English: needle for sewing Deutsch: nähnadel 日...
English: needle for sewing Deutsch: nähnadel 日本語: 縫い針 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RIGS 4.03 – Needle of Fertility

“The So-called wise woman gave Bjorn the farmer this needle, as he pigs were having a bit of trouble with the making of the baby pigs. Well, old Bjorn went to show his wife Ingrid what he had got. She was furious he was wasting the money they had saved for a new breeding sow and went to grab the needle to throw it in the home fire. It jabbed her in the hand and Bjorn said she called down right away afterwards. Turns out the needle works on humans as well, as 9 months later Ingrid gave birth to 4 kids! Which is impressive as they had been trying for children for the last 5 years with no luck. ”

Needle of Fertility
Power Level: Minor (2)
Activation: Mental Command (Any Language)
Approximate Age: Couple – 2 years
Condition: Poor (3)

Description
The needle of fertility looks at first glance to be nothing more than a regular sewing needle. Made from what seems to be a kind of steel, they can come in various sizes ranging from 1 to 8 inches. Those that can sense magic will feel a slight tingle when holding it, but otherwise there is no indicator of the items power.

Powers
Once jabbed with the needle, the next time the animal engages in breeding, then they automatically become fertile and pregnant. Not only that but the needle increases the number of children/eggs/etc they would have. Mostly it’s a doubling, but sometimes it can be x3 or even x4. It does not speed up the gestation, merely makes conception a certainty and increases the effects of it. If a male animal is jabbed with the needle, it has no effect. Most of the time the needle has enough power for up to 10 uses, then it becomes a normal needle.

Downside
Despite being designed for use with lower animals, it has been discovered to work on almost any creature that reproduces in a “normal” manner, no matter if they lay eggs or give birth to live young. For some species, multiple births can be very dangerous and kill not only the children but the mother as well.

Destruction
The easiest way to destroy the needle is to melt it down in a blacksmith’s forge or other source of heat that can melt steel.
R.I.G.S. Results Volume 3, available here
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/178773/RIGS-Result-Volume-3

For details and explanation on R.I.G.S and its terminology, read this post

Item Thursday – Intro & Item:The Sun Match

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