item storage options

[schreier]

With extradimensional storage - the portable hole / bag of holding reaction is extreme:

If a bag of holding is placed within a portable hole, a rift to the Astral Plane is torn in that place. Both the bag and the cloth are sucked into the void and forever lost. If a portable hole is placed within a bag of holding, it opens a gate to the Astral Plane.

Many of the items describe how they mimic bags of holding.

Girdle of Many Pouches: "Each of these pouches is similar to a miniature bag of holding..."
Belt of Hidden Pouches: "Each pocket actually functions as a small bag of holding..."
Heward's Handy Haversack: "...each is like a bag of holding and can actually hold material of as much as 2 cubic feet in volume or 20 pounds in weight. The large central portion of the pack can contain up to 8 cubic feet or 80 pounds of material."
Dimensional Pocket: "This item is, in essence, a bag of holding in the form of a pocket."


Enveloping Pit: "...an enveloping pit functions like a portable hole, except that it is 50 feet deep. An enveloping pit covers a 10-foot square when opened fully, but the opening can be as small as 1 foot in diameter if it is laid upon the ground while still folded."

I have seen people mention setting up a portable hole or enveloping pit as a workshop for an artificer. The idea is to leave an homonculus in the hole to work as you continue to adventure. If the artificer had a bag of holding on his person, and steps into the "workshop" which is contained within the portable hole, does the explosion happen?

If the items in question are the "similar" items - for example, stepping into an enveloping pit, or wearing a girdle of many pouches while in a portable hole - does the same explosion happen?

I assume that other, unrelated extradimensional spaces (like from a rope trick or Mage's Magnificent Mansion), there is no problem?

If the "similar items" like dimensional pocket would cause an explosion, are there other options? I know that a glove of storing shrinks one item into the hand. Could you take a small chest, put a bunch of items in the chest, then use the glove? Any other ways to avoid "explosions?"

It seems like an effective trap would be to set a portable hole on the other side of a door, and to disguise the interior of the hole so that adventurers would walk through not realizing the extradimensional space. As soon as an adventurer goes through the door carrying a bag of holding, boom.

[TristanS]

To me, if it says "operates like a bag of holding" or "functions as a portable hole..." then I am treating it as such in regard to the explosion/vortex creation.

I think it would be too evil to have a portable hole on a door, but an enveloping pit is actually designed as a trap so I think that would be fair (on the ground that is)

It seems like all of the extradimensional storage options fall into one of the two categories, except for the quiver of ehlonna which I do not believe mentions either.

Leomund's Secret Chest spell seems like a good option, although it seems like it would be better if it was permanent - it isn't on the list of spells that permanency would work on, but maybe a wish would work?

[schreier]

I like the idea of the secret chest -- the 60 days is scary, but can just recast I assume unless you could somehow make it permanent.

Would work GREAT with the glove of storing too, based on its size.

[Fizban]

I assume that other, unrelated extradimensional spaces (like from a rope trick or Mage's Magnificent Mansion), there is no problem?
Almost always unspecified. The real question is whether the rift problem was designed to actually prevent something, or as a lol gotcha hazard, and whether the DM likes lol gotcha hazards or not.

If the "similar items" like dimensional pocket would cause an explosion, are there other options? I know that a glove of storing shrinks one item into the hand. Could you take a small chest, put a bunch of items in the chest, then use the glove? Any other ways to avoid "explosions?"
The examples given in Shrink Item itself already include multiple component parts- "a burning fire and its fuel" is not an item, it's a collection of items that happen to be on fire, but apparently this is coherent enough. Shrinking a bag or chest should be even easier.

It seems like an effective trap would be to set a portable hole on the other side of a door, and to disguise the interior of the hole so that adventurers would walk through not realizing the extradimensional space. As soon as an adventurer goes through the door carrying a bag of holding, boom.
If by effective you mean an incredibly expensive one shot trap that puts someone on a plane with no immediate hazards and natural connections to every other plane, sure. Items randomly tossed on the astral plane will require Discern Location, an 8th level spell where the caster must have personally touched the item, to find again. A person just leaves.

I like the idea of the secret chest -- the 60 days is scary, but can just recast I assume unless you could somehow make it permanent.
That's the funny part: all those ridiculously cheap extradimensional storage items are crafted in 3.x using the Secret Chest spell, which is not extradimensional, and is a 5th level spell, with a focus component more expensive than the magic items based on it, even before the cost of the magic, and very specific limitations on top of the rest. The spell they should be based on is Shrink Item, and there's no mechanical reason for there to be any wacky interactions. Just "hey wouldn't it be funny if impossible space +impossible space =boom, and depending on which direction it happens you could be safe or screwed? Yeah, wacky Oldschool!"

I have Opinions.

[Malphegor]

Honestly you're best off storing goods on donkeys with bags on. don't even need to be magic donkeys, or magic bags, just have a lot of them and a few servants to care for them.

Cheaper, plus then you look amazing as a adventuring convoy followed by supporting staff.