Check out my Immovable Rod!

[Richards]

61. An immovable rod comes in handy for hunters, providing a convenient place to hang large game while letting the blood drain from the body.

62. Activating an immovable rod on top of a vampire's coffin with her inside prevents her from getting out. (Although if the coffin isn't perfectly sealed she might be able to escape by assuming gaseous form.)

63. Activating an immovable rod on top of a vampire's coffin when she's not inside could prevent her from reentering it if she's forced to gaseous form as a result of being driven to 0 hit points. If she can't get back into her coffin within 2 hours, she'll be utterly destroyed.

64. Activating an immovable rod inside the hold of a moving ship either causes the ship to come to a sudden stop (possibly throwing sailors from the crow's nest and rigging, and toppling those standing on deck) or, if the ship is moving fast enough, causes the immovable rod to break through the ship's outer surface upon impact. In either case, this probably isn't something you want to do to your own ship, but it might be an appropriate tack against an enemy vessel.

65. Similarly, you could swim in front of an enemy vessel and plant an immovable rod in its path so that it runs into it, possibly causing a hole below the waterline (never a good thing for a ship).

66. Activating an immovable rod in the hold of a ship might be interesting during a storm, especially if you're surrounded by enemies. As the waves bounce the vessel around, the immovable rod - which remains stationary with the planet, not the ship - appears to "fly" all over the place. Since you're aware of it and your enemies aren't (at least initially), it's kind of like having an invisible partner striking out blindly against random targets.

67. Here's another simple door alarm: Activate an immovable rod horizontally, about waist high, so that it's an inch away from a door and situated such that opening the door triggers the activation button on the rod. Then stack coin after coin on top of the immovable rod, and get some sleep, confident that anyone attempting to enter the room while you're asleep will deactivate the rod and cause it and the coins to fall clattering to the floor. Obviously, the hinges on the door need to be on your side of the door for this to work, and wooden or stone floors work well whereas thickly carpeted floors do not.

68. A variation of this theme might be the old standby whereby you activate the immovable rod up by the top of the door and balance a bucket of water on it. When the door opens it hits the button on the rod, deactivating the magic item and sending the bucket of water down on the intruder's head.

69. For a more lethal version of the above trap, substitute green slime for the water; just be sure to use a stone bowl instead of a wooden or metal bucket. Also, be warned that the green slime could end up eating away your immovable rod once the trap is triggered if you're not careful.

70. You might use an immovable rod to immobilize an animated statue or golem before it moves. (These "creatures" often remain silent and still until "triggered," whether by opening the door they're guarding, passing by without saying the password, or whatever.) If the statue is standing up against a wall, place the immovable rod against one of its shins, directly above and across the foot, and activate it. This "pins" the statue's foot in place, so if it animates and attacks it'll have to first slide its foot out sideways, granting you at least one round of free attacks. Of course, if you have two immovable rods, they can be placed diagonally to trap the creature's foot in an angle so that it cannot move at all. Note that gargoyles often pose as immobile stone statues, but they possess the intelligence to simply reach down and deactivate the rod (or rods).

 

[Richards]

71. With some sovereign glue, you can attach all kinds of useful items to your immovable rod. (Optionally, you might just tie them tightly with strong rope or cord.) Attaching an immovable rod to the end of a spear of any length allows it to be set to receive a charge without you having to be right there as well. This allows you to back up a bit and engage in some ranged attacks against your charging foe.

72. An immovable rod attached to a shield with sovereign glue allows you to "hang" your shield in midair and reap the benefits of cover while freeing up both hands. Of course the shield remains stationary, so this works best in situations where you're planning on remaining in the same area (perhaps defending a narrow dungeon corridor) rather than instances where you'll be wading into melee combat.

73. If you activate the above-mentioned immovable rod-glued-to-a-shield horizontally, it makes a handy platform upon which you can perform actions requiring a little more standing room. It's certainly easier firing a crossbow or casting a spell while standing on a surface the size of a shield than it is while balancing on something the size of a ladder rung.

74. If you attach an immovable rod to an everburning torch, you can "hang" it in the air so you've got a steady light source while keeping both of your hands free. This also allows you to reposition the lighting to best effect. A similar effect of limited duration occurs when you cast a light spell on an immovable rod.

75. Or, if you hang it high up in the air (you might need some sort of flight or levitation magic to do so), an immovable rod/
everburning torch combo makes a handy flare, visible for miles around depending upon the weather conditions.

76. An immovable rod makes a handy place to tie your rope when you need to climb down a vertical shaft or pit to rescue a friend (or simply remove the treasure resting below).

