1001 Cheap Magic Items (Let's come up with some)

[Bohandas]

279.) Amulet of Chilly Retribution

Once per day this amulet automatically casts Chill Touch on any creature that attacks its wearer in melee combat

faint necromancy; CL 1; Craft Wondrous Item, Chill Touch; Price 400gp

[jqavins]

279(b): Amulet of Chili Retribution
Any ill effects that would afflict the wearer due to consumption of chili, instead afflict the cook.

"Prepare your chili well, my friend, for you never know who will be eating."

[Aniikinis]

280.) Third Eye of Sight

With a clap of the hands, this small jewel, placed right between the eyes, sheds light in a 60 ft. cone ahead of it.

faint evocation; CL 1; Craft Wondrous Item, Light; Price 1000gp

[Maat Mons]

Third Eye of Sight
Price 1000gp

Okay, so it's a miniature bullseye lantern, with a forehead strap, and a casting of continual continual flame so you don't need oil.

How the ever-loving crap does it cost so much?

[Aniikinis]

Okay, so it's a miniature bullseye lantern, with a forehead strap, and a casting of continual continual flame so you don't need oil.

How the ever-loving crap does it cost so much?

It's not a headlamp nor does it have continual flame, that would have made it cost way too much. It's closer to a bindi than anything else.

Light (1/2)*1CL*2000(use-activated or continuous)gp for a total of 1000 gp. If it was a headlamp, and not a bindi, it would cost 1500gp due to Uncustomary space limitation multiplying the final cost by 1.5.

[Maat Mons]

One casting of continual flame costs 100 gp. That's 3x2x10 gp to pay an NPC to cast it, and 50 gp for the material component. Cast it on a small rock, then glue the rock to your forehead. You now have a hands-free light source. It lasts forever (duration: permanent). It clearly illuminates out to 20 feet, and gives shadowy illumination out to 40 feet.

Or have the NPC cast continual flame on a dull gray ion stone instead. You'd have to spend 25 gp on the ion stone but then you wouldn't have to worry about the glue coming lose.

Or have the NPC cast it on a mundane hat. The hat is still a nonmagical item, so it doesn't start taking op a body slot. You can just wear it over an actual magic item that does take up that slot. Or have the NPC cast continual flame on your magic helmet. You're not enchanting the helmet any further, you're just casting a spell on it, so it doesn't cost anything beyond what the spell does.

Or continual flame can be cast on literally any other item that you'll happen to have with you in a dungeon. However you go about it, your lighting needs are taken care of for 100 gp. So why spend 10 times as much on this thing?




What's that you say? You feel that a range of 60 feet merits a higher cost than a range of 20 feet? Well, we haven't exhausted our nonmagical tricks yet!

All you need is a tiny metal dish, with the inside polished. That will act as a reflector when the light source is placed within it.

How much does that improve the range? Well, a bullseye lantern shines twice as far as a hooded lantern. So our continual flame and reflector combo apparently has us up to 40 feet (and shadowy illumination out to 80 feet).

But how much does a reflector cost? Well, a bullseye lantern costs 5 gp more than a hooded lantern. So apparently the reflector costs 5 gp.

Okay, so 105 gp, plus whatever it costs to attach the pebble inside the reflector and attach the reflector to a band of cloth or leather. Then you tie it on your head, and you're good to go. If you want to get fancy, you can give it some sort of buckle.

And this still isn't taking up a body slot, because it's just mundane gear that happens to have a spell in effect on it. A spells with a permanent duration, sure, but that doesn't suddenly turn it into a magic item.



Don't like continual flame for some reason? Well, magic weapons can shed light as a torch for no additional cost. So, actually, the magic sword you're already holding is probably already giving you all the light you need. But let's say your magic sword is one of the ones that doesn't glow. Not to worry, one magical arrow costs 40 gp. Buy one of those, break the head off, and tie it on a string. Now you've got a necklace that sheds light as a torch.

