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Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-02, 10:07 PM
I'm gearing up to start a new D&D 3.5 campaign, and I need a lot of magic items for it. I don't want to use anything that's in the core books, though, because the players would recognize them. Can someone suggest a third-party sourcebook for magic items?

Bibliomancer
2010-02-02, 10:09 PM
There's the Magic Item Compendium, but that is WOTC official material and the players might recognize it.

Assassin89
2010-02-02, 10:09 PM
There is always the Magic Item Compendium. It isn't a core book, but it is not third party.

edit: someone else had a similar response submitted before me.

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-02, 10:12 PM
They all read the Magic Item Compendium, so that's out.

Drakevarg
2010-02-02, 10:14 PM
Arms and Equipment Guide.

Serpentine
2010-02-02, 10:17 PM
Dragon Magazine, and Crystal Keep.

Kylarra
2010-02-02, 10:19 PM
Why do you need unrecognizable items?

Scoot
2010-02-02, 10:20 PM
I'm going to second Crystal Keep, and suggest this. (http://www.devinweb.com/magicitems.htm)

I believe it's all core, but it's a large listing.

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-02, 10:24 PM
Thanks, that might do it, but of course if anyone else has suggestions then the more the better...

As for the reason I need the items... it's a bit of plot, so see my next post:

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-02, 10:30 PM
The game will involve the players hunting for a number magic items created by a certain wizard, which draw on the wizard's soul for energy, and are causing him to age rapidly when they are used. If the items are not destroyed, when the wizard dies he is doomed to have his soul divided among the items and forever power them, which would be extremely painful.

Because of the method of their creation, these items are unusual and powerful, and I need things the players won't be familiar with to enforce that.

sofawall
2010-02-02, 10:35 PM
In the bottom right-hand corner of you post, right beside 'quote', there is an edit button. You can use it to make a double post into one post. Also, forum rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?a=1).

Splendor
2010-02-02, 10:35 PM
You know they do have rules in the DMG for just making your own items.
If you just started making stuff up your PCs really wouldn't know anything about them.

PallElendro
2010-02-02, 10:41 PM
How about Dragon Magazine, or if it's not too late, make it 4.0, and use Adventurer's Vault?

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-02, 10:44 PM
In the bottom right-hand corner of you post, right beside 'quote', there is an edit button. You can use it to make a double post into one post. Also, forum rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?a=1).

Hm, let me see, doubleposting, doubleposting, "is generally frowned upon". It's not really a violation per se. Also, just an interesting bit of trivia here, on several of the forums I frequent, that post would be known as "minimodding" and be a more severe violation than doubleposting. There's a reason I doubleposted, not a very good one but a reason nonetheless, so just leave it be.

(You were also kinda rude.)

sofawall
2010-02-02, 10:51 PM
Hm, let me see, doubleposting, doubleposting, "is generally frowned upon". It's not really a violation per se. Also, just an interesting bit of trivia here, on several of the forums I frequent, that post would be known as "minimodding" and be a more severe violation than doubleposting. There's a reason I doubleposted, not a very good one but a reason nonetheless, so just leave it be.

(You were also kinda rude.)

Actually, Vigilante Modding is against the rules. That's why I just linked the rules, instead of saying that you did something wrong.
I too can use technicalities.

JoshuaZ
2010-02-02, 10:53 PM
What other books do you have access to? A lot of books have specific items in them that are more or less relevant. If they haven't seen Tome of Battle some of the items in there will look very strange. Tome of Magic also has items related to both binding and shadow magic that could be used or reflavored and would look very strange. Look for example at the Teeth of Dahlver-Nar in the Pact Magic section.

Temotei
2010-02-02, 10:54 PM
Actually, Vigilante Modding is against the rules. That's why I just linked the rules, instead of saying that you did something wrong.
I too can use technicalities.

So is being rude. :smallamused:

Crystal Keep is your friend. The homebrew part of the board could always help too...I think there's a site called 3e World or something that has a bunch of homebrew stuff. I'll try to find it.

Here's one with some items: Treasures, on dndworld.com (http://dndworld.com/3e/treasures.html).

Here's (http://mwtools.thyle.net/weapon_gen.html) a way to get descriptions for items with the properties you decide.

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-02, 11:02 PM
Thanks, this looks like it'll help me.

I started putting together a few homebrew items for the campaign... I think I'll post the ones I created in the appropriate forum later.

Temotei
2010-02-03, 03:27 AM
Thanks, this looks like it'll help me.

I started putting together a few homebrew items for the campaign... I think I'll post the ones I created in the appropriate forum later.

