[3.5/PF] What is your favorite Wondrous Item & Why

[Oddman80]

Like the title says - What is your favorite Wondrous Item & Why?

[Elricaltovilla]

Handy Haversack, hands down.:smalltongue:

[AnonymousPepper]

Ring of Anticipation, Drow of the Underdark p100. +2 comp on Spot/Listen is nice, but roll twice take the better on initiative is ridiculously good for 6000gp.

[Propagandalf]

Seconding Handy Haversack. :smallbiggrin:

[Rethmar]

I like the Feather Tokens. Anchors, fans, boats, freaking trees. Lots of options with those, if you're creative enough.

[bekeleven]

Anklet of Translocation is the best budget tactical teleportation in the game.

[Rubik]

Psychoactive skin of proteus made with Words of Creation. A level 4 power at ML 8 at will doesn't seem THAT great, except Metamorphosis is one of the most powerful non-9s in the game (and more powerful than most 9s), useful for healing, utility, offense, defense, mobility, and lots and lots and lots of other things.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Shadow Cloak. The AC is pathetic, but 3/day tactical teleportation or concealment as an immediate is hot.

[mabriss lethe]

The Night Caller from Libris Mortis is fun for the whole family. (Blow a whistle over a grave in the dark, get a zombie pet.)7K.

The Thorn Pouch from MIC is also high on my list of favorites. a multi charge/day pouch that doesn't take up a slot, allows you to cast some decent druid-like spells as swift actions, runs around 4K.

[JoranShadeslayr]

Bracers of the Blinding Strike from Magic of Faerun because they give improved initiative and good armor bonus so I don't have to take the feat or use armor. Armor always has such a low max dexterity bonus that it makes a high dex score worthless, and extra feats that don't cost a slot are usually a good thing.

[anti-ninja]

I'll second anklets of translocation.

[Invader]

Immovable Rod
Feather token tree

[Ellowryn]

I think it technically falls under artifact but i have yet to see my friends not draw from a Deck of Many Things. I find it hilarious the stuff it gets them (usually the enemy one), so thats my vote.

[Oddman80]

ooooh - never heard of the Night Caller before. That sounds cool.

[5ColouredWalker]

Devils/Cheliax Crux.
200lb cary with no size limits? Why yes, I'd like to carry around an Artificers table and other useful furniture of obscene size.

I just need to find some large HD small creatures to turn into skeletons.

[Milo v3]

My favourite is instant fortresses. I always love architecture-based magic items.

[Mr Adventurer]

Admiral's Bicorn, Stormwrack. Not only is it an incredibly baller bit of wear for your standard adventurer, but the set of effects are amazing. +5 on Charisma based checks for Charms, Binding as well as Bluff, Diplomacy and UMD. Pretty expensive though!

[SolarSystem]

I'll skip over my #1 HH already mentioned and go to #2, the Decanter of Endless Water. Oh so many applications.
I also love anything that has spell storing.

[Orderic]

Feather Token: Tree.

There are few situations that cannot be made better through the liberal application of trees.

[paranoidbox]

The Handy Haversack is certainly up there, but I think I will have to give first place to the previously mentioned Decanter of Endless Water for its truly inventive applications.

Honorable mention goes to the Eversmoking Bottle, because it's just too handy when trying to avoid direct conflict and it could really mess up one side's tactics.

[Curmudgeon]

Steadfast Boots (Magic Item Compendium, pages 138-139). They're moderately priced and give a moderate benefit to avoid being bull rushed, overrun, or tripped. But the real reason they're awesome is that you're treated as constantly having a two-handed weapon you carry ready to accept a charge. Reading for a charge is a mechanic that nobody ever uses because it (1) prevents you from taking offensive actions, and (2) you're just standing there looking foolish if your enemy sees you grounding your spear and decides to just come up and make a regular (non-charge) attack instead. And the Steadfast Boots apply this benefit to any two-handed weapon regardless of its normal suitability to withstand a charge, so you get even better use of your spiked chain.

