gordonknox
First Post
A bump in the evening...for the soul.
GK
GK
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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Check out my Immovable Rod!
- Thread starter gordonknox
- Start date
An Immovable Rod is your best friend in a dungeon full of pit fall traps. Additionally it can be a movable anchor of sorts, no trees to tie the horses off to, or even use a pair and set up a trip line. Holding a door close is also a good method as mentioned.
If nothing else you could build a really cool house with a bunch of immovable rods. And don't forget bar bets as already mentioned, "Bet you can't pick up my pack Bubba."
Oh, and you can use it to hold a troll in place, once you have him knocked unconscious shove the rod in place an activate it. (Down it's throat or up it's...) This would also work on other monsters I suppose, though anything but a troll you'll most likely kill before you can use it.
If nothing else you could build a really cool house with a bunch of immovable rods. And don't forget bar bets as already mentioned, "Bet you can't pick up my pack Bubba."
Oh, and you can use it to hold a troll in place, once you have him knocked unconscious shove the rod in place an activate it. (Down it's throat or up it's...) This would also work on other monsters I suppose, though anything but a troll you'll most likely kill before you can use it.
gordonknox
First Post
Thanks Jonathon!
I look forward to seeing your work.
GK
I look forward to seeing your work.
GK
Okay, from the "Reject" pile, here are "101 Uses for an Immovable Rod." Some of these will be repeats of what's already been posted, but I didn't want to go through and pull them out...plus, "92 Uses" (or whatever) just doesn't have that ring to it, you know?
I guess I'll post these in batches of 10. (And if that doesn't bump up my post count, what will?)
Johnathan
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1. Okay, let's get this one out of the way: One of the most obvious uses, in fact one that's even mentioned in the item's description (and illustrated on page 196 of the DMG), is using several immovable rods as a ladder. In the illustration, Devis the bard has a series of five rods that he's placed at approximately 18-inch intervals and is using as a ladder. This is all well and good, but as the item's description states, you really only need two immovable rods to form a ladder. It works easiest if the two rods are tied together, using a 2-foot length of rope or so. The process works as follows: Put the first immovable rod in place and activate it. Step up onto it, place the second rod in place as far as the rope will allow, and activate that one. Hold the topmost rod in both hands, support your weight on it, and kick the bottom-most rod's button with your foot, deactivating it. Pull yourself up onto the topmost rod, pull up the other rod by the rope, activate it as high as it will go, and repeat as necessary.
2. You can effectively bar a door by placing an activated immovable rod against it. This does the same job as pounding an iron spike into the floor to bar a door, but is quicker, quieter, and works no matter what the floor is made of. Some things to remember: This only works if the hinges of the door are on the same side as the immovable rod (although depending upon the construction of the door knob, it might be possible to activate an immovable rod between the door knob and the door jam, preventing the door from being swung open). It also does nothing to prevent a wooden door from being chopped apart. However, the fact that it can be literally undone at the touch of a button means that you can have fun with your pursuers if you hear them giving the door the old heave-ho with their shoulders... (Try doing that with an iron spike!)
3. You might also place an immovable rod above the door jam and hang small bells from it using twine or string. That way, when the door opens it rings the bells and alerts you to intruders. This is an inexpensive alarm system.
4. Immovable rods make handy portable coat racks ands such, providing you a place to hang your good cloak overnight when camping out in the wilderness.
5. And while you're camping out, why not activate your immovable rod above the campfire so you can hang the meat from your latest successful hunt (or maybe a pot of water for soup) at the appropriate level above the flames?
6. Then, at night, you might want to put all of your perishable goods in a backpack or large sack and hang it from the immovable rod so that it dangles in midair, away from overhanging tree limbs. Otherwise, you might learn firsthand just how determined raccoons can be when it comes to stealing food!
7. You can hang a hammock between a pair of immovable rods and sleep in midair. It's a good way to ensure you don't wake up in the morning with a rattlesnake, scorpion, or similar creature sharing your bedroll!
8. For those wishing to keep in shape (listen up, you fighters and monks!), an immovable rod allows you to practice your chin-ups and pull-ups whenever you've got a free moment.
