Magic Item Question: Low-Level Navigation Aid

[ptolemy18]

Hello everybody,

One of my player-characters has earned a magic item of their choice from an NPC magic-item-craftsman. (But they're only second level, so I'm trying to cap their request at around 4,000 gp value... and the player isn't too familiar with the rules... so they're asking for a magic item *in-character*, not directly pointing at the DMG and saying "I want one of these." )

They said they'd like something similar to the Marauder's Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: a magic tactical guide which shows their location and that of nearby people/creatures. I can imagine making a new item with those powers, but it'd be way too powerful (eliminating surprise, etc., and also weakening my ability as DM to make the players wander blindly through mazes and so on).

Does anyone have any ideas for a magic item of around 4,000 gp value with *some kind* of navigational/surprise-avoiding/locating/not-getting-lost/terrain-investigating powers? Is there anything I've missed in the DMG that would be reasonably appropriate but not too awesomely powerful?

I've considered some item that grants Clairvoyance, maybe charge-based or maybe once a day (but still, that's a 3rd level spell)... or something that locates and tells the numbers of nearby creatures (kind of like radar: "Ten red dots are approaching!" ), which I'd have to make up... but that's powerful too.... :/

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Jason

 

[dcollins]

As DM, I wouldn't really consider this. It has two major problems -- (a) the general problem of designing new magic items at-will, which counts as a House Rule under "Variant: New Magic Items" (in DMG). And (b), a fairly cheap auto-navigation aid like this would radically change the whole campaign setting as far as how traders and shipping find their way around (as compared to medieval technology, where the very idea of using a chart for sea travel wasn't invented until around the 13th century).

Simplest thing here is for the NPC to say "Nope, never heard of anything like that. How about eyes of the eagle?" (and make sure the NPC has all prerequisites for whatever). At any rate, new tailor-designed items shouldn't just fall into a PC's lap on request, it should at the very least require PCs spending research time on it.

http://superdan.net.home.comcast.net/dndfaq3.html

 

[KerlanRayne]

How about an item that automatically maps where the user has been? It will show the location of the group as a whole, only show items of interest that the user has already seen or knows about, and the user can only see where he has been, not previous users. (He could however show it to someone else.) Maybe even be able to add markers to the map if commanded.

What do you think?

KerlanRayne

 

[ptolemy18]

As DM, I wouldn't really consider this. It has two major problems -- (a) the general problem of designing new magic items at-will, which counts as a House Rule under "Variant: New Magic Items" (in DMG).

Well, the mere fact that it's an item not found in the DMG doesn't make it automatically unbalancing. :/ I mean, every DM's individual campaign universe is free to include whatever weird stuff they like, as long as they can make it adjust to their own ideas of game balance and fairness and internal consistency. Just as, as a DM, I don't *have* to let the players say "Look, it's a new class in COMPLETE ARCANE, you've got to let me play it!" (Of course, it's always a good idea to admit new stuff, but I'd have to make sure it fits in the campaign.) I'm not running an "Official Greyhawk" campaign, so as the DM, like any DM, I have ultimate authority over what's allowed to happen and what's allowed to exist in the campaign world. Of course.

As for the problem of spontaneously introducing a "new" magic item... In-character, the NPC wouldn't be inventing a "new" magic item just for this request, they'd just be looking through their records of "how to make" hundreds of different magic items and finding one which sort of fits the player's request. It's only out-of-character that I'm "inventing" one. The list of magic items which exists in this campaign world is (of course) not necessarily the same as the list in the DMG; and in-character, the PCs don't know what magic items do and don't exist.

(Now of course, if it were a PLAYER trying to make a new magic item, I might have to be more cautious... but the player-characters are all really low-level so I don't have to worry about that yet. )

And (b), a fairly cheap auto-navigation aid like this would radically change the whole campaign setting as far as how traders and shipping find their way around (as compared to medieval technology, where the very idea of using a chart for sea travel wasn't invented until around the 13th century).

