Wind Waker: A belay pin for tying off life lines, or severing them.

 Wind Waker: A belay pin for tying off lifelines, or severing them.

Heart: Hearts are Link’s measure of health. Picking up a heart restores up to one complete heart in his health bar. Found in freshly cut grass, broken pots, or defeated enemies Link must quickly pick up a heart or it will fade away to nothingness.

In the roil of the stormy sea, every sailor must have their lifelines tied to the mast or risk being lost at sea. When the overbearing first officer orders the fool cabin boy to check the lifelines, you see your opportunity. What a shame it would be if that very officer’s lifeline somehow came untied during the storm and sent the officer to their watery grave.

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Belay pins are the wooden rods that sailors used to tie down lines to the mast and other secure attachment points throughout a ship. Lifelines were literal ropes tied around a sailor’s waist and secured to the ship with a knot around a belay pin.

If you haven’t experienced Treasure Island in some form go read the book or watch one of the many movie adaptations. I am particularly partial to Muppet Treasure Island or Treasure Planet, but there are many wonderful adaptations to enjoy.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A fairy’s cello, or a fine fiddle, depending on who you ask.

 Wind Waker: A fairy’s cello, or a fine fiddle, depending on who you ask.

Wind God's Aria: The Wind God’s Aria is learned from a monument hidden on Gale Island. This song is used to awaken the new Wind Sage, destroy obstacles in the Wind Temple, and fix signs that Link has slashed to pieces. I did not know about that last one when I played through Wind Waker. 

When a young farmhand heard music playing from the grove of trees beyond the field they didn’t expect to find a lone fairy so lost in their music as to be totally unaware of the mortal’s approach. Having taken a fairy by surprise, the child could have wished for whatever they wanted, but they only wished for the friendship of the fairy. The kind open heart of the child was rewarded as the fairy taught the young one to play the fiddle better than anyone living or dead, mortal or divine.

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There is the common idea of “be careful what you wish for” in fiction, but I would love to see more instances of “wishing for selfless things being rewarded.” Maybe if we had a large body of shared fiction where people used the near limitless power of wishing to improve the lives of others we all might try to improve the lives of others. 

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Be excellent to each other.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: The harp of a sage.

 Wind Waker: The harp of a sage.

Earth God's Lyric: The Earth God’s Lyric is learned inside a tomb on Headstone Island. Link must conduct this song to awaken the new Earth Sage and to destroy stone blocks obstructing his exploration of the Earth Temple.

There are stories of a musician so talented that they could calm a volcano with the playing of their harp. These stories are true, but the musician is long dead and their spirit now rests in the underworld. If someone wanted to learn from such a virtuoso, they would have to travel to the land of the dead and then find a way to return to the lands of the living with their newly acquired skill.

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This instrument and the next instrument are items in Wind Waker. I absolutely love the art style of the game, so I drew the wonderful items from the game whenever possible. 

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A commander’s whistle.

 Wind Waker: A commander’s whistle.

Command melody: The command melody is inscribed on a monument in the Tower of the Gods. Its placement in such a hidden holy place ensured that only a true hero would learn its power. Such precautions are reasonable as conducting the song allows Link to take direct control over constructs, animals, and even people. Link uses this power to gather the Sages back together, but a less heroic person would surely use the power for evil.

When you hear the whistle you drop and give me twenty! Is that clear? I can’t hear you!

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I wanted to draw the actual sort of whistle used on sailing ships, but I had no idea what they looked like before doing research for this drawing and I didn’t think anyone else would have either. Maybe I do that whistle for another whistle or instrument in a future Zelda game’s drawings.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A highlands bagpipe.

Wind Waker: A highlands bagpipe.

Wind's Requiem: The instructions for this critical song are inscribed on a shrine to another of the Wind Gods that call the Great Sea home. After visiting Zyphos’ shrine on Dragon Roost Island Link can conduct the Wind’s Requiem to change the direction of the wind. This is especially useful when sailing because Link can call up the desired wind and be on his way.

The call of bagpipes can be heard echoing through the mountains for leagues. Hearing a far-off bagpipe to an outlander might be a novelty, but native highlanders know to listen to the song for news. Some songs are dirges for the dead, others celebrations of marriage or birth, but the most dire songs are warnings of coming invaders and calls to gather for war.

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Growing up there was a bagpipe player who lived about a mile away from my house. I could always hear him playing those bagpipes, and wherever I did I was consistently shocked by just how loud they could get.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A well-loved accordion.