9. You could also use it to "do the limbo," setting the immovable rod progressively lower and lower and practicing bending down backwards underneath it. Rogues and monks might find this useful training, not only for keeping the body limber but getting in good practice in avoiding touch-triggered traps.
10. An immovable rod can also be used to settle once and for all just who's taller: Balance it level upon one person's head, activate it, and have that person duck away. Then see if the next person can stand up straight underneath it. If there's room between the top of his head and the hovering rod, he's shorter; if he bumps his head on it, he's taller.
I guess I'll post these in batches of 10. (And if that doesn't bump up my post count, what will?)
Johnathan
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1. Okay, let's get this one out of the way: One of the most obvious uses, in fact one that's even mentioned in the item's description (and illustrated on page 196 of the DMG), is using several immovable rods as a ladder. In the illustration, Devis the bard has a series of five rods that he's placed at approximately 18-inch intervals and is using as a ladder. This is all well and good, but as the item's description states, you really only need two immovable rods to form a ladder. It works easiest if the two rods are tied together, using a 2-foot length of rope or so. The process works as follows: Put the first immovable rod in place and activate it. Step up onto it, place the second rod in place as far as the rope will allow, and activate that one. Hold the topmost rod in both hands, support your weight on it, and kick the bottom-most rod's button with your foot, deactivating it. Pull yourself up onto the topmost rod, pull up the other rod by the rope, activate it as high as it will go, and repeat as necessary.
2. You can effectively bar a door by placing an activated immovable rod against it. This does the same job as pounding an iron spike into the floor to bar a door, but is quicker, quieter, and works no matter what the floor is made of. Some things to remember: This only works if the hinges of the door are on the same side as the immovable rod (although depending upon the construction of the door knob, it might be possible to activate an immovable rod between the door knob and the door jam, preventing the door from being swung open). It also does nothing to prevent a wooden door from being chopped apart. However, the fact that it can be literally undone at the touch of a button means that you can have fun with your pursuers if you hear them giving the door the old heave-ho with their shoulders... (Try doing that with an iron spike!)
3. You might also place an immovable rod above the door jam and hang small bells from it using twine or string. That way, when the door opens it rings the bells and alerts you to intruders. This is an inexpensive alarm system.
4. Immovable rods make handy portable coat racks ands such, providing you a place to hang your good cloak overnight when camping out in the wilderness.
5. And while you're camping out, why not activate your immovable rod above the campfire so you can hang the meat from your latest successful hunt (or maybe a pot of water for soup) at the appropriate level above the flames?
6. Then, at night, you might want to put all of your perishable goods in a backpack or large sack and hang it from the immovable rod so that it dangles in midair, away from overhanging tree limbs. Otherwise, you might learn firsthand just how determined raccoons can be when it comes to stealing food!
7. You can hang a hammock between a pair of immovable rods and sleep in midair. It's a good way to ensure you don't wake up in the morning with a rattlesnake, scorpion, or similar creature sharing your bedroll!
8. For those wishing to keep in shape (listen up, you fighters and monks!), an immovable rod allows you to practice your chin-ups and pull-ups whenever you've got a free moment.
9. You could also use it to "do the limbo," setting the immovable rod progressively lower and lower and practicing bending down backwards underneath it. Rogues and monks might find this useful training, not only for keeping the body limber but getting in good practice in avoiding touch-triggered traps.
10. An immovable rod can also be used to settle once and for all just who's taller: Balance it level upon one person's head, activate it, and have that person duck away. Then see if the next person can stand up straight underneath it. If there's room between the top of his head and the hovering rod, he's shorter; if he bumps his head on it, he's taller.
11. You can use an immovable rod as a tripping hazard, placing it about three inches above the ground in some dark area (like a dungeon corridor). It might be handy when you're being pursued, or as part of an ambush where you spring out at the victim once he's prone.
12. For those wizards and sorcerers whose familiars have both aerial movement and the requisite manual dexterity (such as hawks, crows, owls, and so forth, as well as magical constructs like homunculi), an immovable rod makes an excellent aerial perch. The familiar can rest in the middle of the sky, looking down upon those below it for many hours without tiring. Just ensure your familiar knows enough to deactivate the immovable rod and take it along once it's served its purpose.
