[3.5] What are your favorite cheap-ish (under 25k or so) magic items?

[Flame of Anor]

Nightsticks? Belts of Battle? Keep 'em coming.

[Story]

Raptor Mask. Vestige Phylactery. Talisman of the Disk. Collar of Perpetual Attendance. Lesser Rod of Extend Spell (and regular Rod of Extend Spell). Handy Haversack. Banner of Law. Storm's Eye Banner. Third Eye Clarity. Talisman of Undying Fortitude. Hat of Disguise. Artificer's Monocle.

And of course the +stat items.

Special note for Banner of Law because it's very obscure. I've never seen anyone else mention it before, so you probably won't find it on the normal lists of useful magical items.

[Sith_Happens]

It's technically an alchemical item, but shapesand. I'm not sure there's anything you can't do with a few dozen gallons of that stuff.

[Sagetim]

Ring of Sustenance. 2500 gold value, but damn would I want it in real life. Especially the pathfinder version, because it apparently makes you able to get all your rest (even for prepping spells) in like, 2 hours. 2 hour nap for full recharge? heeeeeellll yeaaaaah~

It's probably the best magic item for it's price. Sure, the bag of holding is nice, but you probably couldn't get it through customs so a lot of thIe shenanigans that would be potential with it would have a hard time playing out right. But then, I'm starting to mix this thread and 'level 20 what class ability is best in real life' thread.

a +3 weapon is always a solid investment for about 20k, +1 is a given, but you could mix and match with two more +1 bonus abilities, or a +2. Sacred is a great one from oriental adventures +1d6 damage vs evil and strikes as a good weapon. I'm pretty sure there's a ranged weapon one for +2 that causes hits to explode in a 5ft radius for 2d4 piercing damage with a dc 15 ref save, that can be pretty good too (especially if you put poison on the arrow).

Ghost Touch is a +1 that lets you hit ghosts, or for ghosts to use said weapon. Ghost Striking is another +1 that requires Ghost Touch, but it lets you crit and sneak attack undead. MMMmmm, that's basically necessary for precision damage dealers as far as I'm concerned.

For Psionic weapons, there's Ectoplasmic for 1d4 ectoplasmic damage (a damage type so rare that I think that maybe only one monster even has resistance to it). And that's a +1 ability. Collision adds a straight +5 damage per hit for a +2. Both are useful for soulknives and soulbows, but they would probably still be helpful for normal weapons.

Oh, and Bane. Bane weapons are freakin great.

Back to psionic stuff: Psychoactive Skin of Ectoplasmic Armor. +8 ac, -6 check penalty, +2 max dex...counts as light armor and weighs 1 pound. Can be put on or taken off as a...move action? standard action? Whatever, it's one action armor that's comparable to full plate. It's Amazing. If your dm lets you enchant it like armor, it's better than full plate (Mithral might give it a run for it's money, but a 1lb weight and easy deploy is hard to complete with).

Eternal Wands. I don't think any of them cost more than 10k each, but (as written in ebberon) they don't go over level 3 spells. Still, it's 2/day wands.

[IronicGentleman]

Fortifying Bedroll. Seconded Shapesand. Seconded Handy Haversack. Seconded Third Eye Clarity. Wand of Lesser Vigor. Chaos Flask.

And finally, it's non-magical but it's powerful enough to feel so at lower levels - it has a magical (figuratively) effect on combats :smallbiggrin: - Aboleth Mucus!

Also, the non-magical Magic Item that everyone forgets about. The one that is the only reason your Wizard can cast anything. The one to which you owe your life, your body, your very soul: your Spell Component Pouch! :smallbiggrin:

[Gabrosin]

Special note for Banner of Law because it's very obscure. I've never seen anyone else mention it before, so you probably won't find it on the normal lists of useful magical items.

Source?