Wind Waker: A well-loved accordion.

Ballad of Gales: The Ballad of the Gales allows Link to summon up a cyclone that will lift Link and his ship up and deposit them throughout the Great Sea. To earn this fast travel, Link must be lifted up in one of the Wind God’s cyclones and then successfully shoot an arrow at the god before being unceremoniously flung away by the uncaring deity.

When sailing the high seas, one learns many songs. Songs to work, songs to play, songs to dance, songs to drink, songs for weal, and songs woe. These songs are often sung to the many music of accordions, concertinas, and other small hand-held organs that allow the player to claim to be productive without having to toil at backbreaking work. 

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This is easily one of my favorite drawings from this set. I enjoyed the drawing the entire time I was drawing it which is rare as most drawings have a rather protracted ass phase where I hate most things about the drawing. I hope you enjoy it even half as much as I do.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Holiday: A drink for St.Patrick’s Day

 A drink for St. Patrick’s Day.

Guinness: A pint of stout emblazoned with a golden harp. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A thundering rowing drum.

 Wind Waker: A thundering rowing drum.

Song of Passing: The song of passing allows Link to progress the passage of time, moving from day to night and night to day. Link can learn the song from a dancer on Windfall Island whose memory is sparked when Link shows them the Wind Waker. Songs in Wind Waker are not played by Link. Instead, they are conducted by Link using the Wind Waker. I always imagine that the wind itself played the songs as conducted by Link.

In the heat of a race or the din of a storm, every rower needs to be in sync. The deep thunderous drums beat by the master of oars keep the rowers rowing together, and it keeps them rowing long after they would normally give up, caught up in the fervor of the drums. It is no wonder that countless feats of strength have been accomplished to the steady booming of drums.

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Drums and bass can make people do some crazy things. It can also get a whole mob of people to surge and move in relative unison. If you ever find yourself at a party that’s getting too rowdy, try turning down the bass to see if it calms people down.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: The greatsword of a tyrant’s ghost.

 Wind Waker: The greatsword of a tyrant’s ghost.

Phantom Ganon Sword: We covered Phantom Ganon’s Sword last week. Info about the sword can be found in that post. 

Ghosts don't need to slash or cut to harm the living, they need only touch living flesh to corrupt it with the chill of the grave. Knowing this, the mad king commissioned a massive club-like blade to be interred with him upon his death. No one could imagine that he had planned all along to return as a vengeful ghost to rule his kingdom for eternity with an ethereal fist. 

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I just didn’t feel right not drawing the sword from the game, so even though I already have two item cards for Phantom Ganon’s Sword, here is a third one showing the in-game sword for anyone who wants to use such a strange-shaped weapon in their games.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: Nifo’oti from the thousand isles of the Master Navigators.

 Wind Waker: Nifo’oti from the thousand isles of the Master Navigators.

Phantom Ganon's Sword: Phantom Ganon is the first manifestation of Gannondorf’s power that Link must face in his adventure. When Link is ready to face the ultimate evil threatening the Great Sea, he must defeat Phantom Ganon repeatedly to find his way through a maze. At the end of the maze, Link must take up the vanquished phantom’s sword and shatter a barrier blocking his way.

In the Isles of the Master Navigators, there is little enough metal to make tools and too much wet salt air to keep metal tools safe from rust. Instead, the craftspeople of the islands turn to wood, stone, shells, and teeth for their tools. With tools and weapons that exist in harmony with the seas, the Master Navigators have successfully beaten back the self-important metal-clad invaders for generations.

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Nifo'oti are real Polynesian cane knives made in various forms by the many different Polynesian peoples. The Pacific Islands were first discovered and settled by humans using navigational techniques that include knowing what types of clouds form near or far from land and how birds behave near and far from land. The Polynesian explorers accomplished incredible feats earning their status as master navigators.  

Trying to unlearn the "colonialism is a good thing" lessons I was taught as a kid is hard work. Taming an “undiscovered” land of savages is often a default plot that still bubbles up, but there are some cool inversions of that story that show the experience from the indigenous people’s perspective.

A cool world concept and art project that would be a great game setting is the Orken World from SixMoreVodka that shows the various tribes of orcs uniting to resist the colonial expansion of pale-faced humans that are the most thinly veiled reference to actual colonial invaders. 

