Best Mundane Items?

[Rogue Shadows]

Pretty much what it says on the tin. What are some of the best mundane items to have? Not just at level 1, but mundane items that theoretically remain useful even as you hit 10th level (asking for up to 20th is probably a bit too far).

"Mundane" here basically is defined as "will not ping detect magic," but we'll keep the definition of "item" fairly broad. So ballistae and catapults are fine.

[ArcturusV]

Holy Water, or Acid.

Almost always something where one applies. Not just in pure combat, but also non-combat. And of course, the empty bottles are always useful in and of themselves once you use them.

[Mithril Leaf]

Holy Water, or Acid.

Almost always something where one applies. Not just in pure combat, but also non-combat. And of course, the empty bottles are always useful in and of themselves once you use them.

They're worth their weight in ruppees I'd say.

But yeah, most everything that's alchemy based in Shax's haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101).

[herrhauptmann]

Tindertwigs, smokerods, and to a lesser extent, sunrods.
If you're going for level 10 or up, you'll have plenty of money for all of these.

Isn't there a spell that hides magic auras? If you're going stealth, you could probably get that cast a few times on some of your gear.

[Guizonde]

so far, for low-level ( like, 5 or 6 tops) i've found that a healer's best friends are healing salves, bandages (read: medkits), long strong rope, and alchemist's fire. when you're not sure when you can rest, any d6 worth of healing you can use once your spells are up are a blessing. the alchemist's fire is there because fire> most problems. a bit more situational but still invaluable, a hammock rather than a tent (get pins to sleep near the ceiling in a dungeon). tiny bells to wire up tripwires and alarms are useful too (especially for muggles and/or cruddy rolls with perception checks)

(keep in mind i'm not exactly an optimizer, nor do i know DnD very well. this is all personnal experience)

if we're using basic physics, vinegar, cotton rope, a large bag of flour, and a tinderbox are helpful for dirt cheap.

(improvised incendiary, by the way. it kinda sorta accidentally blew up a windmill once. curse you wheat chaff and fireball sinergy)

[Deadline]

Rust Monster Wands and Rust Cubes can be pretty handy when you need to destroy metal. I think they are both found in Complete Scoundrel.

In general, Complete Adventurer and Complete Scoundrel are where you are going to find a sizeable chunk of the "mundane" items.

I seem to recall some sort of poison you could put on a weapon to prevent a Troll's regeneration. Troll Bane maybe?

[JaronK]

Dust Eggshell Grenades. 10gp each, blinds a target with no save, non magical. Devastating.

I'm also a big fan of lead lined hidden pockets in your pants. Put an enveloping pit or portable hole in there and you can hide all your stuff without anyone being the wiser, and detect magic won't even spot it. Heck, you could likely go to jail without any of it being found.

JaronK

[ArcturusV]

Had too many "Friendly Fire" incidents with Alchemist's Fire over the years to suggest that. Scatter Diagrams and Botches are not your friend.

[Guizonde]

Had too many "Friendly Fire" incidents with Alchemist's Fire over the years to suggest that. Scatter Diagrams and Botches are not your friend.

i didn't intend it as a grenade (the team sorceror is more than capable of burning all of us to crispy bits, thanks RNG). booby trap: couple pins, some string and voila! instant day ruiner-come*-rearguard!

our dm's a sadist, so we're fast becoming properly paranoid. a bit of inventivity helps. you can do the same with a high-explosive equivalent, but a 2 liter bottle is more manageable in a dungeon than a big ol' keg of gunpowder.

*edited for word filter

[lotusblossom13]

Marbles are incredibly handy for trippin up larger opponents, or at least slowing them down. Once my party got into a high speed carriage chase and I unloaded a bag of 100 marbles in front of three horsemen and two were unseated. Long story short, they are cheap, versatile and could wind up saving your hide.

[Slipperychicken]

Marbles are incredibly handy for trippin up larger opponents, or at least slowing them down. Once my party got into a high speed carriage chase and I unloaded a bag of 100 marbles in front of three horsemen and two were unseated. Long story short, they are cheap, versatile and could wind up saving your hide.

You can also stack caltrops in the same square, which are useful in their own right. Marbles have the additional benefit of Flat-Footing enemies without 5 Balance ranks -perfect for any Sneak-Attackers or Iaijutsu-users in the party.

I wonder if you can legally deploy them as a Free action with Quick Draw + Free Action Drop. That would make them highly effective in melee (also would screw with spellcasters and Initiators, who sometimes depend on Immediate Actions).

[ArcturusV]

Ah, yeah, marbles and caltrops, always a favorite.

And as silly as it sounds? 10 foot pole. That has saved my life more times than I care to admit.

Rogue: Well, I can't FIND any traps on that latch to the door... but it is to the lich's personal chambers.

Me: ... I'mma poke it with a stick, from a nice safe zone.

[Clericzilla]

They're worth their weight in ruppees I'd say.

But yeah, most everything that's alchemy based in Shax's haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101).

Oh that is just fantastic.

[Agent 451]

You can also stack caltrops in the same square, which are useful in their own right. Marbles have the additional benefit of Flat-Footing enemies without 5 Balance ranks -perfect for any Sneak-Attackers or Iaijutsu-users in the party.

You can also use them to trigger traps (ala Duck Tales the Movie), or to determine gradients to see whether or not you are gaining or losing elevation.

[Slipperychicken]

determine gradients to see whether or not you are gaining or losing elevation.

How is this ever useful in an actual game?

[Curmudgeon]

I wonder if you can legally deploy them as a Free action with Quick Draw + Free Action Drop. That would make them highly effective in melee (also would screw with spellcasters and Initiators, who sometimes depend on Immediate Actions).
Sorry, but Quick Draw only works with weapons and weapon-like objects. Unless you can use them to attack someone directly, I don't see most DMs allowing Quick Draw here.

[Agent 451]

How is this ever useful in an actual game?

In your average game? It isn't. We played a game once where we had to delve into tunnels to rescue some trapped miners. The tunnels had some kind of brutal DM fiated gas which was extremely deadly, with concentrations increasing steadily with depth. We had to constantly check if we were descending so we wouldn't be caught unprepared for any of those gas pockets.

[ArcturusV]

There's always that ONE time. Just like a bunch of narrow things like Bardic Countersong and the old Barbarian Treetop Movement.