And it still doesn't take up a body slot. Because arrows don't take up a body slot, even if they're magical. And that doesn't change if you tie a chord around the arrow and hang it from your neck.



Now, the most important thing when designing homebrew magic items is, not to slavishly follow the formulaic guidelines. You need to ask yourself "What is this item actually worth?" Well, it does it's job only slightly better than an existing item that costs 40 gp. And, unlike that item, it uses up a body slot. The fact that it takes up a precious slot, in general, cuts the price in half. But we should also add a little bit to account for the increased range.

So 25 gp seems like what we get at from comparing this item to other, similar items.

Now the litmus test. Would you buy it for 25 gp? I wouldn't, not when a slotless version is so darn cheep. But maybe someone would.

[Aniikinis]

I never expected it to be used, just decided to shee how stupid the item crafting rules can be. But yeah, I'd never spend more than like 20gp on something like this.

[jqavins]

Because of the body slot issue, I wouldn't have it you paid me the 25gp!

It was routine in my old AD&D parties to take an ordinary bullseye or hooded lantern and replace the wick with a pebble that has Continual Light on it. Cast the spell yourself (or ask your buddy to do it) and it's cost is zero, so you only pay the price of the lamp. We'd also carry Continual Light Copper Pieces (CLCP) with us routinely to throw ahead into dark corridors or drop down pits.

The fair idea here is to have a special lantern made with no fuel tank, both a reflector and a cover, and either add a leather strap to attach it to your forehead or rivet it to a light helmet (making a miner's helmet).

A nice addition would be a dimmable cover, controlled by turning a knob. That would be a magic item, but it should be slotless, as it works just as well when sitting on a table as when carried on the head.

Someone care to price this out?

281: Dimming Glass
This item is a piece of glass mounted in a brass holder. The holder has a knob on one side. Turning the knob in one direction causes the glass to darken (and turning the other way to lighten) anywhere from dead clear to completely opaque.

The glass may be of any shape and size; they are most often either discs or rectangles, from two to four inches (five to ten cm) across. Larger or more complex the shapes are more expensive. The brass frame must be crafted to fit the glass perfectly. The glass may be flat (e.g. a window) or a lens, with lenses, again, costing slightly more.*

These items are usually incorporated into other (magical or nonmagical) devices such as lanterns, though the very wealthy have been know to have whole windows made this way.

* This is to say that the enchantment is moderately more expensive for large pieces, and only slightly more expensive for complex shapes or lenses of modest size. This does not obviate the need to acquire a masterwork lens, window pane, or cut glass shape, which will certainly cost a pretty penny.

[Maat Mons]

Dimming Glass

You don't need magic for this. Two pieces of tourmaline would suffice.

[Elvensilver]

281) Bracelet/Bracers of Less Harm:
This Bracers may look like anything from wooden beads, to manacles. When worn, every 0th and 1th Level Spell deals minimum effects, making every rolled dice automatically a 1, for both duration and damage. This trinket is often given to children, who start to exhibit sorcerous power, or used in duels where the fight should not become life-threatening. Price: 400GP+base price of trinket

282)Robe of the creative spark:
This beautifully crafted red and orange robe grants dr1 against fire. Whenever you get subjected to fire, gain +5 for the next 10 rounds on a performance check. Electric and a sonic variants exit.
Price: 500GP, resistance & adoration

283)Familiar coat:
a little piece of cloth. If you somehow bind it to your familiar, you or him can 1/day activite it to disguise your familiar as part of your clothing or a accessoire, like a hat or a purse. This is an illusionary effect that lasts for 2hours or until broken. Price: 350GP, disguise self


284)Glove of wide reach:
This thin, almost see-through glove allows you to use mage hand up to five times per day for 10 rounds. Alternatively you can use this hand to administer a spell with reach "touch" in a radius of 4.5m/15feet. For this, you roll attack(the gole counts as a light weapon) against touch-AC, although targets can choose to be hit with the glove. For each spelllevel the glove needs 1 charge. Every night it regains 1D4 charges.
Price:1000GP, To craft: able to cast a second level touch spell, mage hand


285) Earrings of Whispers:
These large earrings are made from fluffy feathers, and usualy sold in sets of 2 to 5. When several persons wear this earrings, they can communicate with each other, for up to 1 hour in 10min intervalls as with the spell message. As long as the distance between any earrings doesn't exceed 50m/165' everyone can whisper/receive whispered messages. With a perception check of 30 the message can be understood by others.
Price: 100GP/Earring

[jqavins]

Cool, I did not know this one. However...

