You don’t know what you’ll
get
until what you’ve got is
gone
by Phil Meyers and Steve Bill
| Dragon | - | Magic Items | - | Dragon 62 |
| - | - | - | - | - |
Each pouch will produce from 11-30
(d20+10) items for its owner and then
teleport away to another treasure hoard
to be found anew. However, only one
item from the pouch can be in existence
at any given time. Every time an item is
drawn from inside it, the pouch will remain
empty for the next day, but thereafter
there is a 5% chance per day that
another item will appear in the pouch.
The 5% chance for a new item to be
created is always assumed to be rolled
at
the start of the day in question. If a
new
item is indicated, it will be created immediately
— unless the pouch’s owner is
using the item, and the loss of the powers
of the, item at that particular time
would directly endanger his or her life.
In
such a case, the creation of the new item
will not take place until the pouch’s
owner stops using the old item.
If the owner of the pouch is killed, the
pouch will teleport away as if it had
reached its quota, and will next turn up
(if ever) in a different treasure
hoard. The
pouch will not produce new items for
anyone other than its owner, but the
owner can allow others to use items taken
from the pouch. However, items being
used by other characters will disappear
instantly when the creation of a new
item is indicated, regardless of the circumstances
(see preceding paragraph).
The last item drawn from the pouch
(the one that fills the pouch’s limit)
will
remain in existence and usable until the
next time the creation of a new item (according
to the 5% chance per day) is
indicated. When this occurs, both the existing
magic item and the pouch will disappear.
The owner of the pouch can
keep any item from the pouch as long as
desired, subject only to the eventual disappearance
of the item.
To determine what the pouch contains,
roll on the table below for the type
of item produced, then refer to the specific
tables A through L.
| Roll (d12) | Type of item produced |
| 1 | An egg (Table A below) |
| 2 | A glove (B) |
| 3 | A crystal sphere (C) |
| 4 | A rock (D) |
| 5 | A figurine (E) |
| 6 | A vial (F) |
| 7 | A miniature wagon (G) |
| 8 | A bag (H) |
| 9 | A card (I) |
| 10 | A piece of rope or string (J) |
| 11 | A small box with a button on it (K) |
| 12 | A wand (L) |
4: A white egg out of which a fullgrown
giant
eagle hatches. The eagle
can speak the owner’s language and will
serve the pouch owner on the same
terms as the dragon in (1) above.
5: A white egg with pink stripes, out of
which a highly intelligent white rabbit
appears. The rabbit can speak the pouch
owner’s language and will serve as a
scout (or whatever) for as long as the
owner desires. The rabbit is AC 6, 3 hit
points, no attacks, 50% magic
resistance.
6. A glass egg out of which an unseen
servant
(80% chance) or an invisible
stalker (20% chance) hatches. Either will
serve as described in the corresponding
spells, but duration is unlimited, except
as noted above.
Table B: Gloves (roll d6)
1: A small, light leather glove that turns
into a pair of Gauntlets
of Ogre Power
when it is drawn.
2: As (1) above, but Gauntlets
of Dexterity
are found instead.
3: A glove that allows its wearer to cast
a Push
spell, once per round, for up to 6
times per day.
4: Anyone besides the owner of the
pouch who puts on this glove will immediately
begin to choke himself or herself
to death, doing 2-8 points of damage per
round. Only a Remove
Curse, Limited
Wish, or Wish spell will prevent the victim’s
eventual death. The glove will have
no effect if worn by the owner of the
pouch.
5: A glove that allows its wearer to cast
one of the Bigby’s
Hand spells, except
for Bigby’s Crushing Hand, once per
day.
6: A glove which, if used in place of a
weapon, will cause the wearer’s fist to
become a +2 weapon, do 3-6 points of
damage per hit, and stun (for 1-6 rounds)
opponents that fail their saving throw
vs.
magic when hit. The latter property is
effective only against creatures size
M or
smaller.
