Adventurer Essentials:

Waterskin

Written by Bret Boyd

Cover Art by Anthony Cournoyer. Interier Art by Anthony Cournoyer

Skortched Urf Studios

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Adventurer Essentials:

Waterskin

Welcome to the next issue of our Adventurer Essentials line of products! As always, Adventurer Essentials takes one classic (or workhorse) item from the list of equipment common to adventuring characters everywhere. Maybe the focus of an issue is not something every PC carries but you can be darned sure someone in the party has it! This pdf is presented from the perspective of a traveling human bard named Tobin Mefisto as he travels the lands of a standard fantasy setting interviewing known figures of authority for each issues topic item. It should come as no surprise that the information gathered is for a larger work called Adventurer Essentials, which Tobin hopes will someday make him a rich man. Game mechanics and rules are also provided since that is the adventurers tongue, as our host puts it. When such text appears within the History part of the article, it will be called out in bold print. Lets take a look at what Tobin has to say in this issue concerning the waterskin

Enter Halea the Weaver, an intelligent and unassuming female from the northernmost tribe. Halea was a proud mother and good friend to other mothers in her village. For months, she had been working to craft the perfect baby carrier made from sheepskin so that all mothers might be able to continue working even with their child strapped to them. Halea was never one for blood and guts but the animals bladder fascinated her after her husband helped to remove the skin from the sheep. It was almost as though the sheep had its own internal carrying apparatus, similar to what she was trying to create (Im sure she didnt think in such civilized words as these, but please indulge me; I am a bard after all). Thus, when word of the expeditions need for a water carrying device came to her, Halea knew the bladder would do the trick. After lling the organ from the nearby stream (she had kept the bladder preserved since its removal for future research when her baby carrier was nished), she took the full waterskin to her husband for approval. To make a long story short, the idea was an instant success and met with not only his approval but that of all the tribes as well! Halea the Weaver would be venerated for her ingenuity for years to come for although the full bladder was a bit unwieldy due to its size, it was the prototype for todays much sleeker version: the waterskin. Throughout the many centuries of its existence, the waterskin has been an essential part of every travelers list of necessities. While styles and construction types vary from age to age and culture to culture, this handheld item has never varied in its use of safely holding water (or some kind of liquid). Todays waterskin is some variation of a leather pouch with a wooden stopper and a leather shoulder strap or belt loop. Elves tend to decorate the leather with images of leaves or waterfalls. Some dwarves and halings weave family or community symbols onto the leather. Humans and other humanoids tend to leave their waterskins blank and treat them with all the reverence any utility item deserves. And speaking of reverence, some religious organizations keep ready waterskins lled with holy water around their churches, shrines, or secret hideouts (for those evil types).

History of the Waterskin

Before the great human tribes of the east migrated west, they were a loose collection of settlements concentrated around sites capable of providing enough food and water for each. For many years, folks from these tribes would easily ride or walk to a neighboring village without worry for these essentials of life. But, as often happens with human culture, some members wanted to explore the unknown west. These early explorers could easily hunt animals, which were abundant at this time, for food but water was a different matter. Following a stream out of familiar territory would only last so long. And what if a discovered spring turned out to be somehow tainted? It was clear that a means for carrying water had to be fashioned.

A waterskin of holy water (or unholy water) is always marked on the stopper with a religious glyph of some kind that can be deciphered with an easy Knowledge (religion) check (DC 10). This type of waterskin is worth 100 gp and can be used to damage/ heal undead as flasks of holy water except the maximum range is 5 feet, there are 4 uses to a waterskin (usable only one at a time), and using it provokes an attack of opportunity.
For this addition to the Adventurer Essentials line, I managed to locate and speak with one of Haleas direct descendants. Gerin Notchwin, a reclusive herbalist and crafter residing deep in a mountain range, granted me an audience because, as he put it so eloquently, Im old, so I guess society dictates that some of my work should be recorded before I die. Come on in.

common to waterskins bearing elongated necks (not in and of itself an unusual quality but it is the easiest configuration for secreting herbs or plant matter). Theyre called poor mans potions, Gerin stated, picking up a waterskin of black leather from his worktable. See the neck here; how I havent quite sewn it up yet? Well, this is one of them. A client asked me to attach some peppermint root to the interior before the skin is finished. Afterward, when the neck of the skin is squeezed and twisted and the same, the next drink of water helps to awaken the imbibers senses from the peppermint-infused liquid. Made sense to me. As long as you can find the herb or plant seed/ stem youre looking for, it seems like any qualified crafter can create one of these infuser waterskins. After being crushed, the attached juices or seeds mix with the water within the skin as it is drunk by a creature. The types, benefits/hindrances, and costs of some infuser waterskins are listed below. The costs include the price of a waterskin and the Craft DCs reflect the Alchemy skill necessary to prepare and attach the infusion substances.

