Fetishes
Fetishes are primitive protective amulets. They tend to be made out of animal parts (skulls, bones, teeth, claws, etc.), feathers, preserved flowers, semi-precious gems, and other such natural materials as are easily found in the wilderness. A fetish generally has limited protective power; once that power is expended, the item crumbles into dust.
A fetish is a slotted magic item that may be worn in one of five sorts of ways, according to the wearer’s preference. A fetish may be:
- hung around the neck (on a string, chain, leather thong, etc.; in this case, the fetish takes up the neck item slot)
- secured to one’s vest, shirt, or robe, or made into a cloak clasp, or similarly attached to the front of one’s clothing (taking up the chest item slot)
- tied or otherwise secured to one’s belt (taking up the waist item slot)
- tied with a string around the wrist (or secured to an armbrace, bracelet, etc.; in this case, the fetish takes up the wrist equipment slot)
- attached to a hat, clipped or woven into one’s hair, etc. (taking up the head item slot)
This also means that a maximum of five fetishes may be worn at once, arranged as desired among the aforementioned magic item slots. (Naturally, the effects of multiple fetishes of the same kind do not stack.)
Fetish of the survivor
This fetish grants the wearer a +4 enhancement bonus to saving throws against disease, poison, and other physical afflictions. It also stanches bleeding; on the round after the wearer begins to take damage from a bleeding wound, the fetish begins to reduce the severity of the bleeding (i.e., the rate of blood loss), by 1 point per round, until the bleeding has stopped.
After helping the wearer to survive three afflictions, the fetish crumbles into dust. (The fetish is considered to have had an effective role in aiding the wearer’s survival if the wearer succeeds on a saving throw which would have been a failed save without the bonus provided by the fetish; or, in the case of the stanching effect, if the wearer would have dropped below 0 hit points due to the bleed, if not for the fetish’s effect.)