Coolest magic item??

[upidstay]

What's the coolest magic item you've ever owned or created?

Ring, armor, sword, staff? What did it do?

I'll post mine later, but right now I gotta go.

[Kilrex]

The Staff of Ur-Li

Was a monk item that could transform into alot of useful stuff. Was normally a quarterstaff, but could transform into a short spear, spear, long spear, nunchuks, man-catcher, battering ram, 10ft pole, and a board 10ft long by 1 ft wide. Was an intelligent item and could make other transformations as long as they were simple. It counted as a +1 but had the returning and lawful abilities.

[ARMarcoux]

Close tie
...a staff that had the spirit of an elder dragon in it. Controlled a player subconsciously to gather certain components and go on some quests in order to restore the dragon spirit into its living form.
...golden glove that was empowered with different forms of healing inside (such as Healing HP, regen, resotration, etc). Made for a useful priest/cleric item.

[Malruhn]

My favorite was a cursed ring.

The Ring of Charming.
When donned, the wearer becomes instantly aware that this ring is very, VERY valuable and powerful! He will claim it immediately as either a portion or the entire share of treasure - even to the point of owing other PC's in the group. There is no drive to get it identified, however, and the player will just admire it and wait for it to reveal its powers when they are due and he is worthy.

TRUTH: The ring doesn't do a durned thing other than take up a ring slot.

[Webhead]

As a player, this would have to be a toss-up between two items: the Mysterious Mug and the Hammock of Protection.

1) Mysterious Mug - a magical mug that has 1 of 6 random effects upon anyone who drinks from it. I don't recall all the effects, but one of them was that it turned the liquid into a choking vapor which incapacitated the drinker for a few rounds. We got some very lucky use out of this one, convincing a would-be assassin to allow us to drink with him as a "last request"...hehehe...

2) Hammock of Protection - a magic hammock that would ensnare anyone who approached the person sleeping in it, dumping the sleeper on the ground to wake them. Needless to say, many a nighttime surprise attack was foiled by this beauty.

I've always preferred unusual magic items to boring "+1" magical bonuses.

As a GM, my favorite items are original cursed items that I whip up from time to time. Here's a couple good ones:

1) Ring of "Blinking" - This ring causes the wearer to blink one eye uncontrollably. This effect imposes a -2 penalty to Dexterity or sight-based attribute and skills checks and all attack rolls as well as a -5 penalty on Concentration checks. The wearer also cannot get good rest and thus does not recover hit points from sleep as normal.

2) Bag of "Holding" - This otherwise ordinary Bag of Holding I has an additional, dastardly effect. When in someone's possession, that being is permanently affected by a Hold Person or Hold Monster spell. As with all cursed magic items, a Remove Curse spell is needed to release the bearer from his deathly stillness.

3) Lyre of "Buildings" - When the bearer of this lyre is under any form of high stress (such as during combat or situations of heightened emotion), they become compelled to seek indoor habitation with irresistible force. The bearer moves swiftly (but not so swift as to be careless) in the direction of the nearest building or enclosed structure and can perform no other actions until this compunction is met. Once they reach an enclosed area, or if they are in such an area when the effect is triggered, they immediately begin mindlessly playing the lyre for 1d10 rounds. When finished playing, the bearer may act normally, though she may not voluntarily relinquish possession of the lyre and will violently defend against any attempts by others to take it. This triggered defense does not activate the effect of the lyre.

4) Boots of "Speed" - The world around the wearer seems as if permanently cast at lightning speed. The wearer is permanently affected by a special form of the Slow spell. In addition to the spell's normal effects, the wearer's speech is affected, making it sluggish enough to make communication with others difficult.

[Anaesthesia]

The best magic item I created for a player was the Mask of Charming. You could either have a full mask or a partial mask (like the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera). On command, it would charm anyone looking at the mask, if they failed their will save. The PC who wore it-a CN Bard/Outlaw of the Crimson Road-had it crafted to look similar to Oldimarra's symbol and robbed several people while they were charmed.

[tesral]

Why do people consider screw the characters items cool? A cool item is one that everyone gets to have fun with.

I am most fond of the items of practical magic. Everyday things that are enchanted to some comfort benefit to the character that has them, or even the whole group.

[Webhead]

Why do people consider screw the characters items cool? A cool item is one that everyone gets to have fun with.

Thinking that this general notion may be partly directed at me for my list of cursed items, I offer the following expansion and clarification upon the topic:

I never take a "screw the PCs" approach to running my games. It just doesn't make sense. It's supposed to be about having fun sharing an imaginary world. And if that imaginary world is predicated upon an "us versus them" philosophy, then it really becomes less a shared storytelling experience and more a series of constantly escalating attempts at comeuppance.

In my D&D campaigns, I very rarely throw cursed items at the PCs. Sure, they are an interesting and usually unexpected twist, but most often they only serve to frustrate players by hamstringing them in some fashion. In short, a cursed item's purpose is only to take the PCs down a peg...not something that is terribly conducive to a fun session/adventure.

Yet there is the element of the unexpected that cursed items represent that is appealing on occasion. So what does a DM do? For me and my campaigns, the answer is this: use a cursed item as something more than a thorn in the paw of the PCs, turn it into a brief subplot or source of comic relief.

All of the "cursed" items that I've ever introduced to PCs as a DM (which probably equates to 3 over the course of about 8 years of running D&D games) had very short-term influence upon the game (none lasting longer than a session and a half) and were specifically and blatantly intended to make the players chuckle and liven up roleplaying encounters. Like the Ring of Blinking. It makes for some fun and memorable encounters when a PC tries charming the sorceress employing them out of additional supplies, all the while his right eye blinking vigorously.