Table C: Crystal spheres (roll d8)
1: A large crystal sphere that opens to
reveal 2-5 small (1-inch diameter) crystals
that glow dimly from within. Any
sound originating within 1 foot of a crystal
will be reproduced at the same volume
by the other crystals, regardless of
their location, allowing easy communication
over any distance,
but not between
planes.
2: A large crystal sphere that opens to
reveal a pair of glass balls, each one
3
inches in diameter. Looking into one of
them allows the viewer to see anything
within sight of the other one. By turning
the crystal around the viewer can see an
entire 360 degrees, just as if he or she
were standing where the second crystal
lies. The system works both ways, allowing
a creature holding the second crystal
to see the original viewer. Creatures with
infravision
can see infravisually through
the crystals.
3: A lens-shaped crystal that allows
anyone looking through it to detect
invisibility
as per the second-level magicuser
spell.
4: Anyone besides the owner of the
pouch who holds this 3-inch-diameter
crystal becomes magically imprisoned
inside it, but suffers no other ill effects.
The imprisonment
lasts until the crystal
disappears of its own accord when a new
item appears in the pouch.
5: This irregularly shaped crystal begins
to glow with a blue light whenever
hostile or potentially hostile creatures
are within 5”, and glows more brightly
as
the hostile creatures get nearer. It also
detects such creatures as trappers,
lurkers
above, and piercers.
6: A Crystal
Ball, but this one is only 3
inches in diameter and is usable by the
owner of the pouch, regardless of his or
her class.
7: Also a Crystal Ball as
(6) above, but
this item is usable by any character.
However, if anyone but the owner of the
pouch views a hostile creature through
the crystal for 2-5 (number changes
on each use) rounds, the viewer is teleported
to the place that was being viewed. The
crystal is not teleported.
8: A marvelous crystal that is hollow
and contains small
white flakes and a
clear, colorless liquid. Shaking it causes
the flakes within to swirl in patterns
wondrous to behold.
Table D: Rocks (roll d8)
1: A small stone with a word of command
written on it. When the word of
command is spoken within 3” of the
stone, it grows into a 10-foot-diameter
boulder in 1 segment. Speaking the word
of command a second time causes it to
shrink back to normal size. The boulder
will not reach full size in an area less
than
10 feet wide or 10 feet high. Characters
and creatures can be trapped and immobilized
by the expanding stone, but it
will not enlarge enough to cause them
actual damage if they are so trapped.
2: A pebble which turns into a Stone
of
Controlling
Earth Elementals.
3: A
Stone of Good Luck (Luckstone).
4: A Stone of Weight (Loadstone),
which will appear to be a Luckstone.
5: A Brick of Flying, which if thrown
hard will fly
through the air.
6: A large hollow stone that rattles if
shaken. Breaking it open reveals 2-5
Ioun
Stones inside.
7: A triangular piece of stone that
glows with a purple light. Once the stone
is touched by anyone but the owner of
the pouch, the toucher cannot be rid of
it
until a Remove
Curse, Dispel Evil, or
Wish spell is used, or until the stone
disappears.
The stone imparts 50% magic
resistance to the holder, allows regeneration
of lost hit points at 3 points per
round, and effectively, blinds the holder
to the sight of any living and animate
creatures, making the holder -4 “to hit”
and damage (plus all other appropriate
penalties for blindness). This blindness
does not extend to non-living creatures
such as undead or inanimate living things
such as trees and plant life.
8: A stone that clings to iron or steel by
means of a mysterious unseen force.
Table E: Figurines (roll d8)
1: A golden
lion (just one); see Figurines
of Wondrous Power.
2: An onyx
dog.
3: A serpentine
owl.
4: An ivory goat
(one, selected at
random).
5: A marble elephant.