[Rubik]

Steadfast Boots (Magic Item Compendium, pages 138-139). They're moderately priced and give a moderate benefit to avoid being bull rushed, overrun, or tripped. But the real reason they're awesome is that you're treated as constantly having a two-handed weapon you carry ready to accept a charge. Reading for a charge is a mechanic that nobody ever uses because it (1) prevents you from taking offensive actions, and (2) you're just standing there looking foolish if your enemy sees you grounding your spear and decides to just come up and make a regular (non-charge) attack instead. And the Steadfast Boots apply this benefit to any two-handed weapon regardless of its normal suitability to withstand a charge, so you get even better use of your spiked chain.The "ready against a charge" maneuver is useless unless you have a reach weapon to make AoOs with, since readying says nothing about actually allowing you to make an attack.

[Curmudgeon]

The "ready against a charge" maneuver is useless unless you have a reach weapon to make AoOs with, since readying says nothing about actually allowing you to make an attack.
It's fortunate, then, that a spiked chain is a reach weapon.

[Flickerdart]

Now I'm wondering exactly how one braces a non-rigid weapon against a charge. But then, the spiked chain has bigger problems than that. :smallbiggrin:

[bekeleven]

A few that haven't been mentioned -

Belt of Hidden Pouches / Belt of Many Pockets: Like Handy Haversacks but cooler, more stealthy, and force you to get creative sometimes. How often do you really need items larger than one cubic foot? Batman > Tents.

Healing Belt: The cheapest reusable item healing in the game. 6D8/Day for 750 GP, and you can just take it off when it's used up. Put it back into your belt of hidden pouches.

Apparatus Of Kwalish: Someone had to say it.

[Curmudgeon]

Now I'm wondering exactly how one braces a non-rigid weapon against a charge. But then, the spiked chain has bigger problems than that. :smallbiggrin:
Bracing the weapon is what you would normally expect, because that's the way it was done in the real world. However, in D&D Ready is a quick reaction plan, with no (normal) physical setup. That's overridden by the specific language in weapon descriptions.
If you use a ready action to set a spear against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character. Those two-handed weapons which are added to the charge-opposition list by the magic of Steadfast Boots don't have any special requirements, so Ready(-like) is back to just being a plan.

[AmberVael]

Shiftweave: An inexpensive magic item (500gp) that can be found in the MIC, Shiftweave can be activated to turn it into one of five separate garments (chosen at creation). Its just a really neat little tool for an adventurer. It can be a quick disguise, you can use it to rapidly shift from an adventuring/combat scenario to a social one, you could even potentially use it in conjunction with some of the more unusual outfits, like a cold weather outfit or a desert outfit or some all black sneaking guise to give you bonuses in different situations. Its just fun.

Travel Cloak: A little bit more unknown item, the Travel Cloak can be found in Magic of Faerun, and its a very utilitarian adventuring tool. Each day you can produce enough water (or tea) and food from within it to take care of yourself. It gives you endure elements in regards to cold. It shields you from precipitation. And it also can turn into a one person tent.

[Crake]

I've always liked the scout's headband, 3 charges/day, 1 charge gets you darkvision 60ft for an hour, 2 charges gets you see invis for 10 minutes and 3 charges gets you true seeing for 1 minute

[Vrakk]

Necklace of Adaptation

While not game changing it's very useful. Providing a shell of clean air around you at all times - allowing you to breathe underwater and making you immune to spells like cloudkill. It made me immune to so many things the DM would throw at us that the price has been tripled to make it harder to get.

It's part of my "must have" collection of Wondrous Items:
Handy Haversack
Folding Boat
Decanter of Endless Water
Boots of Springing and Striding
Blindfold of True Darkness
Daern's Instant Fortress

[Flickerdart]

Bracing the weapon is what you would normally expect, because that's the way it was done in the real world. However, in D&D Ready is a quick reaction plan, with no (normal) physical setup. That's overridden by the specific language in weapon descriptions. Those two-handed weapons which are added to the charge-opposition list by the magic of Steadfast Boots don't have any special requirements, so Ready(-like) is back to just being a plan.
This response (the world's most predictable response, incidentally) was exactly why I wasn't actually arguing anything, just wondering what it would look like.

[Hrugner]

Lyre of Building. Nothing screws up a game's economy or world threats that aren't immediate quite like being able to lay down the boogie and build a tall stone castle on the fly.

[Janthkin]

Shiftweave: An inexpensive magic item (500gp) that can be found in the MIC, Shiftweave can be activated to turn it into one of five separate garments (chosen at creation). Its just a really neat little tool for an adventurer. It can be a quick disguise, you can use it to rapidly shift from an adventuring/combat scenario to a social one, you could even potentially use it in conjunction with some of the more unusual outfits, like a cold weather outfit or a desert outfit or some all black sneaking guise to give you bonuses in different situations. Its just fun.I love Shiftweave. Pair with Glamered Armor for best (Bardic) effect.


