Encyclopedia Magica Revised : Anything Item

Encyclopedia Magica Revised : Anything Item

It is said that in the dungeons beneath the ruins of the Mad Archmage's castle every item of magic and every spell can be found...

Anything Item

(Original Version):
Unearthed Arcana, Encyclopedia Magica Page #21

Somewhere between the third level below the lake of quicksilver and the gaping maw of living stone that was the entrance to the fourth the party found the workshop. The seven survivors of their party, which once numbered a dozen, found themselves on a wide landing in the middle of a broad set of stairs busily binding the wounds of those the archway had bitten when Gwen, a dwarven warrior-maiden noticed a chip on the wall. It was no more than the size of a pebble taken from the corner of a massive black near the bottom edge of the landing they rested upon.

"Kal," she called to the gnome illusionist who led them, "do you have that vial of quicksilver we found above?"

"Certainly, my dear," the old gnome fished into one of the dozens of pockets which lined his robe. Under his breath he spoke a Word and the small vial with the rough stone cap appeared in his fist. "Here. What use do you see for it?"

"That cap," Gwen answered. She bent and held it near the small chip in the stone wall. "It matches..." she began to say but as she brought the vial within a foot of the wall it sprang from her hand like a steel needle to a loadstone.

The capped end fit perfectly and joined the stone block with a klick. The quicksilver immediately flowed along the joins between the stones in a silver-metal line which formed an arching door. Silently the wall opened slowly inward.

"What have we here?" Kal wondered aloud.

The small party of explorers entered the room beyond the secret doorway. Inside they found a long chamber lined with benches and peghooks on the walls above them. Heavy aprons of varying type were on the pegs mixed with strange hats and hoods, thick gloves and goggles, some with dark lenses, some green, yellow, red or even clear. Beneath the bench were boots of different size, but all with soles padded deeply with cork.

A large double-door was set into the far wall. It opened at a touch, in fact one door came slamming down off its hinges with a boom that made the entire party jump. Harold, their thief, looked back at the other with a sheepish grin, then moved inside the room now revealed.

It was a fairly large room, wide, but still longer than its width. Several lanterns were hanging from the ceiling, still shining forth with undimmed light from enchanted stones. The rest of the room was blackened by fire and layered with scattered debris. All except one small workbench against the far wall which appeared in the light to be untouched.

"Wait," whispered Kal holding the thief back, "could be a trap."

"One that has already gone off by the look of things," Harold replied.

Whatever had caused the destruction had happened long, long ago, but still the magic lights burned overhead in a few of the remaining lanterns. Harold crept about the room while the Cuthbertian priest chanted from the safety of the doorway. The grace of the Saint revealed no dangers while Harold's search found only slagged metal, some of it precious, fragments of gems and a large amount of soot stained shattered glass. The only whole object was a small rod of quicksilver held by a crystal vice.

"What is it?" Harold asked Kal who had come to stand beside him.

Kal reached beneath the collar of his robe and drew out a medallion, a small metal disc with a ruby at its center. He rubbed it between his palms as if to warm it. A red glow shone brightly for a moment, the bones of his hands suddenly visible beneath Kal's flesh, then faded quickly so that the tanned leather of the gnome's old skin hid the medallion once more in his hand. Sagging for a moment, then forcing his shoulders back, he held the medallion to his eye and gave a startled gasp. The disc fell from his fingers and dangled on its golden chain.

"Ahhh..." Kal uttered, "that is what it first looked like."

"What? What?" Harold asked in an excited voice, he had a sudden vision of gold coins pouring into his hands.

Kal's eyes were half-lidded and he looked a century older, but he smiled at the thief.

"A very powerful item indeed. It can become any small object the holder desires, enchanted or mundane. It appears unused, untouched, perhaps freshly created and abandoned here..." Kal trailed off and looked about him at the wreckage all around. "What, waste, what knowledge lost, what power in this room and gone..."

Harold grinned back. "How much do you think we can get for it?"

***

Anything Item (Revised)

Only discovered in its original form once in the annals of the wise ( a cylindrical bar two inches in diameter and one foot long. It is composed of an enchanted metal appearing to be quicksilver, but bitterly cold to the touch, with an uncomfortably slick texture).

If the command word is known it can instantly transform into any non-consumable small object either enchanted or mundane (though of limited duration, 1 use or 1 hour and neither relic or artifact) that the possessor has held before (i.e. the has once held a ring of free action but not a rod of lordly might, he can transform the anything into a duplicate of the ring, but not the rod).

If the item has a single use effect the Anything Item can be used for that one effect. If it has a permanent effect (such as a Helm of Underwater Action) that effect will last for 1 hour. (i.e. if changed into a +3 dagger, the +3 bonus would last for only 1 hour before becoming a dagger with no bonus at all). If commanded to become a mundane item it remains in that form until commanded to change.

The Anything Item can be changed into a specific form only once, then can never take that form again. It can be commanded to change only 3 times by an individual and will remain in the last shape it is commanded to duplicate till someone else takes over ownership and commands it to change once again. The object cannot be traded back and forth. Once it has been used by a new owner the old owner, even if only 1 change was commanded, has lost ownership of the item forever.

Powers
1. May transform into any non-consumable small object magical or mundane upon command.
2. The Anything Item radiates magic regardless of its shape or magical or non-magical abilities.

Limitations
1. Can only duplicate an object that has been previously held by current owner.
2. Can only perform a single magical effect of duplicated object
3. Enchantment disappears after one hour even if duplicated objects magical effect or ability has not been used (i.e. a Horn of Valhalla duplicated but not used becomes a mundane horn after 1 hour). A duplicated item with a permanent magical effect or bonus also becomes a mundane item after 1 hour.
4. No item can be duplicated twice. (i.e. If a previous owner changed the Anything Item into a Ring of Free Action it can never be changed again into a Ring of Free Action regardless of new ownership).
5. An individual can only command the Anything Item to change a maximum of 3 times. The next owner can command a change a maximum of 3 times and so on.
6. Once used ownership is established, but should a different individual take hold of the Anything Item and command a change then they are the new owner and the previous owner may never again command the item to change, though anyone may make use of the changed item (within the limitation of class restrictions) if given by the current owner or taken from them.

Saves As:
The Anything Item saves as Metal, Hard (+5) at all times and in any form. If damaged it turns into a small pool of quicksilver which evaporates in a single hour.

In the Greyhawk Campaign;
Only 7 of these Anything Items are known to exist. No mage claims the ability to construct these items.