Powerful magic items that won't break a level 1-3 game

[Talesin]

TL;DR What items could I give low level characters (1-3) that a higher level character(10-18) would have that won't make this one character hugely powerful.

In the campaign i'm running, which is a zombiepocolypse, some of the higher level characters within the town get killed to allow the PCs to investigate which one of them is behind the plague. The problem i've got is what to do with the items they would have.

I've got no problem just saying "Well, they aren't there" or "you just don't know" if that is necessary or have it so the high level characters have been reanimated and all they've left behind in the the place they died is the hat/bracelet/cloak they were known for wearing, so the PCs know who's been killed.

However I would like them to be able to find a body once or twice that maybe has been destroyed by their followers as they fell or is just so badly mauled that they weren't reanimated or maybe they find the zombie of this person but its missing a leg or two and won't cause them too much of a problem.

So what items could be on the body that won't really break the game. I'm happy to give them a ring of protection +1 here and there and some potions that cure disease or cure serious wounds but are there any fun items that might add a little to the game but not make it so everytime they need to make a jump check it will fall to this one character?

[deuxhero]

Ring of Prestidigitation.

For items actually intended for high level people...

Well let's exclude things useless against the undead.

Apparatus of the Crab? It's useless to the high level dood.

[Talesin]

Apparatus of the Crab? It's useless to the high level dood.

Well he's dead, most stuff is useless to him :P

The ring of prestigitation might actually be a good idea though. One of the guys is a cleric of one of the temples in the town so he could use it to help spice up his sermons.

[Flickerdart]

Anklets of Translocation are still useful at high levels. A Belt of Magnificence +2 is a luxury that low level characters can't afford, and isn't that much more powerful than a standard +2 to one stat item. A Paladin might leave behind a Holy Avenger, which is "only" a +2 sword in the party's hands. Another character might have a Ring of Three Wishes with 0 wishes left, that he kept as a souvenir. An Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location is not very useful to the party because enemies of their level can't scry. A haversack or bag of holding remains useful for all levels. Bracers of Archery are good if the party has no dedicated archer, because they make it a viable option for a secondary weapon. Gloves of Storing are strong items for a character that builds around them, but not otherwise. A Hand of Glory loses its main appeal if the characters do not have three rings to wear. A Bronze Horn of Valhalla is actually useful at their level. A Periapt of Wound Closure would be useful. Ring Gates depend entirely on the creativity of the PCs.

[Quirp]

Extradimensional storing devices probably won´t break the game (except when put into each other).
I think there are some items that allow communication between party members (a pair of mirrors or something). A function like this can be useful, but is rarely very powerful.
Depending on the specific locations a fixed transportation device without combat purposes (teleportation circle on a big and heavy carpet) might give them a chance to set up a base of operations.

[deuxhero]

Ironwood armor has no value (the wood made in the shape of metal armor has no defined value), thus works on VoP Druids, if you want to be cruel (as it needs semi-regular enchantments).

[ShriekingDrake]

Ironwood armor has no value (the wood made in the shape of metal armor has no defined value), thus works on VoP Druids, if you want to be cruel (as it needs semi-regular enchantments).

I'm not sure I'd rule similarly on that VoP interpretation. :smalltongue:

[ericgrau]

The first thing I'd ask is what killed the high level guys? That would determine what they can't have, because a lot of things could have saved them.

A single ring of protection is unlikely to break the game. But a ring, amulet, ioun stone, +1 full plate and/or +1 shield could make a PC unhittable by zombies, so careful with stacking lots of minor items. A belt of strength + magic weapon would have a similar effect, or even an offense/defense combo. Try utility items instead or otherwise avoid synergy. Or try skill boosting items.