Travel Cloak: A little bit more unknown item, the Travel Cloak can be found in Magic of Faerun, and its a very utilitarian adventuring tool. Each day you can produce enough water (or tea) and food from within it to take care of yourself. It gives you endure elements in regards to cold. It shields you from precipitation. And it also can turn into a one person tent.
I see your Travel Cloak, and raise you the Cloak of Comfort from Complete Mage. Endure Elements as a 30' aura effect (though admittedly without the snacks).

But if you've got a Survival Pouch, you don't need to pull your snacks out of your cloak. You can pull out a whole mule, shoot it with the Composite Shortbow from the Pouch, roast it over the campfire you ALSO pulled out the pouch, bury the remains with the shovel (yup, from the Pouch), and finish off your night sleeping in the tent...which is also in the Pouch.

[jiriku]

Portable hole is my favorite. I lower a marble disk into it, then add a 6' diameter circle of mahogany paneling with built-in shelves and storage drawers, put a desk on the marble floor and string a hammock across the upper level of storage, turning it into a portable office. For extra style, a small air elemental ensures air quality and a homunculus in a tiny tuxedo (I call him Jeeves) handles keeping the space tidy and filing away or retrieving any random gear or loot that I drop into the hole. It's your home away from home.

[Flickerdart]

For extra style, a small air elemental ensures air quality
How do you figure? All if would ensure is that your papers fly around the room instead of staying put on your desk.

[Silva Stormrage]

Enveloping Pit for me. It's so easy to make little portable bases with them and they are ludicrously cheap so its not even that difficult to do so.

Lyre of the Restful Soul and Rod of Defiance are great on necromancers though and they make rebuke undead ludicrously overpowered.

[jiriku]

How do you figure? All if would ensure is that your papers fly around the room instead of staying put on your desk.

Rule of cool. An air elemental providing indoor air-conditioning and oxygenation is much more stylish than stashing a bottle of air under the desk.

[Flickerdart]

Rule of cool. An air elemental providing indoor air-conditioning and oxygenation is much more stylish than stashing a bottle of air under the desk.
Isn't that what office plants are for? :smallamused:

[AmberVael]

I see your Travel Cloak, and raise you the Cloak of Comfort from Complete Mage. Endure Elements as a 30' aura effect (though admittedly without the snacks).

But if you've got a Survival Pouch, you don't need to pull your snacks out of your cloak. You can pull out a whole mule, shoot it with the Composite Shortbow from the Pouch, roast it over the campfire you ALSO pulled out the pouch, bury the remains with the shovel (yup, from the Pouch), and finish off your night sleeping in the tent...which is also in the Pouch.

Both of these miss out on my favorite part of Travel Cloak, which is the price. Its nearly a third the cost of the survival pouch and provides all your basic needs in a very compact package.

[Odin's Eyepatch]

Travel Cloak: A little bit more unknown item, the Travel Cloak can be found in Magic of Faerun, and its a very utilitarian adventuring tool. Each day you can produce enough water (or tea) and food from within it to take care of yourself. It gives you endure elements in regards to cold. It shields you from precipitation. And it also can turn into a one person tent.

I'm going to have to second this as my favourite magic item: one of my current characters (a monk) has got hold of it, and over the campaign it has come to define an important part of his outlook to the view: that everything can be solved with a punch to the face... or a nice cup of tea. :smalltongue:

Since we never really bothered to keep track of the exact quantity of tea it could produce, my monk has basically started every important negotiation by sharing out a cup of warm tea, not to hot, nor to cold, with just the right amount of milk. He's left cups of tea next to the unfortunate enemies that he had to beat up (often overenthusiastic guards thinking that we were the bad guys), so they'll have something to boost their spirits when they wake up. We've ruled that the tea always stays at exactly the right temperature, regardless how long it is left next to the bodies of your enemies.

I mean, mechanically-wise it's fairly useless, but I just love the flavour of it too much. Whenever the DM says it's raining, I can proudly say that I'm still dry underneath! :smallbiggrin:

[jiriku]

Isn't that what office plants are for? :smallamused:

That's... the geniusest thing I ever heard! :smallbiggrin:

[Rubik]

Isn't that what office plants are for? :smallamused:No wonder office workers have such...

