D&D: Five Of The Weirdest Mundane Items In 5E
We all know magic items can be weird in D&D. But regular pieces of gear can be pretty weird too. Here are some of our favorites.
When it comes to weird items in 5th Edition, Magic items don’t have the market cornered. Sure, they may help define the upper end of the spectrum. But there are still plenty of unexpectedly weird pieces of gear you can find in the pages of one of the many 5th Edition books out there.
Though for many of these, you’ll have to look a bit further afield than the Player’s Handbook. Still. Dig around out there and here’s what you might find.
Barking Box
A barking box is a six-inch metal cube with a crank on top. Whenever you wind the crank, the box will bark whenever it detects vibrations within 15 feet of it, as long as those vibrations are coming from something in contact with the same ground or substance that it is in contact with.
So it’s a little tremor sensor. But lest you think that “bark” is a metaphor, it’s not These boxes have a switch on one side that can make it emit either a small dog’s bark or a large dog’s bark.
Dreamlily
In the depths of Sarlona in Eberron you’ll find the Dreamlily. This poisonous substance causes euphoria and the poisoned condition. But while you’re poisoned by Dreamlily, you’re also immune to fear and resistant to death, because the first time you would drop to 0 hit points, you drop to 1 hit point instad.
Narycrash
This device is an invention of the Tinker Gnomes native to Krynn. A narycrash is an indispensable piece of gear for anyone being flung by gnome-a-pult to a distant destination. Also handy for anyone riding a dragon too, because this device is a parachute that works just like featherfall, except it works even in an antimagic field.
You may find yourself falling the last ten feet to the ground though, if you’re unlucky (roll a 5 or less on a d20).
Truth Serum
This one feels like it’s more out of sci-fi than fantasy, but you can, if you find a vendor, buy straight up truth serum. While poisoned by truth serum, a creature cannot knowingly speak a lie. It’s zone of truth in a cup (or whatever other method of ingesting the poison you use).
Black Ghost Orchid Seed
Finally the Black Ghost Orchid Seed. These seeds are as thick as a fist. And when distilled to their essence can induce a powerful sleep, like unto death, in someone taking them. Now, normally the Feign Death spell works only on willing targets. But with this item you can potentially put anyone into a cataleptic state.
That’s some of the strangest nonmagical equipment that money can buy!