6: A bronze figurine of a warrior with a
word of command written on the underside
of its base. When the word of command
is spoken, the figurine becomes a
real warrior that serves the owner for
up
to 3 turns once each day. The bronze
warrior has the following statistics: AC
-2, 40 hit points, 6th-level
fighter, 18(01)
strength, 18 dexterity. The warrior uses
a
+1 composite shortbow, twenty +1 arrows,
a +1 longsword, and a Javelin of
Piercing. None of these items are magical
in the hands of other characters.
7: A jade sculpture of a palace.
One
turn after being drawn from the pouch
the figurine starts growing, doubling in
size each round until it becomes a real
palace, 200 feet on a side and 100 feet
tall
at its apex. It will crush other structures
or objects out of the way as it grows,
but
it will not grow while the sculpture is
underground.
8: A limestone figurine of a leprechaun,
which immediately animates into a real
leprechaun when drawn from the pouch.
The leprechaun will plague the pouch
owner and only the owner for the rest of
the day, attempting to steal the pouch
at
every opportunity (without bringing physical
harm to the owner). If the leprechaun
is able to steal the pouch, the
owner must catch the leprechaun within
the same day (automatically retrieving
the pouch in the act of catching the leprechaun),
or both the pouch and the
leprechaun will disappear. The leprechaun
disappears at the end of the day in
any event.
Table F: Vials (roll d8)
1: A small ceramic vial that is able to
hold up to 10 gallons of any liquid without
increasing in size or weight. It draws
or pours at the rate of 1 gallon per segment,
but if the vial is broken the entire
contents of the vial are instantly released.
2: A bottle with a label that says “Potion
of —”. A stylus covered. with
ink is tied to the side of the bottle.
If the
stylus is used to fill in the blank, the
contents
of the vial become the potion named
on the label. Until then, the vial contains
poison.
3: When this opaque vial is opened, the
one who opened it (including the owner
of the pouch) instantly assumes gaseous
form
and is sucked inside the vial. The
vial then reseals itself and flies back
into
the pouch. The victim can be released if
a character reaches into the pouch,
withdraws the vial, and reopens it. The
trapping and releasing powers of the vial
will work alternately in this fashion until
the item is destroyed or disappears.
4: An Iron Flask which will
not be
empty.
5: An Eversmoking Bottle.
6: A “wheezing bottle” that sucks air or
any gas in and out on alternate rounds,
with a capacity each time of 125 cubic
feet. If the bottle is stoppered at the
right
moment, it can be used to store a gas
for
release at a later time.
7: A vial containing a potion that will
effectively raise any character 2 levels
of
experience for 1 day, with appropriate
increases in abilities.
8: A vial holding a potion that causes
the imbiber to regenerate 1 hit point per
turn, even after apparent death, for 1
day. The regeneration does not extend
to magical attack forms that cause death
without doing hit-point damage, such as
the druid Finger of Death spell; the cleric
spell Destruction (reverse of Reincarnation);
<Resurrection>
or the magic-user spell Power
Word,
Kill, to name a few.
Table G: Miniature weapons (roll d10)
All miniature weapons will enlarge to
the full size of a normal weapon
of the
type within 1 round after being drawn
from the pouch, unless the item’s description
indicates otherwise.
1: This miniature boomerang grows
into a full-sized boomerang. This weapon
is usable outdoors or in large open
spaces only (minimum range 3”, maximum
10”). It always hits, does 2-5 points
of damage, and returns to the hand of the
thrower on the round after each hit.
2: A small net that enlarges into Zadron’s
Net of Apprehending, a special
version of the Net
of Entrapment. It has
an intelligence of 25 and an ego of 20,
like a magic sword, and victims’ saving
throws are at -4. Its purpose is to capture
thieves; when this net is thrown on a thief
the captured thief is instantly teleported
to the nearest jail interested in the thief.
If the gains control of the owner of the
pouch or the owner of the net (if it is
given away), it will force that person
to
use the net against any thief encountered
(possibly another party member).
