| RandomNigel |
More items should have been made, as the 5ft. land detriment hinders the Merfolk greatly out of an aquatic campaign. These are just a few of my ideas:
Ocean’s Coin Purse - Bag of Holding (Continuous Create Water)
Grants the bearer the ability to hold aquatic items and creatures of either Salt or Freshwater, but not both simultaneously. The bag can be filled with several gallons of either Salt or Fresh water. Following the science of sea salinity if the bag holds Saltwater, items originating from freshwater are lost or destroyed and vice versa. Items and creatures held in this manner are prevented from deteriorating by being taken from their natural habitat. Creatures up to Small size in either the Aquatic or Amphibious category can be held in this way. Filling the bag with water is a full-round action, as emptying it is a move.
Golden Voice - Silver Tongue (+4 to Charisma)
This alchemical bacteria acts as an adventurer’s piece of equipment. The solution is comprised of a single bacteria that lives off of liquid gold. If golden mixture is ingested, it coats the user’s larynx occupying a slot in the ‘Neck’ equipment category. The bacteria produces vibrations that alters the bearer’s voice to sound more pleasant. One wishing to replace this with another item must purge the Golden Voice from their throat and collect the mixture in a vessel or else it will be lost. Four times the user may take a +4 bonus to Charisma or Charisma-based checks, and each time the bonus is used the mixture loses some of its potency reducing the bonus by one. Adding 100GP to the mixture instantly melts the currency and restores one point of potency bonus to the solution.
Touch of the Sea - Gloves (Harvest resources safely from marine life)
Imbued with the gentle touch of aquatic races, these gloves are designed to safely harvest resources from sea creatures. Once per day, the wearer may harvest one resource from each aquatic creature they find. This does not harm the creature in any way. Examples of resources harvested in this way could be; Coral, Octopus Ink, Pearls, Blubber, Ambergris, Toxins or Venom, Luciferin Pigment (bio-luminescence), Seashells, Barbs or Quills, Underwater Flora, among others. The resources must be harvested one at a time or risk potential contamination on the other resources. When equipped, the gloves provide a +2 situational bonus to Survival checks. When obtaining a resource, one must roll a Survival check with a DC 5, 10, 15, or 20 to harvest a simple, unique, complex, or valuable resource. The user receives a -4 penalty if used on creatures that are not Aquatic or Amphibious.
| Vanity |
More items should have been made, as the 5ft. land detriment hinders the Merfolk greatly out of an aquatic campaign. These are just a few of my ideas:
Ocean’s Coin Purse - Bag of Holding (Continuous Create Water)
Grants the bearer the ability to hold aquatic items and creatures of either Salt or Freshwater, but not both simultaneously. The bag can be filled with several gallons of either Salt or Fresh water. Following the science of sea salinity if the bag holds Saltwater, items originating from freshwater are lost or destroyed and vice versa. Items and creatures held in this manner are prevented from deteriorating by being taken from their natural habitat. Creatures up to Small size in either the Aquatic or Amphibious category can be held in this way. Filling the bag with water is a full-round action, as emptying it is a move.
This is...flawed, I think. The description makes it sound like a Bag of Holding; an extra-dimensional space. Much like its dry counterpart, oxygen would still be a problem. See, breathing water still absorbs the oxygen present within it. The Plane of Water has "dead zones" where the water has no oxygen, and water breathing creatures cannot survive there any better than air breathing ones. Throwing in a fishy creature would still run the risk of suffocating. While you certainly could wave your magic DM wand and say "poof, not a problem", I think it would be more prudent to acknowledge the limitations, especially if this item is being sold for equal (or less) than a standard Bag of Holding.
Moving on however, I love merfolk. I have a couple suggestions for you, though they aren't "items" per se.
Mermaid's Scale = This is a classic. Certain sources claim merfolk aren't necessarily hostile to humans, but that they're afraid of us poaching their scales. Because human greed is a thing. A mermaid's scale, freely shed or otherwise, could be used to create a special pendent through a process known only to the merfolk. This pendant allows a mermaid to shed its tail and grow legs (or a human to lose its legs and grow a tail) until reverting back is desired. Mind those Dispel Magics though. While certainly an item, this should be a process reserved purely for merfolk, and not based on a feat. Perhaps only certain merfolk have the knowledge to create one, and they guard them jealously.
Mermaid's Breath = Sources claim mermaids lure sailors to their deaths with songs and charm. But what if that were only half true? As mortal creatures, perhaps they simply enjoy the...physical pleasures of forbidden company? This is a problem for air breathing creatures, of course, but a merfolk's kiss could correct that if they had a supernatural ability to reverse the breathing process from air to water. Now if a human finds himself under the waves locking lips with a beautiful mermaid (or with a strapping merlad) the only problem he'll need concern himself with is getting back to the surface before time runs out (inner struggle over his sexuality aside).
| RandomNigel |
Well, water has oxygen in it... H20. I thought that's how gills worked. It filtered oxygen through water. The mermaid scale idea is very reminiscent of the Seafoam Shawl which is already a good item, just not easily accessible. I like the mermaid breath as a spell-like ability being able to grant people air-breathing 1 hour 1 target 1/day.
| Vanity |
Well, water has oxygen in it... H20. I thought that's how gills worked. It filtered oxygen through water. The mermaid scale idea is very reminiscent of the Seafoam Shawl which is already a good item, just not easily accessible. I like the mermaid breath as a spell-like ability being able to grant people air-breathing 1 hour 1 target 1/day.
Water does indeed have oxygen in it, but so does air, which is what is in a Bag of Holding. The problem is in the fact that it does not renew itself. This is why a living creature can't survive in a Bag of Holding for long. The same problem would arise with an aquatic version.
As for the Mermaid Breath, it would probably be a supernatural ability with the same restrictions. If it's spell-like, it has to mimic a spell.
What's really needed are a way around the lack of Boot slots.
That's too easy to solve. Simply grant merfolk the ability to wear tailbands that function otherwise identically to boots. Either allow boots to be made as tailbands, or if you use the amorphous magic item rule, boots can simply alter their shape when subjected to a creature such as a merfolk.