Absorptive polarizers

Certain crystals, due to the effects described by crystal optics, show dichroism, preferential absorption of light which is polarized in particular directions. They can therefore be used as linear polarizers. The best known crystal of this type is tourmaline. However, this crystal is seldom used as a polarizer, since the dichroic effect is strongly wavelength dependent and the crystal appears coloured. Herapathite is also dichroic, and is not strongly coloured, but is difficult to grow in large crystals.

So it seems that magic could do it better.

[Bohandas]

286.) Duplicant Paper

This sheet of paper has the special property that when it is placed against another piece of paper and the command word is spoken it copies the other piece of paper to itself. It can copy spellbook pages but provides no special ability to decipher their contents (so if it isn't from the user's own spellbook they have to succeed on a spellcraft check to memorize from it, as usual for a borrowed or stolen spellbook). A sheet of duplicant paper is single use.


Faint Transmutation; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, Amaunesis; Price 50 GP

[Bohandas]

287.) Glitter Bomb- This is flask filled with magic sparkles that when thrown duplicates on a single target the effect of a Glitterdust spell cast at caster level 3. Throwing it follows same rules as throwing alchemist's fire or holy water (ranged touch attack, range increment 10 feet)
Faint Conjuration; CL3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, Glitterdust; Price: ~50-75 gp (reduced from base calculation of 300gp due to smaller range and radius)

[Maat Mons]

287.) Glitter Bomb- This is flask filled with magic sparkles that when thrown duplicates on a single target the effect of a Glitterdust spell cast at caster level 3. Throwing it follows same rules as throwing alchemist's fire or holy water (ranged touch attack, range increment 10 feet)
Faint Conjuration; CL3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, Glitterdust; Price: ~50-75 gp (reduced from base calculation of 300gp due to smaller range and radius)

Hitting an invisible creature with a touch attack is easier said than done. First, you need to already know which square the invisible creature occupies. Second, there's a 50% miss chance, even if you guessed right. And then there's the attack roll itself.

Or is the actual intended use of this item to blind a foe you can already see?

Anyway, I feel this item compares unfavorable to flour pouch (Dungeonscape), glitterstone (MIC), and burning dust (DR334, p49).

[Bohandas]

Hitting an invisible creature with a touch attack is easier said than done. First, you need to already know which square the invisible creature occupies. Second, there's a 50% miss chance, even if you guessed right. And then there's the attack roll itself.

Or is the actual intended use of this item to blind a foe you can already see?

Anyway, I feel this item compares unfavorable to flour pouch (Dungeonscape), glitterstone (MIC), and burning dust (DR334, p49).

You can attack the square if you know the square.

Maybe I should tweak the wording

Ok. The modified part is underlined

287.) Glitter Bomb- This is flask filled with magic sparkles that when thrown duplicates, on a single grid square, the effect of a Glitterdust spell cast at caster level 3. Throwing it follows same rules as throwing alchemist's fire or holy water (ranged touch attack, range increment 10 feet)
Faint Conjuration; CL3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, Glitterdust; Price: ~25-70 gp (reduced from base calculation of 300gp due to smaller range and radius)

But yeah, if you're solely after blinding people you're probably better off filling the flask with mundane dust and broken glass as long as the creature has conventional eyes

[jqavins]

But yeah, if you're solely after blinding people you're probably better off filling the flask with mundane dust and broken glass as long as the creature has conventional eyes

Or making a magic item that produces a target blast of blinding light is a square. Or a Wand of Blindness, but that would cost more.

