Post/Author/DateTime	Post
TMX 06-04-07, 05:34 AM	We're playing through the Ptolus setting, and in the bane warrens (basically, a repository of every evil item ever all sealed away for all eternity - except the seal has been broken). There was a hand. This hand could cast any wand as a free action. Awesome, you say. Give it to the wizard, he can use it with a wand of mage armour/shield/dispel magic. Then you think about it a second time. The hand. Can cast. Any Wand. As a free action. Paladin + Minor Artefact Sword + Wand of True Strike + Hand = Congratulations, you have won Dungeons and Dragons. Restart, Restore, Quit? So what items have you come across that the Designer has built with a clear purpose in mind, but a cunning player can completely break the game with?:)
buzzsawl 06-04-07, 06:01 AM	Potion of Sweetwater: Can turn absurd amounts of ANY liquid into pure water. :thinks: :smirk: :evillaugh Yes, I know the save should technically be abysmally low, but it's quite easy to argue that something that can turn a thousand cubic feet of acid into water should have a pumped up potency if released into a smaller area. Like oh...say...I dunno... The BBEG's bloodstream. As a bonus, it was cheap as dirt...25-50g or something.
Radijs 06-04-07, 06:03 AM	Sweetwater could destroy the world. Drop it in the sea, BAM all ocean life and coastal life destroyed. A few months later extreme salt shortages start to ocurr. It becomes impossible to preserve food and down civilisation goes!
buzzsawl 06-04-07, 08:16 AM	And that's why sweetwater is my favorite.
Matthew77 06-04-07, 10:15 AM	Make the wand a move action that provokes an Attack of Opportunity? Make it only able to work on non-instantaneous duration spells? Limit it so it can only use each spell once per day? Or, if the item is really needed as is for some reason, the DM and the Players sit down and discuss the item, realize that it has some broken uses, and agree not to use it for certian tactics. "Defensive spells only" isn't clear enough for a rule, but its clear enough for an agreement between gentlemen :)
Encard 06-04-07, 08:22 PM	The Decanter of Endless Water is the classic one, I think... Flooding dungeons is but one of its delightful uses.
JasonOrlandoHawk 06-05-07, 12:01 AM	The Decanter of Endless Water is the classic one, I think... Flooding dungeons is but one of its delightful uses. Sadly, I've yet to find a DM willing to let me Craft Wondrous Item my own, unique version of that classic item: The Decanter of Endless Holy Water If it lives in a Dungeon, and it doesn't drown, odds are this item will kill it anyways.
Yokomohoyo 06-05-07, 01:25 AM	Sadly, I've yet to find a DM willing to let me Craft Wondrous Item my own, unique version of that classic item: The Decanter of Endless Holy Water If it lives in a Dungeon, and it doesn't drown, odds are this item will kill it anyways. Just use the normal one and have the cleric bless the water :bounce:
NinjaPenguin 06-05-07, 08:55 AM	I'm going to go ahead and throw out the obvious ones: Nightstick. In combination with any of the Divine feats, these things become amazingly potent, and there is no limit to the number you can have that give you their extra turning attempts. +4 turn attempts each rod, and all I have to do is have it on my person, not even in hand? Yes please! Sure it was designed to simply give clerics more turns/rebukes per day. So? And even worse. Thought Bottle. I -think- this one was designed to offset the level loss from being raised, reincarnated, resurrected, or level drained. Then again, they might have known it would be used to reduce any XP cost of spells and item creation into triviality. Of course, this doesn't stop some loony from using it to gain an arbitrary number of levels in every class and prestige class and every possible feat known to man. Real Ultimate Power, or, failing that, ridiculously cheap crafting? Sign me up!
