Two Magical Items

So, nothing like a boss swap at work to tamp down on one's lunchtime punditry.

As proof of life, a couple magic items I'd sent in to the OSR Superstar contest.

Unexpectedly, the first one made the cut, so I'm trying to summon something from further stars that may or may not survive the second round.


The Lode Rod

This  5 ft long hollow iron rod (one end open, the other closed) is heavy (about 1 stone), and magnetized. Normally, it will only attract other magnetic metals.

However, if one melts 10 coins worth of a different metal, and pours it into the rod, the magic will activate and it will act as a strong magnet for that specific metal type, whether naturally magnetic or not. 

Fill it with copper, and drag it through a rat colony's refuse piles, and find all the coppers. Fill it with platinum and drag it through a dragon's hoard, and sift the platinum from the gold. It will attract (from no more than 2 feet away) and hold quadruple its weight (4 stone) in coin or metal of it's current affinity.

The closed end of the rod has a rune inscribed (Dwarfish for 'release'). If tapped firmly on stone thrice, the metal melted into the rod will slide out once the rod is upended.



The Dayglow

A dayglow is a 2 inch crystal sphere; perfectly clear. If placed outside in a clear area (a roof; a clear field; top of a tower) where it stays out of shadow from dusk till dawn, it will become charged. When charged, peering into the dayglow will show you the current position of the sun in the sky, as if you were looking up on a clear day. It sheds light as a weak candle; just enough to read by.

The charge will last one week, useful for underground expeditions.

If the dayglow is charged outside in the same conditions at  night, it will reveal the current phase and location of the moon in the sky. This charge will last until the moon again reaches the same phase it was charged on.