What's in the flask?

[BenoftheVale]

So, I have given my level 3 party (A Druid, a Paladin, and a Sorcerer) a flask that is just transparent enough that they can tell it is filled with some sort of liquid. I am not sure what is in this flask. This is a 3.5 campaign. Pretty much all books are allowed, but I am looking for creativity/something that may not be present in any books.

I am looking for two things:

1. What is in the flask? (This can be appropriate for any level, not just the one they are presently at)

2. How can the flask be openned? (The players have tried brute force. Other than that, I have no idea)

Thank you for your suggestions!

[Gildedragon]

A genie in liquid form: command word to open
Decanter of endless water: ibid
Liquid Pain/Ambrosia/souls: no opening, just empties as the contents are used up to craft items
It is actually a riverine tchotchke, fabricate can turn it into other stuff
It is an oasis seed: no opening it, but when planted it'll germinate and create an oasis overnight
It is a "quick potion"-like item. Cast a spell into it and it'll open, the liquid will be several doses of that spell in potion form. Works once only.

[Pleh]

An Elixer of Many Things

It only opens when you put it up to your lips and turn it over.

[GilesTheCleric]

Why not make it a plot hook? Perhaps it's filled with a particular eau de toilette that is particularly fashionable/ sought-after for the nobles this season, and is required in order to attend an upcoming masqued ball.

It could be some liquid pain or ambrosia that's gone missing from a shipment. It could be holy water, blessed with the tear of a truly repentant soul. Or a philter designed by the mad wizard Dr. Jeckyl. Maybe a draft from a small spring in the mountains, previously the home of an old couple who had to move away because of the war, and is now all they have (had) left to remember their village.

In any case, I think something nonmechanical is more interesting, unless your party is missing some important capacity.

[atemu1234]

An Elixer of Many Things

It only opens when you put it up to your lips and turn it over.

So a deck of many things you can drink? I am sickened yet curious.

[Vizzerdrix]

The entire thing is a tiny mimic with the ability to make a healing potion 1 per day. The party has to earn the trust of the tiny mimic to be able to get the potion. Later minor plot hooks could allow it to offer more/other potions.

[Celestia]

Booze. There's a special way to open it, but the guy who made it was drunk and forgot how.

[Remuko]

Quintessence

[MintyThe1st]

Quintessence

Damn it, I was going to suggest Quintessence XD

\
A tiny spawn of juiblex. It can only be opened by striking a deal with the demon.

[Blue Duke]

The entire thing is a tiny mimic with the ability to make a healing potion 1 per day. The party has to earn the trust of the tiny mimic to be able to get the potion. Later minor plot hooks could allow it to offer more/other potions.

I second the tiny mimic that is an adorable idea, it doesnt need to be some super macguffin it can just be a memorable NPC that has a minor use that can be enhanced as they level.

[Telonius]

It's a flask containing mystical dew from a nearby mountain. Its properties are said to mimic a Sympathy spell cast upon the drinker. It is magically sealed, and will only open if an Evocation spell with the [Force] descriptor is cast within 30 feet of the flask.

[J-H]

An ooze mephit. It can be opened once per week, and the Mephit serves the opener for up to four hours before returning to the flask. If killed, the mephit returns to the flask early and gains a cumulative 5% chance of rebelling against the owner. This will show by the mephit getting more and more grouchy, insulting, and dismissive over time.

The mephit may attempt to contract for services to kill an owner if it is in rebellion...

[Gildedragon]

a potion that transforms one into a water elemental permanently
opened by being underwater for 1+Con rounds

[Coventry]

So many ways to play with this ... especially if it is artifact power.

1) Elixir of Ancestry

The Elixir of Ancestry cannot be opened until it has spent at least one week attuning itself to a specific individual by constantly staying in the possession of that individual.

When a sip is taken from the elixir, the person's most recently deceased ancestor is resurrected an returned to life, as they were in the prime of their life. The ancestor's apparent age is reset to match the apparent age of the person.

Once used by an individual, the attunement process starts all over again.

Think of all the chaos grand-pa-pa could cause if he was the former king of the country.


2) Elixir of Transformation

The Elixir of Transformation may only be opened by someone close to death, either by being at one quarter or less of their normal maximum hit points, or suffering from level drain of three quarters or more of their total levels, or suffering permanent ability damage equal to three quarters of their total normal of all six ability scores.

When a person in that condition takes a drink from the Elixir, their health is fully restored, but at the price of being transformed into a randomly selected race. Use the reincarnation tables for a humanoid. Unlike the reincarnation spell, neither wish nor miracle will restore the original race of the drinker - instead, a quest will be necessary to undo the changes.

