Bladderfly
Wondrous item, rare

A crudely sewn animal bladder, which hovers above the ground at about eye level and stinks of rotten flesh.

The Bladderfly is a magical item created by goblinoids to entertain their children. It is usually made from the bladder of whatever animal is around and imbued with enough magic to float about eye level.

balloonacy, n.
[‘ Mania for ballooning; balloon madness.’]
Pronunciation: Brit. /bəˈluːnəsi/,  U.S. /bəˈlunəsi/
Forms:  18– balloonacy,   19– ballunacy. 
Etymology:Blend of balloon n. and lunacy n. Compare earlier balloonatic n. and balloonomania n.
  Mania for ballooning; balloon madness.
1864 Daily Tel. 19 Feb., We live in an age of balloonacy.
1882 West. Daily Press 27 Mar. 3/1 A sharp epidemic of balloonacy.
1896 Daily News 15 Feb. 5/3, I see that the Swedish Government has sent out a circular inviting the Geographical Society to assist him [sc. Dr. Andrée] in his balloonacy.
1907 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Daily Tribune 8 Nov. 8/4 It is the latest fad; Balloonacy, Balloonacy, The world is airship mad!
1996 Osiris 2nd. Ser. 11 161 Victorian precision seemed at odds with Victorian ‘balloonacy’.

Around 8 years ago I was receiving the Word of the Day from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in my inbox. I studied English in school and am a nerd for words. At that same time I was playing in a regular D&D, 5e game. Most of the time I was the GM for that game. Most of the players in that game where veteran players, so I was always looking for ways to keep them on their toes. I also was often looking for ways to work my GM muscles (see my previous post). Above is one of the sillier ones that I created.

So one morning I got the bright idea to take the OED Word of the Day and create a magical item each day with the word. I made around 20 magical items and found a way to incorporate a few of them into the game at the time. I had another 9 which I started but never put together as finished items. With those incomplete ones I started to make new spells and monsters.

Let’s take a look at some of my favorites. Here is an entry that I received in my email. (FYI – the entries start with the word and part of speech, then the definition, pronunciation, form, etymology, and then examples of usage.)

hoghenhine, n.
[‘ A person who has stayed in a household for three nights, and so becomes the legal responsibility of the host; a member of a household; a dependant.’]
Pronunciation: Brit. /hɒɡ(ə)nhʌɪn/,  U.S. /hɔɡ(ə)nhaɪn/, /hɑɡ(ə)nhaɪn/
Forms: α.   16 hoghenehine,   16 hoghenehyne,   16– hogenhine,   16– hoghenhine.  β.   16 agen hyne,   16 awn hine,   16– agenhine,   17 19– awne hine,   18 agenhinde,   19– awn-hind.
Etymology: < early Middle English aȝen hine (also oȝen hine), lit. ‘own servant’, member of one’s own household <  own adj. + hine, variant of hind n.2 (see hind n.2 2), via representations of this early Middle English phrase in Latin and Anglo-Norman texts.
Law. hist. 
  A person who has stayed in a household for three nights, and so becomes the legal responsibility of the host; a member of a household; a dependant.

With that information I created this item. This is an item which I have used in a number of different games. In fact, I recently added it to a game of Apothecaria that I was playing.

Hoghenhine
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

A tiny red and white marble statue carved to look like a gnome with an extremely large pot-belly and large nose. Once attuned, Hoghenhine transforms into a normal sized living gnome with the same large pot-belly and nose.

After three long rests this statue becomes attuned, once that happens Hoghenhine transforms into a normal sized living gnome who becomes dependent on the holder of the statue. While in his living form Hoghenhine mainly wants to sleep, drink, eat, and cause general mischief. He is extremely greedy, lazy, and untrustworthy. Hoghenhine will not leave the person unless forced magically. If he is separated from his attuned target or killed he will reappear again after a long rest. If he does leave the attuned target he will revert back to his statue form and wait for his next target.