13. An immovable rod can be used to pull yourself up out of range of a ground-based threat. For example, you might be in the middle of an underground cavern when you run into a black pudding. One easy escape is to leap up as high as you can, activate the immovable rod at the apex of your jump, and pull yourself up onto the rod. You might have to wait awhile until the pudding loses interest in you, but it won't be able to follow you up there. (Just keep an eye out for puddings dropping down on you from the ceiling!)
14. You might also want to perch on your immovable rod above a doorway, so you can jump down upon unsuspecting foes that pass by beneath you.
15. Immovable rods are also good for immobilizing enemies once you've captured them. One way to keep them out of trouble is to bind their arms and stick an immovable rod through the back of their belt. Hoist the enemy into the air, activate the rod, and let him dangle from his belt in midair, out of harm's way.
16. Another option, once your enemy's arms and legs have been properly bound, is to have him lie on the floor with his head in a corner. Place the immovable rod tight up against his throat (diagonally between the floor and the nearest wall) and activate it. That keeps him from moving in the direction of his feet (his chin gets in the way), while the other wall prevents him from moving any further in the direction of his head. Just make sure he can't reach the activation button on the rod; you might want to tie his bound hands to his bound feet or his belt with a length of rope.
17. If your captured enemy is a spellcaster, you might want to put him in the same position as described above, only instead of placing the immovable rod diagonally against his throat, put it in his mouth and activate it. This not only prevents him from moving his head, it keeps him from casting any spells that require speech.
18. Imagine you're racing on horseback with a mounted enemy in hot pursuit. If you activate an immovable rod behind you at throat level and let it go, you stand a good chance of at least unhorsing your enemy, if not crushing his windpipe altogether.
19. If you're one of those fancy riders that can lean way over on one side of your horse without falling off, and find yourself in the situation mentioned above, you might want to activate your immovable rod much lower so that it trips your pursuing enemy's horse instead.
20. If your enemy is riding at your side ("enemy" in this case could also be nothing more than your racing opponent), you might try sticking your immovable rod vertically down his shirt or through his belt and activating it. His horse will continue moving forward, but he sure won't.
12. For those wizards and sorcerers whose familiars have both aerial movement and the requisite manual dexterity (such as hawks, crows, owls, and so forth, as well as magical constructs like homunculi), an immovable rod makes an excellent aerial perch. The familiar can rest in the middle of the sky, looking down upon those below it for many hours without tiring. Just ensure your familiar knows enough to deactivate the immovable rod and take it along once it's served its purpose.
13. An immovable rod can be used to pull yourself up out of range of a ground-based threat. For example, you might be in the middle of an underground cavern when you run into a black pudding. One easy escape is to leap up as high as you can, activate the immovable rod at the apex of your jump, and pull yourself up onto the rod. You might have to wait awhile until the pudding loses interest in you, but it won't be able to follow you up there. (Just keep an eye out for puddings dropping down on you from the ceiling!)
14. You might also want to perch on your immovable rod above a doorway, so you can jump down upon unsuspecting foes that pass by beneath you.
15. Immovable rods are also good for immobilizing enemies once you've captured them. One way to keep them out of trouble is to bind their arms and stick an immovable rod through the back of their belt. Hoist the enemy into the air, activate the rod, and let him dangle from his belt in midair, out of harm's way.
16. Another option, once your enemy's arms and legs have been properly bound, is to have him lie on the floor with his head in a corner. Place the immovable rod tight up against his throat (diagonally between the floor and the nearest wall) and activate it. That keeps him from moving in the direction of his feet (his chin gets in the way), while the other wall prevents him from moving any further in the direction of his head. Just make sure he can't reach the activation button on the rod; you might want to tie his bound hands to his bound feet or his belt with a length of rope.
17. If your captured enemy is a spellcaster, you might want to put him in the same position as described above, only instead of placing the immovable rod diagonally against his throat, put it in his mouth and activate it. This not only prevents him from moving his head, it keeps him from casting any spells that require speech.
18. Imagine you're racing on horseback with a mounted enemy in hot pursuit. If you activate an immovable rod behind you at throat level and let it go, you stand a good chance of at least unhorsing your enemy, if not crushing his windpipe altogether.
19. If you're one of those fancy riders that can lean way over on one side of your horse without falling off, and find yourself in the situation mentioned above, you might want to activate your immovable rod much lower so that it trips your pursuing enemy's horse instead.