3: A small arrow that enlarges into an
apparently normal arrow. When fired,
this arrow will never miss (although it
may not hit the intended target) if a
target is in range, and if it comes to
a
corner it will turn 90 degrees and con-
tinue on its way, hitting the first character
or creature it contacts and doing 4-9
points of damage.
50% of these arrows
turn right, 50% turn left. The arrow will
continue turning corners to the limit of
its range, until it hits something or can
go no further.
4: A tiny catapult with a command
word written on it. When the command
word is spoken, the model becomes a
full-size heavy
catapult. Speaking the
word a second time reduces the catapult
to a miniature again. This process can
be
repeated.
5: A small hammer that enlarges into a
Hammer
+3, Dwarven Thrower.
6: A Sling
of Seeking +2, seven +2 sling
bullets, and one sling bullet that explodes
as a 5-dice fireball, as the spell,
on impact.
7: A small sword that becomes a Sword
of Dancing.
8: A small sword that becomes a +1
Luck
Blade with 2 wishes. The wishes
cannot be used for selfish purposes, or
else the sword will disappear and a new
object will appear in the pouch.
9: A +1 sword
with disarming ability; an
opponent must save vs. magic when hit
or drop his/her/its weapon. An opponent
that has already lost its weapon must
save or lose its shield. Unarmed opponents
or those using natural weaponry
are not affected.
10: A club that polymorphs its wielder
into an ogre
(no system shock roll re
required) for as long as the club is held.
The wielder always retains his or her
original personality. The ogre has the
character’s hit points, or 33 hit points,
whichever is greater. The club is a +1
weapon that does 2-11 points of damage.
The polymorphed character attacks
as an ogre if it has 33 hit points or less,
and attacks as the normal character
would if it has more than 33 hit points.
Table H: Bags (roll d10)
1: A Bag
of Holding.
2: A Bag of Tricks.
3: A Bag of Useful Items, similar to a
Robe
of Useful Items, but the bag is usable
by any class, and the items within are
miniatures, easily recognizable, that become
the real items when desired.
4: A bag, brown in color, that contains
two sandwiches, an apple, and a cookie.
5: A small sack that is found to contain
a small sack. That small sack is also
found to contain a small sack, and so on,
ad infinitum.
6: A Bag of Devouring.
7: A magic bag that no one but a dwarf
can open. It contains what appears to be
a worn-out leather belt, two rusty gauntlets,
a cheap blacksmith’s hammer, and a
scroll on which are written the letters
“DEEHNRRTU.” When these letters are
rearranged, they spell “THUNDERER,”
the name of the hammer. When this
name is spoken, the hammer becomes a
Hammer
of Thunderbolts, the gauntlets
become Gauntlets of Ogre Power, and
the belt a Girdle of Hill Giant Strength.
If
this item is drawn a second time the
name of the hammer will be different,
and of course scrambled as well.
8: A bag containing a suit of invisible
clothing. Anyone wearing the clothing is
made invisible as per a Ring
of Invisibility,
but this effect is limited to persons
and creatures acquainted with the wearer.
To strangers, only the clothes are invisible,
not the wearer. Naturally, the
magic clothing does not work if the
wearer also wears non-magical clothing
underneath.
9: This bag is found to contain treasure.
This is because it is a Bucknard’s
Everfull
Purse. The money found in the
purse, as well as any money produced by
the purse later, will not disappear when
a
new item appears in the pouch.
10: A bag that functions as a Bag
of
Tricks
until used in the presence of an
enemy. Then it becomes a Bag of Monster
Summoning; the creature it produces
will be a hostile monster which will attack
the bag owner and his or her companions.
The monster is selected at random
and will be of a level corresponding
to the summoner’s level, as follows:
summoner level 1-2, monster level 1;
summoner level 3-4, monster level 2; and
so on.
Table I: Cards (roll d8)
1: A card with a picture of the area
where the pouch owner is standing when
the card is drawn. Anyone studying the
card intently for 1 round at any time afterward
will be teleported,
without error,
to the place pictured.