I like Scout's Headband for brief bursts of True Seeing. Crystal of Arrow Deflection gives a nice bump to your AC for an affordable price. Least Crystal of Return gives you free Quick Draw for one weapon. Anklets of Translocation, because tactical teleportation is important. Lots of great ones already mentioned, like Belt of Battle, Banner of the Storm's Eye, Healing Belt, Artificer's Monocle.

[Roog]

Heroes of Battle

[Dread_Head]

+1 Soulfire (Book of Exalted Deeds) armour comes in at 25000 + the base cost of the armour and provides a wide spread of immunities. Ghost Shirt (MIC) is a cheap way to get ghost touch on your weapons. Shadow Cloak (DotU) gives immediate action teleporting. Ring of Anticipation (DotU) helps win initiative. Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis (ToM) both the 1/day version and the continuous one for the dark template. Brute Gauntlets (MIC) and Acrobat Boots (MIC) are very cheap items that provide reasonable boosts. Enveloping Pit (MIC) gives great storage for the price if you have the right alignment. Badge of Valour (MIC) if you are a bard. Raptors Mask (MIC) for the immunity to blindness is incredible value.

[Heliomance]

Bunko's Bargain Basement (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1002.0)

[Eldan]

Feather token: tree. I've never met a problem it couldn't solve and by mid-levels, you can buy bags of them.


Also seconding Hat of Disguise and Shapesand.1

[J-H]

I always buy a Belt of Healing. It's one of the best options to have at least some self-healing if you're not a caster. MIC, 750gp.

[RolandDeschain]

It seems I always buy a set of Armbands of Elusive Action and an Anklet of Translocation for my PCs at low levels, and they always end up being real life savers until the campaign 'outgrows' them. On that note, a Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker is usually nice as well.

[marphod]

The Chronocharm is great, except it only has one use a day, can't have multiple of the same chronocharms on at once, most of the other chronocharms are sub-par, and it takes up the neck slot.

Don't get me wrong, my current Swifthunter (8th level) PC has one, but I find it frustrating.

---

Gloves of the Balance Hand are nice for reducing the cost of TWF. Boots of the Skirmisher for Skirmish based builds. Dimension Stride Boots. Feycraft light weapons -- especially if they are Shadow Hand weapons. Magic Schemas of 24hr duration spells.

Feather Token, Boat and Tree can be hilarious and awesome.

Rod of Ropes.

Hat of Disguise.

[Sagetim]

+1 Soulfire (Book of Exalted Deeds) armour comes in at 25000 + the base cost of the armour and provides a wide spread of immunities. Ghost Shirt (MIC) is a cheap way to get ghost touch on your weapons. Shadow Cloak (DotU) gives immediate action teleporting. Ring of Anticipation (DotU) helps win initiative. Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis (ToM) both the 1/day version and the continuous one for the dark template. Brute Gauntlets (MIC) and Acrobat Boots (MIC) are very cheap items that provide reasonable boosts. Enveloping Pit (MIC) gives great storage for the price if you have the right alignment. Badge of Valour (MIC) if you are a bard. Raptors Mask (MIC) for the immunity to blindness is incredible value.

you can get +1 soulfire bracers of armor (not sure what book it was, player's handbook 2? Magic Item Compendium?) but in one of the side bars it mentioned that bracers of ac could go up to +13, with a maximum of +8 to ac and the rest being special ability bonuses. And I think Bracers of AC +5 are 25k. I think that the special abilities on the bracers would stack with anything your normal armor gives, while the ac bonus from them would be overlapped by any better armor you're wearing.

Sleeves of Many Garment for 200 gold. They make you look like you're wearing what you want to look like you're wearing (though someone who can see past illusions, such as with trueseeing, could see past the glamer of the sleeves).

[Story]

Sleeves of Many Garment for 200 gold. They make you look like you're wearing what you want to look like you're wearing (though someone who can see past illusions, such as with trueseeing, could see past the glamer of the sleeves).

Seems kind of redundant when you could just get a Hat of Disguise. Admittedly, the hat is more expensive, but that's only an issue for levels 1-4 or so.

