Non-Cursed Girdle?

[Kefke]

I've been brainstorming ideas for random adventures to send players on for a while now. One of the ideas that stuck with me, is having the party encounter, or otherwise be put on the trail of a mysterious entertainer who has been gaining popularity in establishments frequented by the upper class. This lovely elven maiden would always arrive for and depart from her shows unobserved, and no one would be able to find out anything about her origins. For all appearances, she would seem to have appeared from nowhere.

Eventually, the party is to discover that she is actually a dwarven outcast (probably a rogue) who has been using magical items to conceal his identity. I thought that a Girdle of Opposite Gender would be good to include in his loot, along with something to boost their charisma, and something to turn them into an elf. However, the idea seems doomed at the first hurdle, since the Girdle of Gender Changing is a one-time permanent effect, whereas I prefer something that lets them slip their "diva kit" into a bag and blend into the crowd to get away.

...and yes, I know that a Hat of Disguise could handle all the appearance changes, but I'd rather not use that. For one thing, having it be so simple would cheapen the surprise, I feel. For another, I consider the Hat to be a very useful item, and since there is always the chance that any item you give an NPC could end up in the hands of the players, I'd rather stick them with something less convenient to use (multiple parts) and more limited application (only lets you become an elf/swap genders/become an elf of the opposite gender).

[blahpers]

You're the GM. Make the item.

[Kefke]

blahpers wrote:

You're the GM. Make the item.

I am actually VERY against doing that. I want the adventure to be something that the players can write off, and tell "I kid you not, this happened" stories about later. If I start adding in custom items, especially a lot of them, I increase the risk of raising curiosity. Then I get players asking, "Who made these items?", "Why did they make them?", and the like. At that point, either I have to waste their time and mine on letting them track down perfectly mundane and uninteresting explanations, somehow work a series of extremely specific minor transformative items into a greater story to reward their curiosity, or deal with it becoming a constant red herring, as party members go looking for the "Elf Girl Conspiracy" every time an NPC is seems to be acting strange.

[Zhayne]

You could just tell them "I don't know, and it doesn't matter." End of plot swerve.

[Deadmanwalking]

The Greater Hat of Disguise allows the gender and race shifts all by itself, since Alter Self is a real, physical change and can swap gender.

Also, it's official. So, yeah, use that.

[Googleshng]

There was a 3.x item that specifically transformed you into a particular individual (which I think by default actually is a female elf), a variation of which was used back in Shackled City (basically a full body suit of skin). And a similar variation, I believe, shows up partway through Second Darkness as a spell... less disgusting alternatives may also exist.

[Kefke]

Deadmanwalking wrote:

The Greater Hat of Disguise allows the gender and race shifts all by itself, since Alter Self is a real, physical change and can swap gender.

Also, it's official. So, yeah, use that.

I think that falls pretty soundly into my "Things the party shouldn't have a chance to steal." category.

Googleshng wrote:

There was a 3.x item that specifically transformed you into a particular individual (which I think by default actually is a female elf), a variation of which was used back in Shackled City (basically a full body suit of skin). And a similar variation, I believe, shows up partway through Second Darkness as a spell... less disgusting alternatives may also exist.

That sounds pretty promising, actually. Do you remember anything else about it?

[aetherwisp]

I wrote up some new spells/items for my own campaign that address this issue. You might find them useful.

Gender Bending
School transmutation; Level wizard/sorcerer 1, alchemist 1, witch 1
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, M (a piece of silk ribbon)
Target you
Duration 2 hours/level

This spell alters your body structure to give you the biological features of a different sex. You may choose to become male, female, or both/neither.

Gender bending negates the penalty to Disguise to disguise yourself as a different gender. While you are under the effects of gender bending, you are temporarily sterile.

Clerics of Arshea add this spell to their spell lists as a 1st-level spell.

---

Change Sex
School transmutation; Level wizard/sorcerer 3, alchemist 3, witch 3
Casting Time 10 minutes
Components V, S, M (oils and incense worth 100gp)
Target one willing creature
Duration instantaneous

This spell functions as gender bend, but its effects are permanent and cannot be reversed except by wish, miracle, or another casting of change sex. The change in biological structure allows the target to reproduce normally for a member of the chosen sex, and is a member of that sex for all purposes.

Worshipers of the empyreal lord Arshea ritually cast this spell or have it cast upon them after spending time living as different genders, having chosen one that they believe suits them best. This ritual takes the form of a celebration of freedom to choose one's own identity, and for the individual transformed, may also represent freedom from the bonds of an uncomfortable body. The celebration resembles a naming ceremony and, in fact, may be accompanied by a change of name for the individual in question. It is not unheard of, however, for a worshiper of Arshea to undergo such a ritual more than once in their lifetime.