2: A card with a picture of fate holding
a balance on it. The DM rolls secretly
and
determines whether the card holder (including
the pouch owner) will be +4 or -4
on saving throws
for as long as the card
is held (equal chance for either). If the
result is negative, the effects will persist
until a Wish spell is used to negate the
effect or until 2-8 weeks have elapsed,
regardless of what happens to the pouch
in the meantime.
3: A card with a picture of a red
dragon
sitting on a huge pile of treasure. Writing
at the bottom of the card says, “Wish you
were here. Love, Gorgo.”
4: A card with a spell (level 2-7, of the
appropriate class) written on it, usable
by the viewer as if it were a scroll
spell. If <scroll.htm, or scrolls.htm?>
the pouch owner is a non-spellcaster,
the card will be blank until it is given
to a
spell-casting character.
5: A random card from a Deck
of Many
Things.
All effects and results persist after
the card disappears.
6: A blank card on which the first viewer
other than the pouch owner is magically
imprisoned, becoming a picture on
the card. If the card is damaged or destroyed,
the victim suffers appropriately.
The imprisonment
lasts until a new item
appears in the pouch.
7: A set of 2-5 magic message cards.
When the command word is spoken, one
of these cards, if a message has been
written thereon, will teleport
to the hand <teleport without error>
of the one to whom the message is intended.
An extra card (aside from the 2-5
message cards) is provided, containing
the command word and other appropriate
instructions.
8: A card stating, in prominent letters,
that the pouch owner is wanted dead or
alive by the nearest local authorities,
with a picture of the pouch owner, and
offering a 10,000 gp reward. When this
card is drawn, 100 copies of it will appear
in prominent places within a 50-mile radius
of the location where the pouch was
opened. The copies do not disappear
when a new item appears in the pouch.
Table J: Ropes and strings (roll d8)
1: A rope that allows a Rope
Trick spell
to be cast with it, as a 10th level magicuser,
once per day. Usable by any class.
2: A Rope of Entanglement.
3: A Rope of Climbing.
4: A Ball of Endless String, a sphere of
string 4 inches in diameter that never
winds down to nothing no matter how
much string is drawn from it.
5: A rope which, when thrown to the
ground, animates and “dances” to the
amusement of all. Lively music from out
of nowhere accompanies the dance,
which lasts for 2-5 turns. The rope can
dance up to 3 times per day.
6: A rope which, when stretched taut
across a doorway or corridor, takes on
the color(s) of its surroundings so as
to
be 95% undetectable. When a creature
tries to step across or over it, the rope
animates and acts as though a druidic
Trip spell
had been cast. One fourth
(25%) of these ropes act like a Snare
spell instead. Only the pouch owner or
the owner of the rope (if it has been given
away) can safely retrieve the rope if it
is
of the latter kind.
7: This rope is unremarkable save for
the fact that it constantly levitates in
a
vertical orientation, with the bottom end
staying three feet off the ground. Up to
10,000 gp weight can be tied to the rope
and supported thereby. If this limit is
exceeded,
the rope sinks slowly to the
ground until the excess weight is taken
off. It requires very little effort to
pull the
rope and its load along.
8: This rope appears to be a Rope
of
Entanglement
until it is used against
enemies. Then it will entangle the one
trying to use it (including the pouch
owner) and as many of his or her friends
as possible.
Table K: Boxes (roll d6)
All of these items are 3-inch-square
cubes of an unknown metal with a circular
red spot on one face. When the owner
of the pouch presses the spot, the magic
of the box is activated.
1: This cube acts as a limited Cube
of
Force.
When the red spot is pressed a
force field goes up, as follows (roll d6):
1-2, keeps out living matter; 3-4, keeps
out non-living matter; 5-6, keeps out
magic. Charges operate the same way as
with a normal cube of force. Determine
one of the three effects above the first
time the cube is used, and the cube will
perform the same way thereafter.
2: A Cube
of Frost Resistance.
