Uses for the useless - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Uses for the useless

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
mr.scruffy
Aug 10, 2011 14:16:59 Any seemingly useless items? This is where you can put some uses for them, from doors to magical tacos, what uses do you have for things?

1) Doors- can block things, great improvised weapon (if your strong enough), and can be used to cross things.
2) Glass bottle/jug- a weapon and caltrops in one!
#2
RedSiegfried
Aug 10, 2011 14:26:03 One group I played with found a rug. Just a rug. But for some reason we got obsessed with the rug because "it really tied the room together." The next session the DM said that anyone standing on the rug gets a +2 untyped bonus to hit as long as they're unbloodied and as a magic item daily power it could immobilize someone within 1 square until the end of their next turn.

The funniest thing was when we used it one time and the DM said that a giant rat, which is some sort of aquatic mammal, urinated on the rug which prevented it from working for a round. Must have been a nihilist marmot or something.

Man, that rug really tied the room together.

Another story, one time we were in a library and almost losing a fight with a tough zombie boss dude. Immobilized and out of options, we started throwing books at it. And killed it with a book to the head. I wanted to pick up a pen and use it as a throwing knife, proving that the pen is mightier than the sword, but the zombie died before I got a chance ... so we just said that the pen was the killing blow because it was fun.
#3
RedSiegfried
Aug 10, 2011 14:31:06 Oh, another one. Dust.

It makes excellent sneezing powder if you take a few minutes to gather some up and blow it in someone's face during a fight. A guy I DMd for came up with that idea and I granted him an attack with it and he hit, dazing the opponent till end of next turn. Perhaps a little powerful, but creativity is to be rewarded. (Also I told him he could only do that once.)
#4
mr.scruffy
Aug 10, 2011 14:46:34 I once picked up a spoon, a normal wooden spoon, in a zombie surrounded mansion

My dm decided to make it cool, so the spoon made a meteor ht a zombie, combined 3 into 1, and became extremely heavy later.

Then I died looking for it XD
#5
morandir62
Aug 10, 2011 14:48:02 Your transport; many people forget that these are usually large and can provide some form of cover.
#6
mr.scruffy
Aug 10, 2011 22:48:02 It was a magic item he made up, I recently learned the name: the "Spoon of Misfortune"
It makes bad things happen, and the meteor and stuff was all for fun
#7
Mad_Jack
Aug 11, 2011 1:26:48
A bag of marbles - roll them to check to see if the floor is level, roll them down the corridor to detect illusion-covered pits, throw them for distractions, pour them out to trip opponents, use the whole bag to hold down pressure plates or throw it to trigger traps...

A bag of flour - spread on the floor to see if anyone passes through the area, toss in the air to detect invisible creatures, use for making your dirty clothes look white, use it for making glue, heck, you can even bake biscuits with it...

#8
mr.scruffy
Aug 11, 2011 6:50:31 Bones- grind them into dust, sell then,(if in skeletons that were reanimated) or use them as blunt improvised weapons until they break, then make shanks
#9
shiningwolf88
Aug 12, 2011 9:36:31 In a game I was running, the party became obsessed with the cloth wrapping around and great magical artifact...not the artifact itself, just the cloth. Somehow they believed that no one would just wrap such a powerful item in plain cloth. Over the course of the adventure, it was first used as a tent when they went to the tundra, then cut into pieces for cloaks.

From there, one piece was used as a burial shroud, two pieces would then be used to sew a banner for the warlord, one of the cloaks was sold to a merchant for an absurdly high sum (I think like 10 plat at 9th lvl...he was a very good negotiator). The last of the pieces would end up being enchanted into a magical cloak, so that by the time the game ended, that simple cloth had lasted them from lvl 2 to lvl 18
#10
wolf__man007
Aug 12, 2011 11:07:25

"Your GM still refuses to actually read the rules for the system your playing doesn't he?"

"You might want to have someone look into that for you. I see some serious issues there."

Take DnD; subtract ingenuity and imagination -- you get Rataska. Goodness, man. Where is your sense of fun?

