Pafan Yile and Chinese Folklore: Legends and Tales

When is Pafan Yile? Pafan Yile is a traditional festival celebrated by the Mizo people of Mizoram, a northeastern state in India. This festival usually falls in the month of December, specifically on the third Saturday of the month. The date of Pafan Yile varies each year according to the lunar calendar. Pafan Yile is a harvest festival that marks the end of the agricultural season and the beginning of the festive season in Mizoram. The Mizo people offer prayers and thanks to the gods for a good harvest and seek blessings for the upcoming year. This festival is of great cultural and religious significance to the community.

This festival is of great cultural and religious significance to the community. During the festival, Mizo people dress in their traditional attire, which includes colorful costumes and jewelry. They gather in their villages and engage in various activities such as traditional dances, music performances, and sports competitions.

Dragonsfoot

Tired of bereft players in the year+ it takes for them to reach say level 4, I started peppering local shops with all manner of minor magical gee-gaws. It pleases me to share these with you.

Consider the Cursed Backbiter spear. It has an enhancement bonus! So what if it stabs you 5% of the time!? That's a good item. I have a gang of ruffians in a no-weapons allowed city that wield knives. These knives, however, are just placeholders for the cursed scimitars they actually use. (they pop right into their hands! Ain't that a doozy!)

This was a start. you can buy magic weapons this way for 1000 GP! Nevermind the cursed berserking sword! Now there's something deadly. Or you can go with those 300 GP +1 knives.

On top of that, I placed many, I shall call them talismans into stores. These items do things like make the DM fudge rolls in your favour, give 1% XP bonuses, maybe even heal you if you can swallow the troll-spit potion.

So far, I've got things like angel's scalps, gelatinous cubelets, pauldrons that grant a 2% XP bonus, basilisk tongue, a shedu fetus, & a desicated corpse wearing a helmet that cracks open to unveil a key to any minor lock.

On the more expensive side of things, there's shops selling white dragon shields and helms, clubs of elemental earth (I cannot remember what those do though) and things like chanter's awl-pikes that grant bonuses to NWP checks.

So, does anyone else have fun making cheap-o magic items to put into their campaign? My players are usually wary of the talismans thus far, sometimes off-handedly rejecting visiting my (fully illustrated) bazaars. Their loss, though. They're missing out on some real magic items!

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Justisaur » Sat Jan 28, 2012 3:41 pm

AC4. The Book of Marvelous Magic

Has tons of um. unusual. magic items.

I also have a 'quirks' set of tables that I apply to normal magic items.

Then there's just the weird stuff I've come up on the fly, my favorite being The Sticky Fork.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by garhkal » Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:03 pm

Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Ettin of Hexen » Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:11 pm

Justisaur wrote: AC4. The Book of Marvelous Magic

Has tons of um. unusual. magic items.

I also have a 'quirks' set of tables that I apply to normal magic items.

Then there's just the weird stuff I've come up on the fly, my favorite being The Sticky Fork.

Isn't that the book with the washing machine and the bank in it? I'll have to check it out, I guess. part of the charm of magic items is keeping them low fantasy, paradoxically. In my case, at least.
Quirks on magic items. sounds like a good idea!

*heads over to workshop to take a look*

Play games with your friends-not friends with your games.

Rewarding people who don't account for a situation punishes those that do.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Groaning Spirit » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:08 am

Justisaur wrote: AC4. The Book of Marvelous Magic

Has tons of um. unusual. magic items.

I also have a 'quirks' set of tables that I apply to normal magic items.

Then there's just the weird stuff I've come up on the fly, my favorite being The Sticky Fork.

Isn't that the book with the washing machine and the bank in it? I'll have to check it out, I guess. part of the charm of magic items is keeping them low fantasy, paradoxically. In my case, at least.
Quirks on magic items. sounds like a good idea!

*heads over to workshop to take a look*

No tailgating. mage will occur.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by prespos » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:33 am

Ettin of Hexen wrote: Tired of bereft players in the year+ it takes for them to reach say level 4, I started peppering local shops with all manner of minor magical gee-gaws. It pleases me to share these with you.

Consider the Cursed Backbiter spear. It has an enhancement bonus! So what if it stabs you 5% of the time!? That's a good item. I have a gang of ruffians in a no-weapons allowed city that wield knives. These knives, however, are just placeholders for the cursed scimitars they actually use. (they pop right into their hands! Ain't that a doozy!)

This was a start. you can buy magic weapons this way for 1000 GP! Nevermind the cursed berserking sword! Now there's something deadly. Or you can go with those 300 GP +1 knives.

On top of that, I placed many, I shall call them talismans into stores. These items do things like make the DM fudge rolls in your favour, give 1% XP bonuses, maybe even heal you if you can swallow the troll-spit potion.