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: An anchor.

Wind Waker: An anchor.

Stalfos Club: Stalfos wield these bulky spiked iron clubs recklessly in their lifeless attacks. Link wields the clubs with only marginally more skill as their incredible weight forces him to make slow and ponderous swipes. The clubs are heavy enough to shatter stone pillars just like Darknut Swords.

A sea giant extorting tolls from any ship that passes through its domain uses a massive anchor to menace the passing ships. The anchor has scuttled the handful of ships that rejected the giant’s demand, leaving just enough survivors to tell the tale. Ships have begun to avoid the prime shipping lane, but this has only emboldened the giant to strike out farther and farther from their home.

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The Warcraft 3 sea giants with their whale skin cloaks wielding massive anchors were the direct inspiration for this drawing. I loved that when the sea giants entered the water they just looked like swimming whales and not dangerous giants bent on destroying your fledgling navy.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A dagger axe from an infantry troop.

 Wind Waker: A dagger axe from an infantry troop.

Moblin Spear: Moblins of the Great Sea often attack Link using long crooked spears fringed with tattered braids. Link can use these spears by defeating Moblins, greatly increasing his range of attack. These spears are as deadly as Darknut Swords but are not strong enough to shatter pillars.

Swords are for the rich and axes are for the woodpile, but spears are for soldiers. Spears can slay a foe before a sword can reach and they can take down a charging horse. Let the flashy fools keep their shining swords, give me a trusty spear any day.

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Given the choice of having a spear or a sword, most modern people would want the flashy hero energy of a sword, but most people contemporary with both would choose spears. You can’t use a sword as a walking stick, but you can use a spear as one.

I wish that the fantasy and RPG space made spears cooler. The only two compelling spear fighters I can think of are Oberyn Martell from A Song of Ice and Fire and Balsa from Moribito.

Go out there and make a cool spear fighter.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Digivolve your champion with this digivice.

 Digivolve your champion with this digivice.

Digivice: A digivice from the first series of the Digimon anime. Digivices allow DigiDestined children to digivole their Digimon. That sentence is all the explanation I need for why Digimon didn’t overtake pokémon in the fight for monster collecting supremacy.

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I think that is it for the monster collector item mini-set. There was a while there where I liked Digimon more than pokémon but pokémon was clearly the IP that endured. Did you have a favorite child collecting monsters show that wasn’t pokémon? Monster rancher? Card captors? An even more obscure one?

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Catch ‘em All with this Pokeball.

Catch ‘em All with this Pokeball.

Pokeball: Use Pokeballs like this to catch all of the Pokémon to complete your Pokédex. 

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Unless you want to directly reference pokémon in your games, I don’t see these being anything but a funny one-off easter egg item, but it could be a great way to represent a stone of summoning or some single-use summon a monster item. 

I haven’t played any of the Pokémon games after the last Game Boy Advanced games Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. They do have a special place in my heart as one of my first hyperfocuses, but I doubt I’m going back to Pokémon any time soon. I just don't have the time to catch them all or craft the perfect team, especially not with however many pokémon there are now. 

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Capture all of them with these Pal Spheres.

Capture all of them with these Pal Spheres. 

Palsphere: Use these brightly colored spheres to capture all the pals, and anything else they can grab too. Find an additional collection of Pal Spheres below.

Wind Waker: A two-handed falchion of the finest steel.

 Wind Waker: A two-handed falchion of the finest steel.

Darknut Sword: Heavily armored Darknuts wield these massive swords with one hand. If Link can disarm or defeat a Darknut he can just wield the bulky blade with both hands. Link can use the blade to battle enemies and to shatter certain stone pillars.

The city of Damshuk is famous for its miraculously fine steel. Its forges produce such awe-inspiring steel that some foreigners believe the blades to be enchanted. The merchants of Damshuk do nothing to disabuse the ill-informed buyers of such ideas while being very sure to never directly state the steel they offer is magic.

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Damascus steel was truly impressive to everyone in the age of sword and steel. Honestly, it still is. The iconic layered patterns in the steel come from many layers of steel with different carbon contents that respond differently to an acid etching that reveals the amazing luster once the forging is finished.

A low fantasy setting could have equipment forged from Damascus steel be legendary rewards worthy of legendary heroes.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A whaler’s cleaver.

 Wind Waker: A whaler’s cleaver.

