This chest has sides plated with a foggy transparent material of unknown origin. On the other side of the foggy exterior are numerous clockwork mechanisms. Perceptive characters note that the gears seem the extend beyond the width of the chest. the front of the chest possesses a single keyhole embedded in the exterior. The top of the chest is made of wood. This inside of the chest is lined with wood and takes up the entirety of it's volume(conflicting with the exterior appearance). The chest comes with a key of simple appearance. Although the chest itself is indestructible, the key is not and must be replaced if it breaks.
The key can't be inserted while the chest is open and the chest can't be opened while the key is inserted. The key can't be broken in the keyhole
If the key is inserted and turned while there is nothing inside the chest, the chest collapses into a bracelet with a keyhole. When someone inserts the key into the bracelet, it turns back into the chest. The chest also transforms into the bracelet when met with strong crushing force.
If the key is inserted and turned while there is an item or fluid in the chest, the chest ejects the key and activates for 10 minutes. During those 10 minutes, the chest can't be opened and the key can't be inserted. At the end of the 10 minutes, the chest opens by itself, revealing an altered version of what was put in. This consumes a charge
The altered item superficially resembles the original item, but is altered, usually to be magical. the usefulness of each output ranges from very useful to useless to catastrophic.
The spoiler contains the instructions for the DM to generate the new item.
Roll a 1d100 to determine the theme of the output. if the input is sentient, roll a d2 to determine from what perspective the theme is applied from (player or input). once you have a theme, you come up with something clever. use the examples as guidelines for what should be the output
Dice roll
Theme of output
EXAMPLE 1: 1 gold piece
EXAMPLE 2: 1 sword
EXAMPLE 3a: hostile mimic(player perspective)
EXAMPLE 3b: hostile mimic (mimic perspective)
1-12
hostile change(meant to damage PCs or scare players)
a mimic gold piece
a animated sword encounter
the mimic is now faster and stronger
it has no teeth
13-23
Curious
a miniature cauldron filled with "leprechaun gold" cauldron is bottomless, but the gold from it causes suspicion from those you buy stuff from, the gold disappears one hour after leaving your possession
a sword with engravings hinting that it is Excalibur
an inside out mimic
a smaller version of the clockwork chest (nonfunctional)
24-33
A very good improvement (but not the one you wanted)
100 gold pieces(they actually have the collective mass of one, and easily crumble)
a sword that also functions as a wand of true strike
nothing
the mimic is gone(it was teleported into a later dungeon and is now planning it's ambush)
34-43
No change( this is to prey on paranoid players). roll the dice again to induce more paranoia
one gold piece
one sword
one mimic
44-53
minor improvement
a platinum piece
a sharper sword that deals more damage
t=The mimic is weaker
the mimic is stronger
54-61
the item appears to be unchanged, roll again for the actual effect. the effect will only come active when it passes into the hands of the earliest player to touch an item with this effect
62-69
the item is replaced with one of equal value and purpose
an equal value in a different currency
a shield
mimic door
"bag of holding" (Bag of Devouring)
70-75
mildly infuriating
a gold piece that is too heavy to lift. It can still be lifted indirectly.
a sword that sharper everywhere, including the handle
the chest is empty, the mimic is somewhere in the room
the mimic instantly drops cover before grabbing(giving prey a chance to get away)
76-80
bad pun
a small golden peace sign
poop (shit-> s-word -> sword)
a non sentient statue that mimics the motions and pose of the closest person
81-84
a sentient hostile automaton of equal volume to the input
a very weak automaton(it is the size of a coin)
a sword automaton
The mimic is now a robot. the robot can possibly be reverse engineered
85-87
a very good improvement but with a hilariously bad downside that makes it useless
a gold piece that duplicates when you try to pull it apart, but if 2 of them are touching, they collapse back together into a single one
a +2 sword with a slippery handle
a mimic that is friendly, but thinks that it is ok to eat friends and can not be convinced otherwise
it is very strong and fast, but it can't actually digest anything, making it harmless
88-90
identical to the input, but with a completely non matching enchantment or effect
a gold piece that does one extra pt of damage when thrown
sword falls sideways towards north instead of down. this can be flavor or you can add actual mechanics
the mimic eats other mimics
the mimic is able speak and is very intelligent
91-93
duplicates the item. if the item is very cheap, duplicate if multiple times
32 gold pieces
2 swords
2 mimics
94-95
very good improvement but in a niche or unfortunate way
a platinum piece that is too heavy to lift
a sword that deals more damage to wizards
it is friendly to druids
the mimic is now able to impersonate lifeforms, like a changeling. but it only fools changelings.