3: Pressing the red spot on this cube
causes it to become a 4’x2’x2’ treasure
chest on wheels. The red spot appears
on the center of the lid of the chest.
Pressing the spot a second time causes
the chest to become a large, enclosed
wagon drawn by 2 draft horses with a
4’x5’x2’ locked compartment built in.
The red spot appears on the center of the
lid of this compartment. Pressing the
spot a third time turns the wagon into
a
4”x3”x1” stone cottage with a hearth,
furniture, and a built-in stone chest of
the same dimensions as the wagon
compartment with a red spot on its lid.
Pressing this spot causes the cottage to
become a small cube again. Pressing the
red spot 3 times in rapid succession will
cause this item to revert to a small cube
no matter what form it was presently in.
Any objects not originally part of the
cube, such as persons who may enter
the cottage or the wagon, are left unchanged
and unharmed when the item
changes form. The lone exception to this
is treasure placed in the chest on wheels,
which will remain intact when other form
changes occur. Anything in the chest
moves to the compartment in the wagon,
or to the stone chest in the cottage, when
the appropriate form change occurs.
The three respective chests are wizard
locked, and only the pouch owner can
open them freely.
4: When the spot on this cube is
pressed, a set of red numerals appears
above the red spot.
The numerals begin
with 10 and count down one number per
segment thereafter. Pressing the red spot
again after the first pressing resets the
count to 10, and pressing it 3 times in
rapid succession (within one segment)
makes the red numerals disappear. If
and when the count reaches zero, the
cube explodes, doing 10-60 points of
damage to all creatures within 10 feet,
half that amount to all others within 30
feet, and causing structural damage
equal to twice that caused by a Horn
of
Blasting.
Creatures who make their saving
throw vs. magic at -4 take half damage.
The cube can be thrown, by hand or
with a sling, but will not explode prematurely
no matter what happens to it.
5: This “Pandora’s Box” releases 4-16
hostile monsters, all of which attack the
one who released them (including the
pouch owner) when the red spot is
pressed. The
level of each monster is
selected at random by rolling d6, the result
being the level of the monster, but on
a result of 6, roll again using d8.
6: When the red spot — the “panic button”
— is pushed, all non-hostile creatures
within 6” must save vs. magic at -4
or flee in panic for 3-12 rounds. This
includes
the box-holder as well.
Table L: Wands (roll d8)
1: A Wand
of Magic Missiles with 11-14
charges.
2 or 3: Any one of the following wands,
with 2-5 charges: Frost,
Fire, Lightning,
Fear, lllumination, Polymorphing, Conjuration,
or Paralyzation. Select a wand
at random by rolling d8.
4: One of three types (roll d6): A Wand
of
Magic Detection, Enemy Detection, or
Secret Door & Trap Location, with 11-14
charges.
5: A wand that emits a Gust
of Wind, as
the spell, at a cost of 1 charge. It has
2-8
charges.
6: A wand like one of the ones in (4)
above, except that it acts as a Rod
of
Cancellation
when its last charge is expended,
affecting all magic items within
a 5-foot radius of the wand.
7: A wand that detects life— that is, the
life force — of any creature within 3”,
including hidden or invisible creatures,
for 1 turn at a cost of 1 charge. It has
2-8
charges, It will not detect the life force
of
creatures smaller than a mouse.
8: This item, Zadron’s Wand, has 11-14
charges, and performs as follows:
(wielder’s choice) for the appropriate
expenditure in charges: Wall
of Force, as
the spell, for 1 charge; Mirror Wall (described
below), for 1 charge; Disintegrate,
as the spell, for 2 charges; and Prismatic
Spray, as the spell, for 3 charges. A Mirror
Wall has the same effect as the Wall
of Force spell, but creatures may freely
pass through the wall, and only creatures
on the same side of the wall as the
spellcaster (wand wielder) can see it.
Creatures on the other side, which is a
mirror, see themselves. Magic cannot
pass through the wall in either direction.