Here you are totally right and I totally agree with you. Their original request is way too powerful. I'm thinking of giving them one of the following:

* A gem or crystal which shows the location of living things within 60' (so, for instance, if there was an invisible creature nearby, they'd know what square it was in... maybe it wouldn't show undead & constructs, though)
* A +1 sword with the ability to cast "locate object" once per day

Both of these are pretty far from what they asked for, but their request was just too powerful.

(and make sure the NPC has all prerequisites for whatever).

Actually, this NPC doesn't even have full stats written up, but they're speaking for a big group of NPC clerics whose specialty is forging magic items, so I'm assuming that someone in the group can make just about anything.

Jason

 

[ptolemy18]

How about an item that automatically maps where the user has been? It will show the location of the group as a whole, only show items of interest that the user has already seen or knows about, and the user can only see where he has been, not previous users.

That's pretty useful in-character, but it's probably too close to the players' own out-of-character ability to copy down whatever maps I draw or show to them....

Jason

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Limited charge items are a DM's friend.

Give them something close to what they ask for, but have the NPC warn them that it can only be used a few times (say, 5 charges). They'll hoard it and only use it emergencies, most likely, and you can even base a part of your adventure around them using it to solve some problem.

 

[Doctor Bomb]

I don't have it on me right now (travelling) but the little green book of magic items by Green Ronin (I think) has several magic maps, and all of them are out of that 4,000 gp range. Not game breaking, but out of the reach of your players.
I agree with the idea for a limited use item, or perhaps a regional map (surrounding 100 miles or so) that can be used to locate (down to the nearest 5 miles) a specific creature, creature type, or terrain type.
Not too powerful, but definitely able to point them in the right direction for those darned overland hikes through the Forest of Dread.

 

[Sejs]

Honestly - it would be expensive. But as has been said, it's a pretty powerful item so, really, it -should- be expensive.


Anyway. Quick. Dirty. To the point.


Look at Commune with Nature. Base it off that. And definitly limit that function to X/day uses. Say, 3.

Maybe worthwhile to have it with a secondary feature of automatically drawing in parts of the map that the owner has already been thru personally, but without any special features such as people-tracking or such. Just your standard ink lines showing this street that's so wide going in this direction, a door is here, over here is Bob's Thrift Mart and so on - just as if a normal, mundane mapmaker had drawn it.

 

[getyourspotusa]

There is an item in the Epic Level Handbook that does something very similar, among other epic-y things, for like 460,000 gp. It's the only core D&D item I've ever seen that was similar in scope...

 

[The Amazing Dingo]

No surprise here, but I have to agree that such an item is definately outside the 4,000 gp limit.

I would perhaps give them something similar but with numbered uses and a little flexibility.

(1) Scrolls of Mapping. Whenever the ribbon on the scroll is removed, the magic immediately takes effect. Without any needed quill or ink, the scroll begins to create a map of the surrounding 100' by 100' area. Doors and passageways, including secret passageways are shown, along with any traps that involved stonework, pitfalls, or sliding walls/passages. It also shows any permanent structures within rooms (i.e., fountains, built-in statues, columns, however not movable tables, chairs, etc.). The map will also function outdoors and show largescale terrain features (a forest in its entirety however not each individual tree). It will also show all caves and holes larger then 2' in diameter.

(2) Ink of Appearance. This ink, when dropped on a parchment of paper that has a fairly accurate map of an area (Craft check of 15+ in the making of the map) will show the placement of all living things on the map of size Tiny or larger, along with the creatue(s) real-time movement. Creatures invisible or hiding are displayed, however creatures hovering or flying are not displayed. No names or identifications are displayed, however a reasonable portrait of the creature(s)' feet are shown in a proportinate size.

Its not either one and both are limited and both could be used at the same time, but not necessarily. It gives both flexibility and limit to the power of the items. I know there could be some problems with some of it (will the map show the top and surroundings of a 500' cliff if opened within range of it?) but those can be worked around.

Anyway, just my two cents.