Infuser Waterskins
As a free action, a character can squeeze the neck of this type of waterskin to release a special fluid or seed placed within the skin before its completion. The substance mixes with the water inside the skin and produces a mundane benefit or penalty for the drinker. However, the infusion is only effective for two rounds after mixing. Failure to imbibe the waterskins contents (a swig or two which is a standard

Mundane Variants
As mentioned above, waterskins vary widely depending on the time periods and cultures that spawn them. Commonly, waterskin variants are merely aesthetic in nature but there are others, Gerin informed me, that have more extraordinary secrets. The variants discussed below are all

action) results in a wasted infusion. Be advised that a creature may only use one infuser waterskin of each type a day (i.e. buying and then drinking 12 bacopa leaf infuser waterskins once per hour will not grant the Will save bonus for 12 hours, only for the first hour). Infuser waterskins can be used as normal waterskins for up to six months before the alchemical process used to prepare and install the substance inside deteriorates harmlessly. Be advised, Gerin also told me that more than a few infuser waterskins are left as traps, being placed in a way where only the neck is accessible for retrieval. An unsuspecting character grabs it and triggers the infusion. Naturally, whoever placed the skin there also made sure the character requires water for some reason. Bacopa leaf: Grants a +3 alchemical bonus to all Will saving throws for 1 hour. [Craft DC 15; Cost 31 gp] Jinseng root: Provides focus during stressful situations to allow for better interaction between mind and body, granting a +1 alchemical bonus to hit and damage for 2d12 minutes. [Craft DC 15; Cost 120 gp] Lily-of-the-Valley ower: Causes confusion for 1d6 rounds unless a Fortitude save is succeeded (DC 15). [Craft DC 20; Cost 40 gp] Monkshood root: Could upset stomach and cause nervousness. Failing a Fortitude save (DC 15) results in the creature being sickened for 2d4 minutes. [Craft DC 20; Cost 80 gp] Peppermint root: Add +2 to Listen and Spot checks for 2d4 minutes from heightened senses. [Craft DC 15; Cost 4 gp] Quickroot stem: This fantastic plant possesses vines that are capable of growing one foot overnight given the right conditions. Infuser waterskins having this stem can grant the imbiber a +2 bonus to all Dexterity-based skill checks and +5 feet to

their land speed for 1d4 hours. [Craft DC 30; Cost 48 gp] Teleri leaf: From a rare rain forest perennial tree, the teleri thrives in extreme heat which allows the imbiber of this infusion to do the same, gaining re resistance 5 for 1d4 hours. [Craft DC 30; Cost 33 gp]

Magical Variants
When Gerin Notchwin told me about the fantastic infuser waterskins, you could have knocked me over with a feather. Then, after a light lunch (I never knew roasted owlbear could taste so good!), when the renowned crafter hinted to an array of magical waterskins, you could have knocked me over with a drop of water! Alright, maybe that pun was a bit much. In any case, Gerin himself contributed to over half of the magical varieties of waterskins Ive detailed below. For ease of use and identification (identifying them as magical anyway, if not what each exactly can do), most of these enchanted skins have unique stoppers. One must look closely (Search DC 17) to see a seam in the stopper but once found it is an easy matter to twist the two halves as one might open the lid of a glass jar. On the inside of one of the halves is a magical rune. When tapped twice, the magic of the waterskin activates. The skin must be within 5 feet of the tapped rune unless otherwise noted below. In all cases, the runes themselves are not disguised and the school of magic they signify can be inferred with a moderate Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 20). Blast-skin: The blast-skins deadly power is usually the province of over-zealous battlefield commanders and destructive adventurers. The user can trigger this single use item from 30 feet away but the skin must be full for the power to function. Once activated, the skin transmutes its liquid contents to acid and explodes as a fireball in a 20-ft. radius. Those caught in the blast must succeed a Reflex save (DC XX) or take 10d6 acid damage. In addition,

the residual vapors of the acid hang in the air as the acid fog spell for 11 rounds. Moderate conjuration; CL 11th; Craft Wondrous Item, acid fog, fireball; Price 4,550 gp. Breath-skin: As long as this waterskin is at least one-quarter full its power can be activated. Tapping the rune allows all creatures touching the skin at that moment to be granted the ability of water breathing (as the spell). The total duration is 12 hours which is divided evenly among the affected creatures. This ability can be used up to three times a day. It is not uncommon for prosperous (and caring) merchants to keep a breathskin aboard ship in case of emergency. Moderate transmutation; CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item, water breathing; Price 21,500 gp. Elemental-skin: After placing this waterskin on the ground and tapping the stopper rune, the magic within summons a small water elemental (as per the summon monster spell). The elemental bursts from the opening to attack the closest target but cannot move from the space the skin occupies (which is not to say the waterskin cannot be pushed into a more appropriate space). The monster remains for five rounds or until destroyed. An elementalskin must possess half or more of its full capacity of water to be activated. Using the skin in this way drains all water from it and the summon ability can only be used once a day no matter how often the skin is filled with water. Faint conjuration; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, summon monster III , Price 5,000 gp.

Ice-skin: You can activate the magic of this waterskin only after pouring some or all of its contents onto the ground in an unbroken line. A full waterskin can cover four 5-foot squares (a three-quarters-full skin covers up to three 5-foot squares and so on). Once poured, tapping the stopper rune causes a wall of ice (as the spell) to form to the users specifications (total area cannot exceed 700 square feet) in the spaces where the water was splashed. The wall can only be used once per day and lasts up to 7 minutes. Moderate evocation; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, wall of ice; Price 11,000 gp. Veil-skin: After activating the magic of this waterskin, its waters serve to cloak a single item from magical detection for a time. To be truly effective, the entire surface area of an item must be touched by the skins water. Whether the item is thoroughly splashed or the skins water poured into a bowl and then item dunked, the result is the same. The doused item is protected as per the nondetection spell for five hours. This power can only be used once per day and does not require more water to use than would normally be used to douse the target item. Faint abjuration; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, nondetection; Price 6,050 gp. Waterskin, Ever-full: Whether this waterskin is partially full or empty, activating its power causes the skin to fill completely. This power can be used up to three times a day. Faint conjuration; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, create water; Price 600 gp. -END-

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