Fun magic for an NPC crafter?

[aboyd]

I'm probably getting into too much detail with my world building, but I've statted up an NPC in Heroforge that is supposed to be the town alchemist. He's a 5th level gnome expert (house rule in my campaign: experts can craft alchemical items, no spell casting needed). He offers 3 services to the PCs.

1. crafted items such as Alchemist's Fire
2. identification of magic items for 50 gold (via the Appraise Magic Value feat)
3. long term care (via high heal skill)

His relevant stats are Appraise at 11, Craft (alchemy) at 16, Heal at 8, Knowledge (arcana) at 11, Spellcraft at 13, and Use Magic Device at 9.

What magical items would be great for a guy like this? I'm so used to equipping for combat that I really have no idea what to do for this guy except to give him a fabricate wand. He can spend about 4000 gold.

 

[Herobizkit]

For 4000 gp he could get a cloak of charisma +2 and have a higher UMD skill.

Ooh, how about a hat of disguise? Since gnomes love illusions, have the gnome look completely different each time the PCs arrive. Or better, maybe no one knows that the gnome is actually a goblin...

A figurine of wondrous power, silver raven could be fun for sending messages back and forth.

Also, a fabricate wand cannot exist under RAW; a wand may only contain 4th-level spells or lower, and fabricate is a 5th-level spell.

 

[Gilladian]

How about items that add to his personality; an eversmoking pipe, a handy haversack that is reshaped into his many-pocketed work apron, a ring of sustenance so he never eats and rarely sleeps, a murlynd's spoon, or an everfull tankard, a mechanical pet cat, etc...

I wouldn't even worry about exact value, as long as it reflected the way I wanted him to behave.