[Sith_Happens]

The Chronocharm is great, except it only has one use a day, can't have multiple of the same chronocharms on at once, most of the other chronocharms are sub-par, and it takes up the neck slot.

Don't get me wrong, my current Swifthunter (8th level) PC has one, but I find it frustrating.

The real value of chronocharms comes in when you start grafting additional effects on them. They basically give you extra neck slots for 750 gp each.

[Extra Anchovies]

The real value of chronocharms comes in when you start grafting additional effects on them. They basically give you extra neck slots for 750 gp each.

Remember that an added-on effect is also at 1.5 times the normal value. I also don't think that a bunch of chronocharms with different non-chronocharm abilities on them would be any more gold-efficient than one item with all of the stuff on it, and if one of the two is allowed than the other is almost certainly possible (unless your DM lets you only put one extra effect on each item or something). Might be a bit more reliable in the face of Dispel Magic, though, because there's a chance that some are suppressed while others stay active.

[Andezzar]

Horn of Plenty: Heroes' Feast (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/heroesFeast.htm) 1/day for 12 people. Now that's adventuring in style.

[Sith_Happens]

I also don't think that a bunch of chronocharms with different non-chronocharm abilities on them would be any more gold-efficient than one item with all of the stuff on it

It is if you want more uses of a per-day item.

[Necroticplague]

Enveloping Pit. Intended to be used as a portable pit trap, Loony Tunes style, it's excellent GP:space ration (3600 get you a 50"x10"x10" room[10 square by two square by two square]) make it an excellent form of extradimensional storage. Hard to use in an emergency, at least in part due to its depth. Always funny to nest them to make whole neighborhoods you can fit in your pocket.

[Orderic]

I quite like the Shirt of Wraith Stalking, a set item from the MIC. At will hide from undead that does not allow a save. With this, not even an incredibly powerful undead BBEG will be able to see you. And it is only 6000gp.
The rest of the set is nice too. The gauntlets (4000gp) let you affect anything incorporeal with attacks and spells without a miss chance while melee attacks deal more damage against incorporeal foes.
And the choker (14000gp) gives you a dodge bonus to ac against undead, while also protecting you from a few negative levels each day.

[Wacky89]

Raptor Mask. Vestige Phylactery. Talisman of the Disk. Collar of Perpetual Attendance. Lesser Rod of Extend Spell (and regular Rod of Extend Spell). Handy Haversack. Banner of Law. Storm's Eye Banner. Third Eye Clarity. Talisman of Undying Fortitude. Hat of Disguise. Artificer's Monocle.

And of course the +stat items.

Special note for Banner of Law because it's very obscure. I've never seen anyone else mention it before, so you probably won't find it on the normal lists of useful magical items.

where is banner of law from?

[Jowgen]

where is banner of law from?

Heroes of Battle p. 133. It is an area effect protection from chaos item, and thus a cheap party-friendly anti-mental-control measure. Quite a nice alternative to custom protection from evil items.

[Forrestfire]

Seems kind of redundant when you could just get a Hat of Disguise. Admittedly, the hat is more expensive, but that's only an issue for levels 1-4 or so.

While it is technically an illusion aura, the sleeves have the added benefit of actually transforming your clothes (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/r-z/sleeves-of-many-garments).

[RolandDeschain]

The Chronocharm is great, except it only has one use a day, can't have multiple of the same chronocharms on at once, most of the other chronocharms are sub-par, and it takes up the neck slot.

Don't get me wrong, my current Swifthunter (8th level) PC has one, but I find it frustrating.


Yeah, but it's very nice at low levels and extraordinarily cheap....especially when the party's spellcasters want to 'rest' after every battle anyway :)

[Andezzar]

While it is technically an illusion aura, the sleeves have the added benefit of actually transforming your clothes (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/r-z/sleeves-of-many-garments).I think that is just sloppy wording. If it really did transform the clothing, the item would have to have a transmutation aura and should require a transmutation spell to create.

