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Aliquid
2017-10-04, 04:26 PM
I'm looking to put magic items in a game for a wizard type character to be able to use in combat, but a "wand" or anything like that wouldn't fit in the setting very well. Magic items are much more... unique and strange.

Any creative ideas for something that only a wizard could use that would do damage (fire or ice or shock etc), or maybe even just slow or hinder a foe.

Maybe gloves that have an electrical charge... "shocking grasp" style
Maybe the skull of some mystical creature that can still breath fire even though it is long dead
Maybe some mystical black goo that will slowly wrap itself around an enemy and freeze them in place..

ideas?

Quertus
2017-10-04, 07:56 PM
Loving the idea of using a monster's body part as the focus for a magical attack. Really, I'd be happy with just that. But I'll add a few ideas.

A solidified shaft of sunlight.

A creature bound into a weapon. Bonus points if the weapon gets powers from the specific creature bound, or can turn back into the creature.

Golems. Lots and lots of Golems. Or undead. Especially zombie dragons, that fall out of the air when they use their breath weapon.

A gem that is actually a portal to another plane. This could produce fire, or water, or winds, or life-draining energy, or sunlight and the sounds of chirping birds, depending on where it's linked.

A lightning bolt (ala Zeus).

So much you can do with magic powders. Sands of Time, powdered bones of archmagi, dehydrated acid cloud, psychic hallucinogen, etc.

Dragons teeth. As reusable magic missiles.

A small glass globe that contains a storm cloud. Bonus points if the wizard can, at some point, put storm clouds into empty spheres.

icefractal
2017-10-04, 08:15 PM
I'd start with "Why does it take a Wizard to use it?" The answer could just be "it requires arcane power to activate", but let's go with something more interesting.

Lenses of Lexical Violation
Stare at someone, and you see a short spell-phrase based on a fragment of their true name. Same writing style as if it were in a spell book. Say it (standard action) and it's basically a custom Power Word that hurts that person only, if they're within range. Stare longer, and it gets more precise - more damage, maybe also other effects. But the target knows they're being stared at even if you're hidden - it's a very distinctive and unnatural sensation. If you look in a mirror while wearing these, save or suffer existential dread and temporary blindness.

Aliquid
2017-10-04, 08:16 PM
A creature bound into a weapon. Bonus points if the weapon gets powers from the specific creature bound, or can turn back into the creature.Can you explain that more?

Dragons teeth. As reusable magic missiles.I like that!

redwizard007
2017-10-06, 08:16 AM
How about wands that aren't wands?

Phoenix feather fan: produces a Burning Hands, or Pyrotechnics effect.

Rod of the Necromancer (dessicated arm and hand of a corpse): Touch attacks result in Cause Fear, or Ray of Enfeeblement effect.

Hag's Eye (big glass eye): Summon Swarm or Blindness effect.

Gloves of the Grave (gloves of human skin): Ghoul Touch or Vampiric Touch effect.

Amulet of the Sun (sunburst necklace): Scorching Ray or Color Burst effect.

Summoning Stone (fragile crystal bauble that breaks when thrown): Summon Monster spell when the bauble is broken.


That's just off the top of my head.


Weapons would be tougher because of the weak weapon choices wizards are stuck with.

Dagger of Lighting Bolt: it looks like a throwing dagger, but becomes a lightning bolt when thrown.

Inferno Dart: dart that bursts into a fireball when it strikes.

That kind of stuff.


You could also run staffs imbued with elemental energy.

Fire: Brilliant Energy weapon. Deals fire damage.

Water: Defending weapon. Deals cold damage.

Earth: Ghost Touch weapon. Deals acid damage.

Air: Dancing weapon. Deals electrical damage.

noob
2017-10-06, 08:29 AM
A chair.
When thrown it shatters in small wooden fragments.

redwizard007
2017-10-06, 08:41 AM
A chair.
When thrown it shatters in small wooden fragments.

Oh, wow! Is he looking for epic equipment?

Vogie
2017-10-06, 09:25 AM
Fledgling dragon skull worn as a mitten as a focus for flame spells

A Staff that can be turned into an Anaconda and grapple things on its own.

I've always loved the idea of a Wand "gun" - basically, if you add a cooldown to the use of wands for various magical reasons, you would generate things similar to more modern firearms. Two wands mounted on a rifle- or crossbow-like weapon, 4 wands in a revolver configuration, et cetera.

Daggers that can be wielded normally or animated to act on their own accord.

A Offensively-designed version of the Rod of Security - instead of using it as a respite, it teleports the touched creature to a prison, using it as a pseudo-banishment. Something similar could work with an animated rope that could grapple a creature then Rope Trick them out of the fight.

Ranged Potion injector a la the TF2 medic's Syringe Crossbow. Allows potion alchemists to both heal and hurt at range.

Trampaige
2017-10-06, 10:00 AM
Boots that siphon speed from someone else to make you faster when you click your heels together. +50% movement speed for 1 turn, -50% for the target (could even be used on allies if they don't need their movement and you do.) Could even allow it to work in reverse to enhance somebody else.

A sphere that, when thrown, shatters and produces a ground effect (grease, caltrops made of jagged shards of glass, web, nearly anything really.) Reconstitutes itself after the spell effect ends, can be used x/day.

A brick, of whatever material. When placed on a solid surface and activated, creates a small Wall spell of that type. Can be activated/deactivated. A different version of this would make the wall out of whatever material it is attached to.

