The Minish Cap: The sword of a warlord

 The sword of a warlord

Smith’s Sword: This sword was forged to be the prize of the sword-fighting competition held during the Picori festival, which was ultimately interrupted by Vaati’s evil schemes. Link is given the sword by his grandfather, the greatest Hylian smith, and tasked to take it to the King. We covered the Smith’s sword as a functional item at the start of this set. This represents the smith’s sword as a quest item. 

After the empire abandoned the Isles, warlords began to carve the land into small feuding fiefdoms. A particularly well-provisioned warlord, known for carrying the sword of an imperial governor, established a small but bountiful fief during the chaotic post-imperial years. It was from that strong core that the young warlord would steadily expand their sphere of influence until they controlled enough of the Isles to be considered its first true king.

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King Arthur was almost assuredly not a real person in the way we think of him. While the Arthur we all imagine is probably a myth, there may have been a charismatic and influential leader in Britain in the post-Roman period who was known for his amazing sword and the forging of a fledgling British kingdom.

Maybe that leader used an awe-inspiring Roman Spatha that was cast using a stone mold and polished to a mirror sheen. It might take the magic out of the story a little bit, but I personally love seeing the mundane, plausible side of mythic tales. It makes the mythic tales all that much more grand.

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Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

The Minish Cap: The White Rabbit’s Pocket Watch

 The White Rabbit’s Pocket Watch

Carlov Medal: This medal signifies Link’s commitment to collecting the many figurines of The Minish Cap. If Link can gather enough mysterious shells to buy all 136 figurines, he is given this medal by the creator of the figurines. Other than showing an unwavering commitment to collecting, the medal gives Link access to a house with a piece of heart and a phonograph. 

Pocket watches are supposed to keep you from being late, but the white rabbit that owns this watch only ever seems to check it once he is already running behind. The rabbit might be a bit spacey or perhaps they are too ambitious in their scheduling, but what if the watch itself is made to trick the rabbit into thinking they are always late. Wonderland is a confusing and often menacing place, so it would surprise only the most naive to find that the White Rabbit’s pocket watch was given as a prank. 

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Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

The Minish Cap: Sea Witch’s Charm

 Sea Witch’s Charm

Mysterious Shell: These shells can be found all over Hyrule in every sort of place Link can find items. Link can exchange mysterious shells to purchase various figurines depicting characters, monsters, and bosses from Link’s adventures in The Minish Cap.

Rumors speak of a witch who lives beneath the sea who can grant any wish, for a price. Petitioners of her great power should beware, as the cost of her gifts is always something dear, and the wish always comes with some sort of vicious technicality where the witch can win their very soul. It is said she keeps the souls of her poor, unfortunate victims in the golden shell she wears about her neck, its ever-growing contents empowering and emboldening the witch.

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I haven’t drawn an item card for each figurine Link can find in the Minish Cap. If I ever reach the point where I have finished drawing all the items in every Zelda game, I may come back and draw the figurines. With the amount of items in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, as well as the number of echoes in Echoes of Wisdom, I don’t think I will reach that point any time soon.

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Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

The Minish Cap: The Golden Touch

 The Golden Touch

Tingle Trophy: If Link can complete 100 kinstone fusions throughout his adventures, the man fairy Tingle will give Link a golden trophy to celebrate his commitment to friendship and kinstones.

When a greedy king earned a boon from the gods, they wished that anything they touched would turn to gold. The king eventually learned a bitter lesson when they turned their favored child into a golden statue. The king’s closest advisors learned an even more important lesson when they learned the king’s severed hand still carries the gilded touch, even after the death of the king and the amputation of his hand.

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Midas was not the wisest king, and he was punished for his folly. Don’t make the same mistake Midas made. Make specific wishes with reasonable limitations and safeguards.

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Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

The Minish Cap: Greedy Catfish

Greedy Catfish

Kinstone Bag: This sack stores all the kinstones Link collects during his adventures, swelling to near bursting by the end. Link is given the bag near the start of his adventure after conquering the dangers of the Deepwood Shrine.

This massive catfish is responsible for the disappearance of at least three gold rings. The first, it ate off the finger of an unlucky fisher, and the second and third were lost when the same foolish fisher baited their hook with rings only to lose the lures to the wily fish.  There is now an informal bounty on this big fish, with the reward being all the gold the greedy fish has eaten. 

