Handy Haversack wrote:

These twelve silvery spikes are found in a wallet of soft, furry Vhuurmi hide. Their points are chisel-shaped, and the shafts spiral to a loop at the end that a rope can easily pass through. The metal feels soft and warm to the touch, though it resists all mark or imprint. The spikes gleam dully in even the dimmest light.

With a slight tap, one of these spikes can be driven into any normal surface -- stone, ice, metal, wood, and so on -- as long as the medium is thick enough to hold the spike. (They will not enter thinner strata; their magic is of holding and bonding, not destruction.) Once in place, no normal force can remove the spike -- only powerful magic or the destruction of the surface will cause the hold to yield. These spikes can be driven into more exotic walls -- adamantium, tears, human dreams, the wings of fey suicides -- though success is not assured. Depending on the strength and enchantment of the surface, the character using the Sprial Mountain Anchor might need to roll under their level on 1d8, 1d10, or 2d6.

A single Spiral Mountain Anchor can be used to spike shut any normal door. Once done, the door is wizard locked as if by a magician of the same level as the user. The character who drove in the spike, though, has no special ability to cause the door to open. Only those abilities and magics that bypass a wizard lock can open the portal. The destruction of the door might (50/50) result in the Spiral Mountain Anchor becoming free from its bond and usable once again. There is a chance that one or more Spiral Mountain Anchors could spike shut great valves, portals between worlds, the doors of perception, and other ontological openings.

I love this!  Though I think I would allow, in addition to the above, the person that placed them to remove them with a twist or a dispel magic against the level of the placer to shake them loose. I could see them as infinitely useful to thieves.  But I'm not a hardcore ref.

Handy Haversack wrote:

Thanks!

You know me, Mabon -- I like my magic items ephemeral!

I also appreciate your expanding this hillbilly's vocabulary.
 

Chainsaw wrote:

Great idea, Handy!

Thanks, Chainsaw! They can't all be +0 swords.

Chainsaw wrote:

Handy Haversack wrote:

Chainsaw wrote:

Great idea, Handy!

Thanks, Chainsaw! They can't all be +0 swords.

Well, you know, the +0 part makes it funny, but there's a wondrous, gritty simplicity to having only regular swords (can't hit certain monsters) and magical swords (can hit them), discarding the plus system entirely.

I have some longer thoughts on this fermenting (better help them out!) these days, but: yeah. And then the next step up is swords that are magical and do *something*: mirror image, chance of petrifaction, speed, make zombies, make zombies love you, make zombie love. The whole panoply!

Caveman wrote:

Very interesting item Handy...

Eh, was wondering the cost and XP gain?

I also tried a few items, placed with my new mancer classes ideas, just for fun, but I could not get a mental rule on price or XP I should give them. I not want to give to much or little, but I can not think of a format.

Was wonder if Jeff or another has created a chart on the process.

Hmm. No idea, really. Magic items never get sold in my game. Who would have the cash other than maybe other adventurers or monsters, and why would you ever sell to them? I can't imagine more than 1,000 gold changing hands for almost any reason!

XP? Like 1,000? And I now pretty much always split magic item XP among the party.

But I'm sure also that there are rough equivalents in the book Misc. Magic table that would make sense for comparison?

My players found a set of these yesterday. I had to look here to remember what they did! Hi, Rob!