Need a wondrous item suggestion

[Chernobyl]

I'm looking for a wondrous item that will lead the PCs to the adventure hook. I don't want it to teleport them there, or go there against their will. I'm thinking of something that acts like a compass, always pointing them in the direction of the city where I'd like them to go. I don't want it to tell them what they will find there.

Any suggestions?

[Geddy2112]

I would go with either an uneering compass or the wayfinder of the stars. They are designed to find a flying city or interplanetary portal respectively, but you could key it to whatever the heck you want.

[unseenmage]

Intelligent Magic Items are literally built with special purposes and expected to join and leave the party for just these sorts of uses by the GM.

[Fizban]

Assuming you want to base it off an existing magical effect or item, we'd need to know what the hook is, unless the hook is just the city itself, and weather this item is supposed to be tied to the plot or a general item that happens to be useful for finding the plot. Also useful would be how far away they currently are.

But generally speaking, an indefinite Find the Path is what will lead you to a place from any distance on the same plane, while an indefinite Discern Location would tell you (but not give coordinates or guide you) where a person or object is from any distance and any plane. Circle Dance will give you the direction (only) of a creature on the same plane at a much lower level, but you'd have to spam it with a 1 minute casting time- much more like checking a wibbly compass. Note that you could tie the item to an undying or stasis'd creature in order to point Circle Dance at a location. There's also several more spells for getting map information or finding things within shorter ranges.

Or you could just have an item that belches forth hints as Divination and just tells them where to go.

[denthor]

Decades ago there was a kid leather glove. The glove was intelligent and had a mission. The mission was to destroy a black studded gauntlet.

The glove could find its opposite but had no way to move without a willing host.

The glove had a ring attached the ring was magic and cast minor 2nd level or lower cleric spells total of 5 per day healing good aligned magic as the wielder wished.

The wearer of the gauntlet is a troll that is in a magical prison. Upon getting summoned by the PC's a fight begins. Glove wants to touch attack .

On a successful touch attack there is a blinding flash of light the gauntlet, glove and the troll are destroyed. Leaving the ring on the finger of the wearer Your choice only gold value or it can still cast cleric spells.

Hope this is helpful

[Vizzerdrix]

Magic pants that always have flyers and coupons for businesses in the town you want them to go to.

[mistermysterio]

wayfinders are pretty simple magic items that always point north - you can just make one that is keyed to wherever your hook is?

[Vaern]

wayfinders are pretty simple magic items that always point north - you can just make one that is keyed to wherever your hook is?
The wayfinder functions as a nonmagical magnetic compass. You could make a magical compass using Know Direction for about the same cost, but that spell specifically tells the direction of true north.

I'd just make a new compass-like item using Locate Object as the base spell. That seems to me like the easiest way to make something that points in a direction other than north. Here's a bit of quick homebrew if you're interested.

Resembling an artfully crafted silver compass at first glance, this instrument bears no visible markings on its face. Stranger yet, anyone sufficiently trained in the survival skill notices that the crystal needle does not seem to point towards north.
When the homebound compass is created, it is paired with a specific object towards which the needle will always point. The compass functions across any distance, so long as it is on the same plane as the object with which it is paired. If the item is destroyed or concealed from divination, the needle turns a translucent, smokey gray and continues to point towards the last known location of the object.

The homebound compass is generally paired with a ring or a pendant given to a loved one so that the compass's bearer may always find his way home. Occasionally one may be bound to a statue or fountain in the center of a town to be ceremonially granted to a highly regarded individual who is being sent off on a long journey. A homebound compass often has a personal inscription; usually a short inspirational quote, but sometimes the name of a person or the town to which it points. The possession of such a compass is considered more sentimental than practical, as it does not actually aid navigation in ways that a well-drawn map and a sextant might.

If the party tries to sell it, you can easily declare that it is an item of extreme personal value, and that its function is too impractical to pawn off on any random shopkeeper. It's pretty much just a flavor item to be used as a plot hook. I don't know what level your party is or how different item pricing is in Pathfinder compared to 3.5, but as long as you don't let the party sell the trinket it shouldn't matter that it's probably worth over 10k.

[mistermysterio]

The wayfinder functions as a nonmagical magnetic compass. You could make a magical compass using Know Direction for about the same cost, but that spell specifically tells the direction of true north.

I'd just make a new compass-like item using Locate Object as the base spell. That seems to me like the easiest way to make something that points in a direction other than north. Here's a bit of quick homebrew if you're interested.

Resembling an artfully crafted silver compass at first glance, this instrument bears no visible markings on its face. Stranger yet, anyone sufficiently trained in the survival skill notices that the crystal needle does not seem to point towards north.
When the homebound compass is created, it is paired with a specific object towards which the needle will always point. The compass functions across any distance, so long as it is on the same plane as the object with which it is paired. If the item is destroyed or concealed from divination, the needle turns a translucent, smokey gray and continues to point towards the last known location of the object.

The homebound compass is generally paired with a ring or a pendant given to a loved one so that the compass's bearer may always find his way home. Occasionally one may be bound to a statue or fountain in the center of a town to be ceremonially granted to a highly regarded individual who is being sent off on a long journey. A homebound compass often has a personal inscription; usually a short inspirational quote, but sometimes the name of a person or the town to which it points. The possession of such a compass is considered more sentimental than practical, as it does not actually aid navigation in ways that a well-drawn map and a sextant might.

If the party tries to sell it, you can easily declare that it is an item of extreme personal value, and that its function is too impractical to pawn off on any random shopkeeper. It's pretty much just a flavor item to be used as a plot hook. I don't know what level your party is or how different item pricing is in Pathfinder compared to 3.5, but as long as you don't let the party sell the trinket it shouldn't matter that it's probably worth over 10k.

True, but there is precedent: wayfinder of the stars points towards interplanetary portals, headhunter wayfinder points towards a creature whose hair, drop of blood, etc is placed inside of it. Maybe it could be a wayfinder similar to this, with a piece of the location permanently embedded in it?

[Vaern]

True, but there is precedent: wayfinder of the stars points towards interplanetary portals, headhunter wayfinder points towards a creature whose hair, drop of blood, etc is placed inside of it. Maybe it could be a wayfinder similar to this, with a piece of the location permanently embedded in it?

Oh, I just searched for Wayfinder and found the basic 500 gold one. Didn't realize there were a variety of different types. Don't mind me, I'm just a 3.5 regular wandering into a Pathfinder thread :P

[Jay R]

Magic pants that always have flyers and coupons for businesses in the town you want them to go to.

So you create important clues, and magic pants provide them.
[I hope that these are pale green pants, with nobody inside them.]

[Psyren]

Intelligent Magic Items are literally built with special purposes and expected to join and leave the party for just these sorts of uses by the GM.

This would be my choice. Make it so they need the item's cooperation for something and you're golden. Plenty of roleplay opportunities too, especially if the item's alignment doesn't exactly jive with the party's.