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Losing a ring in the water only to eat the fish with your missing ring still inside is fairy tale destiny at its finest. 

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Thank you for your support.

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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Thank you for your support.

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.

If you enjoy my work, please consider donating:

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Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A gruesome pike.

 A gruesome pike.

Skull Tower Idol: This gruesome stack of bones is another idol in the decoration trading sequence. Link must trade another idol for this one and it can be traded for an idol or flag. Since this can also be placed on the Joyous pedestals around Windfall Island, this is the best idol to max out the island’s spookiness.

You stand before a fallen keep choked with sand from the encroaching desert. Atop the gate was carved the message, “Look into the faces of those who opposed me and despair for I am eternal.” Amidst the decay, a single pike remained piercing a bleached white skull that could have been a vanquished enemy or a deposed tyrant. 

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This was my inexpertly handled homage to Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

~Mild NSFW~ Wind Waker: An ancient Venus statute. ~Mild NSFW~

~Mild NSFW~  An ancient Venus statute. ~Mild NSFW~

Wind Waker: A boarding pike.

 A boarding pike.

Hero's Flag: Nearing the end of the decoration trading sequence, Link must offer the Big Sale Flag to receive the Hero’s Flag. With this final flag, Link can obtain one of the statues available in the sequence. This can also be placed in a Joyous Pedestal on Windfall Island.

When the captain of your ship fell to the pirates boarding your small vessel all hope seemed to be lost. You weren’t even thinking when you picked up the pike that slew your captain and led a desperate counterattack that freed your ship. You didn’t know it then, but that was your first step toward becoming a legendary hero of the seas.

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I always want to play a polearm specialist ala the Sand Snakes from Game of Thrones or a Wuxia spear fighter, but I will probably just make them a spear-themed warband or encounter since I’m a forever GM.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: Sashimono of the Beetle Clan.

 

Sashimono of the Beetle Clan.

Big Sale Flag: Another flag in the decoration trading sequence, this flag is offered in exchange for one of the idols or the hero’s flag. It can be offered to obtain other decorations or be placed in a Joyous Pedestal on Windfall Island.

When two siblings who could not accept the laws of succession called on their followers to wage a bloody civil war one clan chose to forsake their oaths and instead ensure every person on either side of the war could find food. When the war was decided the Beetle Clan was exiled for cowardice and sent out to die in the wastes. It was in those wastes that the clan’s survivors stumbled upon thriving trade roads and took the first steps in becoming the internationally trusted clan of merchants they are today.

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This was my attempt to give Beedle a wholesome backstory that connects to a larger clan of merchants that sort of explains why there is a Beedle in most of Link’s adventures. Link, Zelda, Gannon, etc. are destined to be reincarnated time and time again but is Beedle core enough to the universe’s grand design to be a member of the ever-incrnated?

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: Trident of the Sea Sovereign.

Trident of the Sea Sovereign.

Big Catch Flag: Initially, Link must trade a sickle moon flag with one of the traveling merchants of the Great Sea in exchange for the big catch flag. This is another step in the decoration item trading sequence, so Link can trade this flag for the next flag in the set or place it on a joyous pedestal on Windfall Island.

Legends speak of a great island nation that dominated the seas using god-like magics and wondrous machines. This wonder of the world was swallowed up by the seas they believed they commanded for the hubris and corruption of their sovereigns. While the sea mercilessly crushed the sovereign, the regular people of the island were each given a small fraction of the power held in the Sea Soverign’s Fork so that they might breathe water as well as air and rebuild their nation in cooperation with the sea instead of in domination of it.

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That is a socialist revolution retelling of Atlantis. Imagine searching for the lost city to claim its god-like artifact only to find the fork a powerless token of a failed social order.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: Flags of the high seas.

 Flags of the high seas.

Sickle Moon Flag: This is the first of the flags available to Link in the decorations trading sequence of Wind Waker. I totally, Link must trade either an exotic flower or pinwheel to one of the traveling merchants to obtain this flag. Link can trade this flag for the next flag in the series or a fountain idol. These flags are also decorations that can adorn joyous pedestals on Windfall Island. 

