Wondrous Oddities

From wands that shoot out darts of force and potions that allow you to breathe underwater to magic airships and iron barrels that turn into crabs, wizards are behind the creation of most of the magic items found in a standard fantasy setting. Yet not every magic item is as generally useful or powerful as those mentioned above. Some of the magic items found in a wizard’s laboratory or workshop fill a niche role, are the results of failed experiments, function as normal magic items but have a different appearance, or are just plain bizarre.

While characters explore a wizard’s tower or stronghold, an adventurer might come across a variety of strange magic items, some of which are more helpful than others. To determine what a character finds while searching, roll on the table below or choose one or more items at your discretion.

d20	Magic Item
1	An animated weapon rack with long, thin wooden arms that hands out any item stored in it on command. The weapon rack doesn’t defend itself if attacked (AC 15, hp 20, damage threshold 3, vulnerability to fire damage).
2	A battered copper lantern that sings a bawdy folk tale in Goblin whenever oil is placed inside it and it is lit. The singing can be heard clearly from up to 300 feet away.
3	A chamber pot that teleports its contents into an extradimensional space on command. There is a 25 percent chance that the chamber pot malfunctions and teleports its contents onto the head of a nearby creature.
4	A bright purple skullcap with fancy golden embroidery that turns the wearer’s head invisible and renders the wearer mute. The wearer can see and hear normally, and can remove the skullcap without impediment.
5	A painting of a beautiful half-elf girl staring off into a pond. The girl animates and curtsies whenever a living creature comes within 10 feet of her. If the painting is attacked, the girl cowers in terror but does not make a sound. The painting is as hard as steel (AC 19, hp 20, damage threshold 8, resistance to all damage).
6	A wind chime made of bones that emits a clear ringing sound whenever any spell is cast within 30 feet of it. The chime does not react to normal winds and does not activate while being carried, worn, or held.
7	A tiny animated bronze rat that causes irrational fear in any feline that sees it. A feline creature of challenge rating 1 or lower that comes within 30 feet of the rat must make a successful DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. The rat has the statistics of a normal rat, but it is immune to poison and psychic damage and to being charmed, frightened, exhausted, paralyzed, poisoned, petrified, or stunned.
8	A white silk handkerchief that functions as a cloak of protection, but only when worn by a Tiny creature. There is a 33 percent chance that the handkerchief is currently being worn by a homunculus.
9	A set of false black eyelashes in a metal case. The lashes can be put on or removed as an action. Whenever a creature the wearer would be physically attracted to comes within 10 feet, the wearer is forced to wink repeatedly in the direction of the other creature. The wearer can resist this compulsion with a successful DC 11 Wisdom saving throw.
10	Twelve identical decorative silver nails that ignore the damage threshold of any nonmagical object they are nailed into and can hold up to 5,000 pounds of weight. The nails cannot be used as weapons, and they lose their magic if they are extracted after being used.
11	A clear crystal prism containing a mummified elven ear. When the prism is placed against a surface where a compartment lies beyond, such as a closed door, a random illusory sound is generated that seems to be coming from the other side.
12	A leather-bound booklet that contains illustrations of various creatures and objects. The booklet functions as a robe of useful items, except that it has only the twelve patches found on each robe. When the last page is torn out, the booklet becomes useless.
13	A ceramic and gold bathtub shaped like a dragon and painted bright crimson. The bathtub fills with hot, scented water that pours from the dragon’s maw on command and fills the tub. The bathtub regains the use of this ability each day at dawn.
14	A glass globe filled with pale yellow smoke that swirls menacingly when touched. When shattered, the globe replicates the effects of a wand of wonder and produces a smell like rotten eggs. The sphere magically re-forms in 1d6 days unless dispel magic is cast on the fragments.
15	A tiny lump of cream-colored wax in a small wooden box. It shapes itself into a wax duplicate of any living creature that touches it for more than 1 round. The creature that was mimicked can cause its duplicate to move up to 10 feet as an action and to perform simple actions (but not attack). The wax figurine has a Strength score of 2 for lifting and carrying purposes. After 1 hour, the wax duplicate becomes inert and resumes its normal form. It cannot be reactivated until the following dawn.
16	A potted plant of unknown origin in a dark blue vase. The plant’s berries are actually gems worth 10 gp each. A total of 2d6 gems can be collected from the plant, but if every gem is picked the plant transforms into either a great mandrake or an awakened tree and attacks the picker.
17	A featureless wooden mannequin that cloaks itself in the illusion of whatever clothing the viewer desires. The range of clothing the mannequin can generate is limited only by the viewer’s imagination. The mannequin is treated as a normal wooden object for combat purposes (AC 15, hp 30, damage threshold 4, vulnerability to fire damage).
18	A featureless wooden mannequin holding a wooden sword and shield that stands silently in the center of a 20-foot-radius red circle. The mannequin animates when a creature brandishing a weapon enters the circle. The mannequin uses the statistics of either a wood golem or animated armor. If it reduces a creature to 0 hit points, the creature is knocked unconscious rather than being killed. The mannequin stops attacking if the creature threatening it or attacking it leaves the circle.
19	A small gilded birdcage covered in exotic filigree and mounted on a greenstone plinth. The cage grants the semblance of life to any dead creature of Tiny size placed inside it. The creature appears to be alive for all intents and purposes, but only while it is inside the cage. As soon as the creature leaves the cage, it returns to its dead state in the same condition it entered. The cage ceases to function if removed from its plinth. The cage currently holds a songbird (01–25), a raven (26–50), or a pixie (56–75), or is empty (76–00).
20	A Large stone font inscribed with arcane symbols. The font produces one dose of a random potion each day at dawn. Someone who drinks from the font gains the effect of the potion. If the liquid is removed from the font and placed inside another container, it loses its magical properties. The font weighs more than 200 pounds, so transporting it is difficult.