Unique variant of the door of displacement [2e]

[gnomish dwelf]

So I am devicing this extra cool artifact for an adventure I am making,

First the description of the most obvious features of the door

This unique door of displacement (a standard door of displacement is worth XP 2000 and 100000 silver pieces, this one is much more expensive) is not normally concealed by turning into a black circle of cloth, instead it becomes four boards of ebony, half an inch thick each, their square faces with sides 2 inches long, joined by silver hinges 1.5 inches long which allow them to be folded into a black wooden cube with sides 2 inches long. If unfolded and placed against an indoor wall (it doesnt work outdoors) or on indoor threshold (where an open door is located or a broken door had been) it automatically widens and turns into what looks like a normal door, made of brownish red chestnut wood and with a window whose glass is iridescent and diamond-like at the edges, and as hard as diamond, it can grow to whichever size the wall permits and the user needs it to be. The window does not allow seeing into the room the door leads to, instead it applies true seeing to the wall or space behind. It attaches itself to the temporary interdimensional threshold and the wall housing it using silver hinges, its ornate silver doorknob is a lever-style locked handle and the features sculpted into it change to fit the taste of whoever opens it. So does the appearance of the otherdimensional room that it creates when placed in a wall or a door's threshold indoors. The room is always a prism whose defining shape is given by floor and ceiling, which for a humanoid, human or demihuman is a circle with a diameter thrice as large as the user's height and walls twice as tall as the user, if the user's shape is such that length is larger than height then length is used as the base for the room's size. In any case, the room does not provide furniture or other contents but anything stored in it by the user is available to the user whenever he, she or it opens the door, somehow the door won't provide users with access to things stored by other users.

Then a secondary feature it gets

From this room the window gives a clear view of what is happening at the other side, but the user, and only the user, is allowed to use the window with the benefits of true seeing of anyone or anything outside the door. Furthermore, the user can use the door diamond-like window to see over virtually any distance or into other planes of existence, even if they are not wizards and lack a class level, however wizards that also have a rogue class, whether multiclassed or dualclassed, can use a string and two cups to place one cup against the door or window and the other against their own ears and roll a detect noise chance, if they succeed they will not only see into wherever the window is being directed at, but also hear, listening to any noise or speech, alternatively any wizard using such a device and puting the listening side on the ear of someone with detect noise or other high hearing abilities will allow the subject to listen into the place viewed, this can be a downside as a banshee's wail and other sound based attacks affect whoever eavesdrop on that way, or it can be used offensively. The device need not be magical or complex, but magical devices or intrincate ones may work better (a stethoscope or even a phonendoscope for instance) and they can also be used to speak into the area being watched, on a wizard's command sound is transmitted normally between the device's business end and those being viewed in the door's window, so users can choose to communicate verbally with anyone they have chosen to view through the window.

Expansion of the feature above

The user of its visual function must know the object to be viewed, the subject to be viewed or the place to be viewed. Knowledge of the subject can be from personal acquaintance, possession of personal belongings, a likeness of the object or accumulated information. Knowledge of the object or place can be from having been there, possession of something taken from it, a likeness of the place, or, in the case of a place, accumulated religious teachings, and, in the case of an object, accumulated information in general. Knowledge, rather than distance, is the key to how successful location will be (this works as a wizard using a standard crystal ball from the dungeon master guide). The chance of locating also dictates how long and how frequently a user will be able to view the subject (use the table of the standard crystal ball from the dungeon master guide, however the viewing period and frequency are somewhat different, if the user is a wizard or bard, the viewing period of 1 hour becomes 72 hours and the frequency of 3 times a day becomes nine times a month, a viewing period of 30 minutes becomes 36 hours, a frequency of 2 times a day becomes twice a week, a frequency of once per day becomes once per week, a viewing period of fifteen minutes becomes 18 hours, one of ten minutes becomes half a day, if the user is a priest or ranger the same viewing periods and frequencies available to a wizard with a standard crystal ball from the dungeon master guide are to be used, if the user is a paladin or thief the viewing periods are halved, the frequencies are not per day but per two days, if the user belongs to another class or to no class the frequencies are not per day but per three days and a viewing of 1 hour is just 1 turn, one of 30 minutes is just five rounds, one of 15 minutes is just three rounds and one of 10 minutes is 2 rounds which then freeze into a still of what was seen until the user dispels it). Viewing beyond the periods or frequencies note do not force a saving throw, the window just can't be used that much. High intelligence or high wisdom can be used to avoid being seen by this function of the door's window, whichever is higher is used, with a score of 7 one gets a 5% chance of preventing this use of the door's window, with a score of 8 its 10%, 15% with a score of 9, with a score of 10 its 20%, 11 is for 25%, 12 is for 30%, 13 is for 35%, 14 is for 40%, 15 is for 45%, 16 is for 50%, 17 is for 60%, 18 is for 80%, 19 to 20 is for 90%, 21 to 24 is for 95% and 25 is for 100%. In every case one needs first to determine that somone is spying on one, and the one fending of the window's power must be the subject of it, not an object or place nearby. However standard protections against crystal balls work normally.