Sailing among the countless islands of the Archipelago means visiting a thousand countries and countless more holds, parishes, counties, and clans. Pride ensures each of these petty fiefs has their own unique flag. This means sailors must have an encyclopedic knowledge of flags, standards, and banners if they don’t want to accidentally steer too close to a rival ship.

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Banner items can be a fun way to incentivize your players to gather tightly in an otherwise inadvisable way. You could also have each of these flags be a trophy, or just invite someone to make their own flag on one of the blanks.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A delightful pinwheel.

 A delightful pinwheel.

Pinwheel: With an exotic flower in hand, Link can travel around until finding a merchant that is willing to trade a pinwheel for his flower. Link can either trade with a pinwheel to get a flag or place a pinwheel on a joyous pedestal on Windfall Island.

Most pinwheels entertain children by catching the wind to spin. Some rare few pinwheels actually make the wind instead. Spinning this pinwheel changes the direction of the wind, which makes it a horribly irresponsible toy to give children.

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Here’s an animated GIF of the pinwheel spinning.

This was a surprisingly difficult animation to pull off. Made me respect animators even more for the work they do.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A rare black lotus.

A rare black lotus.

Exotic Flower: Link must trade a sea flower for this exotic flower. The exotic flower can be traded for a pinwheel or a sickle flag depending on which merchant Link offers this flower to. In addition to trading the flowers, Link can place these flowers on joyous pedestals around Windfall Island.

Mana, the energy that fuels magic, is around us always. This rare black-petaled lotus concentrates mana so that anyone can have enough power to conjure a significant spell just by picking a flower. There are no limits on what one can do with this power making these flowers extremely valuable.

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I don’t play Magic: The Gathering anymore but I’ve always loved everything fantasy so the serious worldbuilding and art talent that went, and maybe still goes, into creating those cool little cardboard rectangles really sparks my imagination. I generally keep up with what is going on with Magic and maybe someday I’ll go out there and buy another booster or dust off my beat-up card binder. Until then, get inspiration wherever you can.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A carnivorous pitcher plant.

 A carnivorous pitcher plant.

Sea Flower: Link trades up from a mundane town flower to this sea flower with either the merchants of Bomb Island or Mother and Child Island. With the sea flower in his pouch, Link can trade it for an exotic Flower to the merchant of the Greatfiah Isle. Link can also place sea flowers on the joyous pedestals of Windfall Island.

Mundane pitcher plants use fragrant nectars to lure bugs inside the bell of the flower which is lined with slippery secretions that trap their prey in a pool of digestive acid at the bottom of the bell to be dissolved and absorbed by the plant. Giant pitcher plants are very similar except that are able to lure larger animals such as birds, rats, and monkeys. Maneater pitcher plants are massive plants that mimic human screams to lure others into their acid-filled bells while searching for wounded friends.

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If you were walking in the jungle and heard an unfamiliar scream, would you run and try to help?

Carnivorous plants fact: Venus fly traps, with all their exotic mystique, are only native to the Carolinas on the east coast of the United States. Not necessarily a place famed for its exotic mystique.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: An enchanted rose.

 An enchanted rose.

Town Flower: Zunari, Windfall Island merchant, will ask Link to take a local flower and trade it for something more interesting with the other merchants of the Great Sea. The town flower can be traded to one of a few merchants for a more interesting sea flower. With this first exchange, Link has begun the trading quest for Wind Waker. Link can also place town flowers on the Joyous Pedestals waiting for decoration around Windfall Island.

The lord of this land once denied the right of hospitality to a wandering woman who came to his door during a terrible storm. This woman was secretly a great enchantress traveling in disguise and in her rage at being denied hospitality she cursed the lord, his lands, and all who dwelt upon them with strange and terrible forms. As all curses must have a flaw, this curse can be broken if the lord, in his hideous form, could find true love before the wilting of the last petal of the last rose in all his lands.

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It’s Beauty and the Beast. I’m not trying to be coy or subtle, This is the Beast’s flower that is slowly wilting in a tall tower of his castle. You could use this straight and have a lord cursed with a monstrous form, but I chose to give it to my players as a consumable baleful polymorph item to be used at the least opportune time.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph