Five items you could use this Labor Day weekend appearing in Link’s Awakening.
Small key: A minor key with plenty of uses. I drew this one as a more modern house or lock key. I don't think many people would be too offended at this apocryphal key shape appearing in their pseudo-medieval fantasy settings. If you are one of those offended people, I guess stay out of my topsy-turvy genre blending universe.
With summer unofficially coming to a close, racers are scrambling to secure spots in the last big race of the season. Alejandra Ricco has had a great season, but with her recent disasters on the track she needs something like a miracle to finish the season on the podium. While working under her car after hours, Alejandra heard what sounded like footsteps approaching her workbench and then her keys falling to the ground. Alejandra didn't see anyone when she came up from below the car, but she found nine identical keys on her keyring that weren’t there early that day. Each key was warm to the touch with “wanna race?” etched into its face in a script she could barely decipher. Ever curious, Alejandra stuck one of the keys into her ignition and the car roared to life. In the same instant, the key was consumed in a gout of flame. For a few hours after, the car was in pristine condition but it slowly deteriorated into the same mess it was before and now also smelling of Sulphur. With nine races left in the season, has she just wasted an opportunity she can’t get back or can she find a way to win the season on her own without the help of the mysterious benefactor?
Fishing Hook: Link is given this hook in exchange for giving a grandmother a broom. A rather poorly equipped fisherperson asked Link to trade the hook for his next catch, whatever it may be. It ends up being a Mermaid’s bikini top. This proves that you never know what is coming next in a Zelda trading sequence, unless you have paper and the lonely hand in the outhouse has made an appearance.
As a child, Fasika was forced to flee her country and find a new home in Minnesota. Her family was forced to flee so suddenly most of her childhood belongings were lost, but she was able to keep her grandmother’s favorite fishing hook. Her grandmother told her it was enchanted to always catch the biggest fish of the day, but it should only be used sparingly to not upset the natural order. Fasika never gave much credit to her grandmother’s stories but she always kept it close as to remember home. Fasika now loves to camp and kayak in the pristine forests and waterways of north Minnesota, but most of all she loves fishing in its innumerable lakes. When Fasika visited the Boundary Waters Wilderness for the first time she was struck by the awesome magnitude of the place. The millions of acres of lakes and ponds were sure to produce some impressive fish so Fasika used her grandmother’s hook. Had she known just how liminal the place was, bordering not just civilization and the wilderness but this world and others, she may have used more mundane equipment. She now finds her line pulled taught into an inky black shadow beneath the water. Has she hooked something massive or has someone or something caught her?
Secret Medicine: Purchased by Link from Crazy Tracy, yep that is her name, this potion is apparently rubbed onto Link’s skin upon purchase. Where sunblock keeps harmful UV radiation from the skin, this potion works as a sort of deathblock, warding from an untimely death due to a lack of hearts. I went another direction with my drawing for secret medicine but I wouldn’t blame you if you want to steal this secret medicine mechanic whole cloth. As a side note, Crazy Tracy runs a relaxation spa while also screaming all of her sentences. I am not sure she picked the best career for her skill set.
Rich and Tommy were looking for the perfectly setting for what they called “psychedelic exploration.” When they heard that the magician R. Carter’s house was abandoned after partially burning down, they knew their search was over. While exploring the mostly untouched attic, the pair uncovered a bong that must have belonged to the previous owner. Tom and Rich interpreted the bong as an auspicious sign from the powers that be. The pair quickly discovered that the magician that used the bong last had been burning incenses and herbs that allow for the projection of the astral form. As they exhaled their first hit simultaneously, their consciousnesses were catapulted into a strange world populated by creatures at home in the dreams of artists and haunted by the nightmares of the truly mad. Can the pair find their way back to the only stable exit of the dream lands or will their minds be lost forever?
Guardian Acorn: I am not sure I ever actually saw this item when I played Link’s Awakening as a kid. Apparently they drop after you defeat a dozen enemies without ever being hit. The acorn provides a temporary buff that halves damage for as long as the special music is playing. Based on my devil may care attitude towards Link’s wellbeing, I am in no way surprised that I didn’t know about this item.
Dr. Frigga Janstotter is convinced that we are living in the age after the cataclysmic events of Ragnarok. Frigga believes that much of the world’s current suffering is a direct result of a total lack of metaphysical structure. All the many different shapes of souls must live in a single realm that fits most well enough but few perfectly. Dr. Janstotter believes it would be a benefit to all peoples if she could split the realms apart. Since Yggdrasil succumbed to rot after being submerged in the floodwaters at the end of Ragnarok, there is no structure capable of holding the disparate realms in place. With this in mind, Frigga has spent every available hour searching for a seed cast from the world tree. Her efforts were rewarded when one of the great seeds was found in a sealed urn in a recently discovered shipwreck. Frigga plans to spend the Labor Day weekend planting the heart sized seed in a sanctified grove fed by the waters of three springs. When the seed quickens, she will begin the ritual that will tear the universe apart into the disparate realms. Whether or not she succeeds or fails, the possible consequences of her actions are dire.
Compass: This compass functions as a standard Zelda compass with one beneficial improvement. This compass, as with the compasses in the Oracles games, makes a brief chime when you enter a room with a hidden key. I wanted this drawing to be functional for more than just a compass so I tried to channel a pocket watch in the inspiration as well.
A sunny afternoon during the long Labor Day weekend is the perfect time to get together with friends and family for drinks, snacks, and games. Picnics are also the perfect excuse to slow down and take a break from the maddening pace of modern life. With so few chances to see all the important people in one’s life, it is no wonder that you would seem crazed as a March hare if you were running late to the festivities.
----------
I hope you enjoyed the modern adventure inspirations for these items. I like bouncing around between fantasy, sci-fi, eldritch horror, etc. It lets me explore ideas that I wouldn’t use in the campaign I am currently running.
Please do not profit off my work without my consent, but feel free to use this in your personal life as you see fit.
Thanks for stopping by and always remember to be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph
No comments:
Post a Comment