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- I Cast...Brainstorm issue 20!
I Cast...Brainstorm issue 20!
A weekly newsletter of ideas and advice for D&D Dungeon Masters, players, and fans
Dave Palmer
August 22nd, 2025
In partnership with
This week — A Magical Pawnshop and a Legendary Heavy Flail
Thanks so much for reading I Cast…Brainstorm!, a weekly newsletter with ideas and advice to help make DM-ing and playing D&D (and other TTRPGs) easier and more fun!
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Let’s brainstorm some fun!
In this issue...
Phrydeus’ Emporium
Phrydeus’ Emporium is a magical shop that appears in various locations around the world, and sells distinctive and unusual items. Phrydeus will also buy items as well, if they meet his rigorous standards. The Emporium is open to all, but tends to cater to a wealthy and/or desperate clientele who need to buy or sell particular items, with no (or few) questions asked.
The owner of the Emporium is a charming noble, of indeterminate age, with an unusual name —
Phrydeus Xejj
Adult, LN, Noble Prodigy — a warm and welcoming raconteur, with secrets
Phrydeus is an attractive, lawful neutral Chthonic Tiefling with pale blue skin and dark purple eyes, who greets every stranger as an old friend. The merchant’s name is known far and wide, and though most people have never heard of Phrydeus’ Emporium, its a fair bet that someone in any medium-sized or larger bastion of civilization, (for thousands of miles in any direction), has had dealings with the tiefling.
When the PCs enter the Emporium, they see a large wooden counter extending across the room, barring any further progress, and behind the counter, in front of a thick curtain of expensive fabric, stands Phrydeus with a wide, welcoming grin. Customers are always greeted by Phrydeus, no matter where the Emporium is located, and one of the great secrets of Phrydeus’ success is how exactly he and his shop manages to be in so many different places. Constraints of time and space seem to barely affect him, and rumor has it that the charming merchant has cloned himself with powerful magic.
At all times a varying collection of unusual, ancient and powerful items is arranged on the counter and for sale, for that is precisely Phrydeus’ stock in trade — unusual inventions, ancient artifacts, and powerful magic items. Some objects may even seem quite worthless, but rest assured that one of Phrydeus’ customers would no doubt pay an exorbitant price for it. The second enduring mystery of the Emporium is how often the merchant always seems to have just what a customer is looking for. Sometimes the item is on the counter, and sometimes the merchant ducks behind the curtain to rummage around and return moments later with the object of his client’s desire — whether it’s a dancing sword once owned by a fey king, or a favorite toy knight that was lost decades ago.
On those occasions when Phrydeus doesn’t have the item in stock, he tells the client he will try to acquire it — all that’s needed is a considerable down payment, and the patience for Phrydeus’ network of adventurers, wizards, sages, smugglers, and others to seek out and secure the object. The table below (based on “rarity”) can help determine availability and costs, but the chance that Phrydeus can find a specific item, and its actual cost, are at the DM’s discretion.
Rarity | Down- | Chance | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Common | 100 gp | 90% | 1d10 days | x2 |
Uncommon | 500 gp | 75% | 1d4 weeks | x3 |
Rare | 100 pp | 60% | 4d4 weeks | x4 |
Very Rare | 200 pp | 30% | 6d4 months | x5 |
Unique | 300 pp | 10% | 2d4 years | ? |
The table is based on an item’s Rarity, which can correspond to the rarity for any particular magic item. Unique items might be something from the client’s life — something they previously owned, saw or created. Phrydeus doesn’t deal in Legendary items, (unless the DM deems it so.)
The Downpayment is the up-front cost to the client for expenses as Phrydeus’ network seeks out and secures the item.
Chance is the base chance that the item can be secured at all.
Should the item be found, the Time is how long Phrydeus’ agents will need to return the item to the merchant. Some of these times are quite long and outside the scope of a normal campaign — DMs can adjust the time shorter for items they want to get into the hands of the characters quicker, or even (scoundrel!) extend them longer.
Cost is a multiplier applied to the standard cost of the item. Costs can quickly get out of control, and this is where Phrydeus’ charm comes in handy — maybe the PCs would be willing to acquire some items in return for an item they’d like to purchase?
A Legendary Heavy Flail
The Keystone of Istarak
Legendary weapon
The Keystone is a massive two-handed heavy flail, with a handle of stone (corundum) wrapped in leather, attached to a 5’ length of thick adamantine chain, and ending in a massive chunk of ancient stone etched with runes. The weapon is so heavy and unwieldy that users must have a Strength of 17 or greater to properly wield it.
The ancient stone was once the keystone of the arch leading into the long lost Temple of Istarak — a sacred site built to honor an ancient and notorious god of justice who went to war with the Nine Hells, and lost. Her temple was destroyed by the victorious devils, but Istarak’s devout followers saved the keystone and crafted this weapon to keep the mad god’s memory alive, and continue her crusade to rid the world of the unjust.
The Keystone of Istarak
Properties: Two-handed, heavy, 10’ reach
Weight: 50 lbs.
Damage: 2d10 bludgeoning damage (additional radiant damage vs Evil targets)
Mastery Property: Unnerve (see below)
The Keystone is a +2 weapon that does an extra 2d10 radiant damage on a hit vs Evil creatures.
Unnerve (new Mastery Property)
Once per round on a hit, the target creature must make a Constitution save (DC = 8 + STR mod + proficiency bonus). On a failed save, the target is Unnerved — so shaken by the crushing weight and holy power of the weapon that it falters, and moves to the end of the initiative for one round of combat, (either to the end of the current round if the target has yet to act when hit, or the end of the next round if they’ve already taken their turn when hit).
Consider adding additional beneficial or detrimental properties, and/or making the Keystone sentient, if it suits your world/style/game.
Brainstorming Links
You probably already know about the folks below, who are real inspirations to me, but if not, do yourself a favor and check them out.
The Arcane Library — masterpiece adventures, and Shadowdark, too!
https://www.thearcanelibrary.com
The Angry DM — so angry….so many great ideas….
https://theangrygm.com/
DMDave — on point analysis of D&D rules, and a ton of fun ideas
https://bsky.app/profile/dmdave.bsky.social
RPGBot — whip smart critique and explanations of 5e rules
https://rpgbot.net/
Sly Flourish — a DM’s best friend who is also a better DM
https://www.slyflourish.com/
Treantmonk — years of helpful advice and clever ideas
https://www.youtube.com/@TreantmonksTemple
If you like I Cast…Brainstorm!, you might also like these amazing newsletters with more great ideas, advice and news about RPGs.
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What I’m DM-ing
A weekly Curse of Strahd campaign via Roll20 using 2014 5th edition rules
A weekly Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign, in-person, with 2024 5th edition rules
A series of one-shots in a bi-weekly game at a bar in LA. If you’re interested in joining in, invites are sent via the Partiful app. Or you can sign up at Ye Rustic Inn — 1831 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, California.
Two different campaigns with my kids, (Rime and Storm Kings Thunder) when schedules align
What I’m Playing
A 5th ed. Dragonlance campaign as a 9th level Tinker Gnome Gadgeteer Rogue, named Professor Flondersnoot
About to start playing Vecna: Eve of Ruin as Clybb Thistlebridge, a 9th level Halfling great-weapon Fighter
And in all my free time, I play a LOT of Hearthstone! I’m currently stuck at mid-gold in Standard, but if you want to play, find me at BigKahuna (#1802)
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The original ideas in this issue of I Cast….Brainstorm! are covered under the Creative Commons BY-SA license — all content is free to use (including commercially) and change, with proper attribution.
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