20. If your enemy is riding at your side ("enemy" in this case could also be nothing more than your racing opponent), you might try sticking your immovable rod vertically down his shirt or through his belt and activating it. His horse will continue moving forward, but he sure won't.
21. For that matter, an immovable rod is a quick way to dismount yourself. Hold the rod horizontally with both hands above your head and activate it. Your mount continues forward while you dangle in the air; another quick push of the button and you drop to the ground. This is a handy way of getting behind your pursuers before they can react.
22. An immovable rod can often keep an opponent immobilized for just long enough to allow you to take the one action that will save your life. An example: You and an enemy have just fallen into a deep pit. You look around you and discover that you're not alone; a hungry owlbear fast approaches. Why not slip an immovable rod vertically (button end first) down your opponent's boot? When it hits the bottom it presses the button and your opponent can now no longer move until he pulls his foot free from his boot. By that time you'll have moved to a safe distance, and you'll have all the time it takes for an owlbear to dine upon your immobilized foe to figure out how to climb back up out of the pit.
23. An immovable rod can be used as an awkward substitute for a ring of feather falling. Let's say, for sake of argument, that you fall off an airborne pegasus. Immediately activating your immovable rod allows you to dangle there in midair, safe at least for the moment. Now comes the fun part: You have to deactivate and reactivate your rod so that you only fall a few feet at a time. (It's no good just letting yourself free fall until right before you hit the ground; even if you could time it that well, your momentum would yank you off of your immovable rod after having fallen so far, probably to a squishy and rather unpleasant end.)
24. If you have two immovable rods, "climbing down" through the air becomes much easier: You hold one rod in each hand. Deactivate your left-hand rod, so you're dangling from the rod in your right hand. Lower your left hand and activate that rod, then deactivate your right-hand rod. You now fall a little bit and are hanging from your left-hand rod. Lower your right hand, activate your right-hand rod, deactivate your left-hand rod. Continue as necessary.
25. Climbing up or down a cliff is made much easier with even one immovable rod, as it gives you at least one handhold on which to put your weight while you find places for your other hand and your feet.
26. You can hang all kinds of things on an immovable rod. How about hanging a dead guy by the back of his collar? It might trick enemies into thinking there's an extra soldier on duty at the top of the castle's battlements, or trick an enemy into wasting spells on the unmoving "zombie" guarding a door in a dungeon corridor.
27. You could use an immovable rod as a "marker buoy," activating it to stand upright just above the surface of the ocean where you've discovered a sunken ship, or to mark the location of the entrance to the kraken's lair you'll wish to easily find again once you've mustered up enough force to battle the creature.
28. If you're being swept down a raging river, activating an immovable rod allows you to remain stationary - much better than getting pitched down the waterfall that's no doubt just ahead. With luck, your companions will be able to throw you a rope and reel you in. Otherwise, you can always try the "fall in small increments" trick all the way down the waterfall. (See #23.)
29. An immovable rod can save your life at sea, especially if you can't swim. You need only activate it near the surface of the water, so you can sit on (or at least hang onto) the rod with your head above water. Sure, it won't help you get to shore, but at least you won't drown, and you've got a better shot at being seen and rescued by another ship.
30. An immovable rod can be useful underwater as well. Since sharks must constantly keep moving to stay alive (it's a function of their gills: Swimming allows them to take in water, from which they extract oxygen; if they stop swimming, they stop "breathing" and die), you could hold your immovable rod pointed straight at the monster shark that's headed your way, ready to gobble you up. Right before it gets to you, activate the rod and move away. (Rapidly works best.) The shark swallows up the immobilized rod and finds itself unable to move further. It'll probably thrash around for awhile in frustration before suffocating and dying. Then it's up to you to cut the shark up and retrieve your immovable rod. (You might want to do this pretty quickly, too, since cutting up a dead shark is sure to attract any other sharks in the vicinity.)