I generally talk about cursed items more than I actually include them in a D&D game. That said, when I do decide that I want to include one (which is almost never), I make sure that its true purpose is to actually make the game more quirky and fun in some way. If the cursed items does not pass this basic "test", then it has no place in my game.

[cplmac]

Sunblade. Came in handy with an encounter with a vampire.

[spotlight]

My favorite majic item? That's easy, it is a little white glove that is still laying on a small pedistal. Even though five separate adventuring parties have passed near by, none have yet bothered to explore this room.

Just because it is guarded by a tribe of Kobolds, I mean, after all, how difficult is THAT???

[upidstay]

One of them is

"The Fist of Clangeddin". +3 Holy Keen Dwarven War Axe. Gives 2 negative levels to any evil being who handles it, functions as a +1 Dwarven War Axe for a non-dwarf. Will turn water to holy water by touch, functions as a Cleric's holy symbol.

Another:
The Arm of Sree Topak. A mithral bracer. Fires 25 magic missles per day, up to 5 per shot. Grants a +5 armor bonus. Grants a +3 bonus to saves. Also has 5 rings that go along with it, plus a chain that joins all 6 items together.
Ring 1: +3 Ring of Protection
Ring 2: Feather Falling
Ring 3: Energy Resistance Fire 15
Ring 4: Energy Resistance Cold 15
Ring 5: Energy Resistance Electricity 15
Chain: May be worn seperately. Grants SR 25
With all 5 rings and the chain properly placed, wearer can Passwall, and Teleport at will once per day.
This is obviously a very powerful item, and a campaign was built around finding all of the pieces. Took them from 2nd to 20th level to find it.

Mail of the Dragon Lord: Golden Chain Mail +5. No arcane spell failure or armor check penalty. Max dex bonus +6. Weighs 10lbs.

Boots of the Master Thief:
+10 on Climb, Jump, Tumble, Move Silently, and Balance checks.

Gloves of the Cat Burglar
+15 on Climb checks, +10 on Sleight of Hand checks, has an extra dimensional pocket in each glove, will hold up to 3 daggers or an equivalent sized object(s).

Mask of the Charlatan. Wearer gains +15 on Diplomacy and Bluff checks.

"Flash-Bangs": Function just like the ones the SWAT guys use. It's an egg sized stone that explodes in a loud bang with a bright flash of light. DC 15 save or blinded and deafened for d4+1 rounds. Especially effective against Drow or other light intolerant critters.

I also have some more mundane items.
Dimoorin Heating Stones.
Basically, they're rocks that slowly get hot. Generally used for cooking. Smalls ones can be carried in a pocket, user can set the heat level. May be used simply as "hand warmers" or for boiling water. Larger ones may be placed inside ovens. These were created by an enterprising mage character of mine. Were sold to the general populace, saved many from freezing to death after the king imposed a hefty tax on coal.

[Malruhn]

Another that I liked was the Sword of Groqx (pronounced: Grocks). Please remember that this was 2nd Edition.

Groqx was a lawful neutral half-orc fighter that was trying to further his deity (Ilneval, orcan deity of Battle) through non-evil means, and was played as more devout than any character I have ever seen prior to this (or since!). Prior to any battle, he dedicated the battle and all liberated souls to Ilneval, and after battle, he thanks Ilneval for the chance to prove his skill and promote the orcan ideal throughout the land. He tithed probably 80% to the church - which blew me away.

He decided to have a blade made that was dedicated to his god, and the player took me by surprise so I had to wing it. Personally, I think I outdid myself.

By the end of the night, Groqx was at zero hitpoints, the blade had been thrice forged and thrice cursed, quenched in the blood of a human, a dwarf and an elf, all slain in fair (yes, fair!!) single battle, with Groqx receiving no healing between battles.

In the end, the sword did nothing... and everything. It was officially a +0 sword, but acted as if it had a +7 enchantment (remember, in 2nd edition, various critters needed +X magical bonus to be hit), allowing the blade to hit everything - but gave no actual bonus to hit or damage. Since Groqx was so proud of his own prowess, any kill he made was truly "his" rather than his sword's. There were two gems inset (the blade looked like the horribly stereotypical mythical barbarian sword, with a demon's face cut into the blade) that looked like eyes, that helped Groqx focus and speak (or so he thought) to Ilneval. If the poop hit the fan and he really needed help, he could blow into the hilt like a horn, activating a Horn of Valhalla, bringing several warriors from Ilneval's court to fight for him... which was always seen as a failure on his part (as he couldn't do it himself).

In 3.5 rules, basically all it was, was a greatsword of silver, cold iron, magic, adamantite, mithril, hot, cold, etcetera... so it could blow through any and all damage reduction... with a Horn of Valhalla attached.

Groqx's first act with it was to free an Elven princess from the orcan church who was trying to get him to sacrifice her to christen the blade.

Damn, but I miss that player and character.

[victim666]

I will have to say that the coolest item i have ever come across was the Eversoaking Sponge . Throw that at a Water Elemental and watch the fun.

[tesral]

Damn, but I miss that player and character.

I can see why.

[Vulture]

i dont know if this is the coolest magic item i created, but it was the one my players wanted to have, but at the same time didn't want.

Argus Deathspire is/was the Vampire Lord of Castle Deathspire and the nearby village of Deathspire. his favorite weapon is a bastard sword.

Sword of Argus Deathspire:
+3 Bastard Sword
+5 against Undead
Vampiric Sword ( if it doesnt kill for 24 hours it steals the owners life)
Turns owner into a vampire unless that can pass a constitution check