A mirror that creates an illusionary duplicate when stared into. Either to produce a limited Mirror Image, or to create an ambulatory illusion to cause distractions. Could be used on friend or foe.

A figurine. Caress it and it becomes a familiar for a short duration.

A quill pen that translates what you write into any language.

A wizard's pipe. Inhale deeply from it, and exhale different magical gasses at short range, or a gust of wind.

A key that replicates the Knock and Arcane Lock spells.

noob
2017-10-06, 10:03 AM
Oh, wow! Is he looking for epic equipment?

Normal chairs do not shatter in small wooden fragments when thrown: only magical chairs do that.

Slipperychicken
2017-10-06, 10:24 AM
A massive ornate spellbook made of metal. If he casts a damage-dealing spell into it, the book radiates with the damage type for a minute (i.e. electrical sparks if lightning, drips with corrosives if acid, catches fire if fire damage, etc), and he can physically strike people with the book to deal the same type of damage as the spell. It's considered a heavy two-handed +1 weapon, which he may use his intelligence to wield.

I'd give him something like, a d10 per level of the spell cast into the book. The balancing factors are that he's a wizard who wasn't built for melee, needs an action and his highest level slots to make it really work, and he found this spellbook unexpectedly (i.e. he didn't get to base his whole build around having it). If wielded by a wizard without having cast a spell into it, it still is considered a +1 weapon which deals 1d8 damage.

The lore is that this was the favorite spellbook of the legendary Magnus Grizzlepeck, the eccentric "Muscle Wizard". He trained his body obsessively and attained a massive size, much more than any known battlemage before or since. In battle, he fought shirtless and coated with oil, favoring close quarters fighting over spellcasting. While his signature battle cry was "I cast fist!", on multiple occasions he struck down enemies with his own spellbook, and enchanted it to serve as a melee weapon.

Anderlith
2017-10-06, 11:34 AM
Have you played Bloodborne?
All of their magic items are either monster parts or strange tools.

A tiny hammer that shoots lightnig when it strikes the ground

An eye that fires magic meteor missles when you shake it (the eye is full of stars)

A whistle that summons a giant snake head to snap at your feet

Gauntlets that shoot magic

A monster claw that lets you roar like a beast & shock people near you

Etc.

Some items i can think of

A smoking pipe that blows obsuring smoke or perhaps scorching fire

A gilded & carved ram or bull skull that flies forth to knock people down

A net of chains that holds itself up like a wall letting you create barriers

A belt of medallions, each with a different warding spell

Worldspinner
2017-10-06, 02:37 PM
Love these kinds of threads!

A magical book in which the wizard writes a rhyme onto a page, then rips it out, crumples it into a ball, and throws it at a target for an effect. For example, "a dullard's mind is lost in time" scribbled onto the paper causes the target to loose an action.

A magical inkpen that allows one to draw objects that temporarily become real objects.

A map-trap that teleports anyone who steps on the map to the real world location depicted on the map.

A wide-brimmed hat that grows in size to become a teepee.

A torch that casts the target's shadow upon a wall; that shadow then fights the target.

noob
2017-10-06, 02:52 PM
A river that can turn into a forest when you say "the".(quite convenient as a tool for a wizard but not for anyone else unless he have some years of planning to deviate the river)

Segev
2017-10-06, 03:44 PM
A silver lasso which, when spun down around someone, keeps spinning and provides a protection from evil effect.

lunaticfringe
2017-10-06, 04:08 PM
A hollow metal cylinder with a handle that propels little lead balls at astounding speed. Hey if Gygax allowed it, it can't be that insane of an idea. I'm probably wrong, but I wanna say Melf or Tenser had six-shooter "Wands".

Bulhakov
2017-10-06, 05:01 PM
A holy lantern that is blindingly bright to evil foes.

Scorching mirror - a hand-mirror that amplifies reflected sunlight 100000 times (about as much as a magnifying glass focusing sunlight on a pinhead).

Quertus
2017-10-07, 12:00 AM
Can you explain that more?
I like that!

:biggrin:

Well, I'm borrowing from a half a dozen existing myths and games here, which is why I tried to make a single generic statement, and see what stuck. To give an example that I'm not pulling from another source... Hmmm... I own a walking stick that's capped with a serpent head. Imagine if that staff was either crafted from, or simply contained the essence/spirit of, either a real snake or the platonic ideal of a snake. By pumping magical energy into the stick, I could perhaps a) animate the stick to lash out, granting some bonus to surprise, or to bypass shields, or perhaps even to odd skills like climb; b) make the stick produce serpent venom; c) draw upon the essence of the snake contained within to grant a bonus to some odd checks, like swim or climb; d) animate the stick as a real (or "real") snake; or perhaps e) make a snake come out of the stick (and the stick would lose its "magical" properties while the snake was absent).

Segev
2017-10-07, 01:11 AM
A knife which casts stone to flesh on anything into which it is plunged.

Anderlith
2017-10-07, 02:17 AM
A bear skin cloak that animates

A cloak made of ribbons & tassels, when thrown at a target, it will grapple the target, killing them slowly while also wrapping around their arms & legs & puppeteering them into killing anyone the cloaks master chooses

A shield with a boss, upon command the shield rotates around the handle shooting waves of sparks to the side, turned sideways & the sparks can be used to attack

A set of javelins that create an electric field between themselves when activated by a word

A buckler crafted to look like a flock of birds when activated the birds come to life attacking the target