22. An immovable rod can often keep an opponent immobilized for just long enough to allow you to take the one action that will save your life. An example: You and an enemy have just fallen into a deep pit. You look around you and discover that you're not alone; a hungry owlbear fast approaches. Why not slip an immovable rod vertically (button end first) down your opponent's boot? When it hits the bottom it presses the button and your opponent can now no longer move until he pulls his foot free from his boot. By that time you'll have moved to a safe distance, and you'll have all the time it takes for an owlbear to dine upon your immobilized foe to figure out how to climb back up out of the pit.
23. An immovable rod can be used as an awkward substitute for a ring of feather falling. Let's say, for sake of argument, that you fall off an airborne pegasus. Immediately activating your immovable rod allows you to dangle there in midair, safe at least for the moment. Now comes the fun part: You have to deactivate and reactivate your rod so that you only fall a few feet at a time. (It's no good just letting yourself free fall until right before you hit the ground; even if you could time it that well, your momentum would yank you off of your immovable rod after having fallen so far, probably to a squishy and rather unpleasant end.)
24. If you have two immovable rods, "climbing down" through the air becomes much easier: You hold one rod in each hand. Deactivate your left-hand rod, so you're dangling from the rod in your right hand. Lower your left hand and activate that rod, then deactivate your right-hand rod. You now fall a little bit and are hanging from your left-hand rod. Lower your right hand, activate your right-hand rod, deactivate your left-hand rod. Continue as necessary.
25. Climbing up or down a cliff is made much easier with even one immovable rod, as it gives you at least one handhold on which to put your weight while you find places for your other hand and your feet.
26. You can hang all kinds of things on an immovable rod. How about hanging a dead guy by the back of his collar? It might trick enemies into thinking there's an extra soldier on duty at the top of the castle's battlements, or trick an enemy into wasting spells on the unmoving "zombie" guarding a door in a dungeon corridor.
27. You could use an immovable rod as a "marker buoy," activating it to stand upright just above the surface of the ocean where you've discovered a sunken ship, or to mark the location of the entrance to the kraken's lair you'll wish to easily find again once you've mustered up enough force to battle the creature.
28. If you're being swept down a raging river, activating an immovable rod allows you to remain stationary - much better than getting pitched down the waterfall that's no doubt just ahead. With luck, your companions will be able to throw you a rope and reel you in. Otherwise, you can always try the "fall in small increments" trick all the way down the waterfall. (See #23.)
29. An immovable rod can save your life at sea, especially if you can't swim. You need only activate it near the surface of the water, so you can sit on (or at least hang onto) the rod with your head above water. Sure, it won't help you get to shore, but at least you won't drown, and you've got a better shot at being seen and rescued by another ship.
30. An immovable rod can be useful underwater as well. Since sharks must constantly keep moving to stay alive (it's a function of their gills: Swimming allows them to take in water, from which they extract oxygen; if they stop swimming, they stop "breathing" and die), you could hold your immovable rod pointed straight at the monster shark that's headed your way, ready to gobble you up. Right before it gets to you, activate the rod and move away. (Rapidly works best.) The shark swallows up the immobilized rod and finds itself unable to move further. It'll probably thrash around for awhile in frustration before suffocating and dying. Then it's up to you to cut the shark up and retrieve your immovable rod. (You might want to do this pretty quickly, too, since cutting up a dead shark is sure to attract any other sharks in the vicinity.)
31. The above ploy can be used against land-bound creatures, of course, although it won't have the same suffocating effects. Still, an immobile immovable rod placed in the path of a striking wyvern's mouth might prevent it from chasing after you at least momentarily (long enough for it to extricate the rod from its throat, in any case).
32. Two immovable rods can be used to travel horizontally as well as vertically. With a pair of these items, you could walk through the air over an open pit trap, ditch, or crevasse. Or, forget about walking on top of them: With an immovable rod in each hand, you could swing through the air like Tarzan through the trees or a kid on the monkey bars.
33. You could even use a pair of immovable rods to cross just slightly above the surface of a raging river or a flow of molten lava. Of course, the process works the same for simply crossing a room if for some reason you don't wish to touch the floor. (Perhaps suspecting that there's a pressure-plate trap, for instance.)
34. In a narrow passageway (as found in many dungeon networks), you could activate an immovable rod standing vertically, about waist high, in the center of the corridor. This would likely prevent Large or bigger creatures (like owlbears) from reaching you, since they couldn't easily move the rod, climb over it, or duck under it. Just remember not to try this ploy against a creature with an effective ranged weapon, or one smart enough to simply push the deactivation button!
