The Nature Game Master

Some magic items are memorable because they were the object of a lengthy quest, with the characters overcoming impossible odds to acquire this treasured artifact.

Some magic items are memorable because they were used in a pivotal moment to escape certain death or defeat a great villain.

And some are memorable because they were dumb; a throwaway joke used over and over; a bad penny that kept turning up; an unlikely hero in an otherwise epic tale.

Here are the top five magical trinkets from various games that were frequently used in creative ways. These are the top five—there have been many others which are not worth mentioning. I will also share two custom magic items currently in play that I somewhat regret handing out.

1. Marble of Water Finding
2. Top Hat of Doves
3. Bell of Awakening
4. Compass of Good Spirits
5. Medallion of Color Stray
6. Regret: Trunk of Rabid Loyalty
7. Regret: Painting of Imprisonment
8. Resources

Marble of Water Finding

A rogue pocketed a small blue marble that rolled towards the nearest source of flowing water. This was often brought out to orient the party, both in the wilderness and in a dungeon. Suddenly I, the GM, had to know where the nearest source of water was, and know whether it mattered.

The simple marble had added to the depth and realism of the game. The players were invariably delighted when the marble indicated water in some direction (including above them) and turned out to be accurate.

Top Hat of Doves

One of my own characters was awarded a magical top hat that, when lifted from my head, caused a dove to fly out. When in a tight situation, I asked my GM if the dove flying from the hat could be used to distract an NPC, and they ruled that it could. The hat’s fate was sealed: now it was a useful tool and made frequent appearances in the game.

Bell of Awakening

Dropped along a road, a player found a small silver bell that when rung awoke anyone in non-magical sleep within ten feet. This changed the dynamic of setting watch and being surprised by a nighttime encounter. The radius of effect was small enough that some strategy was still involved, particularly if the person on watch had wandered away from the camp to investigate a noise. It was enjoyable to have a minor yet practical effect.

Source: The Thieves Guild

Compass of Good Spirits

This compass pointed to the last location where the owner had consumed a drink. The player character who possesses this compass dutifully consumed a drink in every town or dungeon they passed through, even long before they needed to use the compass. It was a good item because it could not get the players someplace new—only take them back to where they had been.

Medallion of Color Stray

When rubbed, this medallion summoned an ordinary cat of a random color. It has been used successfully to distract or befriend NPCs. There were a couple times that the player characters proposed summoning a cat to bait a monster, but they resisted the temptation.

Source: Romnonaldao on Reddit

Regret: Trunk of Rabid Loyalty

I have alluded to this item in another post. It is a sentient travelling trunk that walks around on numerous tiny feet, and it is a direct reference to the Luggage from Discworld. To its owner, the interior is a Bag of Holding. To a non-ally of its owner, the interior is a Bag of Devouring (and the trunk does bite).

This item is softly regrettable because it has the same problems as the canine companion trope. There is always a question of ‘Well, are you bringing your trunk with you?’ or ‘How is your trunk climbing the rope?’. I have made it a tad too sentient, so now I occasionally get asked such nonsense as ‘How is the trunk reacting to this?’

The players like that they have infinite storage space for all their sacks of gold (I give them a wallet limit of how much gold they can carry). I am on the fence whether it is too convenient, but I do like that we can cut out future trips to their secret stash of loot.

Regret: Painting of Imprisonment

This item exists because I thought it would be funny to tempt the player characters into purchasing a cursed painting of a monster which eventually exited the canvas and attacked them in their sleep.

Unfortunately, I did not think this though fully before the encounter, and now the characters have a magical frame that can transport them to another plane (with certain limitations).

I think it is fairly obvious why I regret this item. The behavior of the frame has enough qualifiers that the players have not totally decided if it is useful. They like the idea of it, however. They like its potential to get them out of trouble. They like its unpredictability. They like it precisely for the same reasons that I do not.

Painting of Imprisonment (requires attunement)

• The frame can be activated with a Bonus Action.
• Any nonliving item that is put through the frame becomes a stationary painting until the frame is activated again.
• Any living creature that passes through the frame makes a DC 13 CON save or is imprisoned in the painting for one week.
• The save is repeated at the end of each day. On a successful save (or at the end of the week) the frame reactivates, opening a portal between the two planes.
• When a creature or object is imprisoned, from either of the connected planes the subject appears in a painting on the backdrop of the other plane but is in neither of them.

I do not recommend introducing this item into your game. But if you do, let me know how it goes.

Resources

Some of the trinkets were pulled from or inspired by these sources:

• 100 Slightly Magical Trinkets from UmarthBauglir
• Magic Trinkets from the Thieves Guild
• The Book of Misspelling from kingchess33 and community

Magical trinkets bridge our own mundane world to the fantastic. In ordinary items with just a little magic, we can imagine a world in which anything could be possible. Because they do not have any obvious combat benefit, magical trinkets also foster creativity by providing a tool with potential, its utility yet to be discovered.

I hope this inspires you draw the magical from the mundane. And as ever, keep exploring.