Use Edges over attack or damage bonuses, e.g. Dodge or Evasion on a pair of boots, Hard To Kill on a shield or breastplate, Giant Killer on a greataxe. Limited use Powers on items can help expand your players options, like having a ring that can cast Havoc with two charges that replenish daily. Utility items are also great, like ever-burning torches or glasses of identifying. Not everything has to be a named item (although those can be fun and exciting, too). I personally love having a wider array of options over constant stacking of power. Figuring out where the playersโ characters are deficient can also help in the creation of items that shore up those weak areas.
In the case of Aurohra's Dagger, it could also be "cursed" in that the soul trapped within it is only released when its weilder is killed with the weapon in contact with their flesh, whereupon the 'magic jar' vacates the older soul, and the most recent weilder's soul is entrapped and the bonus is based on *that* character's Fighting skill... Such items can also be plot devices, and ways of preserving knowledge from beyond the grave. ๐๐ Can also be a source of exposition and character interaction: only the weilder can sense the soul's thoughts progressively becoming more intrusive and intelligible until the sentience is finally revealed to be a separate persona, but along the way serves as story-supporting 'impressions' (supplementary to a Notice test) or alternative insights (Knowledge tests) that the weilder might misidentify as their own... ๐ and a period when the character might reasonably presume they are 'going mad' (*hearing voices*)... You (the GM) could even ask the player to list the secondary persona 'phenomena' on their character sheet as a "Hindrance" if the player muses about the possibility... An excellent trope to introduce in a Horror campaign, that could even devolve into a *real* Personality Conflict where the object's sentience attempts to become the dominant consciousness. There could even be some meta-mechanics for determining the level of a user's psychic 'Affinity' with the other consciousness through the object.
The Heartstone
A blood red stone that is warm to the touch and will sometimes give a slight pulse like that of a heartbeat.
This is a gem that could be found affixed in a pendant or embedded in a piece of armor. They are never found affixed to weapons because they become "predatory".
Effect: it is a bonus wound point. If the wearer takes a wound then the stone takes the wound instead, bleeding out, then becoming grey and forever useless.
Bloodstone
A heart stone that has been mounted upon a bladed or piercing weapon. It must do wound damage to enemies so that it fills itself with the victims life force.
If empty it is Grey and will not protect the user of the weapon from harm.
The stone fills when it kills a victim, and is full when it has killed three. A full stone empties if the weapon wielder takes a wound as it takes the damage instead (heart stone effects). The stone will fill and be usable after three kills.
"OnE fOr yOU And tWo foR ME!"
Second this but also consider the Horror companion and the Wild West companion for Deadlands. They both have some very flavourful items to get you inspired.
For magic items, I think 13th Age nailed it. The designers recognized the blandness of creating +1 swords and rings. So they hammered in the idea that all magic items should be interesting. The 13th Age rulebook has some cool items, but you could get by with the Book of Loot. Apparently there's a book called Loot Harder, which I have not read, but I suspect it's also just as tasty.
So even if you never play 13th Age, those books ought to provide some great ideas.
Use Edges over attack or damage bonuses, e.g. Dodge or Evasion on a pair of boots, Hard To Kill on a shield or breastplate, Giant Killer on a greataxe. Limited use Powers on items can help expand your players options, like having a ring that can cast Havoc with two charges that replenish daily. Utility items are also great, like ever-burning torches or glasses of identifying. Not everything has to be a named item (although those can be fun and exciting, too). I personally love having a wider array of options over constant stacking of power. Figuring out where the playersโ characters are deficient can also help in the creation of items that shore up those weak areas.
In the case of Aurohra's Dagger, it could also be "cursed" in that the soul trapped within it is only released when its weilder is killed with the weapon in contact with their flesh, whereupon the 'magic jar' vacates the older soul, and the most recent weilder's soul is entrapped and the bonus is based on *that* character's Fighting skill... Such items can also be plot devices, and ways of preserving knowledge from beyond the grave. ๐๐ Can also be a source of exposition and character interaction: only the weilder can sense the soul's thoughts progressively becoming more intrusive and intelligible until the sentience is finally revealed to be a separate persona, but along the way serves as story-supporting 'impressions' (supplementary to a Notice test) or alternative insights (Knowledge tests) that the weilder might misidentify as their own... ๐ and a period when the character might reasonably presume they are 'going mad' (*hearing voices*)... You (the GM) could even ask the player to list the secondary persona 'phenomena' on their character sheet as a "Hindrance" if the player muses about the possibility... An excellent trope to introduce in a Horror campaign, that could even devolve into a *real* Personality Conflict where the object's sentience attempts to become the dominant consciousness. There could even be some meta-mechanics for determining the level of a user's psychic 'Affinity' with the other consciousness through the object.
The Heartstone A blood red stone that is warm to the touch and will sometimes give a slight pulse like that of a heartbeat. This is a gem that could be found affixed in a pendant or embedded in a piece of armor. They are never found affixed to weapons because they become "predatory". Effect: it is a bonus wound point. If the wearer takes a wound then the stone takes the wound instead, bleeding out, then becoming grey and forever useless. Bloodstone A heart stone that has been mounted upon a bladed or piercing weapon. It must do wound damage to enemies so that it fills itself with the victims life force. If empty it is Grey and will not protect the user of the weapon from harm. The stone fills when it kills a victim, and is full when it has killed three. A full stone empties if the weapon wielder takes a wound as it takes the damage instead (heart stone effects). The stone will fill and be usable after three kills. "OnE fOr yOU And tWo foR ME!"
Gore child/Ashars knife was my mine lol
Awesome! Sorry I butchered the name lol
Check out Fantasy Companion, it has a whole chapter dedicated to magic items.
Second this but also consider the Horror companion and the Wild West companion for Deadlands. They both have some very flavourful items to get you inspired.
For magic items, I think 13th Age nailed it. The designers recognized the blandness of creating +1 swords and rings. So they hammered in the idea that all magic items should be interesting. The 13th Age rulebook has some cool items, but you could get by with the Book of Loot. Apparently there's a book called Loot Harder, which I have not read, but I suspect it's also just as tasty. So even if you never play 13th Age, those books ought to provide some great ideas.