On topic - I've always been a fan of chalk. Use it for markings that might need to be hastily erased. Grind it up and use it the same ways Mad_Jack mentioned about the flour. It can even be used for emergency rations and to soothe stomach aches. Use it to keep your hands dry while climbing. (maybe +1 circumstance bonus to the check?) Use it to draw out quick battle plans, or to insult your enemies! Use it to mark where you've been in a maze.

Many other uses, just use your ingenuity and imagination! Or in the case of Rataska, it is only to be used on dark slate boards, and only during school hours... and only when the teacher tells you to.
#11
wolf__man007
Aug 12, 2011 12:11:02
You obviously missed this guys last 125 post long nightmare thread. The GM was trying to run 4th ed with 3.x rules and the only person to have the 4th ed PHB was a D_bag who told the other players he stole their starting cash to buy himself a magic item... This topic is much of the same sort of issue.

Yep, I missed that one.
#12
dracollich
Aug 12, 2011 22:23:56 A wooden table - (mind u this was in 3.5) Flipped on its back, the wooden table became a makeshift sled. Loaded my dwarf on it. Short swords jabbed point first into it for easy use. Crossbow at the ready. Was possed and ready to be pushed down the greased hall way into the globe of darkness we layed down at the door that he was to go crashing threw.....

A couple of horriable rolls later, the sled/table was in splinters at the foot of the door (which wasn't even scratched), and the dwarf was horriably backstabbed by the cook that came out of the secret passage we inadvertanly covered up with the darkness...

bad luck didnt end there, he got reincarnated as an Orc. Life wasn't kind to him.
#13
buchatar
Aug 13, 2011 6:10:22 A skull, cast the cantrip 'light' on it. Then proceed to scare the bajeebus out of any individual as a glowing skull flies through a door / window. With varying degrees of success.

It was just a little extra I placed onto a shelf in one of the first areas they roamed together, the wizard still has it, and they're level 12 now.
#14
vampire_bat
Aug 13, 2011 11:26:49 Skull + Light+ Spectral Sound (watever you call it) + mage hand = floating glowing moaning skull. Watch enemies waste spells/powers to kill the "demilich"!

Most useless item I made useful: party was attacked at camp, and a cooking pot makes a quick makeshift helmet. Makes you hungry though.
#15
MrCustomer
Aug 13, 2011 23:14:43
a simple gold coin, next to worthless by itself (onlu worth 1 gp) but when pulling it out before making a decision and calling it "The Power Coin of Decision" in a loud voice full of awe before flipping it, and others can believe it actually has some magic. Ened up selling this simple, oprdinary gold coin for 100 gold to another player.
#16
oxybe
Aug 14, 2011 11:03:08 10 ft pole + bent piton = fishing gaff. it's the 10ft pole. evolved.

marbles and copper coins are great targets for the light cantrip. marbles can be rolled down hallways while coins can be thrown/dropped and tend to stay stationary. cut a hole in the coin and you can wear it as necklace.

a 10Kg log can be called the backup rogue= you can roll it down hallways to activate pressure/trip traps, you can use it as a ram to help you bash down doors/chests, etc... and it doesn't take up a share of the treasure!

a metallic scroll/map case with a hole in the bottom + everburning torch = flashlight.

pitons are great for prodding at things (like small, finger-shaped holes in the wall or buttons), forcing things open (can be jammed in doors, chests, clockwork mechanisms, etc... to "stuck" them or apply pressure to help you open it), can hold a good amount of weight (remember that these are used to hold your weight when climbing), etc...

a 2x1 meter lenght of cloth/canvas. towels: you never know when you'll need one. can protect your hand when punching through glass windows, can be used to cover your mouth to stop smoke in a fire, can be soaked then used to snuff out a fire (or protect you as you run out), etc...

i'll double the chalk suggestion with one addition: if possible, get them in different colors.

candles. if you're worried about people going into your things when they're not supposed to, seal it with wax. it has little resistance and while it won't stop them from accessing it, it'll at least let you confirm someone's been in it. like "for X eyes only" documents. a paranoid smart adventurer can also use this to "seal" doors behind him and check later if he's being tailed
#17
pogminky
Aug 15, 2011 12:06:49 Hole at bottom of sword scabbard for impromtu breathing pipe (for hiding under water)

Chalk for marking directions in a dungeon

Bread - squish it down and use it to make a mould of a key

Sugar with boiling water - nasty weapon

Finger/toe nails - another improvised weapon (if thrown into eyes)

Water - very useful stuff water. Especially if you have lots of it.

