Wha—is that a miniature thunderstorm in that thing?
Full Item Description
The Snow Globe of Predictions is a simple, but finely-crafted object consisting of a pewter base about 10 cm across and topped with a glass dome. Inside, a small village has been carved from the pewter, including several structures and suggestions of surrounding farmlands.
Snow globes like this are found in some of the larger cities, made by artisans and sold as souvenirs. They are filled with water and insoluble white flakes, so one can create "snow" by shaking it.
The Snow Globe of Predictions *looks* like one of these trinkets, but it has no water and no "snow".
History
Ronnocharas and Rolindor, two brothers five years apart in age, both grew up studying magic. Ronnocharas was always larger in stature and ambition, seeking knowledge of battle spells. Rolindor was much weaker in body and spirit, and leaned towards magics of healing and natural communion.
The two were never competitive, however, with each respecting the other's expertise and realizing that their skills complemented each other. They spent many happy years adventuring, sometimes apart, but mostly as a team.
Eventually, however, Rolindor fell ill due to his weak constitution and knew his life would end soon. Out of love for his brother, he spent his final days crafting various objects that would assist Ronnocharas in his continuing adventures, and take the place of the tasks he used to perform. The Globe is but one of these.
Magic/Cursed Properties
Various magics within the Globe of Predictions create tiny representations of artificial sunshine, rain, hail, and yes, even snow. The "weather" within the Globe reflects what the climate will be in the object's current geographical position 24 hours from now.
The Globe has also been known to predict terrible fires, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. It cannot, of course, predict any *unnatural* phenomena.
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If it is not filled with water and insoluble white flakes, then it is not really a snow globe.
On the other hand, I like the thought of a device that can predict the weather without the mage having to cast a spell. I thought your sub was well written, with a clear description, and a good history.
This item is something I can use in my campaign, Good job.
Well, yeah, I guess you're right, it's not *really* a snow globe. But aren't most magic items something other than they appear to be? I use the term "snow globe" simply so the reader can get an instant visualization of it.
That was just a minor observation. And yes, it works well as a visual aid..
The effect seems minor, but it is quite a potent and useful item! Well targeted too - you even hinted at some limitations, and I like all of that.
I just can't shake off the feeling that a guaranteed source of prophecies won't have some nasty side effects in the long term. The space-time continuum doesn't tolerate stress very well, so using the item too often may yield some nasty surprises. Also, I would think that anyone with power over weather will want to have the globe (and that means very powerful people).
As said, I like it. :)
But they already have The Storm Globe :)
They may not know it exists. Once they do, there will be any number of "relic hunters" and other "aquisition agents" after the item.
The write up is a little sparse in terms of details. The description of the item itself uses a lot of "implied" ideas.
The history, was okay. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad.
It begs the question, why hasn't anyone else made one of these? It is terribly useful and a common need. Is this the innovator who created the enchantment? Is it just one reason why someone would make one?
A useful little item to have.
This is cool. The clear limitations of the item with the short preview timeframe and the small area observed regulate it to a convenience item rather than an earth shaker.
To make it more generally usable, perhaps it attunes to it's location, with the sculpture within changing over time as it's scale increases.
Attunement Period Radius of Effect
1 Day 300 feet
1 Week 1 Mile
1 Month 3 Miles
1 Year 10 Miles
10 Years 100 Miles
100 Years Kingdom
Perhaps also the preview time could also increase.
This increase of scale is two-edged sword, since the details would be lost and only broad area predictions could be made.
Now, there would be immense vested interest in keeping a globe of this nature stationary, since if it were moved substantially (perhaps 10% or more of its radius) it would begin to attune anew.