Fun and gimmicky magic items

[Luna_Mayflower]

Hey all.

I'm currently running a D&D group with mostly inexperienced, casual players. They're not too worried about getting the most powerful gear and optimising their builds. However, one thing they adore are fun and interesting magical items. For example, I've given them a deck of illusions and a bag of tricks, and they love both of them.

I was wondering if you guys could think of some more quirky and fun magical items you've seen in the DM's guide, or elsewhere, that I could use as rewards though the campaign. It would be a huge help.

Thanks,
Luna.

[iTreeby]

Alchemy Jug. better yet, a custom alchemy jug that only makes mayonnaise. best item for social encounters where you need to fling mayo on diplomats.

[PeterM]

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but I'm reminded of an anecdote from a friend's Warhammer game. Magic items aren't exactly easy to come by in Warhammer, so the PCs were delighted to find a discount magic shop. Delighted, but not as suspicious as they should have been. After pooling their money they decided to buy a solidly useful but not flashy item - a grappling hook that was absolutely, positively, 100% guaranteed to catch the first time you threw it. They reasoned that if they had to use it in a hurry, that little factor would be worth the money they paid.

So they bought it and left the shop, and then one player's suspicious nature kicked in just a bit too late. How do we know it's not a fake, he asked. We should test it out. So they threw the grappling hook, and it caught perfectly on the first throw, so they put it away and went out adventuring with their new magic item.

Less astute readers can probably now see what's coming. More astute readers saw it coming two paragraphs ago.

On their adventure, lo and behold, they came upon a situation where it would really, really help to use the grappling hook to get the hell out of Dodge. So they confidently threw it... and it clanked back down to the ground without catching. Several times. They'd already used up their 100% guaranteed first throw, after all. They barely escaped with their lives.

It was at this point, and only at this point, that the GM collapsed into gales of laughter. I don't know how she lasted that long.

Long story even longer, I do think that's a neat idea for a low powered magic item. One-shot handy items. Nothing world-shattering, but they're there when you need them. Basically apply a potion approach to any other item you can think of. You could also do something like give just one item similar to those from a robe of many items. Most nights the PCs will take the time to make a regular fire, but if they really need to Bob can pull out his campfire token and get one going instantly. Same thing with a boat, cart, ladder, any number of useful but otherwise nonmagical items. It would give the PCs a lot of magical items and a lot of flexibility but really not much more outright power than they already had.

[Epoch]

One item I seem to remember from 3.5 was a cursed amulet that was more embarassing than dangerous. Upon donning the amulet, the wearer would be given the amazing ability to read others thoughts! Except the wearer isn't actually reading anyone's thoughts. The wearer is hearing psychic projections from the amulet that make them hear what they want to hear, convincing them they can read minds. Worse yet: The amulet has the added effect of broadcasting the wearers thoughts to anyone within a 20ft radius.

In one of my campaigns I gave this item to my players, who bought it from a camp of nomadic traders. See, at first I thought the players would figure out the ruse as soon as they asked test it out. However, when they did so, the player wearing the necklace failed their will save to use it, so they heard only "faint psychic whispers" which convinced the entire party that it was genuine. The players used enchantment to talk down the traders to the low low price of only 1000GP, and thought themselves oh-so-clever for doing so.

They didn't realize what they had until days later when an attempt to covertly read an NPC's mind resulted in a street full of peasants screaming in terror as a mysterious voice filled their heads. After a drawn out pitchfork-and-torch chase the players managed to get away and find someone who could appraise the amulet and tell them what it was.

The best part? Once the curse was removed the amulet's material value was estimated at a whopping 200 coppers (2 GP).

The nomadic traders camp was never seen again.

[JAL_1138]

There's some actually-useful ones in the "Mostly Useless Magical Items" thread--because they're only mostly useless, not entirely so.

Well, some are entirely useless (scroll of literacy--caster becomes literate; scroll of cure blindness--caster is cured of blindness) but they're fun catch-22s.

[Stan]

I've always liked the sunglasses from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that darken to protect you from seeing dangerous or scary things. Of course, when you're surrounded by danger, they go completely black.

I've also used a doom ring, whose color tells you how much danger you're in. You could even have multiple colors depending on type of danger and leave it to them to figure it out.

[MrStupendous]

The psychic paper from Dr. Who would be fun and very handy in some campaigns. Basically shows the viewer of it whatever would be most beneficial in that circumstance. So for instance it could show the guards at a royal ball a full invitation or show a merchant a letter of credit from a powerful noble etc etc

[JAL_1138]

The psychic paper from Dr. Who would be fun and very handy in some campaigns. Basically shows the viewer of it whatever would be most beneficial in that circumstance. So for instance it could show the guards at a royal ball a full invitation or show a merchant a letter of credit from a powerful noble etc etc

Although it'll really tick off anybody who wasted a tool proficiency on a forger's kit.

