The Vault: Rare and unusal stuff for the taking

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Portable grate (something I have a character actually build and use in a dungeon)
Contraption which in its closed state look like a heavy bundle of iron bars. When a handle is turned it unfolds into a door-shaped steel grate with sharp points for digging into a door frame or bracing against stone. The handle can be locked in place with a padlock. As a rule of thumb small monsters have no chance of bashing it, but might be able to slip through the bars. Medium sized monsters can bash it given time and tools and large monsters have as hard a time bashing it as regular adventurers do regular doors. Huge monsters can trivially break it.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Deceitful blades
Two rapiers in a case (rapiers are big 1-handed swords) of exquisite craftsmanship (+1 to hit). One hand guard is shaped like circling fishes, the other diving birds. A hidden socket in either hand guard triggers a mechanism which detaches the blade from the hilt, if this trick is known the wielder of the other rapier can trigger it with the same difficulty as hitting an unarmed opponent. Otherwise it is only triggered when an opponent scores a critical hit. On careful examination the hidden mechanism can be found with the same difficulty as finding a secret door (or with a Find Traps roll).
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Fan of Vanishing
2' long hand fan with a self-containing pattern showing an image of someone holding the fan and halfway dissappearing. When you open the fan and flick it over yourself while closing it you become invisible, though the fan itself remains visible. This means users will have to drop the fan on the ground to hide which way they go. Note also that you are only invisible to creatures that watched you dissappear. The invisibility is otherwise identical to the spell of the same name.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Sparkling wine of premature celebration
All who toast a future endeavor in this wine fall under its spell. They will assume their success is a foregone conclusion and receive +2 to rolls for morale, individual initiative and other things that require reckless courage, until doubt sets in. Their hubris also costs them -2 to rolls for surprise, strategic initiative and other things that require doubt, diligence and careful attention. Saving throws, attack rolls etc. that that require both courage, care and luck are not affected.

If the wine is toasted in after victory someone will unfailingly propose some new risky endeavor to toast so that the spell can take hold.
 
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squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Both are fun. I get a sense of court intrigue from you campaign. Good stuff that strikes a that subtle edge of game-play that goes far beyond simple combat.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
OK. Here's one that was designed with a specific scenario in mind, but could be of use generally.
I would love some feedback on the mechanics---specifically the level and casting time. (Stat'd for AD&D.)

bonebeast.jpg
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
I don't have my books handy, but I would expect it to have about the same effect as an equivalent level Monster Summoning spell.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
I don't have my books handy, but I would expect it to have about the same effect as an equivalent level Monster Summoning spell.
That's a great idea for a metric. If I go just by HD, then its Monster Summoning V (7th level). I'll reduce the HD and I think there are enough other inherent weaknesses implied by the spell (dispel magic susceptibility, the need for the focal fire, the stupidity and impermanence of the constructs) that I think Level 6 is probably an adequate choice.

Thanks Beoric!
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
OK. Here's one that was designed with a specific scenario in mind, but could be of use generally.
I would love some feedback on the mechanics---specifically the level and casting time. (Stat'd for AD&D.)
I know too little about AD&D caster balance to comment on level and time. Compared to Cloudkill this seems more powerful, though the prep. means it's much less flexible. I don't know if it's implied but it should require the bones of at least 6 human sized creatures per beast.
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
My youngest decided to write his first dungeon today. Among the things you would expect a tween to include, he added a room with treasure but no monster, but the PCs can't get the treasure unless they watch a powerpoint presentation first.

He also included a door that does not materialize until you have seen the dragon at least once. I am still on the fence about gating, but at least it is better than the standard "hunt for the red key to open the red door" trope.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
He also included a door that does not materialize until you have seen the dragon at least once. I am still on the fence about gating, but at least it is better than the standard "hunt for the red key to open the red door" trope.
That's really cool if the players know that beforehand. Having to seek out a deadly monster without seeking to defeat or trick it is interesting and in a way recalls Tolkien in which indirect exposure to the supernatural can bless or corrupt you (the light of the trees, the lies of Morgoth).
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Serpent's Tongue Bow
Slightly recurving longbow with snake skin wrapped around the handle. Loosing two arrows at once you can shoot at two different targets within a 60 degree cone. If you only have one target, or one arrow, it always misses.
 

