Modern Magic Items
Today’s the last day of City Week, and I’ve got a pair of fantastic items straight from the big city. Obviously, the best and most popular items coming out of big cities these days are convenience items for consumers, and when I think of city items, it’s exactly these sorts of modern conveniences that I’m thinking of. Now, we could hardly have an automobile and a vacuum cleaner at Magic Market, but we could have some fantastic items that were inspired by them.
ANIMATED COACH PRICE 5,500 gp
Slot —; CL 3rd; Weight 250 lbs.
Aura faint conjuration
Despite their name, these coaches are not actually animated objects, although they are able to provide their own motion. They are almost always lavishly decorated both inside and out, engraved fancifully and often covered with gold leaf. Inside, the seats feature soft velvet pillows, and curtains can be drawn to block out the outside world.
On command, the animated coach can conjure a team of six horses, which appear already harnessed to the coach and ready to go. These horses immediately vanish if they are removed from the coach’s harnesses. If a horse is slain or otherwise lost, a replacement can be summoned with the same command. Similarly, if the horses become exhausted from too much travel, simply issuing the same command again replaces them with fresh ones. The horses can also be dismissed with another command.
The coach can be driven directly, like a normal coach, but it does not need to be: as long as the coach is on a road, it can be directed to simply follow the road, in which case it does so automatically until the road comes to an end, or a fork in the road occurs. Alternatively if the driver possesses an accurate map that shows his current location, his desired destination, and the area in between the two, he can spend 1 minute focusing on the details of the journey, then direct the coach to follow that route, which it automatically does (although if the map is poorly made or inaccurate, the coach may not arrive at its intended destination).
Finally, the inside of the coach is incredibly comfortable. Everyone inside is affected as though by the spell endure elements. Further, the inside of the coach is remarkably stable, even on bumpy roads, and no concentration checks are ever required to cast spells as a result of the coach’s movement.
Construction Requirements Cost 2,225 gp
Craft Wondrous Item, communal mount
FIGURINE OF WONDROUS POWER, LEAD SNAIL PRICE 1,200 gp
Slot —; CL 11th; Weight 1 lb.
Aura strong transmutation
Like other figurines of wondrous power, the lead snail is a small statuette of a snail, roughly one inch tall, which is typically made of lead. When the figurine is tossed down and the correct command word spoken, it grows to become a snail roughly 2 feet in height. Even when animated, its body is still made of lead, and it is treated as a tiny animated object with a movement speed of 20 feet. A lead snail actually has two different command words that can be used to activate it, each of which produces a different result.
The first type of activation causes the lead snail to clean the floor of the nearby area. After becoming animated, the lead snail begins to move across the floor in ever-widening circles. Everywhere that it passes over is cleaned of dust, dirt, mud, grime, and stains. Only relatively minor obstructions can be removed in this way, and the lead snail is unable to affect difficult terrain while operating in this way. Once the lead snail reaches the boundaries of the room or area it is currently in, it reverts to a statuette. The lead snail can be activated in this way at will. It can be returned to its statue form early with the same command word.
The second type of activation causes the lead snail to devour up to 1,000 lbs. of organic material that is set directly in front of it. This process takes 1 minute per 10 lbs. of material. The lead snail is unable to devour moving creatures in this way: only creatures that are dead, willing, or helpless can be devoured by the snail. Creatures and objects devoured by the snail are completely destroyed, leaving no trace (unless the object is larger than 1,000 lbs.). The lead snail can be activated in this way any number of times, but cannot devour more than 1,000 lbs. of organic material in a single week.
Construction Requirements Cost 600 gp
Craft Wondrous Item, animate objects, disintegrate