Magic caltrops!

[seebs]

So, recently our GM overlooked a mob's DR... on caltrops. Which turned out to be slightly more significant than you would expect one point of damage to be (though not much more, as the melee sorts rushed the mob next turn anyway).

And this got me to thinking: Gosh, wouldn't it be nice if I had caltrops that could penetrate DR.

Caltrops are "equipment". But they make an attack roll. If you had Craft Magic Arms and Armor, would it be possible to create enchanted caltrops? My gut feel is that treating "enough caltrops to fill a 5x5 square" as "an item" would be reasonably balanced, and really, if you want to spend that kind of money on caltrops, I am not sure it breaks the game to let you.

So:
1. Possible?
2. Which feat or feats? Should it be Arms and Armor? Wondrous Item?
3. Any special implications or considerations?

I have the notion that a pouch full of Brilliant Energy Caltrops would weigh substantially less than the usual two pounds, and be really stunningly good at dealing that one hit point of damage.

[Yebng]

1. Don't see anything that would rule it out
2. Probably Arms and Armor as caltrops are a weapon-like item.
3. Caltrops already ignore Armor, Shield, and Deflection bonuses, making them brilliant energy as well will only ignore the +2 circumstance AC bonus for wearing boots and prevent them from harming Undead and constructs.
I don't see anything that would allow caltrops to ignore DR so you may get more out of just carrying bags of caltrops made of silver, cold iron, or adamantine, alternatively get them blessed or desecrated so they align good or evil.

[Troubleshooter]

Take a batch of caltrops. Cast Animate Object on each one, then cast Awaken Construct from Savage Species. Preach to your choir about the merits of Iomedae and train them to become Paladins, until you are finally able to spread them out across a 5 foot square with the instructions to declare a Smite on any sinister-looking creature walking their way so they can ignore its DR.

Obviously.

More seriously, making them out of unusual materials is a good idea (except for perhaps alchemical silver -- I recall that lowers the damage by 1). Or, you might price them like traps, since that's how they're being used; but I would price them like traps that are auto-resetting, since they can't really be 'used up'. Further, they can be collected and reused over and over again, which is more than you can say for something that's built into a dungeon wall.

[seebs]

Huh, there's a question: If you reduce the damage on caltrops by 1, so they do one point of non-lethal damage, does that still proc the reduced movement effect?

You're right, I'd been not thinking carefully about brilliant energy. Hmm. Well, +1 caltrops would ignore DR /magic.

Something I have missed looking through things: Can you give a weapon qualities (like ghost touch) WITHOUT giving it a +1, or is at least +1 enhancement bonus mandatory?

A bag of +1 adamantine caltrops would be awesome.

Also lemme get back to you on this because I have to build a rogue/pally so I can make use of this bag of caltrops, +5, holy avenger.

[Umbranus]

I would say cast greater magic weapon on the bag that contains the caltrops and treat them as ammo.
For a permanent magic item I'd allow both, create arms and armor for a flat +1 or craft wondrous item to have them cast a spell every time something steps son them. Or to have them be affected by some spell when put on the ground. But the wondrous item path could get expensive.

[the David]

I had a DM once who utilised invisible caltrops, and the slow spell...

[Corren28]

+1 caltrops of wounding... :)

[Crovus]

Caltrops of returning, at the end of the day they return to their bag.