[Bohandas]

288.) Mental Protection Amulet
Up to three times per day this amulet gives a +10 resistance bonus to saves against attempts to mentally control the wearer.

weak abjuration; CL 1; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Protection From Evil or equivalent; Price ~888.8-1200 gp; Weight

289.) Idol of Zagyg's Wisdom
This is a small golden statue of the demigod Zagyg (the tutelar of humor and madness) that telepathically dispenses platitudes when beseeched for advice (open and read a fortune cookie every time the idol is entreated). Up to once per day a cleric of Zagyg or Boccob can use up a 5th level spell to gain an effect similar to a Contact Other Plane spell except that only one question can be asked, but the answer may be up to five words and they receive an answer even if they fail the save.

moderate divination; CL 10; Prerequisites Sanctify Relic, Contact Other Plame, Telepathic Bond; Price ~1000 gp + cost of any extraneous decoration; Weight 8 lbs?

290.) Abyssal Timepiece
This item is non magical and simple. Used by fiends (and twisted mortals) as a crude countdown timer or hourglass, it consists of an airtight glass jar into which a small animal is sealed. The amount of time it will take the creature to suffocate can be estimated by the creature's size (sometimes there's a reference guide etched onto the jar) and the creature is allowed to suffocate to death to measure that time span

Price: between 5cp and 2gp; probably somewhere around 5sp (cost of an iron pot in the srd)

291.) Rebrick
Made by mixing clay with certain magical plants and carving symbols on it representing the power earth, water, and fire, this brick has the power to be endlessly turned from brick back to clay, and from clay back to brick again.

Once per day a command word can be spoken to soften the brick back into clay. In this form it can be molded into any form the user desires (although complex shapes may require a craft(pottery) check to get right. A second command word, also 1/day, instantly rehardens it in whatever shape it currently is sculpted into.

Weak transmutation; CL 1; Prerequisites Craft Wondrous Item, Wall of Stone OR Stone Shape OR Create Water, Burning Hands and either Shatter or Soften Earth And Stone ; Price ~200-500gp; Weight 5lbs

292.) Rebrick, Greater
(As the rebrick, but no use per day limit)

Made by mixing clay with certain magical plants and carving symbols on it representing the power earth, water, and fire, this brick has the power to be endlessly turned from brick back to clay, and from clay back to brick again.

As often as desired a command word can be spoken to soften the brick back into clay. In this form it can be molded into any form the user desires (although complex shapes may require a craft(pottery) check to get right. A second command word, also as often as desired, instantly rehardens it in whatever shape it currently is sculpted into.

Weak transmutation; CL 4; Prerequisites Craft Wondrous Item, Wall of Stone OR Stone Shape OR Create Water, Burning Hands and either Shatter or Soften Earth And Stone ; Price ~100-2500gp; Weight 5lbs

[Maat Mons]

291.) Rebrick
Made by mixing clay with certain magical plants and carving symbols on it representing the power earth, water, and fire, this brick has the power to be endlessly turned from brick back to clay, and from clay back to brick again.

Once per day a command word can be spoken to soften the brick back into clay. In this form it can be molded into any form the user desires (although complex shapes may require a craft(pottery) check to get right. A second command word, also 1/day, instantly rehardens it in whatever shape it currently is sculpted into.

Weak transmutation; CL 1; Prerequisites Craft Wondrous Item, Wall of Stone OR Stone Shape OR Create Water, Burning Hands and either Shatter or Soften Earth And Stone ; Price ~200-500gp; Weight 5lbs

292.) Rebrick, Greater
(As the rebrick, but no use per day limit)

Made by mixing clay with certain magical plants and carving symbols on it representing the power earth, water, and fire, this brick has the power to be endlessly turned from brick back to clay, and from clay back to brick again.

As often as desired a command word can be spoken to soften the brick back into clay. In this form it can be molded into any form the user desires (although complex shapes may require a craft(pottery) check to get right. A second command word, also as often as desired, instantly rehardens it in whatever shape it currently is sculpted into.