...wooden personalities.

[jiriku]

Rubik if you keep branching out into plant puns I may have to leaf this thread.

[Endarire]

Aside from treadmill bonuses (Headband of INT, Vest of Resistance, etc.), I really like custom Wondrous items. One of my current favorites is a Mage Armor Amulet. It just casts mage armor at will at CL1. Very handy for anyone who finds armor cumbersome. Very handy for everyone when against ghosts.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Custom items are just randomly broken though, so I don't think they would make a good inclusion here. A use activated item of Guidance of the Avatar is 12000gp. That is a balmy +20 to all skill checks (at the cost of a standard action before hand) for a very low price.

[Ettina]

Hat of Disguise

[Hrugner]

Hat of Disguise

I always wondered, if you use the hat of disguise to reduce your apparent height by 1 foot, and you are less than a foot tall. what happens exactly?

[FocusWolf413]

I always wondered, if you use the hat of disguise to reduce your apparent height by 1 foot, and you are less than a foot tall. what happens exactly?

You turn into a walking hat.

[AmberVael]

I always wondered, if you use the hat of disguise to reduce your apparent height by 1 foot, and you are less than a foot tall. what happens exactly?

This... I never considered this before. And it leads to a far, far more interesting question.

If you are a changeling (or better yet, an egoist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070314a) with change shape), what happens when you reduce your height by 1 foot and you are already less than a foot tall?

Do you just stop having a body?

[jiriku]

Clearly, you become a Loony Toons-style mobile puddle, just like cartoon characters after they get smashed flat by something.

[elonin]

I'll have to give a +1 to the HHH. Also, I like the immovable rod. Used a combo immovable rod + collapsible pole to make a balance pole for a rogue I played. Had considered trying to mess with large creatures with the swallow whole ability.

[5ColouredWalker]

Clearly, you become a Loony Toons-style mobile puddle, just like cartoon characters after they get smashed flat by something.

No, you get negative height.

You sir, are a walking pot hole. And maybe a walking plot hole.

[Hrugner]

So you don't look like an upside down version of your self walking on the other side of the ground? I guess being a pot hole, a walking hat or a squashed toon are all pretty cool too, but my regular DM isn't a cartoony person so harder it's to push these things.

Maybe a shadow of your former self?

[Roga]

Dull Grey Ioun Stone with Continual flame. Hands free light, looks stylish, and its dirt cheap.
Sovereign Glue and Universal Solvent, the possibilities are endless. My first item as an Artificer was a Rod of the Universal Sovereign. It emitted 2 ounces of each per day.
Immovable Rod + Tower Shield + Sovereign Glue = Mobile platform. Perfect for the BAMFing Horizon Walker.
Boots of Gravity. They're tons more expensive than slipper of Spider climbing, but they're hilarious in the right hands.

Seconding the Portable Hole. It's great for a Warforged Artificer that doesn't need to breathe. Built my whole workshop in there, and my homunculus and golems were stored with ease. They also served as great transportation for undead with my necromancers. Also helps the Hound Archon bring the party when he teleports.

[erok0809]

I've always been a fan of the Major Cloak of Displacement. I like the way it looks, in my head at least, and 15 rounds is a decent amount of time for a 50% miss chance.

A Belt of Battle is always good. Extra actions? Yes please.

[Scheming Wizard]

At low levels and for one shot dungeons I love the elemental gems. Quick large elemental there to help you. It's a cool item you can keep in a boot or pocket for emergencies.

The amber amulet is great, because the scorpion is super strong for a 700 gold piece item and its reusable. It also looks like jewelry so people think you're unarmed.

[ShaneMRoth]

Handy Haversack, hands down.:smalltongue:

I strongly concur.

[TheNivMizzet]

Artificer's monocle, giving all my low level wizards identify without having to spend 100 gold a pop. After 16 items it pays for itself and you look stylish doing it.
Second favorite is probably the Blessed Book, because spending several hundred gold a spell is too much, and don't have to worry about space as much.

[Mystral]

Necklace of fireballs. 58d6 points of campaign wrecking firey goodness.