77. On top of a castle's battlements, an immovable rod can play an important part against enemies storming the castle's walls. Tie a rope around the middle of the rod and activate it level with the top of the crenelations, but about 4 or 5 feet out. Balance a sturdy board across the castle battlement and the hanging immovable rod. Now place on the board whatever you want to dump down on your enemies: rocks, broken glass, vials of acid, stone bowls of green slime - you're limited only by your imagination. When you're ready for action, deactivate the immovable rod (you'll probably need to hit the button with a pole or something). The board tips forward onto the enemy forces below, spilling its deadly contents. The immovable rod, however, gets pulled up by the length of rope you wisely attached to it, and is ready for another similar use. Obviously, you don't need an immovable rod to throw rocks down from a castle wall, but using the rod allows you to hurl down up to 8,000 pounds at a time!

78. You could practice your unarmed fighting techniques by hanging a punching bag in midair from an immovable rod. The "punching bag" can be easily improvised with a large sack filled with dirt or sand.

79. At a carnival or fair, you could use an immovable rod to create a "dunking booth," where the object is to throw a ball and hit the button on the rod, deactivating it and causing the volunteer to fall into the pool of water below.

80. Guys might like hanging their shaving mirrors in midair so they can get a close shave each morning while out adventuring.

 

[Richards]

81. With sufficient practice, you could even hang a small mirror from an immovable rod (or have it attached with sovereign glue) and reflect ray attacks around corners by aiming at the mirror. Note, however, that some attacks (like gaze attacks; see page 77 of the DMG) specifically don't work when "bounced" off a mirror.

82. Immovable rods don't always have to be used with rope to benefit climbers. You could, for instance, climb to the top of a ladder steadied by your friends and activate an immovable rod so that it held the ladder still. (This is useful in reaching a trap door on the ceiling in the middle of a large room.) This allows everyone to climb up the ladder in turn, and you can pull both the ladder and the immovable rod up with you when you're done. A length of rope and an immovable rod can't really be used in the same scenario; how are you going to get up to the top in the first place to anchor the rod?

83. Okay, since you asked: Give the immovable rod - with a rope already tied around its middle - to the smallest person in your party. (Halflings and gnomes are excellent choices.) The strongest two party members each grab the rod holder by an arm and an ankle, swing her back and forth a couple of times, and then fling her for all they're worth. At the apex of her journey (hopefully before she hits the ceiling) she activates the immovable rod and presto!--one rope ready for climbing up to the ceiling.

84. An immovable rod makes a handy place for a wizard to prop his spellbook when preparing arcane spells.

85. You can also use an immovable rod to "hang" a scroll or map up against a wall, tree, or other vertical surface (kind of like using a refrigerator magnet) so you and your companions can all study it together.

86. Tying your fishing line to an immovable rod allows you to doze off while fishing without worrying about a big catch pulling your fishing pole out of the ground where you stuck it.

87. An immovable rod is the ultimate paperweight, guaranteed to keep your papers from being blown away by even the strongest of breezes.

88. For a really secure place to stash your valuables, you'll need a pair of boots of levitation, a means of providing your own oxygen or doing without (an iridescent spindle ioun stone works well, as does a necklace of adaptation), a sack to put your valuables in (a bag of holding allows extra storage capacity), some rope, and of course an immovable rod. Pack your goodies in the bag, tie it securely shut with the rope, and tie the other end around the middle of the immovable rod. Put on the magical boots, find a good starting place - one whose exact location you'll be able to find again - and levitate straight up. Keep going until you reach the upper atmosphere. Not high enough? Then keep going; eventually you'll leave the atmosphere behind you and wind up in the vacuum of space, with your home planet far beneath you. Whenever you think you're high enough, activate the immovable rod and start the long levitation back down to the ground. Whatever you do, don't forget where on the ground you started your vertical ascent, or you'll have a tough time finding your valuables again!

89. Here's a lethal trap for you: Ensure that the door to your treasure vault opens outward. Get a slab of marble, granite, or the stone of your choice carved into a rough cube with a "handle" on top. Place this block immediately inside your vault and levitate it directly over the entrance. When it's in place, slip an immovable rod under the stone "handle" and activate it. As long as the block weighs less than 8,000 pounds, it'll remain where it is long after the levitation spell wears off. Now all you have to do is deactivate the rod whenever anyone steps below the block. If you don't want to stand up there yourself and trigger the trap you can assign the duty to your homunculus, unseen servant, or (if you're one of those friendly sorts who likes to animate the dead) a skeletal servant. Of course, you could also probably rig it so that a tripwire a couple inches off the floor pushes the button on the immovable rod and squishes the intruders below.

90. While adventuring in the great outdoors, you can hang a clothesline between two immovable rods to allow your clothing to dry quickly after washing them by the stream.