Everburing torch + pipe + helmet = miner's helmet, hand's free for stuff
#18
DontEatRawHagis
Aug 15, 2011 17:27:13 Carriage wheels. Useful as shields. And since their are at least two on each carriage you can dual wield shields.
#19
wolf__man007
Aug 19, 2011 13:02:53
Finger/toe nails - another improvised weapon (if thrown into eyes)

Sick.
#20
morandir62
Aug 20, 2011 14:27:11
Carriage Wheels (Persecution Apparatus)

In the beginning of 4E, when gnomes were still monsters, my player’s encountered a nasty band of slaver’s led by a Gnome Arcanist. The fight was dirty and the gnome’s attacks were overwhelming. When the players finished they had had tied the gnome to the slave wagon’s wheels and healed him and began their interrogation. If they didn’t like the answers they drove for a mile with the gnome still attached, the gnome bided its time to gain the use of a HS and made his escape via “fey step” and continued to harass the player’s for a couple of levels. To this date my player’s still distrust any gnome they meet.
#21
mr.scruffy
Aug 27, 2011 8:29:47 Broken tables- can block doors
Vines- can make rope
Half table leg+vines+cloth armor shreds+any oil/fat= torch
#22
rambaldi
Aug 27, 2011 22:11:13 Arrows - used not for skewering people but for fishing down the holes in walls from dart traps.
#23
Saranghae
Sep 21, 2011 18:21:06 My DM once used a bucket that never ran out of water for a room's puzzle once. I decided to make a lid for it and put it in my bag. I often combined it with rope and/or a wizards frost/fire spell for various improv uses.