A hat of disguise does the same thing unless you give the sleeves benefits on actually transforming, which it shouldn't have IMHO, the garments:
This apparently normal hat allows its wearer to alter her appearance as with a disguise self spell.
You make yourself—including clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment—look different.

[Forrestfire]

The hat of disguise does not to the same thing; you cut off the rest of the description. The important part of the hat is that it directly emulates the disguise self spell, which has this passage:


The spell does not provide the abilities or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of you or your equipment.

The sleeves do not; ergo, they're a superpowered version of Shiftweave, which isn't really an issue for the item as 200gp is a fair price for the ability to change your clothing around. Whether or not the wording is sloppy has no bearing on what the item actually does. For all we know, it could be illusion in the say way a simulacrum or ice assassin is entirely illusion, rather than transmutation. Illusion can and does make real things.

[Masakan]

Anklet of Translocation....Seriously at 1400 gold if you are even remotely close to the front lines and don't have a high strength score? GET THIS! It will save your life.

[Gabrosin]

Heroes of Battle p. 133. It is an area effect protection from chaos item, and thus a cheap party-friendly anti-mental-control measure. Quite a nice alternative to custom protection from evil items.

Cool that it says versions exist for each alignment; boo that it says you need two hands to carry it. I guess if I were already planning to use a polearm or other weapon that could attach it, it would feel more exciting.

I suppose you could force a spellcaster to hold it, but they might not be stationed within 30' of the front lines anyway.

[Jowgen]

Cool that it says versions exist for each alignment; boo that it says you need two hands to carry it. I guess if I were already planning to use a polearm or other weapon that could attach it, it would feel more exciting.

I suppose you could force a spellcaster to hold it, but they might not be stationed within 30' of the front lines anyway.

Backpack frame, MIC p. 151, shoulder slot.

[Story]

The Banner of Storm's Eye can be placed on a backpack, so I think there's a good case to be made that you could do the same with the HoB banners. It's not quite RAW though.

[ekarney]

Travel Cloak/Traveller's Cloak.

It's from Arms and Equipment guide doubles as a tent, gives you tea, water and food.

I know ring of sustenance does it better, but I just really like the cloak, plus it's only 1000gp. (Give or take)

I find it really useful on low strength/small characters in those earlier levels where carry capacity is vital because you don't have the spells/magic items to emulate everything mundane you need.

[Gabrosin]

The Banner of Storm's Eye can be placed on a backpack, so I think there's a good case to be made that you could do the same with the HoB banners. It's not quite RAW though.

Yeah, the Banner of the Storm's Eye (which is a superior item IMO, though it costs almost twice as much) is what first came to mind. But as I recall it states how you can carry it in the item description, while this one doesn't.

Now, if you let me tack this on to Storm's Eye for another 8k/12k, we're in business.

[thethird]

The Hat of Many Spells. Best. Item. Ever.

[Extra Anchovies]

The Hat of Many Spells. Best. Item. Ever.

Would you mind giving a source on that?

[thethird]

Animated Series Handbook pg 9. While the energy bow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20061227a) is the most famous item of the book, due to being available online, it is not the most powerful.

[Sith_Happens]

The Hat of Many Spells. Best. Item. Ever.


Animated Series Handbook pg 9. While the energy bow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20061227a) is the most famous item of the book, due to being available online, it is not the most powerful.

*finds item description*

"...contains any spell component worth up to 1000 gp..."

:smalleek:

[Malimar]

Ring of Sustenance. 2500 gold value, but damn would I want it in real life. Especially the pathfinder version, because it apparently makes you able to get all your rest (even for prepping spells) in like, 2 hours. 2 hour nap for full recharge? heeeeeellll yeaaaaah~

This. It's the one item I consistently get when starting out rich enough to afford it.

Also, boots of skating are a fun time. Whee!