[Yahzi]

The Lyre of Building, because its effects don't go away. Given time you can do a lot of damage to a campaign world. :smallbiggrin:

[Thurbane]

I'm a sucker for utility/swiss-army-knife style items:

Bag of Tricks (900gp+)
Survival Pouch (3000gp)
Keoghtom's Ointment (4000gp)
Thorn Pouch (4400gp)
Robe of Useful Items (7000gp)


Portable hole is my favorite.
http://i58.tinypic.com/9sv6a0.jpg (http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=7227)

Artificer's monocle, giving all my low level wizards identify without having to spend 100 gold a pop. After 16 items it pays for itself and you look stylish doing it.
Second favorite is probably the Blessed Book, because spending several hundred gold a spell is too much, and don't have to worry about space as much.
It is a great item - I recently gave one to my party, and they love it (especially since the Warlock gets unlimited Detect Magic).

[paranoidbox]

Dull Grey Ioun Stone with Continual flame. Hands free light, looks stylish, and its dirt cheap.

I've always liked this idea, because it's smart and shows a measure of ingenuity, but realistically speaking you would GO CRAZY from the light constantly revolving around you, one second shining in your eyes, the next second casting your shadow in front of you (oh god, your shadow would never stop moving, aargh, get it off me!). You would have the worst vision, really, and you'd start walking like a drunk person after hours of this.

[Curmudgeon]

I've always liked this idea, because it's smart and shows a measure of ingenuity, but realistically speaking you would GO CRAZY from the light constantly revolving around you, one second shining in your eyes, the next second casting your shadow in front of you (oh god, your shadow would never stop moving, aargh, get it off me!). You would have the worst vision, really, and you'd start walking like a drunk person after hours of this.
As a DM I've always hit the wearer of this rotating light with -5 penalties to Spot and Search, and everybody else with -2 to each. Compared to just casting Continual Flame on top of your helmet, this is so much worse.

[Amphetryon]

As a DM I've always hit the wearer of this rotating light with -5 penalties to Spot and Search, and everybody else with -2 to each. Compared to just casting Continual Flame on top of your helmet, this is so much worse.

What penalties do you impose to simulate the random flickering of an ordinary torch in moving air?

[Curmudgeon]

What penalties do you impose to simulate the random flickering of an ordinary torch in moving air?
None; that's the default. However, the default for shadowy illumination is a -2 circumstance penalty to Spot and Search, because that's my implementation of the vague "see dimly" rule.
In an area of shadowy illumination, a character can see dimly. So that flickering torch is going to be OK for seeing up to 20', but so-so for the next 20'. I give +2 circumstance bonuses for using a light source which provides clear non-flickering illumination (hooded lantern, for example), which cancels out the shadowy illumination penalties.

[paranoidbox]

As a DM I've always hit the wearer of this rotating light with -5 penalties to Spot and Search, and everybody else with -2 to each. Compared to just casting Continual Flame on top of your helmet, this is so much worse.

I think that's fair, actually.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I find the Liquid-Sunlight-In-A-Locket option a better solution for the hands-free lighting problem than the Ioun Stone (...and it says something about DMs that the problem seems to come up so much), but since that's not actually a magical item, I have to go with the Bag of Tricks. There's nary a problem that cannot be either solved or made more interesting by throwing wolverines at it. Also, Badger Launcher (http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-5-5/).

[Rubik]

I find the Liquid-Sunlight-In-A-Locket option a better solution for the hands-free lighting problem than the Ioun Stone (...and it says something about DMs that the problem seems to come up so much), but since that's not actually a magical item, I have to go with the Bag of Tricks. There's nary a problem that cannot be either solved or made more interesting by throwing wolverines at it. Also, Badger Launcher (http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-5-5/).Mushrooms Mushrooms are used as gunpowder.

[Roga]

I've always liked this idea, because it's smart and shows a measure of ingenuity, but realistically speaking you would GO CRAZY from the light constantly revolving around you, one second shining in your eyes, the next second casting your shadow in front of you (oh god, your shadow would never stop moving, aargh, get it off me!). You would have the worst vision, really, and you'd start walking like a drunk person after hours of this.

In our groups we've always ruled that Ioun stones can just float in air, always moving in relation to you, rather than swirling like a fairy from Zelda. We've had characters wear several of these glowing stones to accomplish the classic elven crown from the Hobbit. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/OldTomBombadil/Rankin-Bass/Elrond_RB.jpg