Here are the list of utility items from my old epic level character. A lot of them should be helpful for what you want:

{table]Item|Description
Handy Haversack | 80 lb. + 20 lb. + 20 lb., holds items below and expendable items
Level 1 Pearl of Power x 10 | Standard Action to recall 1st level spell
Ring Gates | Transfer items, even attacks from 1 ring to the other, 100 lb. limit, DC 13 escape artist small creature to fit through
Immovable Rod x 8 | 8,000 lbs., DC 30 strength check to move 10 feet
Instant Fortress x 1 | 20'x20'x30' high, 10' deep foundation adamantine tower. Door faces owner and opens and closes instantly on command, is immune to knock. Arrow slits inside, crenallations on top. 100 HP, 20 hardness, only wish or miracle can repair 50 HP. Anyone in the
Lyre of Building (CL 6) | "1/day: All inanimate constructions within 300 feet are immune to damage for 30 minutes
|1/week: 30 minutes of playing equals 300 man-days of construction work. DC 18 perform check to keep playing for each hour after the first."
Masterwork Net | -4 nonproficiency penalty, -4 to rethrow unfolded net (-8 total on 2nd throw), 40' range increment, ranged touch attack, entangles on a hit, opposed strength check to hold attached rope, 5 HP, DC 20 escape artist or DC 25 strength check (both a full round
Bottle of Ink x 16, pens | each one wrapped in absorbant cloth, tied on with string
Waterskin | wrapped in absorbant cloth, tied on with string
Rod of Metal and Mineral Detection | 30 foot range. Full round action to find direction and approximate quantity of specified metal or mineral. Default setting finds any metal.
|
Pets |
Silver Raven Figure of Wondrous Power | "Poe", 24 hours per week (need not be continuous), metal bird (hardness 10), delivers messages like animal messenger spell
Marble Elephant Figurine of Wondrous Power | """Stampy #2"", Becomes an elephant for 24 hours up to 4 times per month (huge, 104 HP, 30 strength, 9000 lbs., 40' speed), Slam +16 melee (2d6+10) and 2 stamps +11 melee (2d6+5);
or gore +16 melee (2d8+15)"
10'x10' Carpet of Flying | "Johnny", 800 lb. capacity or 1600 lbs. at 30' speed, Fly 40' (average) (80' on a double move = 9 mph), may hover, may be controlled by verbal commands if in voice range
Obsidian Steed | "Nightmare", Small statue becomes a full sized warhorse 1/week. Lasts up to 24 hours. Can planeshift, overland flight and ethereal jaunt once per round at will, taking rider with him. But when summoned and mounted it has a 10% chance of plane shifting
|
Mobility |
Rope of Climbing | 60' autonomous rope, 50' when knotted (knots self, snakes upward, ties itself to things, etc. on command)
Bottle of Air | Standard Action to refill breath
Pearl of the Sirines | Breathe water, 60' swim speed, attack and cast without penalty while underwater (note: arrows are ?still? -2 AB per 5 feet)
Dust of Dryness x 10 | Absorb up to 100 gallons of water into a bead (5 foot cube ~= 1000 gallons), bead may be thrown to re-release water
Slippers of Spider Climbing | 10 minutes/day, need not be consecutive; doesn't work on severe surfaces like ice and grease. Both hands remain free.
|
|
Sight |
Lense of Detection | +5 to search checks and survival checks to follow tracks (when worn)
Eyes of the Eagle | +5 to spot checks (when worn)
Gem of Seeing | 30 minutes per day true seeing, time need not be consecutive
Ring of X-Ray Vision | command word, any 10 minutes/day, +1 min per con damage expended, 1 foot stone/metal, 3 foot dirt, thin sheet of lead.
Goggles of the Night | Grants 60' Darkvision (when worn)
|
|
In Portable Hole #1 |
Masterwork locked gauntlet | +5 lb., +10 to resist disarm checks, full round action that provokes to remove weapon