Weak transmutation; CL 4; Prerequisites Craft Wondrous Item, Wall of Stone OR Stone Shape OR Create Water, Burning Hands and either Shatter or Soften Earth And Stone ; Price ~100-2500gp; Weight 5lbs

Two lumps of clay can be combined together into one, bigger clump. One clump of clay can be divided into two smaller lumps. I'm not sure that it makes sense to treat a quantity of clay as a discrete magic item.



I'm surprised this isn't based on Transmute Rock to Mud and Transmute Mud to Rock.



Also, isn't this kind of shapesand?

A jug filled with shapesand costs 100 gp and weighs 12 pounds. An empty jug weighs 9 pounds. So 5 pounds of shapesand costs less than 200 gp.



I'd be inclined to call it "psychomorphic stone," and have it be the inverse of shapesand. Shapesand is solid only when controlled, and amorphous otherwise. This could be amorphous only when controlled, and solid otherwise.

[Bohandas]

Two lumps of clay can be combined together into one, bigger clump. One clump of clay can be divided into two smaller lumps. I'm not sure that it makes sense to treat a quantity of clay as a discrete magic item.



I'm surprised this isn't based on Transmute Rock to Mud and Transmute Mud to Rock.



Also, isn't this kind of shapesand?

A jug filled with shapesand costs 100 gp and weighs 12 pounds. An empty jug weighs 9 pounds. So 5 pounds of shapesand costs less than 200 gp.

I totally forgot about both Shapesand and Transmute Rock to Mud

[Bohandas]

Also, isn't this kind of shapesand?

A jug filled with shapesand costs 100 gp and weighs 12 pounds. An empty jug weighs 9 pounds. So 5 pounds of shapesand costs less than 200 gp.

It's definitely similar to both shapesand and that one psionic metal that melts into goo if there's no psionic creatures around. This item however has the distinction of staying in the form you put it in

Hitting an invisible creature with a touch attack is easier said than done. First, you need to already know which square the invisible creature occupies. Second, there's a 50% miss chance, even if you guessed right. And then there's the attack roll itself.

Or is the actual intended use of this item to blind a foe you can already see?

Anyway, I feel this item compares unfavorable to flour pouch (Dungeonscape), glitterstone (MIC), and burning dust (DR334, p49).

I looked over the glitterstone description. It's definitely a more powerful item than my glitter bomb, but it's also massively more expensive.

[Maat Mons]

#293

Unlucky Charms

Price (Item Leve): 325 gp (1st)
Body Slot: Wrist
Caster Level: 1rd
Aura: Faint (DC 15) transmutation
Activation: Immediate (mental)
Weight: -

This charm bracelt has 13 tiny onyx cats dangling from it.

Unlucky charms make it harder for your foes to avoid your deadliest attacks. When you fail on a critical confirmation roll, you can immediately reroll. The result of the second roll replaces the result of the first.

Unlucky charms are created with 13 charges. Each time a charge is used, one of the cat charms crumbles to dust.

Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, doom.
Cost to Create: 162 gp, 5 sp, 13 xp, 1 day.



Edit: Originally, I posted this with silver-skull charms. But that seemed so... tryhard. I considered tiny broken mirrors, ladders, and footless rabbits. But onyx cats has kind of has a ring to it.

[Bohandas]

294.) Watchsnake (or Chronouroboros)- These are miniscule snakes that tell time. Technically watchsnakes are creatures, closer to symbionts than to true magic items; they were originally created out of hoop snakes and chameleons by an eccentric wizard. They are the size of small garden snakes and coil onto the wearer's wrist, locking in place by biting into notches in their tail like a miniature ouroboros. On their backs is a black circle surrounding a color changing patch which displays a clock face. This keeps accurate time, althouh they drift by a half hour per day on any day in which they are unable to perceive the changing levels of sunlight as the day progresses (although observing through a window is sufficient)

Price ~30-800 gp; I've got no idea.