More capacities of it

The window can be used to send one item weighing up to 1000 pounds to a location viewed in the door's window. Sending can be done only while the image appears in the window; the object must then be touched and a command word spoken. An object can be sent only to an unoccupied location and always arrives on a floor or firm surface, never in midair or within a liquid. Magical effects, such as a magic missile, cannot be sent through the window. Regardless who is using it only thrice a day an object can be sent and it arrives within 1d10 rounds of being sent, for good or bad, regardless of distance. The object of this scrying can be any crystal ball anywhere in the multiverse and no magic can prevent that, the user needs only to focus on extraplanar and intraplanar distance and they will intuitively know on which crystal ball to focus, using it in this way is unlimited and not only the user of the door is allowed to give the command for that.

Yet more (I said tis an artifact)

Another free feature of the window is that anyone staring at the gaze of a creature with a magical gaze of any sort at the other side of the window will do so at no harm to themselves, whether it be a petrifying gaze, a killing gaze, an evil eye, or any other sort of gaze attack. If the being it protects from is an intelligent being and they try to bypass the window's protection they are allowed to roll 1d20, in a roll of 20 their intended target's first time being subjected to this will call for a roll of 1d12, on roll of 1 or 2 the gaze attack damages the target's intelligence, permanently lowering it by 1. If 3 or 4 is rolled its wisdom what gets damaged (same reduction). If a 5 or 6 is rolled the magic is altered and the target's constitution rises by 1 point permanently (19 max). If 7 or 8 its constitution that gets lowered by 1. But if its a 9 or 10 wisdom is increased by 1 permanently (19 max). With a roll of 11 or 12 causing a permanent 1 point increase to intelligence (19 max).

Main details about how its employed

The door, at the user's command, folds up into the form of the ebony cube previously described and reappears in the user's hand. At any time up to five hours after employing it and passing through the door, the user may reopen it from inside, and at any chosen place along a wall, ceiling or floor of the original room or corridor it was used in. when opened, it is silent, and the user and his or her party gain a +1 bonus to surprise rolls against any creatures in the room or corridor (the door can be used to escape a mosnter and then to quickly reenter the area behind it). If those using the door do not return to normal space within ten hours after the door got folded into cube form from within the room, and thus kept inside the room, they are all dumped back into the original area at randomly determined locations. The door can be used once every two turns.

