civic magic items

[jdrakeh]

A particular item in posession by those passing through it is attuned to a specific place that deposits the person to the destination of their choosing.

This reminds me of Ultima Online's location-keyed teleportation runes (and to be clear, that's not a bad thing).

 

[drothgery]

I don't want to be the guy to suggest a Headband of Intellect or Periapt of Wisdom to the ruler who might need one.

No problem... Sire, these are the traditional crown, pendant, and cloak our rulers have worn since the founding of the kingdom by Artificerus I. Of course they are enchanted; if they were not, they would have worn out centuries ago, and moreover, without magic, they would need to be resized every time a new ruler took the the throne.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

This reminds me of Ultima Online's location-keyed teleportation runes (and to be clear, that's not a bad thing).

Updated post to be more clear.

 

[Eye Tyrant]

A little off topic, but here goes...

The group I run just went through "The Eye of the Sun" from WotC's archive of downloadable adventures. The party successfully disassembled the "Eye" (a sort of massive magnifying glass that can start blazes from up to 15 miles away) and managed to haul it back to civilization. Once they reached home they decided to sell it to the Cathedral of Pelor (with much lobbying by the party's Pelorite Cleric, who in fact paid 1/3 of the cost for his church).

Other then a possible weapon, what else could the church use this for?

 

[jdrakeh]

Updated post to be more clear.

Now it sounds exactly like Ultima's runes (IIRC, rune stones were only good for one use at a time unless they were scribed in a book).

 

[Chimera]

No problem... Sire, these are the traditional crown, pendant, and cloak our rulers have worn since the founding of the kingdom by Artificerus I. Of course they are enchanted; if they were not, they would have worn out centuries ago, and moreover, without magic, they would need to be resized every time a new ruler took the the throne.

*&*U&%#$!!! I'm not wearing that bloody thing! It's evil. It makes me think odd thoughts and muddles my intentions.

 

[Evilhalfling]

No problem... Sire, these are the traditional crown, pendant, and cloak our rulers have worn since the founding of the kingdom by Artificerus I. Of course they are enchanted; if they were not, they would have worn out centuries ago, and moreover, without magic, they would need to be resized every time a new ruler took the the throne.

One of my kingdoms had 13 magic items that the king was supposed to wear. Individually they were all cheap 4-8k but acted like an item set that added +2 to a stat for each pair of items -
of course the king had been killed in battle 70 yrs back and, the items dispersed. He had regained about 4-5 of them. It didn't help that some of the kings advisors would preferred him not to have them all (like the circlet of persuasion and a rod that provided +5 to sense motive)

Of course the PCs found 2 of them and got into lots of trouble over it.

 

[EdL]

Gotta be careful with those Decanters of Endless Water. Otherwise you not only turn the kingdom into a swamp, you eventually drown the whole world! Of course, it would take so long that even Elves might not realize what was happening for a few generations.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Rods of Flame Extinguishing are great since they can put out several house fires in seconds.

Horns of Valhalla aren't bad since they provide troops that don't need food, supplies, billet space, etc.

The Trident of Fish Control (I forget the name) is great for cities on the ocean or major rivers that could expect attack by aquatic creatures.


As a side note, golems are bad for mundanes. IIRC, they all have a good chance of going totally looney if they get injured and only their creator can calm them down. In truth, a bunch of zombies or skeletons and an item of undead control are probably safer.

 

[Kwitchit]

A little off topic, but here goes...

The group I run just went through "The Eye of the Sun" from WotC's archive of downloadable adventures. The party successfully disassembled the "Eye" (a sort of massive magnifying glass that can start blazes from up to 15 miles away) and managed to haul it back to civilization. Once they reached home they decided to sell it to the Cathedral of Pelor (with much lobbying by the party's Pelorite Cleric, who in fact paid 1/3 of the cost for his church).

Other then a possible weapon, what else could the church use this for?

Cooking church banquets
Lighting ritual fires
Executions
Forging ritual objects (an Archbishop's holy symbol),
Communication (lighting beacons, or Morse flashes)
etc., etc.

Other ideas:
There are a good few items the Town Watch would use:
Horseshoes of Speed for chases
The detectives would use Dust of Illusion or Hats of Disguise to blend in
The riot squad might have a Drum of Panic, or Screaming Bolts.
For arresting EXTREMELY dangerous criminals, Iron Bands of Binding or Dimensional Shackles.

Dust of Dryness would be brilliant for the fire department, as a way to move large amounts of water very quickly. They might also use Rods of Flame Extinguishing.

The postal service could use Ring Gates.

Any valuable items would be protected by Stones of Alarm.

A Helm of Opposite Alignment could be used to reform criminals.