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Helm of the Anticipated Decapitation
This helm sports and extra visor with a sharp edge. When you would die, the visor closes over the neck decapitating the wearer then teleports to a spot of the wearer's choosing within 360´ bringing the head with. The magic of the helm keeps the head alive and able to speak though it will still need to breathe air. The head dies if removed from the helm. Attacking the face directly will allow the helm and head to teleport out of danger again.

Cursed Helm of the Anticipated Decapitation
As above but the helm does its best to teleport where the head is never found. These helms are often found in obscure and closed places with a head dead from old age.
 
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Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Some really cool stuff here:
Telecanter's Receding Rules

The Envious Platter
The merchant-priest Nabusalim grew famous for holding lavish feasts with the same foods the God-King dined on. It is was whispered that he had a large, silver platter with a cover. And if he whispered a name over the platter, it made food appear, whatever the named person was eating. Nabusalim's feasts ended the same summer the God-King was poisoned.
 

TerribleSorcery

Should be playing D&D instead
This thread is always full of win, every time I check back. Here is an old one of mine that was lying around:
EDIT - oops missed part of the copy/paste.


THE CANNIBAL CROWN
Hideous circlet made of bone, gristle & troll's fangs, ancient & yellowed.
+1 to AC if worn without a helmet
+2 to save vs. ingested poisons, +1 vs. other poisons & diseases.
Wearer may eat ANY type of meat no matter how unpleasant, but requires 3x normal food per day to survive. Rotted, raw, or otherwise impossible to stomach food doesn't bother him. Poisonous things are still poisonous, but he saves with the listed bonus.
Every week that the wearer eats something he wouldn't normally (carrion, human flesh, whatever) save vs. spells or else acquire an intense craving for that thing, which must then be sated twice a week.
+1 to reaction rolls with ghouls, ghasts, trolls, cannibals, etc. if the wearer has eaten something unpleasant, rotted or part of a humanoid this week.
If the crown is in someone's possession but they aren't wearing it, any of the above creatures who notice this will, instead of fighting, exhort him to put it on and eat something. They will become more and more persistent until he complies (at which point they become friendly, or at least neutral for the moment) or a fight breaks out!

Oh, yeah... and that +2 vs. ingested poisons works for your carousing rolls, too... if you're willing to wear this ugly showpiece out to the bar, that is.
 
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TerribleSorcery

Should be playing D&D instead
A few simple ones that are fun.

PIOUS SHIELD
(I worry I didn't invent this one, but found it somewhere I can't recall. I'm not sure though...)
A Shield +1 depicting rows of saints in a procession (like the cover of Axis: Bold as Love kinda). When demons or devils are within 60', the saints animate and chant scripture or sing hymns quietly. The saints get louder and louder as the entities get closer, during melee combat it's as if there is a 30-piece choir right next to you.

HUMMINGBIRD SWORD
A sabre +1 made from a clear, glasslike material. There appears to be a little green & yellow hummingbird trapped "inside" the sword. It flies around, occasionally tapping on the inside of the glass, asking to be let out. For 10 mins per day, the user can release the hummingbird from the sword and command it to find something. This must be a generic item or type of item ("Find me a pile of gold" is okay, "find me the Arkenstone" is not). The hummingbird will fly towards the nearest example of this at top speed, but 25% of the time it actually seeks out the nearest sugary food!
 

TerribleSorcery

Should be playing D&D instead
PORTABLE DOOR
Kinda like a portable hole, but not.
A wooden doorframe that can be disassembled with screws, hinges, clamps etc. Breaks down to a bundle the size of a packed-up tent. Takes about 30-40 mins. to put up or take down. When assembled and put against a wall, it turns the wall into a door! You can walk right through to the other side. Great for bandit gangs, heists and sneaky moves. Cannot put a door through more than 10' of wood or dirt, 4' of stone, 1' of metal or any thickness of lead. Only works if you keep track of encumbrance, and even then it might be too good, depending. The utility could also be tuned based on the length of time it takes to set up.

Hardcore version: The frame itself only exists on one side, so to take it with you, you must backtrack through the door you created.
EZ Mode unstoppable cat burglar version: The doorframe exists on both sides of the door. You can walk through, take it apart and keep going!
Utterly VIP version: Comes with a key you can use to lock/unlock the door from either side. I hope no previous owners made copies...
 
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