Fun items to give players that aren't power sticks?

[SorrySleeping]

I'm starting back as a DM again and I was wondering what are fun items to give to players that can be useful for more than just "It makes my stats get bigger"?

Consumable or magic item, what are some of the most unique and fun items that may never actually be on a players "I need to buy/craft this" list? Feather tokens are a given but are still fun to hand out. Robe of Useful items is amazing for a smart party early on.

[Dave Justus]

I highly recommend the Rogue Genius Games loot 4 less line.

[blahpers]

Robe of infinite twine is up there--it was my druid's second crafted item (after a wayfinder, of course) and it came in handy all the way through the campaign. I still find the bag of tricks to be a classic as well.

The real trick is discouraging the players from just selling the interesting items.

[DeathlessOne]

I mostly just homebrew interesting items to give the players. Mostly to let them dabble with abilities that are usually not available for their class, or to patch up missing caster levels so that I can encourage them to try to broaden their play styles a bit.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Dave Justus wrote:

I highly recommend the Rogue Genius Games loot 4 less line.

Ditto.

[DungeonmasterCal]

I've given magic items or weapons that give the players a free feat before as long as it's being wielded or is at least in hand.

[UnArcaneElection]

^Kirthfinder does this with some of the non-magic weapons, usually if you get Exotic Weapon Proficiency with them (in Kirthfinder, you can get Exotic Weapon Proficiency with ANY weapon, and get benefits for doing so, like in Pathfinder 2nd Edition, but using Pathfinder 1st Edition/D&D 3.x method for doing so).

[SorrySleeping]

blahpers wrote:

The real trick is discouraging the players from just selling the interesting items.

Homebrew items has a homebrew price. I have some things saved from D&D and homebrew stuff, but I was looking for some easy paizo things were I could give them a page to look up rather than having to email them a stat block for an item.

I see 10 Loot 4 Less plus one about explosions. Is there any recommends or "skip it" for the line?

[Scott Wilhelm]

I've always been fond of the Decanter of Endless Water, the Eversmoking Bottle, the Lyre of Building. Bracelet of Friends, Cloak of the Manta Ray.

The 1e Portable Hole was not just an extradimensional space, but actually put holes in things.

The Apparatus of Kwalish is interesting.

[Mark Hoover 330]

The Flame of Rage. I was looking for a way to encourage the axe-wielding barbarian in my game to use ranged attacks since I include a lot of flying creatures in my encounters. I not-so-subtly told her to start carrying throwing axes, but to no avail. Then I found this magic item on the PFSRD.

Essentially it allows a barbarian to funnel rounds of rage through a diadem. In response the rage is turned into either a narrow ray or a wide beam of heat energy to damage opponents. Its an interesting flare (pardon the pun) that the character is still using several levels later.

I'd also suggest, along with all the stuff above, you look at items that grant movement types. Boots that either grant a Climb or a Fly speed for example. Melee martial types often forget that if they can move to a distant opponent without wasting one of the arcane caster's spells for the day they can utilize those massive melee attacks.

Robe of Useful Items, devices that Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally, the ring that summons a Shikagami, and so on can also be fun. It doesn't add to YOUR stats; it gives you a second set of stats to keep track of. Plus some folks just find it cool to have a summoned creature around to command.

[LordKailas]

Robe of Bones is a fun item for the aspiring necromancer. Even once you start making your own undead its useful for "backup minions".

An Immovable Rod or 3 can be good depending on how creative your players are.

The Ring of Shooting Stars is one of my favorite magic items. But I so rarely get it on characters because it's horribly expensive for what it does.

I will also second the bag of tricks. I've gotten them as loot on characters and had fun summoning random animals.

[Nester Reese]

you might want to check out some of the items from the Older Adventurers Armory - here's a few I kind of like...

Glowing Ink (pg.10), Keros Oil (pg.11), Marker Dye (pg.), Bachelor Snuff (pg.17) and Night Tea (pg. 17)

most of these are great for RP... even though they really don't give much mechanical bonuses.

[Dave Justus]

SorrySleeping wrote:

I see 10 Loot 4 Less plus one about explosions. Is there any recommends or "skip it" for the line?

My personal favorite was 'Fezzes are Cool' but they pretty much all have some good items and fun ideas. If you are looking for something that can be a 'prize' for the whole parts and won't take up slots, Crazy Kragnar's Used Chariots is pretty fun.