35. By placing and activating an immovable rod at the bottom of a treasure chest and placing your valuables on top of it, you can ensure that no one will walk off with the chest. (Of course, you still have to worry about them picking the lock and helping themselves to both treasure and rod...)
36. An immovable rod hanging immobile in the air makes a handy back scratcher for those really hard-to-reach places.
37. You can use an immovable rod as an impromptu chair. It comes in especially handy when you're supposed to be standing for long periods of time (parade formations, guard duty, drunken wagers about how long you can stay on your feet): Just position it at the appropriate height, surreptitiously lean your butt on it, and take the load off of your feet for awhile.
38. An immovable rod can be used as a measuring scale. Of course, the drawback is that it only measures 8,000 pounds (its maximum load-carrying capacity).
39. Standing on an immovable rod placed at the surface of a pool of quicksand could lure an enemy or a monster to their death.
40. Of course, an immovable rod can prevent you from sinking into quicksand (or a bog or quagmire) yourself.
32. Two immovable rods can be used to travel horizontally as well as vertically. With a pair of these items, you could walk through the air over an open pit trap, ditch, or crevasse. Or, forget about walking on top of them: With an immovable rod in each hand, you could swing through the air like Tarzan through the trees or a kid on the monkey bars.
33. You could even use a pair of immovable rods to cross just slightly above the surface of a raging river or a flow of molten lava. Of course, the process works the same for simply crossing a room if for some reason you don't wish to touch the floor. (Perhaps suspecting that there's a pressure-plate trap, for instance.)
34. In a narrow passageway (as found in many dungeon networks), you could activate an immovable rod standing vertically, about waist high, in the center of the corridor. This would likely prevent Large or bigger creatures (like owlbears) from reaching you, since they couldn't easily move the rod, climb over it, or duck under it. Just remember not to try this ploy against a creature with an effective ranged weapon, or one smart enough to simply push the deactivation button!
35. By placing and activating an immovable rod at the bottom of a treasure chest and placing your valuables on top of it, you can ensure that no one will walk off with the chest. (Of course, you still have to worry about them picking the lock and helping themselves to both treasure and rod...)
36. An immovable rod hanging immobile in the air makes a handy back scratcher for those really hard-to-reach places.
37. You can use an immovable rod as an impromptu chair. It comes in especially handy when you're supposed to be standing for long periods of time (parade formations, guard duty, drunken wagers about how long you can stay on your feet): Just position it at the appropriate height, surreptitiously lean your butt on it, and take the load off of your feet for awhile.
38. An immovable rod can be used as a measuring scale. Of course, the drawback is that it only measures 8,000 pounds (its maximum load-carrying capacity).
39. Standing on an immovable rod placed at the surface of a pool of quicksand could lure an enemy or a monster to their death.
40. Of course, an immovable rod can prevent you from sinking into quicksand (or a bog or quagmire) yourself.
41. You can even use a patch of quicksand to your advantage, say by activating an immovable rod three feet below the surface and balancing a small chest on top of it. The chest remains out of sight, and no one's likely to stumble across your secret cache. This can be a good place to stash stolen loot, a supply of healing potions for emergency use, an "emergency fund" for when you need extra money fast, or whatnot.
42. An immovable rod can be used outdoors to determine direction. Simply point the rod directly at the sun so that it casts a shadow directly behind it, and activate it. When the sun's movement causes the shadow to move, you'll know which way is which. (Assuming Earthlike conditions, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so the shadow of a rod pointing directly at the sun eventually points toward the east.) Of course, you can do the same thing with a stick, but a hanging immovable rod won't accidentally get jostled or moved by the wind, and is therefore more accurate.
43. Having an immovable rod hanging in the air might make it easier to coil rope nice and evenly.
44. In a pinch, an immovable rod makes a fine substitute for a tent pole. You could even improvise a tent with a large enough piece of canvas, an immovable rod to hold it up, and a bunch of sufficiently heavy stones to keep the bottom of the "tent" from flapping around.