So far, I've got things like angel's scalps, gelatinous cubelets, pauldrons that grant a 2% XP bonus, basilisk tongue, a shedu fetus, & a desicated corpse wearing a helmet that cracks open to unveil a key to any minor lock.

On the more expensive side of things, there's shops selling white dragon shields and helms, clubs of elemental earth (I cannot remember what those do though) and things like chanter's awl-pikes that grant bonuses to NWP checks.

So, does anyone else have fun making cheap-o magic items to put into their campaign? My players are usually wary of the talismans thus far, sometimes off-handedly rejecting visiting my (fully illustrated) bazaars. Their loss, though. They're missing out on some real magic items!

These are good ideas / good thinking.

In the FR, fact is, magic items are bought and sold.
BALDUR'S GATE, Calimshan (?), etc.

Gary was not into this.
Neither am I.

A magic item is .. not a commodity.
It is not part of the economy .. it is part of mythology.
That is just my philosophy.

Ps.
cf. the minor magic items in d73 .. those are the kind that are found in Calimshan.

Ps2.
Here's a guideline to think about.

Relate magic items to spell effects.

Ettin .. as well .. great imagination.

However, things like a :

shedu fetus
angel scalp

common sense. you might find these in The Abyss, but not on the Prime.

Very important: this is 1e.
Magick items are not, a Commodite

That is a key concept guideline of 1e ..

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Ettin of Hexen » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:46 am

Good advice, duly taken, I'll have to err on the side of Gary & co. for the most part. IMC though there's a lich that sells magic items (he's bored), so there's stuff like folding boats and tulwars of speed for sale, but at a heavy price. Other than that, though, you'll only find alchemical items and relics in my shops. I figure there would be such things, at least. Maybe should move the store into the temple though!

I put things like "deck of smokes" and "box of yum yums" in there too, just to keep people guessing.

prespos wrote: Ettin .. as well .. great imagination.

However, things like a :

shedu fetus
angel scalp

common sense. you might find these in The Abyss, but not on the Prime.

Very important: this is 1e.
Magick items are not, a Commodite

That is a key concept guideline of 1e ..

Well, there's no vouching for the authenticity of such unwholesome things. bah what can I say I get morbid when it comes to racking stores!
That and I figure they're analogous to the bones of saints or what-not. I also use the DSG gear quality properties to spice up the stores.

Play games with your friends-not friends with your games.

Rewarding people who don't account for a situation punishes those that do.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Spartakos » Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:24 pm

prespos wrote: However, things like a :

shedu fetus
angel scalp

common sense. you might find these in The Abyss, but not on the Prime.

Why not? You think there aren't people on the Prime evil enough to scalp an angel? Or buy/sell it?

My general assumption is that no more than half the population of the Prime Material are good-aligned, and probably considerably less than that. That makes for a whole lot of customers for unsavory and/or disgusting items.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by garhkal » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:53 pm

Ettin of Hexen wrote: I put things like "deck of smokes" and "box of yum yums" in there too, just to keep people guessing.

I have had some minor items like Tzesies flame of never being blown out (a zippo lighter, great for starting your camp fire), or Whirlpools door of clothes care (a washer/dryer combo).

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Jarlaxle » Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:15 pm

One thing I have to admit I like from TETSNBN is the everburning torch. It's just what it sounds like: a permanent torch. THAT would be nice. a lot better in many situations than the massive beacon continual light gives.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Matthew- » Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:18 am

Please refrain from making multiple posts one after the other in quick succession. Just edit the previous post that you made if you have more information to add.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Ettin of Hexen » Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:43 am

Jarlaxle wrote: One thing I have to admit I like from TETSNBN is the everburning torch. It's just what it sounds like: a permanent torch. THAT would be nice. a lot better in many situations than the massive beacon continual light gives.

TETSNBN is good for a lot of things magic-item wise, you can custom design the items out of enhancement bonuses and get them real cheap-like. You can make 500 gold piece swords that have cantrips permanently wired into them (cool! a magic sword!) or, say a cloak of elvenkind gives you +20 to whatever. You can make one that has like +2 or +5 for mere dozens of gold pieces.

I still find it strange that 1st doesn't have cure light wound potions.

@Matthew: Sorry 'bout that

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Matthew- » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:00 am

No worries, new members are easily pardoned, especially if they lack a large signature. Veteran members, of course, get eaten.

It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Layander » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:08 am

I love when magic items are very rare. But something's I will allow shopping for, scrolls, potions of heal, spell components, oils, figurines of power, some wants.

Never bracers of ogre power, staff of the arch Mage, ect.

Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Ettin of Hexen » Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:57 am

@Layander: I figure any given town of sufficient size should have provisions for cure disease potions, and a couple other necessities.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Groaning Spirit » Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:07 pm

Layander wrote: I love when magic items are very rare. But something's I will allow shopping for, scrolls, potions of heal, spell components, oils, figurines of power, some wants.

Never bracers of ogre power, staff of the arch Mage, ect.

+1, a big +1 on this.

You can buy and sell a lot of minor magic, but good luck finding (and then even rarely) anything more than +3 enchanted whatevers for sale IMC. And provided you even find it available, who says it's going to be up for sale? People keep powerful magic around, and they usually end up as targets of greedy thieves and other such riff-raff if they advertise that fact boldly. If you want a girdle of giant strength, find a guy who has it and take it from him, or get a clue to loot. You can't go around buying EVERYTHING you like, this isn't TETSNBN by a long shot.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by garhkal » Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:49 pm

Ettin of Hexen wrote: @Layander: I figure any given town of sufficient size should have provisions for cure disease potions, and a couple other necessities.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by GlindaTheGhoul » Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:32 pm

Ettin of Hexen wrote: I have a gang of ruffians in a no-weapons allowed city that wield knives. These knives, however, are just placeholders for the cursed scimitars they actually use. (they pop right into their hands! Ain't that a doozy!)

There was a player in my group once who thought the cursed axe from Tamochan was the greatest thing since sliced bread, since he couldn't be disarmed. Until he threw a punch in a bar-room fight and found his axe in his hand.

It's a skull world after all, it's a skull world after all, it's a skull world after all, it's a skull, skull world.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by garhkal » Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:34 pm

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by GlindaTheGhoul » Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:47 pm

It's a skull world after all, it's a skull world after all, it's a skull world after all, it's a skull, skull world.

Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by HawkWolf » Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:58 am

I like the idea of having minor magic items be more common, but I was thinking that these minor items could be only used once or have very few charges. I don't want the 12th level mage still carrying around a "magical token" that he paid 50 gp for back when he was still first level. Either use it or lose it somehow.

Ettin of Hexen wrote: Consider the Cursed Backbiter spear. It has an enhancement bonus! So what if it stabs you 5% of the time!? That's a good item.

I have a major problem with the BackBiter spear though. Unless you modify the spear, it is a 5% cumulative chance per attack (successful or not) to attack its wielder instead, so that after the 20th time, it automatically attacks its wielder every time. Eventually you have to use a remove curse or you're done for.

That being said, I like your idea of this "lesser" type of curse with straight 5% every attack. It's something to think about next time market days roll around, and the characters find a little too much money in their pockets.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by genghisdon » Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:49 am

I hate the whole idea of stores that sell magic items.

The prices in the DMG are just for PC's selling their unwanted stuff.

I use the magic store if a game NEEDS such (and some really do), but that's it.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by HawkWolf » Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:59 pm

I generally tend to disapprove of selling magic items as well, and ones that the characters sell disappear from the campaign pretty much immediately. So, I don't think I would actually do it, but there was something rather amusing about the idea of selling the characters a bunch of mildly cursed items (insert GM's maniacal laughter). Especially since my player character's only contact with the sellers of said cursed items would be once a month when or if they show up for the next market days. HIGH LAY REEOUS.

Since I already heavily use the alchemical items from TETSBN (my humanoid hordes just love them), I am thinking of augmenting this with the concept of alchemical charms (a holy symbol for instance is just one type of alchemical charm) and little one-shot barely-magical charms or other trinkets that hold the power of something between a cantrip and a first level spell. For instance: a half-strength shield spell that lasts one or two rounds, or a more powerful version of a bluelight cantrip- able to read a map or scroll once. I haven't worked out these charms yet, but I have seen a few furtive attempts of others, so I plan on writing an article for &-zine with this subject in a few months. I don't remember what issue that I was shooting for with that one (maybe 4, but probably 5).

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Ettin of Hexen » Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:53 pm

One could always put Helm of Alignment Change and Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity in the stores for the particularly ambitious and possibly Chaotic Neutral shoppers.

The thing is, though, that there probably would be the local alchemist/astrologer/whatever, selling vaguely magical items. I don't see why there wouldn't be, beyond gamist traditionalism.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by HawkWolf » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:44 pm

yeah, This is like the hedge mage from 2e or like an old school alchemist that can cast certain spells, stuff like that.

