How would you custom order flavorful magic items?

[MadWand]

I have a 5th level fighter, on track for the Holy Liberator PrC. She just managed to secure a fabulous amount of wealth for her level (40K). This is a pretty hack-and-slash game, and the GM really doesnt care how we spend the loot.

The obvious thing to do is spend it on the standard things useful to a fighter: a haversack, boots of speed, belt of giant strength, vest of resistance, stone of good luck, etc (armor and weapons are already satisfactorily taken care of). But buying items like these is *boring*. The character doesn't care much that the items she wants to buy are standard fare for adventurers throughout the multiverse, but I would like for her items to have some flavor, something interesting about them.

How would you recommend dealing with this situation? I still want to buy items that will be useful in adventuring and combat, but it would be nice for the character's items to still be interesting, adding flavor to the game. Any ideas?

 

[hong]

Make up detailed backstories for these items. You get as much flavour out of your game as you put in.

Here's an example of a pretty standard +2 scimitar, from BG2:

Scimitar +2: 'Rashad's Talon'
Named for Prince Rashad, former ruler of a minor principality to the East, this blade and many of the Prince's possessions were taken by disgruntled palace guards after his death. The role of the guards in the unfortunate affair was never determined, but rumor has it that all died within a year, slain by this very weapon.


And a necklace of missiles:

Necklace of Missiles: 'The One Gift Lost '
The naming of this necklace originates from its only owner, Ikaida Mourneve who quested to regain his kidnapped daughter. Not many would help the determined father, but a kind and generous mage bestowed this item on him to aid his cause. Alas, the necklace was lost when Ikaida dropped it into the Immerflow River while fending off bandits upon a suspension bridge. Fortunately, it is rumored that the item was not needed to reunite the family once again.


And boots of electrical resistance:

Boots of Grounding: 'Talos' Gift'
Untold years ago, the Fortress of the Starspire Peninsula was placed under the direct torment of Talos when a favored Stormherald was murdered there. Talos promised the destruction of the city by earthquakes, its isolation by tidal waves, and the death of its citizens by storms. One pair of these boots was bestowed to ensure that none but a single man would survive to tell the story of his wrath. Later, travelers seeking fortune in the ruined city came upon an aged man, maddened by the continuous destruction around him; the boots he wore would carry to many a distant land the legend of a city consumed by a god's rage.

 

[LostSoul]

Put the individuality of the item's maker into each item. When you've got a pair of Boots of Speed made by Karko the Mad, you'll know it. Maybe they have the same asthetic desgin and some kind of similar game effect... such as, if the wearer rolls a 1 on a Balance or Jump check, he loses all movement actions for 1d3 rounds.

 

[alsih2o]

take a standard item and give the powers to a different class of item.

or go with both a nonstandard spell and a nonstandard item. just use the dmg as a springboard.

my befuddled sorcerer was looking for a good magic item(mostly to protect me from the party cleric, who had issues with my p.c.) he finally bought a 'glove of reducing', touch attack, lvl 5. so if it got 'em they shrunk to half size, -5 str, and weighed 10% of previous-if they failed their save.

 

[Bob Aberton]

Give your items names and histories. For example, your luck stone:

Stone of Good Luck: 'Lightfinger's Charm'

'Lightfingers' Oridain was a famous thief in the city of Insert City Name Here . He was a fairly common cutpurse, until he happened upon a peculiar looking charm in a Wizard's pocket.

From that day on, it was said, he was the luckiest rogue in Insert City Name Here , and maybe even the world. His fingers never fumbled, his marks never saw his hands in their wallets and pockets, the arrows of the City Guard always seemed to miss him, and his rival thieves would always seem to get mysteriously clumsy when they faced off against him.

Good fortune doesn't last long, however, and one day Lightfingers met a thief with lighter fingers than he. He didn't notice his missing lucky charm until he attempted to pick the Lord Mayor's pocket in broad daylight. Without his lucky stone, he was apprehended, tried, and sent to the gallows. He went to his death still trying to remember where he left his precious Charm.

There, you see. And now you have an interesting, flavorful magic item not bad, eh?

Note: I made up all of the above story on the spot...

 

[Nightfall]

Try out magic items from other sources. There's plenty out there, from Relics and Rituals, to Book of Eldritch Might. Heck even Paradigm Concepts put out a book called "Forged in Magic" 130 magic items in all, of various shapes, sizes and kinds.