Low-level D&D Magic Items
For any low-level D&D character interested in making magic items, there aren’t many options. The best you can hope for are potions, scrolls, and a few measly wondrous magic items. Of course, the system is infinitely extensible, so any number of options exist for the creative player. Still, the Dungeon Master’s Guide leaves a lot to be desired. So, if you have a low-level spellcaster who is interested in making magic items of a more interesting or permanent variety, here are a few alternatives from the Orn campaign setting.
Amulet of Warding: An amulet of this sort is keyed to good, evil, law, or chaos, warding its wearer against creatures of that alignment just as if he were under the effects of a continuously active protection spell of the appropriate type (i.e. an amulet of evil warding bestows the effects of protection from evil, etc.). It bestows one negative level on any creature of the warded alignment type attempting to wear it. The negative level remains as long as the amulet is worn and disappears when the amulet is removed. This negative level never results in actual level loss, but it cannot be overcome in any way (including restoration) while the amulet is worn.
Faint abjuraction; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, protection spell of the appropriate type; Price 8,400 gp.
Bead of Mist: A tiny gray sphere of this variety is always cool and damp to the touch. It can be thrown or hurled up to 60 feet with no range penalties. Upon sharp impact, the bead bursts into a billowing cloud of mist equivalent to an obscuring mist spell. No damage is dealt to any creature struck by the bead, and the bead is consumed after a single use.
Faint conjuration; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, obscuring mist; 50 gp.
Boots of Drifting: These boots are constructed of beholder leather and inlaid with mithril. They allow the wearer to drift several inches over the ground in lieu of walking. While moving in this manner, the wearer receives a +5 enhancement bonus to Move Silently checks and all Survival checks made to track him have a base DC of 20 regardless of prevailing surface conditions. The wearer is likewise immune to caltrops, floor-triggered traps, and similar hazards. Additionally, whether the wearer is drifting or not, he is treated as if constantly under the effects of a feather fall spell.
A character’s movement while drifting is equal to his normal land speed. The wearer cannot fly, levitate, or tread on unstable surfaces (e.g. water, quicksand, etc.). The wearer may walk normally as desired, but loses the benefits of drifting (except for the feather fall effect) while doing so.
Faint transmutation; CL 4th; Craft Wondrous Item, feather fall, levitate; Price 5,500 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Boots of Travel: These ordinary leather boots ease the rigors of cross-country marching. The user gains a +4 bonus to Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march and receives nonlethal damage from hustling at half the normal rate (i.e. the character can hustle for two hours without a problem and begins receiving nonlethal damage every two hours thereafter). Additionally, the user is able to pass over difficult terrain more easily. Movement through trackless terrain is treated as movement along a road or trail, and movement along a road or trail is treated as movement along a highway (see Table 9-5: Terrain and Overland Movement in the Player’s Handbook). The user’s tactical and local movement rates remain unaffected.
Faint transmutation; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, bear’s endurance, longstrider; Price 3,750 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Bracelet of Preservation: This simple bracelet is made of river-washed pebbles strung together with twine. A bracelet of this sort grants its wearer the one-time ability to remain alive despite otherwise fatal injuries. If the wearer sustains enough hit point damage to reduce him or her to -10 hit points or less, the bracelet activates, keeping the wearer alive for one minute. No hit points are restored, but the wearer may still receive curative spells or effects as if he or she were alive. If, at the end of one minute, the wearer’s hit points are still less than -10, he or she dies normally.
Alternately, if a wearer of the bracelet is reduced to negative hit points and fails to stabilize while dying (see page 145 of the Player’s Handbook), the bracelet activates, stabilizing the character at -9 hit points on the round in which the character would have otherwise died.
Either use of the bracelet expends its magic, rendering it inert. Furthermore, the bracelet only prevents its wearer from dying as a result of hit point damage. Suffocation, drowning, death effects, and similar hazards that do not deal hit point damage affect the character normally without triggering the bracelet’s magic.
Faint necromancy; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, false life, gentle repose; Price 1,500 gp.
Cloth of Polishing: This ordinary-seeming cloth feels slightly oily to the touch. It can be used to quickly clean and polish any smooth surface at a rate of one square foot per round, leaving behind a spotless sheen. Due to this burnished appearance, anyone attempting to sell an item recently treated by the cloth receives a +2 circumstance bonus to the check. Polished items lose their luster normally, though the cloth itself need never be washed and can be reused indefinitely.
Faint transmutation; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, prestidigitation; Price 200 gp.
Compass of Guidance: This crystal compass has three needles, one that indicates true north, one that indicates the user’s origin, and one that indicates the user’s intended destination. The user must have a definite idea of the geographical location of the destination for the compass to function properly. Provided this condition is met, the compass adds a +10 circumstance bonus to Survival checks made to keep from getting lost.
Faint divination; CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item, know direction; Price 1,750 gp.
Phial of Dreams: This tiny bottle hangs from a silver chain and is fitted with a lid featuring a crescent moon design. For its magic to be effective, the phial must be worn around the neck, occupying the same space on the body as an amulet or brooch. The phial acts as a receptacle for somnolence, allowing its wearer to function without sleep for as long as it is worn. Wizards must still rest for 8 hours before preparing spells as normal.
Additionally, after every 24 hours of use, a quantity of fine blue sand appears inside the phial. This sand may be thrown on a creature (as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 5 feet), affecting that creature as if by an individually-targetted sleep spell. Sand removed from the phial fades away into nothingness if not used immediately. The phial holds a maximum of three uses of the sand at any given time, replenishing one use during every 24 hours that it is worn.
Due to their curious nature at rest, elves gain no benefit from the phial. Likewise, no sand is generated while the phial is worn by an elf.
Faint enchantment; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, owl’s wisdom, sleep; Price 2,700 gp.
Pouch of Foraging: This small pouch is embroidered with a berry bush design. Every morning at sunrise, 2d4 berries appear within the pouch. When consumed, these berries provide the same benefits as those created by a goodberry spell, providing nourishment equivalent to one meal and curing 1 point of damage per berry eaten. Any uneaten berries disappear at the following sunrise.
Faint transmutation; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, goodberry; Price 400 gp.
Prism of Illumination: This small, pyramid-shaped crystal continuously sheds light equivalent to a candle (shadowy light in a 5-foot radius). Once per day, the crystal can be used to reveal the meaning of any text that it illuminates. This ability functions as a comprehend languages or read magic spell, as appropriate to the nature of the writing, and lasts for up to 10 minutes.
Faint divination; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, comprehend languages, dancing lights, read magic; Price 300 gp.