Help Me With My Short-story: Magic Item List.

[Ulric]

I'm working on a short-story for a writing contest. For the story, I need to think of as many magic items as I can that the general public (vs. us hardcore gaming types) is aware of through exposure to fables, fairy tales etc.

Example: 1) a magic mirror....thanks to Snow White, of course.

2) an apple...due to Sleeping Beauty.

Alright, with those Disney examples to get you started, please help me come up with more items. Please tell me the item, and tell me its source/story if you know it.

Thanks.

P.S. Also, to broaden this a bit, even a list of "most famous magic items"...maybe a top 10 or 20 would also be helpful. And yeah, yeah, "one ring to bind them all" will be #1. If you say "a ring" give me some different famous examples of magic rings.

 

[SteelDraco]

Aladdin's lamp (and ring, if you expect them to have read Arabian Nights)
Roc's egg, or The Phoenix's egg
Excalibur
The Black Cauldron (from the Lloyd Alexander books)
Holy Grail
Spear of Destiny
Jack's magic beans (from Jack and the Beanstalk)
Vorpal sword (from Jabberwocky)
Lots of stuff from Greek and Norse myths... Eris's apple, Mercury's winged sandals, a mirror shield, the spear that killed Balder, Thor's hammer, the chains that bind Fenris, a nut from Yggdrassil.

That work for a decent start?

 

[Ulric]

Thanks, man. That's a good list.

Anyone else? Top 10 Magic Items?

 

[Nyaricus]

Here are some from a few campaigns I ran. All are original or gotten off of EN World, but you might find yourself inspired:

A dagger that cannot cut living flesh, but will never dull or rust.

A candle which never runs out of wax.

A small pouch in which every morning can be found 10 small beans which will be sufficient food for the day, if you eat two of them (Dragonball Z reference, actually).

A hat which you could never lose. It could be stolen, forgotten, blown off in th wind, or eaten by a dragon and it would still find it's way back to you, somehow (inspired by a board member)

cheers,
--N

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Flying carpet, of course.
Flying horse if you want to count Pegasus as a thing.
"Magic sword" (If they've never heard of one of these, they've probably never heard of anything!)
A Wizard's staff. (Another generic item from lots of works.)
Flying ships. They show up in anime a lot.

 

[Ulric]

Jack's magic beans (from Jack and the Beanstalk)

Yep, I've always loved the magic beans....there are all kinds of possibilities of other stuff that could grow from "magic beans".