That would be swell. :smallcool:

bosssmiley
2010-02-03, 06:29 AM
I'm gearing up to start a new D&D 3.5 campaign, and I need a lot of magic items for it. I don't want to use anything that's in the core books, though, because the players would recognize them. Can someone suggest a third-party sourcebook for magic items?

Reskin and tweak existing items. Anything else is just wasted effort better expended on the game itself.

Oh, and never refer to the items by property, or as instances of a generic type ("sword +n", "[foo] of [bar]", etc.). Give all of them a name, a description and/or a bit of backstory.

Temotei
2010-02-03, 06:34 AM
Reskin and tweak existing items. Anything else is just wasted effort better expended on the game itself.

Oh, and never refer to the items by property, or as instances of a generic type ("sword +n", "[foo] of [bar]", etc.). Give all of them a name, a description and/or a bit of backstory.

Agreed. Hearing "You get a +4 shocking longsword!" isn't nearly as encouraging as "You find a blade crackling with sheer magical energy. As you touch it, it's as if your very being has been touched. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you hear a buzzing for a moment. A second later, the effect dies down."

Successfully identifying such a blade would yield: You surmise, based on the effects it had on your body and the crackling, that this sword has some sort of lightning-based enchantment. It is clearly very powerful magically. A true treasure indeed.

Well...that was fun. :smallbiggrin:

SethFahad
2010-02-03, 06:42 AM
Mongoose Publishing has some books:
Ultimate Equipment Guide - Volume 1
Ultimate Equipment Guide - Volume 2
Ultimate Equipment, More
Ultimate Magic Items

There is a d20 book from Osseum named Arms & Armor

And there is also Weapons Of Legacy from WoC.

Plus The Complete Exotic Arms Guide for Oriental adv. (no magic weapons)

Temotei
2010-02-03, 06:48 AM
And there is also Weapons Of Legacy from WoC.

:smallsigh:

Don't use that book. You can...I'm just saying. Most people hate it, from what I can tell.

Optimystik
2010-02-03, 09:05 AM
:smallsigh:

Don't use that book. You can...I'm just saying. Most people hate it, from what I can tell.

Using the rules, you can make your own scaling Weapons that aren't half bad. The actual legacy weapons provided by WotC, however, blow severe chunks - often causing you to lose spells, critical class features, and generally be inferior to regular magic items.

AslanCross
2010-02-03, 09:08 AM
I think Magic Item Compendium has a whole bunch of rules for customizing magic items as well as approximating their cost and level. Combine those with the DMG's item creation rules and you can make some pretty interesting unique stuff that they won't find ANYWHERE.

Tyndmyr
2010-02-03, 09:44 AM
Using the rules, you can make your own scaling Weapons that aren't half bad. The actual legacy weapons provided by WotC, however, blow severe chunks - often causing you to lose spells, critical class features, and generally be inferior to regular magic items.

Right. Never use the existing weapons...they have some cool fluff, but whoever decided that weapons of legacy should cripple your character had issues.

Remember the lesser-known rules of magic items. For example, what...half of them or more glow with light? So, a sword that when pulled from it's sheath emits a dazzling(descriptive, not status effect) bright white light may be nothing more than a +1 sword. It's a fun, wierd attribute that likely wont be recognized as completely normal.

Calmar
2010-02-03, 10:09 AM
I'm going to second Crystal Keep, and suggest this. (http://www.devinweb.com/magicitems.htm)

I believe it's all core, but it's a large listing.

Thanks for that valuable link! :smallsmile:

Temotei
2010-02-03, 07:20 PM
For example, what...half of them or more glow with light?

I believe it's 30%.


Light Generation

Fully 30% of magic weapons shed light equivalent to a light spell (bright light in a 20-foot radius, shadowy light in a 40-foot radius). These glowing weapons are quite obviously magical. Such a weapon can’t be concealed when drawn, nor can its light be shut off. Some of the specific weapons detailed below always or never glow, as defined in their descriptions.

And...there it is. :smallbiggrin:

Draxar
2010-02-03, 10:04 PM
Successfully identifying such a blade would yield: You surmise, based on the effects it had on your body and the crackling, that this sword has some sort of lightning-based enchantment. It is clearly very powerful magically. A true treasure indeed.

Well...that was fun. :smallbiggrin:

A digression: I would find that rather frustrating. Tell them it's a plus four. Possibly find an in game way to do it (20% more likely to hit, all else held equal, for instance), but don't obfuscate from players.

Foryn Gilnith
2010-02-03, 10:09 PM
You surmise, based on the effects it had on your body and the crackling, that this sword has some sort of lightning-based enchantment. It is clearly very powerful magically.

