Special and Superior Items

In addition to the mundane and typical items found on other equipment lists, adventurers with enough gold can buy special or superior items. An item’s price is a good indication of its rarity.

Mighty Composite Longbow or Shortbow: A mighty bow is a composite bow made with an especially heavy pull to allow a strong archer to take advantage of an above-average Strength. The mighty bow allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage up to the maximum bonus listed. For example, Tordek has a +2 Strength bonus. With a regular composite shortbow, he gets no modifier to damage. For 150 gp, he can buy a mighty composite shortbow (+1), which lets him add +1 to the damage. For 225 gp, he can buy one that lets him add his entire +2 bonus. Even if he paid 400 gp for a mighty composite longbow (+3), he would still only get +2 to damage. The bow can’t grant him a higher bonus than he already has.

Smokestick: This alchemically treated wooden stick instantly creates thick, opaque smoke when ignited. The smoke fills a 10-foot cube. The stick is consumed after 1 round, and the smoke dissipates naturally.

Spell: This is how much it costs to get a spellcaster to cast a spell for you. This cost assumes that you can go to the spellcaster and have the spell cast at her convenience. If you want to bring the spellcaster somewhere to cast a spell, such as into a dungeon to cast knock on a secret door that you can’t open, you need to negotiate with the spellcaster, and the default answer is “no.” The cost listed is for a spell with no cost for a material component or focus component and no XP cost. If the spell includes a material component, add the cost of the component to the cost of the spell. If the spell requires a focus component (other than a divine focus), add 1/10 the cost of the focus to the cost of the spell. If the spell requires an XP cost, add 5 gp per XP lost. For instance, to get a 9th-level cleric to cast commune for you, you need to pay 450 gp for a 5th-level spell at caster level 9, plus 500 gp for the 100 XP loss that the caster suffers, for a total of 950 gp. Because you must get an actual spellcaster to cast a spell for you and can’t rely on a neutral broker, money is not always sufficient to get a spell cast. If the spellcaster is opposed to you on religious, moral, or political grounds, you may not be able to get the spell you want for any price.

Sunrod: This 1-foot-long, gold-tipped, iron rod glows brightly when struck. It clearly illuminates a 30-foot radius and glows for 6 hours, after which the gold tip is burned out and worthless.

Tanglefoot Bag: You can throw this round leather bag full of alchemical goo as a grenade-like weapon. When you throw the bag against a creature (as a ranged touch attack), the bag comes apart and the goo bursts out, entangling the target and then becoming tough and resilient on exposure to air. An entangled creature suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and a -4 penalty to effective Dexterity. The entangled character must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or be glued to the floor, unable to move. Even with a successful save, it can only move at half speed. A character who is glued to the floor can break free with a successful Strength check (DC 27) or by dealing 15 points of damage to the goo with a slashing weapon. A character trying to scrape goo off himself, or another character assisting, does not need to make an attack roll; hitting the goo is automatic, after which the character who hit makes a damage roll to see how much of the goo he happened to scrape off. Once free, a character can move at half speed. A character capable of spellcasting who is bound by the goo must make a Concentration check (DC 15) to cast a spell. The goo becomes brittle and fragile after 10 minutes.

Thunderstone: You can throw this stone as a grenadelike weapon. When it strikes a hard surface (or is struck hard), it creates a deafening bang (a sonic attack). Creatures within a 10-foot radius must make Fortitude saves (DC 15) or be deafened. Deaf creatures, in addition to the obvious effects, suffer a -4 penalty on initiative and a 20% chance to miscast and lose any spell with a verbal (V) component that they try to cast.

Tindertwig: The alchemical substance on the end of this small, wooden stick ignites when struck against a rough surface. Creating a flame with a tindertwig is much faster than creating a flame with flint and steel (or a magnifying glass) and tinder. Lighting a torch with a tindertwig is a standard action (rather than a full-round action), and lighting any other fire with one takes at least a standard action. Tindertwigs are burnt up when they are used five times; after which it is worthless.

Tool, Masterwork: This well-made item is the perfect tool for the job and adds a +2 circumstance bonus to a related skill check (if any). Some examples of this sort of item are on Table 7-7: Goods and Services, such as masterwork artisan’s tools, masterwork thieves’ tools, disguise kit, climber’s kit, healer’s kit, and masterwork musical instrument. This entry covers just about anything else. Bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items used toward the same skill check do not stack, so masterwork pitons and a masterwork climber’s kit do not provide a +4 bonus if used together on a Climb check.

Weapon, Masterwork: These well-made weapons add a +1 bonus to attack rolls. Prices for these items are given on Table 7-9: Special and Superior Items. A masterwork weapon’s bonus to attack does not stack with an enhancement bonus to attack.