[Easy_Lee]

The immovable rod and decanter of endless water are classic favorites. I'm partial to the Monkey King's extending quarterstaff from mythology / Dragon Ball.

[JAL_1138]

The immovable rod

Obligatory:

*CLANG!*
"What the &$@% was that?!"

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Truly_Immovable_Rod

[RealCheese]

I gave the cleric of a hospitality goddess in my group the Silver Plate of Sydell Delight.
Once per day the plate can be covered with a silk cloth and when uncovered 10 scrumptious looking pieces of Sydell delight (IE Turkish delight) appear. Each piece of delight can be consumed as an action and heals the consumer of one hitpoint. While the delight remains delicious for some days, the magic healing effect last only until the plate is used to create a new round of treats.

[jkat718]

May I direct you to the List of Mostly Useless Magic Items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?399328-List-of-Mostly-Useless-Magic-Items), compiled by your fellow Playgrounders?

[Kane0]

Rings of sustenance are pretty neat, I once had a solar-powered version in one campaign.

[Cyan Wisp]

I still don't own the 5e DMG :smallfrown:, but some things I've noticed over the years (not all from D&D):

3.5e (& others):
Nolzur's Marvellous Pigments. These paints let you paint reality. Need a door in the wall? Paint one!
Sovereign Glue. This stuff sticks anything to anything. Heh, heh.
Portable Hole. Not just for treasure. Practical jokes, maybe?
Ring Gates. These are just cool. Stick your hand or head in one, it comes out the other.
Daern's Instant Fortress. There are more uses for this than just defensible lodgings!
Robe of Useful Items. The fun comes from finding uses for all the random stuff.

1e:
Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity. Well, you wanted whimsical. Gender reassignment was never so comical.
Helm of Opposite Alignment. Fun times. Does what it says. Great for breaking the ice at parties.

Fighting Fantasy:
Pocket Myriad Kind of like a Swiss Army Knife but for large tools and weapons. They unfold from the device if I remember rightly.

[MrStupendous]

Although it'll really tick off anybody who wasted a tool proficiency on a forger's kit.

unless you're dealing with psions who would be able to see through the psychic paper.....figuratively

[Draken]

I gave one of my players an item that allows her to trigger a Wild Magic surge whenever she casts a spell. Works once per long rest.

Lazy, simple and amusing. Her wizard is currently eight years old and blue.

[Balain]

Once we had a bag that you put money in. it would double the money once a day to some maxiumum. if you removed the last coin the magic was lost. there was also a cursed one, it makes illusionary coins which you totally believe is real but no one else can see.

there was a magic teddy bear that would help you sleep and protect your dreams.

[T.G. Oskar]

I still don't own the 5e DMG :smallfrown:, but some things I've noticed over the years (not all from D&D):

3.5e (& others):
Nolzur's Marvellous Pigments. These paints let you paint reality. Need a door in the wall? Paint one!
Sovereign Glue. This stuff sticks anything to anything. Heh, heh.
Portable Hole. Not just for treasure. Practical jokes, maybe?
Ring Gates. These are just cool. Stick your hand or head in one, it comes out the other.
Daern's Instant Fortress. There are more uses for this than just defensible lodgings!
Robe of Useful Items. The fun comes from finding uses for all the random stuff.

Everything except the Ring Gates (IIRC) are in the 5e DMG.

Only things I'd recall are extremely specific spells and artifacts at a discount. Like the "Turn into Blonde Little Girl with Frilly Dress" spell bought by one of the party spellcasters in order to help us infiltrate a facility. The gimmicky part was that. The fun part? Having a Shifter with levels in Warshaper (3.5 PrC, in case you don't get it) get turned into one...and tentacles are natural weapons. That's all I have to say.

The artifact, on the other hand...I don't remember that much, except it was essentially a wondrous item that was only considered a minor artifact for purposes of not being identified by the Identify spell.

That said: seconding the Alchemy Jug. Not just for the Mayo; for the Vinegar as well. The Shield of Missile Attraction is fun for a Tank - since it automatically attracts any ranged attack (though not ranged spell attack) made at a creature within 10 ft. of you, it means anyone near you won't ever be attacked by arrows or javelins. The reduction on those kinds of damage is a plus. It's a cursed shield, but it's almost like if it wasn't one.

[Bubzors]

One of the people on the forum posted a link to his items a few months back. The link is below. It's actually quite good. Some seem a little OP, others really fun, and some just straight cursed. But he writes a full fluff story for each item along with the rules and special requirements. I was quite surprised that his thread just got buried with little to no comment. Much better items than most listed on the Mostly Useless Item thread. Also helps he is continually updating with 2-3 items every few days.

http://manysideddice.com/category/magic-items-that-are-better-than-nothing/