Machete: Another of Wind Waker’s oversized enemy weapons, the machete is a less common weapon wielded by Bokoblins. This large curved blade isn’t pretty, but its swing is mighty enough to destroy wooden barriers, making it an invaluable puzzle-solving tool for Link. 

Butchering a whale is just like butchering any other meat, except you have to walk inside the thing to make your cuts. This massive size difference creates the need for giant specialized butchering tools. This heavy cleaver must be used with two hands, but a skilled whaler can make enormous cuts with ease.

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Whaling can be an unsettling topic to explore. Especially the industrialized whaling of Moby Dick, Avatar 2, and Dishonored. This is based on a real whaling tool, but it could just as easily be a menacing axe if you’d like.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A halfling’s walking stick.

 Wind Waker: A halfling’s walking stick.

Boko Stick: The first of Wind Waker’s retrievable oversized enemy weapons, the Boko stick is used by many Bokoblins that Link encounters in the Great Sea. Link can wield these large wooden sticks as clubs or use them as a torch if there is a flame to light them. The entire stick is flammable, so boko sticks that are lit eventually burn away.

Halflings of the Glade are as famous for their short stature as they are for their tall walking sticks. A good long walking stick is helpful in all sorts of situations, especially when you are too short to grab fruit from trees or reach high shelves. A stout walking stick also helps out when fools try to ambush happy little halflings, thinking them defenseless, only to get a swift knock to the skull.

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The boko stick could be anything from a simple walking stick to an ancient staff of primal power. I also tacked a sling on the stick to make sure I had the ever-included, but seldom-used halfling sling staff in my back catalog.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A warm parka.

 A warm parka.

Shop Guru Statue: We have arrived at the final item in the decoration trading sequence. Link must trade for this statue by offering the Postman Statue and when Link returns to Zunari with this statue, the statue is of Zunari by the way, Zunari is so excited he offers Link a piece of heart. Like all the decorative items in this trading sequence, this can be placed on a Joyous pedestal on Windfall Island.

A tropical island is the last place you’d expect to see an arctic parka but the owner of this shop is dressed like they are expecting a blizzard any second. They are originally from the frigid south and could never get over how naked tropical clothes left them feeling. They couldn’t get over the tropical heat either, so their shop is magically cooled to keep them perfectly comfortable and their customers shivering and willing to take any deal just to get out of the cold.

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We have completed the trading sequence. We already covered the magic armor that is gained optionally earlier in our tour of items from Wind Waker. Our next mini set of items are the oversized weapons that Link can take from enemies and only use for a short time. Look forward to big sticks and unwieldy swords.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A friendly blue mailbox.

 A friendly blue mailbox.

Postman Statue: The only way to get this statue is to offer a Hero’s Flag in trade to one of the traveling merchants that deal in these decorative macguffins. With this statue, Link can trade for the final decoration in this seemingly endless quest. He can also just place a statue on a Joyous Pedestal on Windfall Island. Every time Link unlocked a new item in the sequence Zunari, Windfall Island Merchant, began selling the new decoration so Link could purchase duplicates. If Link fills all fourteen Joyous Pedestals with any of the trading sequence decorations, he will earn a piece of heart.  

What might seem like an innocuous Mail Drop box is made suspicious by the fact that it is just standing in the middle of nowhere. You are also pretty sure that you just saw a postal officer pick up mail, but you can’t tell where they came from or where they went. I guess now is a great time to send that letter home you’ve had written but hadn’t sent as you are lost in the wilderness. 

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Alternative ideas for this item card could be a figurine of wondrous power that is just a postal box that allows them to store or retrieve items from their post office box once per day.

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Toss a coin to your illustrator.

 Toss a coin to your illustrator.

Tip Jar: I’ve been posting my art to this for six years come March. In that time I’ve posted over 1,000 item cards for everyone to enjoy and grown a ton as an artist. I’m not done growing artistically, but I can step back and say I'm proud of the sheer volume of art that I have shared and I am happier and happier with the quality of work I can produce every day.

If you have ever been inspired by my work or used my item cards in your games, please consider making a one-time donation to my Ko-Fi or becoming a sustaining supporter on my new Patreon page. Every donation is appreciated no matter the size.

If you don’t have enough to spare right now, that is totally okay. You can still support me by coming back for new item cards every Sunday. 

If you’d like to make a donation, the links are below. You can also find them in the top right corner of the page.

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Thank you for your continued support and I hope we have a great new year.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph