the pigs most be laid out in the sun the day after they are slaughtered or they will never come back to life again. If there is no visible sun in the sky the pigs will not resurrect. Experience point value: 500 each.
Hound of Ioruaidhe – This hound, once owned by a king, had the ability to unerringly track any quarry it chased. The dog has the same statistics as a war dog of normal intelligence. In game terms this creature can track any creature that has a scent with a 100% chance of success. Rain, masking scents and other adverse conditions can lower this percentage as detailed below.   Quarry crosses water -20% Quarry continuously moving through running water (walking up stream, etc..) -80% Raining -40% Snowing -20% Quarry's scent masked (DM's discretion) -10 to -60% Highly populated area -10% Each four-hour period before tracking commences -20% When modifiers lower the hounds chance of following a scent a check should be made each turn to determine if the magic hound has lost the scent. Magical hounds of tracking were also used by the sons of Tuirenn to track Cian. Experience point value: 500.
The Sons of Don or the Tuatha De Danann brought many amazing treasures to the Celtic people when they invaded and pacified the Fir Bolgs. Among the civilizing gifts of the Sons of Don were iron-working, medicine, magic and poetry. They also brought four powerful magical items.
	Sword of Nuada – The sword of Nuada had the legendary ability to slay anyone hit by it. This is not the case, but it is still a powerful weapon. This long sword has a +5 to hit and damage bonus, and on a natural roll of 20 it will slay any creature hit. The creature hit by the sword is entitled to a saving throw vs. death magic to avoid dying. A save indicates that the target takes triple damage. In addition to the extra damage a body part is rendered useless as described in the Complete Fighter’s Handbook. The hit location is determined randomly on the table below: 1-2 head 3-7 torso 8-11 right arm 12-15 left arm 16-20 right leg/left leg Only creatures of basically human or humanoid form are effected by the slaying ability of the sword. Under no circumstance will undead or other planar creatures be effected by the slaying ability of the sword. Experience point value: 10,000.
Spear of Lugh – The spear of Lugh looks like a normal spear except for the blood red color of its head. In combat it is treated as a +3 weapon. When a hit is scored it drains 1d6+3 hit points from the target and transfers them to the wielder of the spear. The wielder can gain up to 40 hit points over his maximum hit point total in this manner before the spear is sated. These phantom hit points are lost first and will disappear one hour after combat is concluded at the rate of one hit point per round. The phantom hit points will drip from the spear in the form of blood. Experience point value: 2,000.
	Cauldron of Dagda – The ornately carved cauldron of Dagda is constructed of gold and bears the image of the god of the same name. The cauldron will be full of a warm stew when found. No matter how much of the stew is removed, the cauldron will never appear empty. However, after feeding 150 people in a day, the stew will no longer have any nourishing value. The cauldron also has the unusual property of only providing nourishing stew for the brave and pure of heart. Cowards and deceivers gain no benefit from eating the magical stew. Experience point value: 1,000.
Stone of Destiny – The properties of the stone of destiny are vaguely described in myth. It appears as a very valuable gem stone. When held by a druid, he can predict the future as if he had cast an augury spell. This power can be used three times per day. Experience point value: 1,500.
Other magical items are peppered throughout Celtic myth. Following are a selection of items from several different legends.
	Cloak of Invisibility – This item appears to be a normal leather cloak of fine make. It has properties similar to a ring of invisibility. When worn the wearer becomes invisible. The invisibility lasts until a hostile action is taken by the cloak’s owner whereupon the weapon used to make the attack becomes visible. The rest of the cloak owner’s body and equipment remain invisible. Attacks upon a character whose body is invisible, but whose weapon is not, are made at a -2 penalty to hit. The hero Caswallawn, son of Beli, used an item similar to this one in the story of ‘Branwen the Daughter of Llyr.’ Experience point value: 2,500.
Cup of Truth – This highly crafted golden goblet has the unique property of shattering whenever a lie is told before it and reassembling whenever the truth is told before it. The wizard Manannan (sometimes portrayed as a god) owned this cup and displayed its powers to the hero Cormac. The cup will only function if a true or false statement is made within 10' of it. It has unlimited charges. Experience point value: 1,000.
	Horn of Dispelling Illusions – This mystical horn appears to be an ordinary hunting horn. The hero Gereint used this horn to dispel a magical fog and other similar enchantments. The horn may only be used by fighters, paladins, rangers and bards. When winded by a character of the proper class, this horn will dispel all magical illusions and fogs, regardless of the level of the spell caster who created them, within a 100' radius. Only part of an illusion must be visible within the effective radius for the horn to effect it. The horn will also nullify the effects of a horn of fog and other similar magical items. The horn can be sounded three times per day. Note, the horn has no effect on invisible creatures and ordinary illusions such as mirages. Experience point value: 2,500.
Salmon of Wisdom – The Celts considered the salmon to be a creature of great wisdom. The Irish hero Finn gained great wisdom by eating a salmon of wisdom that lived in Fec’s Pool in the River Boyne. Eating a salmon of wisdom will cause a character’s wisdom score to be raised by one point. The increase in wisdom will take effect immediately in the form of an epiphany. A character can only eat one salmon of wisdom in his lifetime and gain the benefit of increased wisdom. Additional salmon, though they will provide nourishment, will have no further effect. Note that 10 percent of all salmon of wisdom will increase a character’s wisdom to 18. Experience point value: 1,000 or 4,000 (confers 18 wisdom).
	Well of Magical Lands – This magical device may appear as a lake, spring, fountain or well. It functions exactly like a magical well of rainfall (pg. 38 Celts Campaign Sourcebook) except that when the rain stops the character finds that he has been magically transported to a random hidden magical place (pg. 39 Celts Campaign Sourcebook). A similar well was encountered by Mallolwch, King of Ireland, in the legend of ‘Branwen Daughter of Llyr.’ Experience point value: 6,000.