3) The Useless Flask

The elixir is a novelty item created by a wizard to frustrate any thief daring enough to steal it from him. The liquid inside is illusionary, the flask cannot be opened. Its single effect is to cause thieves to covet it more than any other item that could be stolen with the same amount of effort. Pickpockets will take it instead of coins, a grapple check to disarm will result in the flask being taken instead of a sword, et cetera.

4) The Soul of Erlan Gir

The liquid inside the elixir is actually the coalesced consciousness of an ancient wizard name Erlan Ger. Opening it requires the expenditure of 18 total spell levels of energy from a in a single 24 hour period. Once sampled, the user gains one ability from a 20th level wizard - a single spell slot with a prepared spell, a familiar, a feat appropriate for a wizard, et cetera.

However, once the last sip is sampled, the person imbibing the last sip takes the place of Erlan inside the flask, while Erlan replaces the imbiber in the real world.

[Gildedragon]

It could also be a thought bottle...

[PaucaTerrorem]

Water.

Really build the distrust between DM and player.

[Vizzerdrix]

An ooze mephit. It can be opened once per week, and the Mephit serves the opener for up to four hours before returning to the flask. If killed, the mephit returns to the flask early and gains a cumulative 5% chance of rebelling against the owner. This will show by the mephit getting more and more grouchy, insulting, and dismissive over time.

The mephit may attempt to contract for services to kill an owner if it is in rebellion...

This is a good one that reminds me of a similar item someone made here. I think it was used in the cattledriving necromancers campaign log. May be worth looking into.

[Inevitability]

The flask is a 'window' to a small part of an ocean, a lake, or the elemental plane of water, a la SCP 132 (http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-132). At first it's nearly useless, but over time the players collect more of them, including ones linked to very important places (such as a marid noble's throne room), or they learn to change the location each is linked to.

[Coventry]

... continued from earlier.

5) The Third Key

The Flask and it's contents are a story MacGuffin.

Late one night, the PC that is in possession of the flask has a weird dream. He or she stands in a forest glade, roughly a half-mile in diameter. At the center of the glade is a stone menhir, roughly 10' high, surrounded by three equally space stone platforms, all 5' high. Each platform has an hollow impression that is exactly the right size to hold the flask, or another item just like it. The top of the menhir has a similar impression.

The sky is blue and welcoming within the glade, but outside the glade the sky is dark and ominous - almost as if something terrible is being held at bay.

In quick succession, the character sees images of three other items, roughly the same shape as the flask. One holds a red-hot coal that never gets cold. Another holds a small tornado; dust and debris flying around in endless motion. A third holds a stone, intricately laced with color and power.

The dream ends with a question: "DO YOU ACCEPT?"


Several sub-quests, here:

1-3) Figuring out where the three other pieces are

(Do not make it too frustrating to figure out who to speak to, next. Some time spent researching should give them three possible destinations:)


[* ]Going to visit the wise man on the other side of the dangerous valley of souls,
Seeking the air prince in the cloud castle, and
Finding the druidic order in the capital city.


4-6) Acquiring the three other pieces

Are the pieces guarded?
Is one of the pieces crucial to some totally unrelated magic, where in taking it away would be a very bad thing? Can the PCs provide an alternative?
Is one of the other keys held by someone who is also on a quest to find them all? Is this someone else a friend, or a rival?

7) Figuring out where the glade is

(provide at least three ways for the players to learn the location ...

8) Getting to the glade and defeating the guardian

And then the real kicker ... what does activating the glade actually do? (DM's choice)

a) Option "oops": It was the prison of something the players should not have let loose! That something was tricking the players all along.

Along the way, the players should be given warnings to "stop!"
If they don't, New Quest: Fix the mistake!,
If they do stop, the rival should be a major thorn in the side. Possible New Quest: hide or destroy the key(s).

b) Option "Change the Universe": Whichever item is placed on the menhir determines which element is ascendant over the others for the next "cycle".

Elementals should be the theme along the way. Some try to bribe the players to choose their side. Some threaten. The current elemental plane that is ascendant will try to stop to players from changing the value. Agents of Chaos will be trying to steal the objects just to force the upheaval. Agents of Order may try to steal the objects and re-hide them, just to stop the upheaval.

At the end, the players that activate the menhir should receive bonuses from the ascendant element, and hatred of the others.

Truly sneaky players will rearrange the glade. Maybe adding a fourth platform, or inverting the menhir so one element is descendant.

(c) A great power of good was locked away, instead of an evil one.

(d) whoever activates the menhir gains power from the ascendant item, like a planar touchstone. The power level can scale from being able to transform into that kind of elemental once per day, all the way to ascension to godhood.