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Re: Bargain Magic Items

Post by Blither » Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:22 pm

One of the things I used to add lots of was books. Here's a list of books the group found on one adventure:

* 1 scroll with a map to the Tomb of Albascor. (This is the old Judge's Guild module)
* 1 scroll telling how to make Iron Vars. (a type of Iron Golem. It didn't show how to actually animate them, however)
* 1 scroll telling how to find the new berbalang lair. (just a map to a nearby cave with Berbalangs)
* "Pirate's Log" - anonymous. (capatain's log from a pirate ship - not useful)
* "Hobbitopolis" - by E. Borna. (this book was actually one of the most famous fiction books in our old campaign, and several characters owned a copy)
* "Chess Strategies" - by O. Boy. (after training with it for 2d4 weeks, it adds a 5% modifier to chess skill - this was covered in one of the old Dragon magazines)
* "Weather Permutations" - by Frederico Zahn - lists causes and effects of special weather phenomena. (not very useful, although I was going to add in a mod for prediction the weather after studying it)
* "An Amateur Boater's Guide, Vol. 1" - by Bosun T. Bill. (as above, never got fleshed out, but would have added modifier's to a character's boating skill for things like decreasing the chance of getting lost, capsizing, and adding a speed modifier)
* "Freezing Figures" - by Wan Hoo Duzzit - about taxidermy. It tells of a spell used to bring "frozen" things back to life. (but not very useful for anything other than identifying the spell)
* "More Wine" - by Jerva Rampo - lists different types of wines and tells how to mix drinks. (could help charisma modifier for entertaining a house guest, possibly?)
* "Think Small" - by King Schmipple - tells how small people think. (another one that didn't get fleshed out, only because nobody bothered to study it. I suppose I could have it give modifiers when trading or parlaying with leprechauns, sprites, brownies, etc.)
* "A House Builder's Guide" - by The Master Builder - shows how to make all types of small houses. (I don't remember the specifics on this one, but one character read it and built his house while other characters were undergoing training)
* "Dreams" - by The Hood - allows the reader to remember dreams. Apparently it can be used to enable the dreaming of very real dreams. (no mods, but this was useful for me as the DM to give the players hints and point them where I wanted them to go. "You awake in the morning and recall that during the night you had visions about. "

Dust of sneezing and choking (2,500 gp) The fact that Dust of Sneezing and Choking will stun the opponent even if they make their saving throw makes it deadly--so deadly that it's likely to be banned in many campaigns. If not, take advantage!

There are also traditional games and races organized, which add to the festivity of the occasion. One of the key highlights of Pafan Yile is the traditional feast. Families and communities come together to prepare and share a sumptuous meal, consisting of traditional dishes made from the fresh harvest. This feast strengthens communal bonds and spreads joy and happiness among the people. The festival also includes various religious rituals and ceremonies. Mizo people visit their local temples and offer prayers to the gods. Traditional rituals are conducted by the village elders and religious leaders, who perform rituals to seek prosperity, good health, and protection from evil spirits. Pafan Yile is not only a celebration of the harvest, but it also showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Mizo community. It is a time for the Mizo people to come together, rejoice, and showcase their traditional customs and artistic talents. The festival promotes unity and cultural preservation among the community. In conclusion, Pafan Yile is a significant harvest festival celebrated by the Mizo people of Mizoram. It is a time of giving thanks for the bountiful harvest and seeking blessings for the future. The festival is marked by various cultural and religious activities, as well as a grand feast and traditional rituals. Pafan Yile is a vibrant and joyous celebration that brings the Mizo community together in a spirit of camaraderie and celebration..

Reviews for "The Economic Impact of Pafan Yile: Boosting Local Businesses"

1. Jane - 2 stars

I found "When is pafan yile" to be quite confusing and hard to follow. The story seemed disjointed and the characters were not well-developed. The plot felt rushed and lacked depth. I also found the dialogue to be unnatural and forced. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to others.

2. John - 3 stars

"When is pafan yile" had an interesting premise, but I felt that the execution fell short. The pacing was too slow, making it hard to stay engaged with the story. Additionally, the writing style was overly descriptive and often bogged down the narrative. I also found it difficult to connect with the main characters, as their motivations and actions were unclear. While the book had some moments of intrigue, it overall failed to captivate me.

3. Sarah - 2.5 stars

I had high hopes for "When is pafan yile," but unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. The plot was convoluted and hard to follow, and the author seemed to introduce too many unnecessary subplots. The characters lacked depth and their actions often felt contrived. Additionally, the dialogue was stilted and unrealistic, making it hard to connect with the story. Overall, I found this book to be a disappointment and wouldn't recommend it to others.

4. Michael - 2 stars

"When is pafan yile" was a confusing and disjointed read. The story jumped around too much, making it hard to keep track of what was happening. The characters were poorly developed and their motivations were unclear. The dialogue felt forced and unrealistic, which further detracted from my enjoyment of the book. While there were a few interesting moments, overall, I found this book to be lacking in coherence and would not recommend it.

Pafan Yile Art: Traditional Crafts and Contemporary Creations