Clockwork toy

Clockwork toys, sometimes known simply as clockworks, were small delicate mechanical figures created for recreational means. They were typically created by members of the Church of Gond, though some of the industrious rock gnomes of Toril were also known to craft them, as were the tinker gnomes of Krynn.
==Description==
Clockwork toys were created in a variety of different forms. Many were crafted in the shape of animals, such as birds, fish, frogs, or mice. But others were crafted in the forms of humans or demihumans, dragons, soldiers, or various types of monsters, such as cockatrices.
They were made of metal, such as brass or gold. And their delicate shells were crammed full of springs, wires, and other clockwork that enabled them to walk, fly, or swim for short distances. Some even emitted imitations of the sounds of creatures they were crafted to resemble.
Some clockwork toys took on more esoteric forms. One such example from the late 15 century DR was that of egg-shaped jewelry boxes, which had several layers that rotated within each other, and played tunes like a music box. Through their revolutions these layers would reveal elaborated etched or painted scenes. Commonly depicted scenes included such things as royal feasts, men dueling with swords, or skeletons within a dungeon escaping from the confines of their shackles.
==Availability==
* A great deal of the Church of Gond's temples were known to sell clockwork toys, typically at high prices, by the late 15 century DR.
* Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue sold a wide variety of Gondsmen crafted clockwork toys imported from Lantan and tested thoroughly by their salespeople to ensure each toy functioned properly, though the catalogue claimed that this was also because the salespeople themselves enjoyed playing with them. These toys measured in length and were shaped like mundane animals. Their metal bodies were notably painted and draped with streamers. The catalogue sold these individually for 2 gold pieces a piece, but also offered buying bundles at a price of 10 or 15 gold pieces.
* Bunsen’s Clockwork Shop, a small shop in the heart of Ravens Bluff's Merchant District operated by the Gondar priest Father Bunsen, carried hundreds of ornate brass and gold clockwork toys. Kept well polished, these toys lined the walls of Bunsen's shop from within display shelves. In addition to animals, they took the forms of dragons, dwarves, elves, soldiers, and a wide array of monsters.
* Firestorm House, one of the Merchant Houses of Ravens Bluff, sold clockwork toys throughout the Eastern Heartlands.
* The House of Cloevaerus, a mercantile company in Ravens Bluff that imported clockworks and similar contraptions, through struggled under the fierce competition of Firestorm House.
* Thimblewine's Pawnshop, a shop in Waterdeep operated by the rock gnome Krystaleen, sold clockwork toys for 50 gp a piece.
* The Toysmiths, a toyshop in Ravens Bluff that was owned and operated by the gnome brothers Gunder and Relvan Gaewilder, sold intricate clockwork toys that they sold at a high prices to Sembians and Waterdhavians. These toys took the form of life-like birds or other small animals, crafted from gold and with gems for eyes.
* In the land of Zakhara, clockwork toys were commonly created by clockwork mages.
==History==
Prior to the Spellplague era, the Lantan's supply and sale of such contraptions on mainland Faerûn was more limited in scope.
For a time it was considered quite fashionable among Cormyrean nobles to gift King Azoun Obarskyr IV one of the intricate clockwork toys crafted by the Gaewilder brothers of Ravens Bluff, until Azoun himself grew tiresome of the fad and would sigh loudly whenever he was presented with another.
In the late 14 century DR, after a consortium of Lantanese gnome-ran merchant organizations established the Lantan-Samarach portal, the gnomes provided the local Samarachans new methods of illusory defenses and the wonders of Lantanese clockwork toys.
==Notable Owners==
* The Ravenian merchant Bendekar kept a collection of clockwork toys among the hoards of miscellaneous goods he kept in his residence.
* Einrich Thomas, a Gondar priest and member of The Turning Wheel clergy in Ravens Bluff, devoted much of his time to creating clockwork toys for children and over time had created roughly thousands of them. Whenever Winterfest came around, he would go from door to door in the city passing out his creations to the Ravenian children.
* The Falinescu family of Barovia owned some clockwork toys.
* The Industrious Brothers and Sisters of Carpentry, Cabinetry, Puppetry, and Toymaking.While it is not detailed what types of crafts this religious ordered devoted themselves to, outside of those listed in its name, it can be inferred that clockwork toys were most likely part of their repertoire on account of Gondsmen-made clockwork toys being widely documented across other sources.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Brass items
Category:Gnomish items
Category:Gold items
Category:Gondar items
Category:Mechanical devices
Category:Toys
Category:Items from Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue
Category:Items from Aurora's Emporium
Category:Items from Ravens Bluff
Category:Items from the Vast
Category:Items from the Eastern Heartlands
Category:Items from North Faerûn
Category:Items from Lantan
Category:Items from Faerûn
Category:Items from Zakhara
Category:Items from Toril
Category:Items from Krynn
Category:Items from Barovia
Category:Items from the Domains of Dread
Category:0-24 gold pieces
Category:50-74 gold pieces