96-97
the item appears unchanged, but it is secretly sentient and malevolent, and seeks to harm the players. However, it can only do so very inefficiently
the gold piece always jingles when the party is going through town, attracting thieves
the sword slowly moves while it is on a table, it seeks to fall off and cut someone's toes off
the mimic has brief moments where it is a lot more intelligent
98
a very good improvement with no strings attached
a bag of gold pieces
a +2 sword
the mimic is friendly
it can now create false memories, mimic any material and go invisible
99
minor improvement, but can cause wild magic surges
a platinum piece that can be duplicated by being touched while speaking a command word, but it causes a wild magic surge for each duplication
a sword that has a 10% chance of wild magic surge from the wielder
mimic makes wild magic surges until it is unable attack any players
mimic can make a wild magic surge once per turn, with the target and "caster" assigned so in whatever fashion benefits the mimic
100
Very dangerous item, if it is not destroyed, bad things can happen. The item should be either easily destroyable but catastrophic, or have large ramifications
a monster of equal feel and weight to a gp. when left alone with another gold price, it eats it and has a 10% chance to duplicate. If there are more than 1000 of them in one space, they carnivorously devour organic life. They can be identified by a spell and are flammable
the sword contains an evil spirit that slowly takes over the player character
a jar containing swirling flesh. if the jar is opened, the flesh ball runs away. eventually, the players hear of a walled city that is acting strange. if the players travel to the town, they enter a mini-arc with the opponent being THE THING(from the movie of the same name). The arc ends with a mountain king style escape out the city's only gate followed by torching the entire city.
This chest has sides plated with a foggy transparent material of unknown origin. On the other side of the foggy exterior are numerous clockwork mechanisms. Perceptive characters note that the gears seem the extend beyond the width of the chest. the front of the chest possesses a single keyhole embedded in the exterior. The top of the chest is made of wood. This inside of the chest is lined with wood and takes up the entirety of it's volume(conflicting with the exterior appearance). The chest comes with a key of simple appearance. Although the chest itself is indestructible, the key is not and must be replaced if it breaks.
The key can't be inserted while the chest is open and the chest can't be opened while the key is inserted. The key can't be broken in the keyhole
If the key is inserted and turned while there is nothing inside the chest, the chest collapses into a bracelet with a keyhole. When someone inserts the key into the bracelet, it turns back into the chest. The chest also transforms into the bracelet when met with strong crushing force.
If the key is inserted and turned while there is an item or fluid in the chest, the chest ejects the key and activates for 10 minutes. During those 10 minutes, the chest can't be opened and the key can't be inserted. At the end of the 10 minutes, the chest opens by itself, revealing an altered version of what was put in. This consumes a charge
The altered item superficially resembles the original item, but is altered, usually to be magical. the usefulness of each output ranges from very useful to useless to catastrophic.
The spoiler contains the instructions for the DM to generate the new item.
Roll a 1d100 to determine the theme of the output. if the input is sentient, roll a d2 to determine from what perspective the theme is applied from (player or input). once you have a theme, you come up with something clever. use the examples as guidelines for what should be the output
The chest is 4 ft by 2.5 ft
Notes: Creation, Deception, Eldritch Machine, Artificer, transmutation