 

[Richards]

91. An immovable rod activated while sticking out between the spokes of a cart or wagon's wheel makes a handy "parking brake" when the vehicle's stopped on the side of a hill or incline. Even if the wheels aren't spoked, you can place the rod behind a wheel to prevent the vehicle from moving downhill.

92. You can also use an immovable rod as an "emergency brake." If the wagon you're in gets unhitched from the horses that were pulling it, you can slap an immovable rod in front of the wagon and activate it. Just be prepared for the sudden lurch, as it's liable to send you flying!

93. Tie a rope to both an activated immovable rod and the end of an arrow or a spear of any length and you get the landbound equivalent of a harpoon on a whaling ship. If the creature you hit with the weapon tries to flee, it either pulls the weapon out of its body forcefully (causing additional damage) or it remains tethered to the immovable rod, on a short leash as it were.

94. An immovable rod makes it easy to place your valuables up high enough at night to be out of reach of your gnome and halfling companions, especially those of a larcenous bent. Of course, this assumes that you're Medium-sized yourself.

95. An immovable rod can help stabilize your broken leg while you recuperate in a healing temple. You've seen people with their legs in traction, haven't you? Same principle.

96. Placing and activating an immovable rod on a banquet table (perhaps hidden under a decorative flower display or similar centerpiece) prevents the table from being tipped over.

97. If you're a wizard with one of those "revolving bookcase" secret doors in your library, you can "lock" the secret door with an immovable rod. Just place the rod behind a book in the bookcase on the side that normally swings forward and trigger it. That way, even if somebody discovers your secret door, they won't be able to activate it until they find and disarm the immovable rod.

98. Two immovable rods attached to a length of sturdy chain can immobilize even a sleeping dragon. You just need two people who can move silently up to the dragon, drape the chain over its neck, and activate the rods. Just be aware that the larger dragons often have Strength scores high enough to overcome the DC 30 Strength check required to counteract an immovable rod. (And then are you ever in trouble!) You might also bear in mind that walking in front of even an immobilized dragon sets you up for a nasty bit of breath weapon retaliation!

99. A captured enemy tied to a chair with an activated immovable rod standing on the chair seat between his legs won't be able to stand up and try the old "smash the chair against the wall to effect my escape" routine. Just make sure the chair is already backed up against a wall when you activate the rod. (It doesn't do much good if the chair's in the middle of the room where he can just scoot it out from under the rod.)

100. An immovable rod placed just out of the reach of a rust monster's antennae might keep it preoccupied for awhile. (Iron is one of a rust monster's favorite metals, and immovable rods are made of iron.)

 

[Richards]

101. And let's end with something really preposterous. Imagine this, if you will: Two gnomes have gotten hold of the amulet that controls a shield guardian. They've adapted the construct by using sovereign glue to attach an immovable rod to the side of each foot. Now, they each strap themselves onto one of the shield guardian's feet (using human-sized belts that encompass the construct's leg and the gnome's waist) and use it as a means of aerial locomotion. Each gnome activates and deactivates his immovable rod in turn, so that the shield guardian walks ponderously through the air. (The whole thing would probably look a lot fiercer without the gnomes' whoops of gleeful mirth.) From their aerial platform, the gnomes can cast ranged spells, activate wands, and cause all kinds of mischief without too much fear of retaliation.

- - - - - - - - -

I was a little bummed initially when the article got rejected, but the editor was right: many of the 101 uses I came up with were slight variations of the same old things (putting stuff on an immovable rod, using an immovable rod as a locomotive device, gluing stuff to an immovable rod, etc.). Still, maybe by posting my list somebody might get some benefit out of it. Personally, the immovable rod is my absolute favorites of the new magic items that appeared in the 3E DMG (as anyone who read "Challenge of Champions IV" can attest).

Johnathan

 

[gordonknox]

All cool, thanks Jonathon.

GK

 

[Shard O'Glase]

I just wish it was actually an immovable rod and not just a mostly immovable rod.

 

[Schmoe]

Question:

The earth rotates at more than 1000 radial miles per hour, at its surface. If I activate my Immovable Rod, what, exactly, happens next?

 

[Breakstone]

Actually, Schmoe, that's just what I was pondering.

In game, I'd say that the Immovable Rods were created to stay with the planet's orbit.

Or something like that.

Just blame it on magic.

 

[James McMurray]

Question:

The earth rotates at more than 1000 radial miles per hour, at its surface. If I activate my Immovable Rod, what, exactly, happens next?

The rod stays right where its at trelative to you. Unless your game actually takes place on Earth, mine doesn't. Nor does Oerth revolve around its sun in my game.