Drausktanchache 06-05-07, 10:56 AM	Diamond Dust - little shards of dimond + wind based spell = :doh: A friend's campaign ended in a trap with a room that had diamond dust on the floor, and a proximity triggered wind trap. :weep:
RobbyPants 06-05-07, 11:41 AM	In a 2E campaign, we had a longsword that had an gem in it with the spirit of a Maedar (sp?) - the male medusa. Basically, the sword was always effected by a stone to flesh spell, so we could cut through rock easily. It was fun carving alternate routes through dungeons. Of course, with the 3.5 version of adamantine, you can pretty much do this, anyway... Diamond Dust - little shards of dimond + wind based spell = :doh: A friend's campaign ended in a trap with a room that had diamond dust on the floor, and a proximity triggered wind trap. :weep: If it's dust, I doubt it would have enough weight to do anything more than make the PCs cough (unless you rule that it's toxic). It wouln't be able to penetrate the skin. If it's heavy enough to cause damage, then you need a wind spell powerful enough to project it at real speeds. At this point, the wind spell is what is so dangerous. You could just as easily use stones, or caltrops, or any number of other shrapnel-like things...
Optimator 06-05-07, 05:28 PM	Incense of Meditation = free wishes.
Drausktanchache 06-05-07, 10:07 PM	Diamond dust is basically shards of diamond that are about 2-5cm of roughly cut diamonds, it is quite destructive, and the room had, if we were to estimate the amount, about 50 lbs of diamond bits, if not more, assuming they weigh not much more than a few grams
EvilDeathBee 06-05-07, 10:38 PM	Even if it was just dust, it'd shred your lungs in a matter of seconds.
skywyze 06-06-07, 03:07 AM	Incense of Meditation = free wishes.How does that work, exactly? All it does is maximize your spells...
Madfox11 06-06-07, 10:00 AM	I think the reference of the wishes is towards candle of evocation and summoning efreeti... and then using the first wish to get the max permitted gold, buy another candle for a new wish. Rince/repeat.
RobbyPants 06-06-07, 02:43 PM	Diamond dust is basically shards of diamond that are about 2-5cm of roughly cut diamonds, it is quite destructive, and the room had, if we were to estimate the amount, about 50 lbs of diamond bits, if not more, assuming they weigh not much more than a few grams I don't know that I'd call 1/2" to 1" pieces of diamond "dust." Of course, that's pretty expensive. Once you're willing to spend that much money, you can generate some pretty deadly things quickly! I don't knw that I'd make it uber deadly. Just compare it to the crystal shard power from the XPH (1d6 per level).
KedynCrow 06-06-07, 03:00 PM	My favorite item has got to be the 2500 gp dandy, the Ring of Sustenance. Not so broken at first glance, just a little bauble to make the rigours of the adventuring life a little more bearable. No need to eat, no need to drink, and only two hours of sleep a night to be perfectly rested. In theory, a wonderful item. In practice? Hoo, boy. Just awesome. You would not even believe how often the plain little silver ring on my PC's right middle finger has saved him from starvation, poisoned water sources, and all kinds of night-time hazards. 2500 gp is nothing compared to 2000 gp a character level.
Jaith 06-06-07, 03:34 PM	I once was in a group back in 3.0 where we used rules from tome and blood to create a new magic item. We made enough of them for everyone in the party. The item cost a mere 2000gp by the standards of those particular rules in the tome and blood. It was a use activated item that cast a 1st level spell before every melee attack. The spell... truestrike. Thats a +20 to attack on every attack. And our dm actually allowed this. His reasoning being that we were 23rd or so level and he wanted to throw some extremely bad stuff our way soon anyway.
Eikre 06-06-07, 06:04 PM	Even if it was just dust, it'd shred your lungs in a matter of seconds. Alright, assuming you manage to get the terrible torrential speeds that would qualify this duststorm for flaying, why diamond? You could use sand, or broken glass, or pebbles, or metal shavings. Using diamonds is in the same league as the uranium sword.
EvilDeathBee 06-06-07, 06:24 PM	Sand can be sharp, but at that size, it's probably like tiny beads. Diamonds are sharp to the atom. They don't dull easily.
