Originally posted on the official website on January 15th, 2019
Queen’s Cane Core v2.01
One of the most fun parts of a Zelda game is finding the cool new Magical Tools you’ll use to solve puzzles and navigate the world. And of course, tabletop game players love finding new items – and using them to circumvent the GM’s plans.
In posts like these, we want to share Magical Tools made for Reclaim the Wild games. And the first one we want to share is a totally original item, the Queen’s Cane!
Queen’s Cane
Magical Tool - One-Handed - Wooden
By tapping the tip of this wooden cane against a surface (including your open hand), you can create fresh beeswax. It was originally used to help build this hive, and was then used to seal individual honeycombs or otherwise perform ceremonial bee-duties.
Cost: 1 Stamina (Bind or Burn)
Range: Self
Effect: You create or destroy a single dollop of beeswax, up to 1 cubic square. Created wax persists until your next Short or Extended Rest. This can be used in a number of ways, limited only by your creativity. Some possibilities include:
- (Bind) Seal an opening (up to 1 sq. in size) with thick, hard wax. This seal is water-tight, but is not heat resistant (it will hold back water, but not lava). The wax is sufficiently sturdy to support a person’s weight. A wax-sealed square can be broken through with a test of Athletics v. the cane-user’s Arcana, or upon contact with any Fire attack or fire source. If the wax is destroyed, the Bound Stamina is Burned.
- (Burn) Create a single Candle or bar of Soap. Items created this way last until your next Short or Extended Rest. The item is ephemeral, and obviously both magical and temporary to anyone who observes or handles it.
- (Burn) Seal a letter, Bottle, or package with a crest or sigil of your devising. This seal persists until the object is opened. (The seal doesn’t prevent anyone from opening the item, but may reveal if it was tampered with.)
- (Bind) Coat a single object in a thin layer of wax. This functions somewhat like using Oil on a piece of equipment, preventing (but not removing) Rust, or lubricating the moving parts of a machine. This wax coating persists until your next Short or Extended Rest.
The Queen’s Cane is a perfect item to put in a tree- or bee-themed dungeon. While it doesn’t provide any combat utility, it gives clever players lots of ways to solve puzzles and overcome challenges. They can clog up pipes, unseal honeycombs, or even create small platforms.
However, the Queen’s Cane could also be in the hands of a noble, using it to affix – and alter – the wax seals on their correspondence. They could also use it to seal bottles of wine, or poison, without touching the object in question.
Finally, since the wax from the cane can be used as a lubricant for moving parts, anyone interested in large-scale machinery might want to get their hands on this Magical Tool, if only to save a few Rupees on bulk Oil orders.