Strange powder

[Mandrake]

Hello!

My players have been, for a few sessions now, been trying to get their hands on a really small pouch containing something (they didn't know what).
After many risky activities, they got hold of it last night. Inside, they found around 5 grams of some pale-grayish dusty powder, which proved to be non-magical when they used Detect Magic.

So, if this were your campaign, what would the dust be? A lot of important and strong factions or individuals are looking for it desperately.

Thanks!

[Ralanr]

Dust of dryness?

[eastmabl]

Why not ask your players what they think it might be? The answer may surprise you, and be a hell of a lot more fun that what we may come up with.

If I was in the group and was asked this question, I might say that it is the last remains of a great mage/cleric/fighter/king/something that these groups need to resurrect and bring to their cause.

[Arc-Royal]

Depends on the group I'm running with. If it was with my current 5e campaign group, I'd likely do something along the lines of what eastmabl said--somebody's ashes. Having declared it to have detected as non-magical rules a lot out, although you could also claim that it IS magic and simply had its magical aura suppressed by that one spell I can't remember the name of. If you went with something like that, I think I'd make it a powdered ink/dye that, when used to write things, produces some odd effect, like having the words disappear from where you wrote them, but appear somewhere else in the world (or perhaps the ink reforms itself on the page to spell out some sort of message--Voldemort's diary, anyone?).

If I was running with my old Pathfinder group, drugs. I don't know if I'd plan out ahead what kind of drugs, but given that--in our last campaign before things broke up--our paladin failed to resist a trap that sprayed some kind of powder in his face (that turned out to, essentially, be ecstasy or some kind of party drug) and he proceeded to run through the dungeon all giddy and stripping off his armor (and clothes).

With my SUPER-old 3.5 group (I haven't talked to any of them in forever, since we were random folks who found one another on dA's IRC network)...well, I can't really fathom what my DM would have done, and I don't know what I would have done, either.

[Hyena]

Spice. Spice must flow.

[Talyn]

It's sand from one of the oh-so-rare patches of dry land on the Elemental Plane of Water. A few grains of it will open a portal (hidden somewhere significant in your campaign world) to a Marid trading post, where all the wealth and exotic items of the multiverse can be bought, if the price is right.

[Giant2005]

Sounds a lot like the light grey substance we in contemporary times know as gunpowder!
That is a non-magical substance many a nation would want to get their hands on in medieval times.

[Shining Wrath]

Nystul's Magic Aura, used to remove a magic aura, means it can be as magical as you like once the spell wears off.

I have houseruled that some portals may be attuned to other worlds - if you have an object that came from that world. What you have here is sand from Tatoonie, ashes from the caterpillar's hookah in Alice, some soil from Galadriel's garden, or yes, spice from Arrakis. Wherever you want to go ...

[Arc-Royal]

Nystul's Magic Aura, used to remove a magic aura, means it can be as magical as you like once the spell wears off.
There we go, that's what I was thinking of! :3

[ruy343]

Something that I did in one of my campaigns:

Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG) was a rogue who hated magic (long story). He had a genius-level intelligence, as well as a few miscellaneous alchemical resources at his disposal, so he was able to generate a potion of anti-magic. When ingested, an arcane spellcaster lost their power (temporarily), and when applied, things would lose their magic (and appear non-magical).

Although he hated arcane magic, BBEG used a divine flesh-to-stone scroll on the Caliph's wife, then covered her statue with the oily potion, which prevented mages from turning her back (Because they didn't detect her soul inside, and the spells to change her back didn't work). He then proceeded to use his wife's death to persuade the Caliph to impose martial law and round up arcane spellcasters. Made for a great mystery start to a campaign.

As for this powder, maybe the three competing guilds want to make this same anti-magic oil/potion to protect themselves from rival wizards, or to imprison one for ransom after causing them to drink it.

You can have a lot of interesting plots with an anti-magic potion...

[JAL_1138]

Torgo's Executive Powder.

Silt from the shores of Lake Gloomey in the lost land of Blackmoor--the Beginning Place, from whence all life and all worlds began. (Meta: location of the first published adventure, The Temple of the Frog, in White Box Supplement II--Blackmoor)

Ashes of the first incarnation of the Hero With A Thousand Faces.

(may need Nystul's + actually magic) Partial remains of a dead god.

One of the key components of Sovereign Glue.

Alchemical powder needed to mold Adamantite weapons/armor successfully.

Extremely fine filings of meteoric iron, which must be added during smelting in order to produce proper stock steel for magic weapons.

The crumbled dust of ancient clay tablets which once held the only writings of the first saint of the dominant religion in the area, which can be repaired with a Mending and/or Make Whole spell.

The ashes of the last page of an Archmage's spellbook, that can be repaired with a Mending and/or Make Whole spell.

The dust is just dust and completely unimportant--the bag is the artifact; it once belonged to a saint.

Moon dust. Pure poison. They've all got lung cancer now. But it's great for teleportation circles.

[ruy343]

Moon dust. Pure poison. They've all got lung cancer now. But it's great for teleportation circles.

I believe that this was the best suggestion offered thus far :)

[TrollCapAmerica]

Sounds a lot like the light grey substance we in contemporary times know as gunpowder!
That is a non-magical substance many a nation would want to get their hands on in medieval times.