Hoghenhine
Tiny fey, chaotic neutral
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Armor Class 15
Hit Points 1 (1d4 – 1)
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft.
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STR      DEX     CON    INT     WIS  CHA
2 (-4)    20 (+5)   8 (-1)   10 (0)  14 (+2)  15 (+2)
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Skills Perception +4, Stealth +7
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
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Magic Resistance. Hoghenhine has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Actions
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Punch. Melee Weapon Attack. +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4-1) bludgeoning damage.

Finally, here is one that I started to work on but couldn’t get it to completion.

savage man, n.
[‘ In outdoor shows, pageants, masques, etc.: a person dressed in greenery, representing a wild man of the woods; = savage n.1 4a. Cf. green man n. 1a. Now hist.’]
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌsavɪdʒ ˈman/,  U.S. /ˌsævɪdʒ ˈmæn/
Inflections:  Plural  savage men.
Forms:  see savage adj. and n.1 and man n.1;  also  18– salvage man.
Etymology: <  savage adj. + man n.1 Compare Spanish hombre salvaje (1552 or earlier), Old Occitan hom salvatje (end of the 13th cent.), Middle French homme sauvage (c1200 in Old French as savaige hom, salvage hom). Compare savage n.1 4.
 1.  In outdoor shows, pageants, masques, etc.: a person dressed in greenery, representing a wild man of the woods; = savage n.1 4a. Cf. green man n. 1a. Now hist.
1575  R. Laneham Let. (1871) 14 Oout of the woods, in her Maiestiez return rooughly came thear foorth Hombre Saluagio [margin The sauage man.] with an Oken plant pluct vp by the roots in hiz hande, himself forgrone all in moss and Iuy.
a1577  G. Gascoigne Princelie Pleasures Kenelworth sig. Aiiij, in Whole Wks. (1587), There met her in the Forest as she came from hunting, one clad like a Sauage man, all in Iuie.
1656  W. Dugdale Antiq. Warwickshire 166/1 For the several dayes of her stay, various and rare Shews and Sports were there exercised, viz. in the Chase a Savage man, with Satyrs [etc.].
1820  Scott Monastery II. iii. 112 The flesh-coloured silken doublet..in which I danced the salvage man at the Gray’s-Inn mummery.
1832  J. Aspin Anc. Customs 251 The savage men, or wodehouses, as they are sometimes called, frequently made their appearance in the public shows.
1918  R. Withington Eng. Pageantry I. ii. 121 In 1522 Henry VIII gave a masquerade for Charles V at which appeared foresters and ‘woodwos’ or savage men.
1975  J. Weld Meaning in Comedy ii. 61 There are a mass of devices, allegorical battles, savage men and nymphs greeting royal visitors, [etc.].
2010  A. Ryan Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare ii. 25 A savage man in moss and ivy who recited verses.
 2.  Heraldry. A figure of a wild man, typically represented as naked and wreathed with greenery and depicted as a supporter of a coat of arms; = savage n.1 4b.
a1656  R. Gordon Geneal. Hist. Earldom of Sutherland (1813) p. xiv, The tuo rough sauadge men (with a batton or club in either of their hands) who doe support and uphold the armes are peculiar to the house of Southerland.
1726  S. Kent Banner Display’d I. iii. xv. 382 Supported on the Dexter Side by a Savage Man proper, wreath’d about his Head and Waste Emerald.
1769  E. Kimber Pocket Herald I. 125 Supporters. On the dexter side a savage man; on the sinister a woman..wreathed about their temples and loins with ivy.
1815  Scott Guy Mannering III. ii. 24 On either side stood as supporters..a salvage man proper, to use the language of heraldry, wreathed and cinctured.
1870 Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1866-69 10 183 Supporters, savage men clubbed.
1906  J. Vinycomb Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art 19 The three savage men ambulant on the shield of Viscount Halifax.
1998  J. Corder Dict. Suffolk Crests 345 A savage man Proper wreathed about the loins and temples Vert holding in his dexter hand a tall club Vert.

What would you create with it?