The first sentence seems like something that would be obvious to anybody touching the thing, and the second sentence seems like something that would be self-evident after a combat using it. If that's all I get from an Identify I'm going to be annoyed (or use an Artificer's Monocle)

Vaynor
2010-02-03, 10:35 PM
If you want to make sure they've never heard of it, make it up yourself.

ZombieGenesis
2010-02-03, 10:43 PM
When in doubt... homebrew?
Really, if you need some fresh magic items on the fly that your players won't recognise you could always go the makeshift route and build them yourself. Part of the game that I consider most fun, actually. Seeing how players respond to events and objects you created.

Here's one;
Metamorphic Arm
An enchanted weapon that forms as a bastard sword in the daylight hours and becomes a longbow at night. Watch your worldy knight and sneaky thief revel in delight... and then enjoy the chaos.

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-04, 10:08 PM
Yes, well, I've been trying, but my confidence in my homebrews is not that great.

...and I need to start keeping better records, because I've forgotten most of the homebrew items I've come up with to date.

Temotei
2010-02-04, 10:15 PM
The first sentence seems like something that would be obvious to anybody touching the thing, and the second sentence seems like something that would be self-evident after a combat using it. If that's all I get from an Identify I'm going to be annoyed (or use an Artificer's Monocle)

That wasn't an Identify. I didn't think I would get critique on that. :smallconfused:

Anyway, that was just from looking at/touching it. Identify would give you more insight into the actual abilities of the weapon.


A digression: I would find that rather frustrating. Tell them it's a plus four. Possibly find an in game way to do it (20% more likely to hit, all else held equal, for instance), but don't obfuscate from players.

I'm not trying to confuse the players. I clearly gave a description of shock/better shock (forgot the name of it), and gave clearly very powerful as a description, which implies at least +3.

Identify would give more information. If combat arose, where it would be an issue, I would tell them. Upon finding the weapon though, it's far more interesting to describe the weapon than say, "You find a sword that's +4. Have fun."

EDIT: I've looked over my post now, and it seems the confusion came from the actual wording of "successfully identifying..." I meant that successfully identifying (non-magical--not italicized) such a blade as magical in the first place, or picking it up, would provide you with such a description. If the player doesn't see the blade or doesn't even want to look at it, no description.

lsfreak
2010-02-04, 10:42 PM
Go with homebrew. Combine the effects of different things to make items unique, or pull bits and pieces of different items out from each other. Preferably thematically related, and fluffed extremely well.

A pair of thick leggings. They give +4 Strength, give the ability to use Spring Attack, and can activate them 3 times a day for a free (AoO-free) trip attempt on either a charge or a Spring Attack. You know have the rare, and unique, Wolfhunt Leggings (priced at 16k for the Strength, ~10k for a semi-useful feat and the ability to ignore its horrendous prereqs, and an adhoc 5k for the trip attempts; though price only matters if the players want to, and can find, someone to buy the item).

Or, just go straight fluff. A well-crafted heavy shield made entirely of black ebony, with the jaws of a large feline carved into the center, barely visible. When an arrow comes close, glowing eyes appear and a panther's head lunges out from the shield, snatching the arrow out of the air. [Crunch: +1 heavy shield of fortification, with a crystal of arrow deflection]

Flickerdart
2010-02-04, 10:47 PM
Your players have read through all the junk in the DMG? There's a ton of unique equipment that nobody cares about because it sucks. Also? Roll for items randomly. Remember the rule that 20% of all magic weapons are magical.

Drakevarg
2010-02-04, 11:20 PM
Remember the rule that 20% of all magic weapons are magical.

So are the other 80%. :smalltongue:

Temotei
2010-02-04, 11:43 PM
So are the other 80%. :smalltongue:

Hehe. :smallamused:

Ezekiel Moon
2010-02-05, 02:38 PM
"Nobody cares about it" and "it sucks" are not descriptors I want on any of the items in this game because the story involves multiple sides trying to get their hands on the items in question.

...kinda derivative, but that's beside the point.

Draxar
2010-02-06, 11:10 AM
EDIT: I've looked over my post now, and it seems the confusion came from the actual wording of "successfully identifying..." I meant that successfully identifying (non-magical--not italicized) such a blade as magical in the first place, or picking it up, would provide you with such a description. If the player doesn't see the blade or doesn't even want to look at it, no description.

I was under the impression that that was what you'd give them for Identify. For mundane experimentation, sure. Just 'cause I've had some issues with DMs giving rather crappy amounts of information after identifying.