Eh Gunpowder was around for a while its weaponizing it that took a while.Its also made of remarkably common materials

[Mr.Moron]

It's a small bit of the proto-material from which the universe was formed. With the proper knowledge and a strong will one can form into anything, even things don't exist yet. It doesn't ping magic because the forces at work in are more fundamental than magic, it came long before such forces came into existence.

"5 grams", while perhaps not the most meaningful measure is more than enough to will a new specifies into existence, or cause a new mountain range to erupt from the earth.

Shaping it isn't easy as in addition to knowledge and will it takes time. The less perfect your understanding of the universe and the weaker your will the more time it takes.

[Ardantis]

Drugs! Either a prescription remedy for a king or saint or the first batch of a craze that's sweeping the nation.

[Mr.Moron]

Drugs! Either a prescription remedy for a king or saint or the first batch of a craze that's sweeping the nation.

Maybe one of the powerful individuals after it is a clown, perhaps of the Rock-and-Roll variety?

[Rowan Wolf]

Drugs! Either a prescription remedy for a king or saint or the first batch of a craze that's sweeping the nation.

Maiden's Helper perhaps

[goto124]

Within reason, let your players decide what their inebriated characters do:


If I was running with my old Pathfinder group, drugs. I don't know if I'd plan out ahead what kind of drugs, but given that--in our last campaign before things broke up--our paladin failed to resist a trap that sprayed some kind of powder in his face (that turned out to, essentially, be ecstasy or some kind of party drug) and he proceeded to run through the dungeon all giddy and stripping off his armor (and clothes).

(I'm also curious as to how the rest of the party reacted.)

[Shining Wrath]

It's an alloy of lead and Other Stuff.
The lead blocks all divination magics, such as Detect Magic.
The Other Stuff is whatever you need it to be, but I think the essence of a long-dead god has the right vibe. Given this substance and knowledge of the correct rituals, the possessor can revive "She Whose Name Is Never Spoken And Not Only That They Don't Even Allude To Her As She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Because She's What Asmodeus Checks For Under His Bed".

[jkat718]

Within reason, let your players decide what their inebriated characters do:
Or roll on the Carousing table (DMG, p. 128).



If I was running with my old Pathfinder group, drugs. I don't know if I'd plan out ahead what kind of drugs, but given that--in our last campaign before things broke up--our paladin failed to resist a trap that sprayed some kind of powder in his face (that turned out to, essentially, be ecstasy or some kind of party drug) and he proceeded to run through the dungeon all giddy and stripping off his armor (and clothes).

(I'm also curious as to how the rest of the party reacted.)
And I, as well.

[JAL_1138]

It's an alloy of lead and Other Stuff.
The lead blocks all divination magics, such as Detect Magic.
The Other Stuff is whatever you need it to be, but I think the essence of a long-dead god has the right vibe. Given this substance and knowledge of the correct rituals, the possessor can revive "She Whose Name Is Never Spoken And Not Only That They Don't Even Allude To Her As She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Because She's What Asmodeus Checks For Under His Bed".

One of the three keys to Tharizdun's prison, maybe, crumbled to dust and mixed with lead to conceal it from detection, but still perfectly useful in its intended function as key?

[Inevitability]

The disintegrated remains of someone important?

[EvanescentHero]

You could always go the Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door route and have it be nothing of importance. Like, it's actually just some type of nonmagical powder. Or perhaps the powder is a red herring meant to throw people off the trail of a real artifact.

[Arc-Royal]

If I was running with my old Pathfinder group, drugs. I don't know if I'd plan out ahead what kind of drugs, but given that--in our last campaign before things broke up--our paladin failed to resist a trap that sprayed some kind of powder in his face (that turned out to, essentially, be ecstasy or some kind of party drug) and he proceeded to run through the dungeon all giddy and stripping off his armor (and clothes).
(I'm also curious as to how the rest of the party reacted.)
And I, as well.
Honestly, I can't remember the specifics, but I think we eventually managed to corner him in one room, but were then captured by the skeleton guards of Lich Cheney (who turned out to hate Sandpoint as much as we did).

[Vogonjeltz]

Sounds a lot like the light grey substance we in contemporary times know as gunpowder!
That is a non-magical substance many a nation would want to get their hands on in medieval times.

Seconded. This would be a great plot (countries trying to develop guns).

[Kerilstrasz]

Well.. i don't know how they will come by the knowledge of what the dust is.. but it actually is..

the last 5 grms of the "sands of time" ...
if they only had that dagger..
new epic quest idea there? :)

[cerin616]

Hello!

My players have been, for a few sessions now, been trying to get their hands on a really small pouch containing something (they didn't know what).
After many risky activities, they got hold of it last night. Inside, they found around 5 grams of some pale-grayish dusty powder, which proved to be non-magical when they used Detect Magic.

So, if this were your campaign, what would the dust be? A lot of important and strong factions or individuals are looking for it desperately.

Thanks!

Mordenkainen's Cremated Remains
A number of wizards would want this just to say they have it!
optionally can be used to increase CL/effectivness/size/whatever of Mordenkainen's spells maybe.
sell it for sweet sweet cash.
has a decent amount of lore flavor if your players are into that kind of thing



But that's just because it amuses me.