More about its uniqueness

The door is intelligent and dislikes chaotic neutral and chaotic evil beings, it won't allow spying on such beings with its windows unless its certain the information will be used to the detriment of the chaotic target, chaotic good targets are spared because it underestimates them. The door's hatred of chaotic neutral and chaotic evil beings leads to the greatest drawback of using its window. These beings will become hypnotized, and a telepathic suggestion will be implanted in their mind if they try to use it.
Such a victim will believe that the desired object was viewed, but actually he came partially under the influence of a modron or a greater force of pure law. Each further use brings the window gazer more under the influence of the creature, either as a servant or tool. The DM decides whether to make this a gradual or sudden affair according to the surroundings and circumstances peculiar to the finding of the door's window and the character(s) locating it.

and extra features

Furthermore, something that everyone finds twice as hard to do is lockpicking the door (thieves use half their pick locks chance to open it), bashing it open, or doing anything to open it when attempts are taken to make it stay locked but not folded into a block. Additionally a siren goes off if the doorknob is picked, anyone but the one doing the attempt at picking the lock can hear it, it might gate monsters or those it summons are attracted from nearby and the user of the door will awake from unconsciousness (if at negative hit points or subjected to a sleep spell or other effect) if within the room it made, if the user isn't inside the siren will be heard by the user regardless of distance and only if they are conscious.

and intelligence and senses

The door is intelligent (12) and can manifest a magic mouth (as per the spell) to communicate with anyone inside the room it leads to (if the door is closed but not transformed into a wood block), this mouth has a tongue that can stretch to twice as long as the length between the points where the two lips meet when the mouth opens. This magic mouth which can be of any size that fits the door provides it with a sense of taste, a sense of smell and a sense of touch. Although its voice is similar to the one of the door's user, with whom it can communicate telepathically, the mouth is toothless and anything entering it appears unharmed at a random location at the room or corridor at the other side of the door. The door is neither blind nor deaf and its window gives it blindspot-free binocular vision into whatever happens at either side of it and whatever it can see, it can hear. The door can also detect art, gems and precious metals, kind, and amount in a 20-foot radius but doesn't need to share this data with its user.

and to round it up

Furthermore, it can read the thoughts of any creature using its window to spy, being spied on through its window, or being visible to it, understanding thoughts in any language although its own language is limited to whichever language its user is most fluent with. Once per week it can commune with nature or with the gods or some other unknown forces to answer one short question regarding any such being. If unfolded and placed into a wall of the room it creates for its user it can choose not to lead back into wherever they came from, but instead open a portal to lead them to other places (possibly other planes, as well, at its own whims), its always possible to fold it again and retrieve it in order to return to this extradimensional room from somewhere else, but unless one gets there by other means or gets sent there by the door, there is no route back. Since its primary purpose is defeating thievery in all its forms whenever a thief casts a spell from a scroll that would harm it the door gets a +2 to all saving throws, -1 to each die of damage sustained from this magic, it also applies against multiclassed and dualclassed thieves using priestly or arcane magic against it and any such uses of magic agaisnt beings inside the room it leads to unless those inside are uninvited or intending to rob the door's user. Last but not least, its doorknob can be absorb into itself its blunt sheath-like external sculpture to reveal itself as a silver blade, much like the blade of a dagger, but unlike a dagger it cannot be removed, werebeasts and vampires impaled on it are utterly obliterated, however the blade can only move or be moved to point towards those in front of the door by the door's own will or by the user. This movement is possible even when the blade is sheathed, but it takes a strength of 20 or more to push someone into it to get them impaled and when the sheath is on only werebeasts are obliterated by getting impaled into it.

Now I need to know, am I missing something? Is this description good enough? What campaign use you think it gonna get and what you consider I should chaeeg, remove or add? I am not very willing ot remvoe stuff, but I may be all ears, or all eyes, to additions.

[rel]

It's very verbose. Your players are likely to forget some of the items features during play, even if they do manage to read the entire description without losing interest.

Consider reducing the non mechanical descriptions to a short sentence or two and breaking down the mechanical function into simple discreet powers.

[gnomish dwelf]

It's very verbose. Your players are likely to forget some of the items features during play, even if they do manage to read the entire description without losing interest.

Consider reducing the non mechanical descriptions to a short sentence or two and breaking down the mechanical function into simple discreet powers.

Huh, I thought no one had seen it, yeah I believe its written in gygaxian unwittingly, but this is DM knowledge, not player knowledge, as with any magical item, specially artifacts, they need to find out a step at a time... I came to delete the post since it got good traction in the piazza and I thought extra places were not working for it.