[ben-zayb]

Gloves of Object Reading, Rod of Ropes, Ring of X-Ray Vision, Shirt of Wraith Stalking, and (Eternal) Wands of Nerveskitter

Also, Darrin's Force Surfboard Shield Monster.

[Story]

Eternal Wands of Nerveskitter aren't spell trigger devices, they're wonderous items, so they don't inherit the special casting time. A wand of Nerveskitter is already slightly dubious by RAW, but good luck getting an eternal wand to work.

[ben-zayb]

Eternal Wands of Nerveskitter aren't spell trigger devices, they're wonderous items, so they don't inherit the special casting time. A wand of Nerveskitter is already slightly dubious by RAW, but good luck getting an eternal wand to work.

AFB, but assuming that's true, then that's an interesting point against Eternal Wand of Nerveskitter. Makes for a great Eternal Wand of Identify, though.

[thethird]

*finds item description*

"...contains any spell component worth up to 1000 gp..."

:smalleek:

Optional spell components are spell components. :smallamused:

[Sgt. Cookie]

Scrying Shard, MIC 184 1350 GP.


The poor wording of the item appears to indicate that merely possessing a Scrying Shard allows anyone to be able to cast Scry at-will.

[ahenobarbi]

Lesser metamagic wands od extend (cheap way to get more buffs), lesser metamagic wand of silent spell (so I can cast when I can't speak for some reason), Pearl of power 1 (some 1st level spells become much more useful if you can spam them without worry), Ring of Enduring Arcana (dispells are nasty).

Elvencraft bow, with +1 warning; +1 smoking and +1 eager enchantments.

[Andezzar]

Eternal Wands of Nerveskitter aren't spell trigger devices, they're wonderous items, so they don't inherit the special casting time. A wand of Nerveskitter is already slightly dubious by RAW, but good luck getting an eternal wand to work.What's dubious about the regular wand of nerveskitter? The authority of the RC?


AFB, but assuming that's true, then that's an interesting point against Eternal Wand of Nerveskitter. Makes for a great Eternal Wand of Identify, though.I like it. Not paying 50*100 gp in pearls and activation of a standard action instead of 1h sounds great. I bet there are other 1st - 3rd level spells with prohibitively long casting times and costly material components.
For identify though, I think an artificer's monocle is more stylish and only marginally less useful. It's weird though that it is quite a bit more expensive.

[Sith_Happens]

Optional spell components are spell components. :smallamused:

You refer to Snowcasting, yes?


Scrying Shard, MIC 184 1350 GP.

The poor wording of the item appears to indicate that merely possessing a Scrying Shard allows anyone to be able to cast Scry at-will.

At the very least it only costs 350 gp more than the body mirror that arcane casters normally need.

[Elandris Kajar]

I bet there are other 1st - 3rd level spells with prohibitively long casting times and costly material components.


Sepia Snake Sigil. :smallbiggrin:

[Jowgen]

Boots of Side-stepping, the dungeonscape version. 3000 gp for immediate action 5 ft movement to try and avoid reflex save effect is well worth it.

Also, Steadfast Boots (MIC). Incredibly cheap, and suddenly ueber-charging becomes a game of nuclear chess for everyone invovled.

In a similar vein, the Intercepting WSA from Forge of War. A free attack in response to a whole bunch of stuff with chance of double damage is nothing to sneeze at. Best combined with Steadfast Boots, a reach weapon and Robilar's Gambit to really ruin any charger's day. :smallsmile:

[kkplx]

Except that you don't get to cherry-pick where you take an item or spell from - the sidestepping boots that you refer to are a non-existent item because an MiC rework exists.

[thethird]

You refer to Snowcasting, yes?

Snow doesn't have a cost, I was referring to power components like those from complete champions, complete mage or book of exalted deeds, or pieces and bits like the ones in book of vile darkness.

[Necroticplague]

Except that you don't get to cherry-pick where you take an item or spell from - the sidestepping boots that you refer to are a non-existent item because an MiC rework exists.

I don't see why that would be true. The two boots are completely different items that happen to share the same name.