Eikre 06-06-07, 07:30 PM	Sand can be sharp, but at that size, it's probably like tiny beads. Diamonds are sharp to the atom. They don't dull easily. One: You refer not to size, but specification. If you decide to pull sand out of the desert or a riverbed, where it's been rolled around relentlessly, yes, it tends to have a specific sort of round shape. But you want the good stuff. You want sharp sand. Lucky you, see, because that's not difficultly obtained fresh from a bit of granite, which, as it would turn out, it much more common and much easier to grind than a diamond. Two: Sharp to the atom? Elaborate, before I place Graphite and Coal in the same category. Of all the qualities an atom can have, sharp is not a notable one. Three: They don't get sharp easily, either.
skywyze 06-06-07, 07:45 PM	One: You refer not to size, but specification. If you decide to pull sand out of the desert or a riverbed, where it's been rolled around relentlessly, yes, it tends to have a specific sort of round shape. But you want the good stuff. You want sharp sand. Lucky you, see, because that's not difficultly obtained fresh from a bit of granite, which, as it would turn out, it much more common and much easier to grind than a diamond. Two: Sharp to the atom? Elaborate, before I place Graphite and Coal in the same category. Of all the qualities an atom can have, sharp is not a notable one. Three: They don't get sharp easily, either.Agreed. I just thought I'd mention that, geologically speaking, sand is just a particle-size. Like silt and clay, but bigger-grained. It could be shaped like little teapots and it'd still be sand if it's shaped that way and made of the same stuff. I see no reason you couldn't have sharp sand.
Dawnshadow 06-06-07, 08:06 PM	Well, as far as my DM is concerned.. The wounding property on weapons. 1 CON damage per hit? Monk with a wounding flurry weapon, who cares about damage most of the time.
Encard 06-06-07, 08:15 PM	Wounding is nice... Of course, monks aren't best-known for their ability to hit, and a lot of things are immune to Con damage, or can survive the amount you deal and tear your legs off with their own full attack. I'm not sure I'd consider it broken.
Peregrine_Wolf 06-06-07, 09:48 PM	I think dual/multi-wielding Keened Rapiers of Puncturing is pretty bad.....with this one epic feat-can't remember it atm-you can make ltos of attacks with them. Stabby, stabby, stabby a few times; leave the swords in the enemy and Quick draw another pair. Stab, draw, repeat.....
EvilDeathBee 06-06-07, 09:57 PM	On to the more important thing. Which is cooler to have kill you, Sand or Diamond particles? *Note* Not trying to be a gigantic pain, I just like playing devils advocate once in a while. It leads to better conversation.
Nathreet 06-07-07, 12:23 AM	The Decanter of Endless Water is the classic one, I think... Flooding dungeons is but one of its delightful uses. 30 gallons per round. That's about 3 minutes per 5 foot cube. Good luck flooding that dungeon. Sadly, I've yet to find a DM willing to let me Craft Wondrous Item my own, unique version of that classic item: The Decanter of Endless Holy Water If it lives in a Dungeon, and it doesn't drown, odds are this item will kill it anyways. Just use the normal one and have the cleric bless the water :bounce: 25gp and a standard action per pint. Well, as far as my DM is concerned.. The wounding property on weapons. 1 CON damage per hit? Monk with a wounding flurry weapon, who cares about damage most of the time. Essentially equal to 1 damage for every 2 HD the target has. For a +2 equivalent you can also get 7 damage. Wounding isn't worth it against creatures with less than 14 HD. And even above 14 HD it isn't that spectacular.
skywyze 06-07-07, 01:00 AM	Essentially equal to 1 damage for every 2 HD the target has. For a +2 equivalent you can also get 7 damage. Wounding isn't worth it against creatures with less than 14 HD. And even above 14 HD it isn't that spectacular.Just curious, which +2 enhancement does 7 points of extra damage on impact? Edit: Oh wait, if you go by *average* damage, holy or bane would do exactly 7 extra damage. Those are both kind of specific, but probably no more so than anything that's vulnerable to ability score damage.