The very first time I played DnD I was a 3.5e Rogue (forget the race). I had two perfectly good daggers but would use rope (and eventually the bucket) for all combat purposes. I (thankfully) eventually learned to quit screwing around and use my weapons for their intended purposes.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mr.scruffy Aug 10, 2011 14:16:59	Any seemingly useless items? This is where you can put some uses for them, from doors to magical tacos, what uses do you have for things? 1) Doors- can block things, great improvised weapon (if your strong enough), and can be used to cross things. 2) Glass bottle/jug- a weapon and caltrops in one!
#2 RedSiegfried Aug 10, 2011 14:26:03	One group I played with found a rug. Just a rug. But for some reason we got obsessed with the rug because "it really tied the room together." The next session the DM said that anyone standing on the rug gets a +2 untyped bonus to hit as long as they're unbloodied and as a magic item daily power it could immobilize someone within 1 square until the end of their next turn. The funniest thing was when we used it one time and the DM said that a giant rat, which is some sort of aquatic mammal, urinated on the rug which prevented it from working for a round. Must have been a nihilist marmot or something. Man, that rug really tied the room together. Another story, one time we were in a library and almost losing a fight with a tough zombie boss dude. Immobilized and out of options, we started throwing books at it. And killed it with a book to the head. I wanted to pick up a pen and use it as a throwing knife, proving that the pen is mightier than the sword, but the zombie died before I got a chance ... so we just said that the pen was the killing blow because it was fun.
#3 RedSiegfried Aug 10, 2011 14:31:06	Oh, another one. Dust. It makes excellent sneezing powder if you take a few minutes to gather some up and blow it in someone's face during a fight. A guy I DMd for came up with that idea and I granted him an attack with it and he hit, dazing the opponent till end of next turn. Perhaps a little powerful, but creativity is to be rewarded. (Also I told him he could only do that once.)
#4 mr.scruffy Aug 10, 2011 14:46:34	I once picked up a spoon, a normal wooden spoon, in a zombie surrounded mansion My dm decided to make it cool, so the spoon made a meteor ht a zombie, combined 3 into 1, and became extremely heavy later. Then I died looking for it XD
#5 morandir62 Aug 10, 2011 14:48:02	Your transport; many people forget that these are usually large and can provide some form of cover.
#6 mr.scruffy Aug 10, 2011 22:48:02	It was a magic item he made up, I recently learned the name: the "Spoon of Misfortune" It makes bad things happen, and the meteor and stuff was all for fun
#7 Mad_Jack Aug 11, 2011 1:26:48	A bag of marbles - roll them to check to see if the floor is level, roll them down the corridor to detect illusion-covered pits, throw them for distractions, pour them out to trip opponents, use the whole bag to hold down pressure plates or throw it to trigger traps... A bag of flour - spread on the floor to see if anyone passes through the area, toss in the air to detect invisible creatures, use for making your dirty clothes look white, use it for making glue, heck, you can even bake biscuits with it...
#8 mr.scruffy Aug 11, 2011 6:50:31	Bones- grind them into dust, sell then,(if in skeletons that were reanimated) or use them as blunt improvised weapons until they break, then make shanks
#9 shiningwolf88 Aug 12, 2011 9:36:31	In a game I was running, the party became obsessed with the cloth wrapping around and great magical artifact...not the artifact itself, just the cloth. Somehow they believed that no one would just wrap such a powerful item in plain cloth. Over the course of the adventure, it was first used as a tent when they went to the tundra, then cut into pieces for cloaks. From there, one piece was used as a burial shroud, two pieces would then be used to sew a banner for the warlord, one of the cloaks was sold to a merchant for an absurdly high sum (I think like 10 plat at 9th lvl...he was a very good negotiator). The last of the pieces would end up being enchanted into a magical cloak, so that by the time the game ended, that simple cloth had lasted them from lvl 2 to lvl 18
#10 wolf__man007 Aug 12, 2011 11:07:25	"Your GM still refuses to actually read the rules for the system your playing doesn't he?" "You might want to have someone look into that for you. I see some serious issues there." Take DnD; subtract ingenuity and imagination -- you get Rataska. Goodness, man. Where is your sense of fun? On topic - I've always been a fan of chalk. Use it for markings that might need to be hastily erased. Grind it up and use it the same ways Mad_Jack mentioned about the flour. It can even be used for emergency rations and to soothe stomach aches. Use it to keep your hands dry while climbing. (maybe +1 circumstance bonus to the check?) Use it to draw out quick battle plans, or to insult your enemies! Use it to mark where you've been in a maze. Many other uses, just use your ingenuity and imagination! Or in the case of Rataska, it is only to be used on dark slate boards, and only during school hours... and only when the teacher tells you to.
#11 wolf__man007 Aug 12, 2011 12:11:02	You obviously missed this guys last 125 post long nightmare thread. The GM was trying to run 4th ed with 3.x rules and the only person to have the 4th ed PHB was a D_bag who told the other players he stole their starting cash to buy himself a magic item... This topic is much of the same sort of issue. Yep, I missed that one.