Tree Feather Token x 20 | Creates a great oak with a 5' trunk, 60' height and 40' canopy
Swan Boat Feather Token x 10 | Creates a swan boat with 60' speed that lasts for 1 day; holds 8 horses or 32 people or etc.
Dust of Illusion x 30 | Targetable disguise self (dust tosser envisions illusion), lasts 2 hours
Dust of Appearance x 10 | Foils illusions and invisibility in 10' radius when tossed, -30 on hide checks
Dust of Disappearance x 10 | Greater invisibility for 2d6 rounds (DM rolls secretly) to creatures in 10' radius when tossed. Cannot be detectable by magical means (even see invisiblity and so on), except dust of appearance.
Ungent of Timelessness x 10 (=80 uses) | 8 medium creature uses (1/2x uses per size category), lasts forever, once living matter ages only 1 day each year
Silversheen x 10 | Apply to weapon (or 20 arrows) as a standard action to effectively make it silver for 1 hour; existing metal is suppressed
Elixer of Swimming x 10 | +10 competence bonus to swim checks for 1 hour
Sovereign Glue x 6 | Items must be held together for an entire round or the glue fails. Nothing except universal solvent may separate.
Universal Solvent x 15 | Dissolves sovereign glue and tanglefoot bags, standard action to apply
Salve of Slipperiness x 5 | +20 competence bonus on escape artist checks for 1 hour; magical obstructions like web do not impede user
Restorative Ointment x 2 (5 uses per jar) | Neutralize poison, remove disease or CLW 1d8+5
Marvelous Pigments | 10 minutes and DC 15 craft (painting) check to make mundane items, even weapons and food, rare materials replaced with cheaper imitations; limit: 2,000 gp worth of items or 1000 cubic feet or 100 square feet of painting surface
3'x4' canvas with frame |
Darkwood Easle | Darkwood halves weight from 10 lbs. to 5 lbs.
|
Potions and Oils |
Potion of Spider Climb x 10 | 30 minutes
Hide from Undead x 12 | 10 minutes, undetectable to non-intelligent undead
Oil of invisibility x 10 | 3 minutes, 1 creature or an object up to 300 lbs.
Potion of Remove Paralysis x 10 |
Potion of Reduce Person x 20 | 1 minute
|
Staff and Wands |
Empowered False Life | Personal, 7 hours, grants (1d10+7)*1.5 temporary hitpoints
Extended See Invisibility, CL 20 | Personal, 6 hours 40 minutes, range = visible range, sees invisible and ethereal
Greater Invisibility (25 charges) | 7 rounds
Extended Sleet Storm (25 charges) | 14 rounds, 680' range, 40' radius x 20' high, -4 listen checks, DC 10 balance to move (and flat-footed if less than 5 ranks in balance), move at half speed
Solid Fog (25 charges) | 7 minutes, 170' range, 20' radius, move action to move 5 feet
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere (25 charges) | 7 minutes, 40' range, dismissable, 7 foot diameter force bubble, easy reflex save to avoid
Dimension Door (25 charges) | 680', up to 2 other willing creatures
Detect Undead | 1 minute / concentration, 60' cone; provides Y/N, #, where? + >=11 HD?
Prestidigitation | 1 hour, 10' range; limits per round: 1 lb., 1 cubic foot
[/table]

[Talesin]

Thanks for the replies so far. Given me some good ideas here.

The causes of deaths are as follows:

Cleric tries to defend his church from the Horde that break in but is overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

Head of the city guard decides his guard can cleanse the city and leads out a force to exterminate them. Again ultimately overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Head of the council hangs herself due through guilt of what she's done.

Explosion kills the head of the military after an attempt to complete a ritual goes wrong.

So although there might be things they had that would've kept them alive the circumstances of their deaths have stopped them being effective. The zombies are pretty tough for the characters and in such huge numbers that they are currently sitting on a roof because they only way to survive is not fighting them and just hiding.

Should've probably mentioned that they aren't the run of the mill zombies. They've got much more health, have improved grab which gives them a bite on their first grappled attack (this spreads the infection), can move 50ft a round but only get a single action (which can be a charge). I've designed them to be dealable on their own but, as they found out when they first encountered them, 2-3 and you're in trouble.

Cheers again for the helpful suggestions

[00dlez]

Amulet of Retributive Healing (Magic Item Compendium)

It's probably under priced as written, but that doesn't seem to be much of a factor for you.

The short version is that when a cleric casts a spell (3/day) that heals someone/thing (not limited to Cure ______, but doesn't work with Vigor spells) then they receive the same amount of healing.

Useful for a beat up 1st level party who I'm sure could appreciate healing the cleric and fighter to full with just 1 spell as well as for a 15th level party who just got 2 Heal spells for 1 slot and 1 action.

[Chronos]

A Rod of Wonder. Nobody ever actually spends money to buy one, because they're so random, but they can be a ton of fun, because they're so random.

[avr]

Depends on the group, but many players hoard expendables and don't use them. If your players are like this you could give them quite a few things without breaking the game. Scrolls, potions, some wondrous items like dusts (dust of tracelessness might be very useful to hide from zombie hordes). Wands with more than a handful of charges though seem to cross this mental barrier.