Magical Shelters for Non-casters

[NerdHut]

I'm looking to see how many magical shelters there are in D&D. I know there are a number of spells, such as Leomund's Tiny Hut which can be cast by anyone who knows them, but I like the idea of a pop-up shelter than even a traveling battalion of fighters could use.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows about Dearn's Instant Fortress (55,00 gp, DMG pg 254).

I recently learned of Dearn's Instant Tent (9,000 gp, MIC pg 155) and Personal Oasis (4,600 gp, MIC pg 168).

Does anyone know of others? Or, for that matter, does anyone have reasonable homebrew ones that have seen play?

[Tiktakkat]

Cloak of Shelter (AEG)
12,080 gp

It turns into a tent, or a Leomund's secure shelter 1/day.
The cost is significant, and it takes up a constant shoulder slot, but it does save the 4th level spell slot.

Travel Cloak (MoF)
1,200 gp

1. Turns into a one-person tent;
2. Provides food and water;
3. Endure elements, but only cold as the 3E version.

Instant Igloo (FR)
11,000 gp

A reusable Leomund's tiny igloo. Way overpriced.

Portable Foxhole (MIC)
5,000 gp

Not actually a shelter, just a hole in the ground. As such, just burning a hole in your pocket.

Rod of Security (MIC)
61,000 gp

Calls up the equivalent of a Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion. Most likely too expensive if it counts fully against your WBL.

Survival Pouch (MIC)
3,300 gp

Provides a variety of mundane camping and travel gear. No magical protections, but at least you don't have to carry the other equipment.

Yondalla's Wagon Wheel (AEG)
92,880 gp

Turns into a wagon. 1/day the interior of the wagon becomes a Leomund's secure shelter. Too overpriced to be worthwhile.

[Ruethgar]

I have a book that adds shelters as a function of the survival skill. Wilds by AEG publishing. I think it was a really low DC like 15 but I can’t remember the bonus it gave.

[Fizban]

There aren't really any hard rules about precipitation or wind limiting your rest, so technically you could add every item that includes an Endure Elements effect, if any of them were worth using.

Nothing beats the Travel Cloak for food, water, and Endure Elements, but you have to take it off to form the tent, which means you'll actually be far less protected from temperature and rain, and any shelter which is a tent is incredibly flimsy. No, I want a stronger roof, something with some weight. Like, 3/4 of a ton will do.

Ten cubic feet of stone weighs 1,600-1,700 lbs, and can be shaped into a one inch thick cone around 10'-12' tall and wide at the base, which is a hair smaller than the size given for a Native American tipi when I looked it up. This volume can be shrunk with a cl 5 Shrink Item spell, which at formula price 1/day is 6,000gp, and leaves a 1" long cone weighing half a pound (make it clothlike so it doesn't break). You can also shape one with a cl 0 (zero) Stone Shape, or do the same volume with a cl 10 Minor or Major Creation. If you wish to shrink and enlarge it multiple times per day, consider the day/level duration which would allow a 1/day item to have up to 5 instances active, and allow a custom item with this single form but unlimited resizing at the same price- a bargain for DMs that don't want to find themselves facing other Shrink Item shenanigans.

Granted, I don't actually know if 1" thick stone can support itself at that distance and angle, but hey. Replace with treated hardwood and ballast weights if necessary. A 1" thickness is not hard to break through for any material, but it will hold up a sight better than cloth will.


There's a second, little considered part of magical shelter that should actually be very considered: alarms. Unfortunately, existing alarm items barely exist. The Stone of Alarm is terrible, and I don't even remember any others normally. As such I've got a Cloak of Safe Rest I've never quite written up on account of not settling on the right feature vs price arrangement. Note that the Alarm spell itself is not actually given Magical Trap status and is thus not disable-able, nor is it discharged when triggered. If Drow House Insignia all have cl 5 regardless of spell level, then you can get a 1/day 10 hour Alarm for only 620gp.

Magic Mouth, permanent or otherwise, also makes for a supreme alarm system, as its programming has no limits. You can use as many words as you want, it has no definitions for its sight and hearing other than line of sight and hearing range, and is once again not actually a trap.

[Bohandas]

Rod of Splendor- Conjures up a blinged out tent once per week. 25000 gp

[Endarire]

Bags of Holding and Portable Holes may count.

Having casting friends/minions, possibly via planar binding, simulacrum, or Leadership, may also count.

[Elkad]

The Cloak of Shelter is best for a larger group. The tent is just handy concealment in a fight, the real gem is the shelter.

Secure Shelter is a hell of a lot better than a tent. Stone, arcane locked, alarmed, 14 hours a day.
8 bunks, so split 8 ways it's only 1500g each. And you can sleep a lot more than that if you pack them in, sleep in shifts, etc.

And the instant fortress makes sense at some point as well. 3 floors of 20x20 is 3x the size of that Secure Shelter. (for 4.5 times the cost), and it's much sturdier.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a BIG magic pavillion somewhere (like 60x100). Module probably. But I can't even tell you which system it was for, much less where I saw it.

[Bohandas]

Bags of Holding and Portable Holes may count.

Note that both only have enough air for ten minutes but that this may not matter in the case of the bag as it is explicitly a "nondimensional" space

[Melayl]

Make a custom item (rope) that creates a Rope Trick effect at 10th or 15th caster level? Invisible, inaccessable, extradimensional safe space for 7-8 people. Safe from weather, monsters, and everything else for the duration of the spell...

Doing the math (if I did it right), that would be 8000 gp for a once daily 10th level casting, 16000 for twice daily. 12000 for once daily at 15th level, 24000 for twice daily.

[Skysaber]

Make a custom item (rope) that creates a Rope Trick effect at 10th or 15th caster level? Invisible, inaccessable, extradimensional safe space for 7-8 people. Safe from weather, monsters, and everything else for the duration of the spell...

Doing the math (if I did it right), that would be 8000 gp for a once daily 10th level casting, 16000 for twice daily. 12000 for once daily at 15th level, 24000 for twice daily.

The supplement Seven Civilizations, by Penumbra, has this item on page 26; The Houserope. 1/day Rope Trick, holding up to 8 people for ten hours. It costs 5,400gp and weighs 2 lbs.

On the very next page they also have the Manor Wagon, one of my personal favorites. It is a gypsy wagon with a permanent Magnificent Mansion effect that only those who are invited in by the bearer of a specially-attuned key may enter. The keybearer can also uninvite people. It costs 96,000gp but supports 45 people indefinitely, making it one of the more cost-effective options at just a touch over 2,000gp per person for complete shelter along with luxurious accomadations and sumptuous dining.

Bring your own resort, basically.

[vasilidor]

custom created once a day secure shelter would cost 10,080 gp for a shelter lasting 14 hours, usable once per day (just casting the spell through an item). making it a continuous thing (having the shelter up until you take it down) would be 56,000 for unlimited use. making one that would last 24 hrs usable once per day would be *17,280‬ gp.

[Telonius]

A Magic Bedroll (MiC) could serve as something like an emergency shelter. It does count as Endure Elements, so even if you're out in the cold without any shelter otherwise, it won't bother you.

[Troacctid]

Note that both only have enough air for ten minutes but that this may not matter in the case of the bag as it is explicitly a "nondimensional" space
Great for people who don't need to breathe, though.