---

Ring of Fluid Gender
Aura faint transmutation; CL3rd
Slot ring; Price 1000gp; Weight ---

This ring is composed of several loops of gold silk thread tied together, with tiny multicolored beads strung along the loops at intervals.

Wearing this ring allows you to cast gender bending, as the spell, at will. These rings are frequently worn by worshipers or pilgrims of Arshea, or by sacred prostitutes of Calistria.

Construction Requirements Forge Ring, gender bending; Cost 500gp

---

In addition, I rewrote the description of the aforementioned cursed girdle to incorporate the new spells.

Girdle of Gender Dysphoria
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 10th
Slot belt; Weight 1lb

Inaccurately called the girdle of opposite gender by many, this cursed item forces the wearer into an uncomfortable physical body.

When this magical belt is put on, the wearer must immediately make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be transformed, as by change sex, into a body with whose sex they do not identify. The character's abilities, mind, and spirit remain unaffected; only the character's sex changes. The change is permanent unless undone with curse-removing magic or change sex. Once its magic takes effect, the belt can be removed without effort. A creature can only be affected by a particular girdle once, though other girdles of this type can cause another transformation.

Followers of the empyreal lord Arshea seek out and destroy these items wherever they can find them.

---

These items wouldn't be out of place on Golarion, as there are existing organizations that would make regular use of them, so hopefully you will find them easy to insert into your adventure!

[Googleshng]

Kefke wrote:

Googleshng wrote:

There was a 3.x item that specifically transformed you into a particular individual (which I think by default actually is a female elf), a variation of which was used back in Shackled City (basically a full body suit of skin). And a similar variation, I believe, shows up partway through Second Darkness as a spell... less disgusting alternatives may also exist.

That sounds pretty promising, actually. Do you remember anything else about it?

The magic item I can't for the life of me find stats for, but it was, I believe a (Paizo-written) random one-off. Disguise as this one particular individual by essentially wearing their skin. Polymorph effect, generally avoids more or less all forms of magical detection.

The spell version though is up on d20pfsrd.

[JonGarrett]

You might find this post by Paizo Editor in Chief F.Wesley Schneider somewhat interesting.

[aetherwisp]

Interesting alternative approach to these ideas, although I don't agree with his use of "gender" when "sex" is the more appropriate term. Mechanically, basing sex-altering magic items on polymorph instead of creating new spells for the purpose -- magic that more closely resembles the scope and power of alter self -- makes those effects prohibitively expensive. But as Schneider aptly acknowledges later in that same thread, their basis and cost mostly depends on how accessible you want such magic to be in your game.

[gamlain]

a few ideas using existing mechanics.

1: it really was the cursed girdle. The Dwarf in question is using illusion magic to disguise the fact that 'he' has been 'she' for quite some time now. Why they're an /elf/ rather than a dwarf at this point..probably has something to do with trying to find a reversal for that curse..and failing. Or possibly just wanting to deflect the embarrassment of having this problem as a dwarf onto 'those snooty elves, people expect an /elf/ to run inta this'.

For bonus points, they're a sorcerer and the illusion magic is just theirs, not stealable.

2: This particular cursed girdle can affect a given creature more than once. Making it not precisely cursed...until you roll a 1 on your save. At which point you aren't either sort and it stops working for you, a thing this lucky dwarf doesn't know.

3 The dwarf is quaffing a potion of Alter Self each time. His supplier chooses the form and has an annoying sense of humor.

[FuelDrop]

Something like this?

Specifically: Disguise Masks
Aura faint illusion; CL 5th
Slot none; Price 400 gp; Weight 1/2 lb.

DESCRIPTION
Appearing to be little more than a flimsy paper mask with a crude face painted on the front, this simple magic item changes the appearance of the wearer for 1 hour, as if under the effects of disguise self. The appearance of the wearer is random, and always over-exaggerated and slightly whimsical (granting only a +5 bonus on Disguise skill checks instead of the usual +10). After 1 hour, the wearer returns to normal and the mask crumbles away. To determine the wearer’s appearance, roll on the following chart.

d6 Appearance
1 Dwarf
2 Elf
3 Gnome
4 Goblin
5 Orc
6 Skeleton
7 Werewolf
8 Zombie
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, disguise self; Cost 200 gp

[Munchwolf]

Maybe it is cursed, unless you know the secret about it (a command word that removes the curse and lets you reuse the girdle later?) The dwarf just happens to know the secret, and it will go with him to his grave.