45. You could place a helmet or hat on an immovable rod placed at the appropriate height to fool someone into thinking that there's really a person wearing it. This might work well against someone spying through a window, on the other side of a large rock, or around the corner of a dungeon corridor. In the meantime, while your enemy thinks he knows where you are, you're busy sneaking around to try to flank him (or possibly fleeing for your life, depending on the relative strengths of your enemy and yourself).
46. Propping an appropriately-sized skull onto a hovering immovable rod might give an enemy pause; most people get a little unnerved when confronted with a skull apparently hovering in midair. Is it some type of undead creature? Some new magic item? A defensive trap? Only you'll know the answer with any confidence.
47. You can use an immovable rod as part of a simple pit trap. Say you've got a 10-foot by 10-foot opening in your wooden floor, leading to a pit of whatever depth you deem appropriate. Activate your immovable rod horizontally in the center of the opening at floor height and place a 10-foot-square piece of plywood onto it. When somebody steps onto the plywood, it'll pivot on the rod and send the intruder plunging to the bottom of your pit. (Best of all, when the plywood flips up as a result of being stepped on it shields the immovable rod from being grabbed by your victim!) Outdoors, you can use the same approach and cover your plywood with a light sprinkling of grass or dirt.
48. You can "hang" an immovable rod in the air at the top of a vertical shaft and use it as a pulley to lift items up and down the shaft with an appropriate length of rope. Instant elevator!
49. Presumably, with a couple of immovable rods hanging horizontally at various levels, you could practice jumping from one to another and keeping your balance. Such a skill might come in handy when leaping along rooftops or from one narrow cliff ledge to another.
50. When nothing else is available, an immovable rod is a handy place to tether an animal, whether it be riding mount or guard dog.
42. An immovable rod can be used outdoors to determine direction. Simply point the rod directly at the sun so that it casts a shadow directly behind it, and activate it. When the sun's movement causes the shadow to move, you'll know which way is which. (Assuming Earthlike conditions, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so the shadow of a rod pointing directly at the sun eventually points toward the east.) Of course, you can do the same thing with a stick, but a hanging immovable rod won't accidentally get jostled or moved by the wind, and is therefore more accurate.
43. Having an immovable rod hanging in the air might make it easier to coil rope nice and evenly.
44. In a pinch, an immovable rod makes a fine substitute for a tent pole. You could even improvise a tent with a large enough piece of canvas, an immovable rod to hold it up, and a bunch of sufficiently heavy stones to keep the bottom of the "tent" from flapping around.
45. You could place a helmet or hat on an immovable rod placed at the appropriate height to fool someone into thinking that there's really a person wearing it. This might work well against someone spying through a window, on the other side of a large rock, or around the corner of a dungeon corridor. In the meantime, while your enemy thinks he knows where you are, you're busy sneaking around to try to flank him (or possibly fleeing for your life, depending on the relative strengths of your enemy and yourself).
46. Propping an appropriately-sized skull onto a hovering immovable rod might give an enemy pause; most people get a little unnerved when confronted with a skull apparently hovering in midair. Is it some type of undead creature? Some new magic item? A defensive trap? Only you'll know the answer with any confidence.
47. You can use an immovable rod as part of a simple pit trap. Say you've got a 10-foot by 10-foot opening in your wooden floor, leading to a pit of whatever depth you deem appropriate. Activate your immovable rod horizontally in the center of the opening at floor height and place a 10-foot-square piece of plywood onto it. When somebody steps onto the plywood, it'll pivot on the rod and send the intruder plunging to the bottom of your pit. (Best of all, when the plywood flips up as a result of being stepped on it shields the immovable rod from being grabbed by your victim!) Outdoors, you can use the same approach and cover your plywood with a light sprinkling of grass or dirt.
48. You can "hang" an immovable rod in the air at the top of a vertical shaft and use it as a pulley to lift items up and down the shaft with an appropriate length of rope. Instant elevator!
49. Presumably, with a couple of immovable rods hanging horizontally at various levels, you could practice jumping from one to another and keeping your balance. Such a skill might come in handy when leaping along rooftops or from one narrow cliff ledge to another.
50. When nothing else is available, an immovable rod is a handy place to tether an animal, whether it be riding mount or guard dog.
