Bizzarre items (and should RPGs include more decorative & "useless" items?)

[Arravis]

Even more, mostly useless, but relatively cool items...

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17904


What would you guys think of a product, with illustrations, of items as these?

 

[Destil]

Mind Marbles:

These small spheres of low-quality crystal are generally sold in bags of 20-50 costing around 10-20 GP. The marbles are psionicaly attuned: anyone with basic psionic ability (1PP reserve or a creature with natural psionics) can cause the marbles to roll however they wish though simple concentration, though this is only effective to a distance of about 5'. These are sometimes used as training devices within psionic guilds, but mostly are toys for children of well to do families within the confines of the old Olartian Empire, where psionics are common-place.

 

[Chaldfont]

Here's one I used in a campaign long ago:

The Landscapes: On first glance this would appear to be an extremely detailed painting of a beautiful landscape. As one examines it more closely however, one can see that some things in the painting actually move--birds fly, trees sway in the breeze, and waves crash on rocks.
This magical painting is actually a scrying device tuned to the most beautiful places in the world. If the painting's frame is touched, the view changes to a different landscape.
This device is useless as an actual scrying device since the scenes are chosen at random and no scene is shown more than once.

 

[Arravis]

I like them. Anyone else have other interesting, yet mostly useless, items out there?

 

[bret]

In the realm of a Mostly Useless item, Prism's Magical Skylight.

It shows the sky as it currently is, including providing sunlight if the sun is out. The thing is, it is only a couple of inches deep and doesn't have to go 'through' to the outside. You could place it on the underside of a staircase and it would show you the outside sky rather than the other side of the wall.

This works for any reasonable depth, a few hundred feet or so. Once in place, it can not be moved without damaging the frame.

 

[s/LaSH]

Second biggest fight over loot in my campaign was a completely useless cloak with gems on it. (There was another cloak with magic powers that the regarded as second-best.) They also got a couple of swords that they made good use of despite the fact they were about one percent the value of the fighter's current blade... a portrait of an important local... and a bucketload of coins, all in the same hoard. No complaints heard so far; I think it encouraged role-playing.

A completely useless cool magic item? The Sum Book. You feed it another book (papyric carnage ensues), and it fills a page with writing. That writing magically conveys the contents of the book to someone who reads it in one minute. If you feed it a spellbook it churns out gibberish. Useful, yet... weirdly useless.

 

[Chronosome]

Here's one an often-drunk-bard in my campaign just recieved as a gift for Bloomtide (elven gifty holiday)...the "Goblet of Tongue's Fancy". I'll write down the text for it as presented in "the card":

[COLOR="sky blue"]To the gifts, then: I grant you, gleeful swaggerer: The Goblet of Tongue’s Fancy! Spend a day drinking from this cup so it can attune itself to your tastes. Then, upon pouring any liquid into the chalice and uttering the phrase, “Grant me my tongue’s fancy,” you shall find it to be full of your favorite beverage. In your case, of course, Cebrinian Honeywine. Another gift, and I must admit something of a joke within my company: With this same chalice, speak “I’m not done yet!” and you shall receive a cure for any nip your mind may be suffering. Another gift, so you may give: A wand of Audible Whispers. A spell devised by Calamnus of Sail, and responsible for much of his fame. Good Bloomtide to you, harpist, and may you live to sing a thousand songs.[/COLOR]

 

[Zappo]

What would you guys think of a product, with illustrations, of items as these?

I would consider buying it. And for people who know me, this is much; I am not a big buyer. Apart from WotC products, the only other product that I've "considered buying" was Relics&Rituals.

If it's cheap and readily available (like, as a PDF) I'd probably buy it.

Really, one of the reasons I hardly buy any book is that I already have more PrCs, spells, magical items, feats, and whatnot in the WotC books than I'll ever be able to use. But flavor items? That I lack.

 

[Umbran]

Absolutely nothing... how many items in your house actually DO something? I find it very unrealistic that all magical/unique items are only basicly tools. If all you could get in your life were wrenches, cars and screwdrivers; it wouldn't be very interesting. We spend much of our time with items that serve no useful purpose. Music, movies, television, fiction books, etc... I like a balanced range of magical and unique items in my game, so I make them myself, since WoTC tends not to.
*gets down from his soapbox*

Thanks. I need that box.

On the flip side of that argument - how many items in your house are expensive and don't actually do anything? How many individual items in your home cost... oh, say over $350 to $500 (USD), and actually do nothing?

Your TV/home entertainment system? Your computer (if you don't actually use it for work)? A stereo? A couple pieces of furniture? How many pieces of jewelry, clothing, or artwork do you have that'd actually be worth stealing?

Probably not too many. And this is in a culture that has mass production and extreme wealth. In a culture where everything of real value has to be hand made by skilled artisans, no matter the amount of wealth, the number of frivolous top-dollar items should go down.

 

[ced1106]

What would you guys think of a product, with illustrations, of items as these?

I was actually disappointed at the 101 Mundane Treasures (by Phillip J. Reed (?)) in that they were anything but. IIRC, The Dragon had an article of everyday magical items, including frying pans that heated themselves so you didn't need a fire or stove.

In any case, anyone who's posted to this thread should see if their post qualifies as a submission for Another 101 Mundane Treasures. See http://www.philipjreed.com


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^