#12 dracollich Aug 12, 2011 22:23:56	A wooden table - (mind u this was in 3.5) Flipped on its back, the wooden table became a makeshift sled. Loaded my dwarf on it. Short swords jabbed point first into it for easy use. Crossbow at the ready. Was possed and ready to be pushed down the greased hall way into the globe of darkness we layed down at the door that he was to go crashing threw..... A couple of horriable rolls later, the sled/table was in splinters at the foot of the door (which wasn't even scratched), and the dwarf was horriably backstabbed by the cook that came out of the secret passage we inadvertanly covered up with the darkness... bad luck didnt end there, he got reincarnated as an Orc. Life wasn't kind to him.
#13 buchatar Aug 13, 2011 6:10:22	A skull, cast the cantrip 'light' on it. Then proceed to scare the bajeebus out of any individual as a glowing skull flies through a door / window. With varying degrees of success. It was just a little extra I placed onto a shelf in one of the first areas they roamed together, the wizard still has it, and they're level 12 now.
#14 vampire_bat Aug 13, 2011 11:26:49	Skull + Light+ Spectral Sound (watever you call it) + mage hand = floating glowing moaning skull. Watch enemies waste spells/powers to kill the "demilich"! Most useless item I made useful: party was attacked at camp, and a cooking pot makes a quick makeshift helmet. Makes you hungry though.
#15 MrCustomer Aug 13, 2011 23:14:43	a simple gold coin, next to worthless by itself (onlu worth 1 gp) but when pulling it out before making a decision and calling it "The Power Coin of Decision" in a loud voice full of awe before flipping it, and others can believe it actually has some magic. Ened up selling this simple, oprdinary gold coin for 100 gold to another player.
#16 oxybe Aug 14, 2011 11:03:08	10 ft pole + bent piton = fishing gaff. it's the 10ft pole. evolved. marbles and copper coins are great targets for the light cantrip. marbles can be rolled down hallways while coins can be thrown/dropped and tend to stay stationary. cut a hole in the coin and you can wear it as necklace. a 10Kg log can be called the backup rogue= you can roll it down hallways to activate pressure/trip traps, you can use it as a ram to help you bash down doors/chests, etc... and it doesn't take up a share of the treasure! a metallic scroll/map case with a hole in the bottom + everburning torch = flashlight. pitons are great for prodding at things (like small, finger-shaped holes in the wall or buttons), forcing things open (can be jammed in doors, chests, clockwork mechanisms, etc... to "stuck" them or apply pressure to help you open it), can hold a good amount of weight (remember that these are used to hold your weight when climbing), etc... a 2x1 meter lenght of cloth/canvas. towels: you never know when you'll need one. can protect your hand when punching through glass windows, can be used to cover your mouth to stop smoke in a fire, can be soaked then used to snuff out a fire (or protect you as you run out), etc... i'll double the chalk suggestion with one addition: if possible, get them in different colors. candles. if you're worried about people going into your things when they're not supposed to, seal it with wax. it has little resistance and while it won't stop them from accessing it, it'll at least let you confirm someone's been in it. like "for X eyes only" documents. a paranoid smart adventurer can also use this to "seal" doors behind him and check later if he's being tailed
#17 pogminky Aug 15, 2011 12:06:49	Hole at bottom of sword scabbard for impromtu breathing pipe (for hiding under water) Chalk for marking directions in a dungeon Bread - squish it down and use it to make a mould of a key Sugar with boiling water - nasty weapon Finger/toe nails - another improvised weapon (if thrown into eyes) Water - very useful stuff water. Especially if you have lots of it. Everburing torch + pipe + helmet = miner's helmet, hand's free for stuff
#18 DontEatRawHagis Aug 15, 2011 17:27:13	Carriage wheels. Useful as shields. And since their are at least two on each carriage you can dual wield shields.
#19 wolf__man007 Aug 19, 2011 13:02:53	Finger/toe nails - another improvised weapon (if thrown into eyes) Sick.
#20 morandir62 Aug 20, 2011 14:27:11	Carriage Wheels (Persecution Apparatus) In the beginning of 4E, when gnomes were still monsters, my player’s encountered a nasty band of slaver’s led by a Gnome Arcanist. The fight was dirty and the gnome’s attacks were overwhelming. When the players finished they had had tied the gnome to the slave wagon’s wheels and healed him and began their interrogation. If they didn’t like the answers they drove for a mile with the gnome still attached, the gnome bided its time to gain the use of a HS and made his escape via “fey step” and continued to harass the player’s for a couple of levels. To this date my player’s still distrust any gnome they meet.
#21 mr.scruffy Aug 27, 2011 8:29:47	Broken tables- can block doors Vines- can make rope Half table leg+vines+cloth armor shreds+any oil/fat= torch
#22 rambaldi Aug 27, 2011 22:11:13	Arrows - used not for skewering people but for fishing down the holes in walls from dart traps.
#23 Saranghae Sep 21, 2011 18:21:06	My DM once used a bucket that never ran out of water for a room's puzzle once. I decided to make a lid for it and put it in my bag. I often combined it with rope and/or a wizards frost/fire spell for various improv uses. The very first time I played DnD I was a 3.5e Rogue (forget the race). I had two perfectly good daggers but would use rope (and eventually the bucket) for all combat purposes. I (thankfully) eventually learned to quit screwing around and use my weapons for their intended purposes.