51. An immovable rod hung in midair also makes a handy fulcrum, for use with a board or pole.
52. With enough practice, you might even use an immovable rod as an off-hand weapon. It would be serviceable at deflecting weapon blows as-is (and would do damage as a club), but with a quick touch of a button it'll stop even the mightiest of hammer blows. (Imagine the look on the stone giant's face!)
53. Moving an immovable rod could be used as a "test of strength" similar to the one Odysseus' wife placed upon her suitors when everyone thought her husband was dead. In that case, the test was to string Odysseus' powerful bow, but moving an activated immovable rod could be used for the same purpose.
54. Here's an immobilizing trick for the daring: Sneak up to a sleeping creature that has a tail, slam an immovable rod onto the tail and activate it while pressing down with all of your might, then back away quickly. The creature should then be pinned in place, allowing you and your party to bypass it without harm. (Watch out for ranged attacks, though!) This works better against mammals (dire tigers, hell hounds) than it does against reptiles, who often have hard scales that prevent a really good tail-squishing. Also note that this isn't effective against intelligent creatures, like sphinxes, that can simply reach over and deactivate the immovable rod.
55. On a small boat, an immovable rod can be used as an above-water anchor.
56. With a long rope tied to an immovable rod and a flying familiar, homunculus, or similar ally (maybe a pixie or mephit) to activate it, you've got an improved grappling hook that can be placed directly on target without making a sound.
57. An immovable rod can be used to steady a crossbow or blowgun when accuracy is really paramount.
58. Unlike Heward's handy haversack, which sends required items to the top of the extradimensional space at will, anything placed in a portable hole falls to the bottom and retrieving it quickly isn't always easy. However, you can use an immovable rod to hang important items (like a magic sword) inside a portable hole, toward the top where they're easily accessible. Since a portable hole's interior is its own little mini-universe, the immovable rod remains in position with regards to the extradimensional space but doesn't prevent the hole from being moved around.
59. If you've just polymorphed an enemy into a slug or snail, placing the gastropod onto an immovable rod hovering in midair ensures that it can't crawl away while you're sleeping. (Where could it go?)
60. Balancing a shield on top of an immovable rod while in the desert during the daylight hours provides you with a bit of shade during rest breaks.
52. With enough practice, you might even use an immovable rod as an off-hand weapon. It would be serviceable at deflecting weapon blows as-is (and would do damage as a club), but with a quick touch of a button it'll stop even the mightiest of hammer blows. (Imagine the look on the stone giant's face!)
53. Moving an immovable rod could be used as a "test of strength" similar to the one Odysseus' wife placed upon her suitors when everyone thought her husband was dead. In that case, the test was to string Odysseus' powerful bow, but moving an activated immovable rod could be used for the same purpose.
54. Here's an immobilizing trick for the daring: Sneak up to a sleeping creature that has a tail, slam an immovable rod onto the tail and activate it while pressing down with all of your might, then back away quickly. The creature should then be pinned in place, allowing you and your party to bypass it without harm. (Watch out for ranged attacks, though!) This works better against mammals (dire tigers, hell hounds) than it does against reptiles, who often have hard scales that prevent a really good tail-squishing. Also note that this isn't effective against intelligent creatures, like sphinxes, that can simply reach over and deactivate the immovable rod.
55. On a small boat, an immovable rod can be used as an above-water anchor.
56. With a long rope tied to an immovable rod and a flying familiar, homunculus, or similar ally (maybe a pixie or mephit) to activate it, you've got an improved grappling hook that can be placed directly on target without making a sound.
57. An immovable rod can be used to steady a crossbow or blowgun when accuracy is really paramount.
58. Unlike Heward's handy haversack, which sends required items to the top of the extradimensional space at will, anything placed in a portable hole falls to the bottom and retrieving it quickly isn't always easy. However, you can use an immovable rod to hang important items (like a magic sword) inside a portable hole, toward the top where they're easily accessible. Since a portable hole's interior is its own little mini-universe, the immovable rod remains in position with regards to the extradimensional space but doesn't prevent the hole from being moved around.
59. If you've just polymorphed an enemy into a slug or snail, placing the gastropod onto an immovable rod hovering in midair ensures that it can't crawl away while you're sleeping. (Where could it go?)
60. Balancing a shield on top of an immovable rod while in the desert during the daylight hours provides you with a bit of shade during rest breaks.
