Magic Items!

Hey everyone,

I'd love to hear about any magic items or artifacts y'all have invented and used in your campaigns. Not only is that interesting to me personally, but I think we'd all benefit creatively from sharing the coolness we've all made up over the years. They don't have to be for 4e, but, it'd be nice...After all, this is a 4e forum.

A player favorite I did a while back was the 'Ancestral weapon'. I stole the idea from that D&D Heroes X-box game.

It works like this: The PCs (if they want to) start with a chosen weapon, or implement, and come up with its story/history. It 'levels' up with them. Gaining cool, and interesting powers, quirks, and abilities as they go. It also gets its obligatory +1's every 4-6 levels as well.

Another fun weapon idea was the Fire Starter (early heroic tier). It's a hand crossbow that just does ongoing 5 fire damage. No '+', or anything. No 1d6, Just ongoing 5 fire damage. And ongoing 10 on a crit. You still get your DEX and proficiency bonus to hit, of course. (Save ends, obviously.)

Light Saber. (mid paragon tier) Because...I love Star Wars, so I just had to. It's a +3 long sword that targets reflex instead of AC; no matter what AED power, or basic attack, AoO, etc. it's used with. It always does force damage, uses DEX or WIS bonuses to hit and damage, (which ever is higher) and always does maximum damage against inanimate objects. It also adds 3d12 when it crits, and sheds dim light out to 3 squares.

Collapsible pole. (all tiers) This is a simple 'wondrous' utility item. It's a wooden stick...That, on command, can go from 1' long to 10' long. Can't be used as a weapon, per se...But my players have gotten really creative with it.

Dark Lantern. (all tiers) Just like a lantern, but sheds darkness (as per the spell/ability) instead of light. Can only be countered or negated with intentionally cast magical light.

Anyway, I have many more...But, again, I'd love to read your ideas.

Can the collapsible pole be used as an implement in place of a wand, staff, and/or rod? It would be kinda interesting to have it be used as any of the three for a character with multiple expertise feats to get different situational riders...

Like the dark lantern - how about a consumable item that sheds darkness (or absorbs all light). The reverse of a sunrod. Pop it, drop it, and run. Set a few around your camp to hide your camp fire.

TjD

I had the great evil artifacts of my campaign be a type of crystal shard. The PCs could burn a Healing Surge and gain certain bonuses. Conversely, the item also could draw life energy out of monsters they killed...which resulted in all sorts of negative consequences. Later, it was revealed they all had one implanted in them by the BBEG as a way to generate energy to open a portal to resurrect Tharizdun.

I never planned on the collapsible pole being used as anything other than a dungeoneering utility. Maybe to use it as an implement would have required another layer of 'magic item'. That is, something much higher level. I did cave as a DM, though...I kind of had to give each of them one. So...Exploring with 4 of these things was magic super awesome enogh. But I still see it as something strapped to the backpack, not something useful in encounters. Hey, that's something that could go into the other non-combat topic here....

A dark sunrod was also an idea...But as I made sunrods so common and easily purchased, I made the dark lantern a more unique thing. I didn't want them just mastering magical darkness, or thinking of it as disposable. But, that is still a great idea; in the right campaign.

I'd love to hear more about artifacts...Especially ones that hurt PCs over the long term. I've made up a few crazy items, but I haven't gone down the artifact road more than once.

Ideally, I'd like to use one that helps, hinders, and ultimately convinces a PC to get rid of it; despite its up front awesome power. Haven't made up like that to my liking yet, however. LOL, it's harder than I thought.

seti wrote:

Ideally, I'd like to use one that helps, hinders, and ultimately convinces a PC to get rid of it; despite its up front awesome power. Haven't made up like that to my liking yet, however. LOL, it's harder than I thought.

I had one which caused the pc to black out and kill things only actually did it on lizard men and the like but the player didn't think taking the chance it might do the same on anything else was worth any sort of benefit... he dropped it immediately I failed to make it sufficiently attractive. Walking the tight rope I dont think is very easy.

Bag of the Four Winds (wondrous) - An actual bag as an item with the artificer u22 encounter.

Symbol of Kossuth (holy symbol) - Joint effects of the Symbol of the Champion's Code and the Symbol of Victory.

Eye of the Primus (arms) - +2/4/6 item bonus to damage rolls, +1 shield bonus to AC, +5 bonus to perception.

(These are custom rares that I've been giving out in my campaign. Each player will get one before the end of the campaign).