[Maat Mons]

It feels kind of weird to write up an item that keeps less than perfectly accurate track of time.

I mean, take a 1/day item of a 0th-level spell. It costs 180 gp, and it always knows when exactly 24 hours have passed. You even have some items like Healing Belt, which have an "every day at dawn" clause, meaning it always know exactly when dawn is, even if it was created in the Underdark and has never once been anywhere near the surface.

I believe a magic timepiece should have all the following characteristics:

• A hand on the main dial showing the position of the sun (straight up at noon, straight left at sunset, straight down at midnight, and straight right at sunrise)
• A hand on the main dial showing the position of the moon
• A small inset dial for the phase of the moon
• Ability to keep accurate time forever inside a dungeon
• Ability to adjust itself if taken to a different part of the planet
• Ability to change how many dials of each type it has if taken to a different plane
• Very low cost

[Bohandas]

It feels kind of weird to write up an item that keeps less than perfectly accurate track of time.

I mean, take a 1/day item of a 0th-level spell. It costs 180 gp, and it always knows when exactly 24 hours have passed. You even have some items like Healing Belt, which have an "every day at dawn" clause, meaning it always know exactly when dawn is, even if it was created in the Underdark and has never once been anywhere near the surface.

I believe a magic timepiece should have all the following characteristics:

• A hand on the main dial showing the position of the sun (straight up at noon, straight left at sunset, straight down at midnight, and straight right at sunrise)
• A hand on the main dial showing the position of the moon
• A small inset dial for the phase of the moon
• Ability to keep accurate time forever inside a dungeon
• Ability to adjust itself if taken to a different part of the planet
• Ability to change how many dials of each type it has if taken to a different plane
• Very low cost

I was trying to balance it against the overpriced clock and hourglass in the PHB. And the fact that it's an exotic animal. But you're right, the lowball 30gp price (or possibly slightly lower) for the snake watch is probably the one to go with.

anyway

295.) Ring of Junkfood
This ring grants a +1 resistance bonus to fortitude saves to avoid ill effects from eating spoiled, poisoned, or diseased food
Faint abjuration; CL 1; Forge Ring, Purify Food and Drink or Resistance; Price 25-250gp?

[Bohandas]

296.)Lemon Grenades

When life gives you lemons, burn life's house down -Cave Johnson

These lemons have been ensorcelled to work like a slightly acidic version of the acorn grenade function of the fire seeds spell, dealing 5d6 points of fire damage plus 1d3 points of acid damage to the main target and 5 points of fire damage and 1 point of acid damage as splash damage.

Faint Evocatiom; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, Fire Seeds or Fireball and Acid Splash; Price 250 gp; Weight 1/4 pound

EDIT:
297.) Artifake
This is an otherwise non-magical item (can be of any sort) that has been enchanted to have an overwhelming magic aura.
Overwhelming illusion; CL 1; Craft Wondrous Item, Nystul's Magic Aura; Price 1000? (~100-2000)

[Vaern]

Copying this one from the other 1001 Items thread, since the price is low enough to fit in here...

298) Sorcerer's Sharpening Stone
Nothing about this item seems to indicate that it is anything other than an ordinary whetstone.
If the owner of a sorcerer's sharpening stone spends at least five minutes using it to hone a piercing or slashing weapon, that weapon gains a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 hour. This ability functions once per day.
Faint transmutation; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, magic weapon; Price 800 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Cost to create: 400 gp, 32 xp, 1 day

[Bohandas]

299.) Painting Frame
When the user looks through this empty picture frame and says the command word a painted picture of whatever the user sees through the frame (at the time of the command word being spoken) appears inside the frame sometime in the next 1d4 rounds
Faint Conjuration; CL 3; Prerequisites Craft Wondrous Item, Detect Thoughts OR Clairvoyance OR Scrying OR amaunesis, Plus Fabricate OR Silent Image OR any Creation spell; Price 750 gp (based on 750gp sale price of mundane video camera in Castle Greyhawk); Weight ~1lb