Dawnshadow 06-07-07, 08:11 AM	The way you think of it is: 30 CON, ungodly hit points. I just need to hit it 30 times and it dies (even with fast healing/regeneration), and for every 2 taps, it becomes more vulnerable to the wizard's save-or-dies. Every two hits dropping it by (HD) hp is a minor thing (until you face off something like a high-powered dragon).
NinjaPenguin 06-07-07, 08:33 AM	You know what's really fun to pull on your DM? Play a Rogue with UMD, then buy Druid's Vestments. Once per day you become a wold and crazy backup melee fighter with full sneak attack and probably better attack bonus than the party Fighter. Plus at higher levels you can probably get reach, making your Sneak Attacks all that much easier. My DM never though of how powerful it would be when I told him I wanted it. The best part is, your 'effective level' for the wild shape is your UMD check -20. So if you shoot your UMD through the roof, you can get crazy good forms before even the druid does.
Optimator 06-07-07, 12:30 PM	Oh, wow.
RobbyPants 06-07-07, 02:16 PM	One cool item in a game I ran came from two enchantments from the BoVD: Masterslaying and Fleshgrinding. Each one by itself is kind of nice, but together, the work great! A Masterslaying weapon is keyed to a scabbard or similar item. If the weapon is held by one person, and the scabbard by another, the owner of the scabbard can command the wielder of the weapon to attack themselves! It's usful if it gets stolen. A Fleshgrinding weapon can be used to deal somewhat continual damage. After attacking, the attacker can let go of the weapon and command it to grind. On the user's round, it deals damage to the defender as normal. The defender can use a standard action to make a Str check to pull it loose. After five rounds, the weapon stops and falls out. The problem is, they defender now has possesion of the grinding weapon. Now, together, you hit the defender, let go of the weapon, and start it grinding. Once the defender pulls it loose, you use the Masterslaying quality to have him attack himself again, and start the process all over! Add something like Flaming to have it deal extra damage every round!
Sajek 06-07-07, 04:11 PM	The following exchange happened a while ago, shortly after I had just aquired a Decanter of Endless Water. DM: You see a pit stretching in front of you. It spands the width of the corridor and is about fifty feet long. You judge it to be about two hundred feet deep, and you can see spikes and bones on the bottom. Six levers in various positions are on the left wall. The words (riddle that I have forgotten) are written above them. What do you do? Me: So the pit is 15x50x200 feet? DM: Yes. Me: I pull out my Decanter of Endless Water, aim it at the pit, and put it on geyser mode! DM (in order): :confused: :OMG! :censored: :banghead: :headexplo (several hours later) DM: :surrender: Ok, the pit is full, what do you? Me: I swim across. Yeah, that's just one of the uses for it.
Unferth 06-07-07, 05:09 PM	Me: So the pit is 15x50x200 feet? DM: Yes. Me: I pull out my Decanter of Endless Water, aim it at the pit, and put it on geyser mode! DM (in order): :confused: :OMG! :censored: :banghead: :headexplo (several hours later) DM: :surrender: Ok, the pit is full, what do you? Me: I swim across. Yeah, that's just one of the uses for it. That would take a bit over 62 hours, or not quite three days. Assuming you manage to rig something up to keep the decanter aimed in the right direction the full time against the DC 12 strength checks - not too hard, but it might take some thought in a dungeon. If you do it in 'only' 8-hour shifts, it'll take over a week. 30 gallons per round is the top speed for a decanter. That's about 4 cubic feet. (4.01041668, says Google). If the pit is really 15x50x200 feet, that's 150000 cubic feet, or 1,122,077.92 gallons. Dividing by 30, it'll be 37403 rounds to fill the thing up, or 3,740.3 minutes. 62 hours is 3,720 minutes, so you'd need 62 hours, 20 minutes before it's full. Decanters are handy, but not very useful for producing huge amounts of water on any kind of tight schedule. It's a bit over 3 minutes to fill a 5x5x5 cube. (31 rounds and a bit extra). And this is all assuming the pit/chasm has no holes, cracks or seams for the water to drain out of - I doubt it'll have a 300 gallons/minute outflow, but it could still slow down your attempt to fill it.