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I find an odd dichotomy exists in the value of many magic items. Most items are priced for the benefits they grant to characters while pursuing (often martial) adventuring activities. But the vast majority of people in a game world (as well as the real world) don't share the same concerns as adventurers. A Lyre of Building, able to supply more than 3,000 man-hours of labor once per week, in but one to two hours of playing, would seem to be a no-brainer road to riches. So which item(s) do you think are the most overlooked or undervalued that would appeal to the general populace?
For my money I can't imagine an item more cherished or invaluable than a Ring of Sustenance. Not only does it save you the time and expense (think of your own monthly food bill) involved in keeping yourself fed, but it also reduces the amount of sleep needed by 75%. Think of what it'd be like to have an extra six hours every day; it'd be like augmenting your lifespan by 25%. What might you accomplish with the equivalent of an extra 20+ years added to your life? It might not make you rich, but who wouldn't want one of these?
Which item would you yourself want above all others in the real world?
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An obvious one that would have immense use for a "real world" commoner would be a Decanter_of_Endless_Water. Imagine the usefulness for villages in arid regions, or for a farmer during a drought (just to name a couple).
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Hm... offhand I'd go with a Ring of Sustenance, that way I won't eat as much, leaving me healthier than I am now. lol, less junkfood, more proper nutrition!
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Complete Arcane
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A few assorted Monstrous Manuals... I can't recall which ones.
I MAY be able to access the Forgotten Realms and Eberron Campaign settings.
A ring of sustenance and some kind of way to cast prestidigitation, mage hand, and mending at-will. Those would cover almost every mundane problem I've ever had.
EDIT: And Evard's Everfull Purse. Wish I'd thought of that.
An obvious one that would have immense use for a "real world" commoner would be a Decanter_of_Endless_Water. Imagine the usefulness for villages in arid regions, or for a farmer during a drought (just to name a couple).
Totally. I would move to Africa and experience thus:
1. Move to Kenya or Nigeria.
2. Get murdered in my sleep for the decanter.
3. Profit!
Crap, I think I did that wrong.
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__________________ Psionics are too sci-fi, not like the traditional method of spell casting that has existed only in D&D, involves research, laboratory work, and formulas, and was cribbed directly from a series of science fiction novels. I mean, come on, calling forth the power to alter the world from your own center of will? That's not magical in the slightest! Not at all like my wizard's spell "Telepathy!"
A Ring of Sustenance would be my death. I enjoy eating, which means I'd keep doing it, and if the Ring is providing all of my nutritional needs, that just means that everything I shove in my gob would turn straight to fat...
They'd have to bury me in a shipping container!
A Sphere of Annhilation would sure be neat for disposal purposes. Nuclear waste? Buh-bye.
An Efreeti Bottle has potential, but the 10% chance of death sucks.
Maybe then the guy above me would stop playing his drums at midnight.
__________________ Current Campaign:The Shattered Isles Homebrew - Hammer (Minotaur Fighter 8), Kirra (Drow Rogue 8), Shedin (Dragonborn Paladin 8), Zahar (Half-Eladrin/Half Drow Bard 8), and Seahorse (Halfling Rogue 8). Currently the group is in the Feywild, trying to discover who is poisoning the drow.
While there's alot of temptation for an everfull purse, I'd ultimately have to go with a hat of disguise. If I ever needed the money, I could always make myself look like a waiter and pick up someone's money at a restaurant, a bank teller and grab some cash, or something else nefarious.
i forget the exact name, but it's something like "Hedgewizard gloves" (basically, letting you use presdigitation and mage hand)
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Boots of teleportation. My girlfriend lives 5000 miles away.
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Author of the War of the Burning Sky serialized novel, free at EN World. Part Two, The Irons Have Tolled, now available.
Boots of teleportation. My girlfriend lives 5000 miles away.
How about a ring of long distance relationships? Some people think that it's a cursed item because it changes your alignment to chaotic lecherous, thus temporarily anulling any relationship if the partners are at least a time zone apart.
A Bag of Holding. The ability to carry my library and dvd collection with me wherever I go would be invaluable, since I'm a packrat and never want to get rid of anything. Of course, I'd be forever paranoid about losing it. So it would need some kind of enchantment where I could summon it back to me.
__________________ Ryan "RangerWickett" Nock
Author of the War of the Burning Sky serialized novel, free at EN World. Part Two, The Irons Have Tolled, now available.
A Ring of Sustenance would be my death. I enjoy eating, which means I'd keep doing it, and if the Ring is providing all of my nutritional needs, that just means that everything I shove in my gob would turn straight to fat...
Always figured that the ring would compensate, the same way it provides optimal nutritional value for the wearer regardless of whether he's a librarian or a barbarian.
Even better would be if the ring were enchanted with both sustenance and regeneration. You may not think that regeneration is useful for someone who doesn't get his limbs mangled on a regular basis... but muscle fatigue is a form of injury. For that matter, so are the cognitive deficiencies caused by a lack of sleep. Rapid healing combined with the optimal nutritional intake from the ring of sustenance...
If that doesn't count as "cheating", that's what I'd want.
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Mahdi
An obvious one that would have immense use for a "real world" commoner would be a Decanter_of_Endless_Water. Imagine the usefulness for villages in arid regions, or for a farmer during a drought (just to name a couple).
Not to mention, perpetual motion. At the very least, you could hook it up to a turbine and power your bottling plant-- if not provide electrical power for the surrounding region. (Need someone smart to figure the actual numbers for me, unfortunately.) Keep it a secret so you don't bottom out the market-- or get yourself assassinated-- and you could probably make enough money in a couple decades to take your decanter to Mars.
Second choice. I think I'd still take the plain ring of sustenance over this, but it'd be a close call.
Of course, what I'd really want is a full set of tomes and manuals +5. I'd settle for a belt of magnificence.
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