The Genius Guide to the Relics of the Godlings

Mythology is full of heroes who carried one or two amazing items throughout their adventuring careers. Sometimes the acquisition of the item marked the hero as special from the beginning (such as King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone), and in other cases the items were gained as part of an early adventure (Hercules killed the Nemean lion as the first of his Twelve Labors, and thereafter wore its hide as armor). Often, special magic items are given to heroes by the gods (Perseus famously receives gifts ranging from Hades's helm of invisibility to Hermes's winged sandals), or other supernatural forces (many swords of Norse mythology, including Dainsleif, Hqfud, Ridill, and Tyrfing, are forged by the dwarves, who also make magic items for the Norse gods). While such items are clearly the progenitors of the magic items found in modern fantasy RPGs, there's often a serious disconnect between how the two kinds of items work. Mythological items are often an important and defining featu