Innocuous Magic Items

[Felix]

I misremember which thread it was - I think it was a Story Hour - that mentioned that the DM enjoyed handing out booby-prize magical treasure; a quarterstaff that would balance on its end; a rope that would coil itself. The items didn't do anything really worthwhile, but it sounds like a neat idea, so I'd like to start a list of not-terribly-useful things that could be given out without reservation or worry about breaking the game.

So, to start us off:

A kettle that will boil water in 5 minutes without a flame.

A tablecloth that will fold itself neatly.

A hat whose brim extends when it begins to rain or is very sunny.

A pen that colors fingernails the color you think of (think Total Recall).

A book that provides its own illumination for reading.

A magical whistle that everyone can hear in 40' radius with line of effect but makes no noise.

X-ray glasses that let you see through yourself.

A hammock whose user won't get rained on.

A shirt that can't be stained by alcoholic beverages.​

What all can we come up with that will make players go: "It's a magic item! Quick, quick: what does it do?! ... Oh. Huh. ... Well, I guess that's cool."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nearly all of those sound like wondrous items made with prestidigitation (a.k.a. minor wish).

 

[freyar]

A kettle that will boil water in 5 minutes without a flame.

I wonder how much I could chop off my electric bill with that....

 

[Andor]

A swizle stick that cools the drink it's placed into.
An animated feather duster.
A pillow that sings lullabys.
A statue of a rooster that crows at dawn.
A pen that writes in any color of ink you want.

 

[Stormborn]

Glittergold's Reversing Mirror - A mirror that, instead of showing you what faces it, shows you the back of the object in the mirror. Thus when you look in it you see the back of your head.

Ever Accesorizable Scarf -A scarf that changes colors on command

Sleeping Bag of Perfect Comfort - always get a good nights rest no matter where you put it down.

Stone of Teeth Whitening - put it in your mouth for 1 round and it turns your teeth white and gives you minty fresh breath

Ray's True Tongue of Tasting- tongue shaped stone when touched to food declares the food to be "Yummo!" or "Yukko!" in magic letters that appear on the surface. Only determines if Ray, the creator, would like the food or not (it is fond of overly hot and overly smoky flavors unappatizing to many creatures). Not whether you will like it. Does not detect poison or other harmful substances in food unless their flavor would make the food taste bad.

 

[Felix]

Wow. I've no idea how I missed the "Minor Magic Items" thread, which has about the same topic.

Perhaps a friendly neighborhood mod could please merge the two?

 

[IamTheTest]

...A magical whistle that everyone can hear in 40' radius with line of effect but makes no noise...

I don't understand this one. If everybody can hear it, isn't that the same as it making noise?

 

[Felix]

I don't understand this one. If everybody can hear it, isn't that the same as it making noise?

You wouldn't hear it if you were 41 feet away.

 

[jefgorbach]

I don't understand this one. If everybody can hear it, isn't that the same as it making noise?

The difference being limited to 40' - unsure of how far a normal whistle's sound travels but fairly certain its over the 40' limit ... making it a good alternative for party scouts needing to alert those who went down the other passage, at the top of the pit, etc WITHOUT alerting the room of hostiles 50' away (let alone the whole dungeon because of the echo effect).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

the one I came up with in middle school - the ethereal leash. A rope which is ethereal in the middle but solid on both ends, so the objects it is tied to can only go so far from each other but the rope passes through anything that gets in its way...