Magic signet rings?

[Vorput]

Sorry for the vague title, all I could think of. I'm currently DMing a 3.5 game.

One of my PCs recently brought up a desire to purchase a set of signet rings that the entire party could wear, so that if one ever needed to call the other, they could do something- and the other party members rings would glow, or get warm, or something.

They wouldn't be able to communicate any message of any kind other than "Hey, my rings glowing."

Do any of you know of such an item? Or have any ideas on generating one, and what it's availability/base market price would be?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Varianor Abroad]

A shared world I was in had a variant on this. Same sort of deal, except that you could use a message spell through them. It was really powerful for the price. Your variant sounds neat. I'd say 1000 gp per ring for what amounts to a variant light spell on command is good.

 

[Jubilee]

In the miniature's handbook there is a ring of communication. You attune the rings to any number of others (speaking a command and touching them together) and anyone wearing one can speak to anyone else wearing an attuned ring within 1 mile. Removing the ring or attuning it to another ring ends the effect. It doesn't matter how loudly or softly you speak, they can still hear you. They cost 2000 gp each.

In Races of Destiny there's an Insignia of Alarm spell. It's bard 2, and it requires a 10gp special insignia. Anyone who wears the ring created with a specific insignia hears a mental "ping" (as the alarm spell) whenever someone else wearing the ring casts the "insignia of alarm" spell. It's got a 400ft + 40ft/level spread centered on the caster for a range. Putting the spell itself into the ring to allow non-bards to activate it should be possible. As far as cost goes, I am not very familiar with item creation rules, so I'm no help there.

/ali

 

[kigmatzomat]

A shared world I was in had a variant on this. Same sort of deal, except that you could use a message spell through them. It was really powerful for the price. Your variant sounds neat. I'd say 1000 gp per ring for what amounts to a variant light spell on command is good.

Be very, very careful when giving out information sharing items.

I gave my players a ring that can cast sending 3 times/day and it is their most cherished item. I can't count the number of times they've used it to get some quick information ("Respected Arch Druid, we have spotted a group of humanoid spiders on the edge of your forest. Should we approach them?") or to provide warnings ("Mayor there are rockworms eating the dam! Evacuate the lowlands!"). When someone goes scouting or the non-casters venture off by themselves they'll take the ring.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Be very, very careful when giving out information sharing items.

You mean walkie-talkies? Yep. I concur. It was a shared world, so I didn't have a lot of choice in the price - we ran "book-standard" games. In my own game? I'd probably charge 10,000 gp apiece. Maybe twice that.

 

[Nyeshet]

But that's for a radio-ring. What he's asking for is a set of rings that faintly glow and perhaps feel a little warm whenever one of them - any of them - is activated. I'd probably place a range limit on it (ie: no 'so long as you are on the same plane' bit).

I'd probably go a little further, and then up the price a bit. Perhaps four rings of Status upon command, tied to each other, with a secondary Alarm function that allowed one to mentally 'ping' the others to get their attention. When the alarm was sent in this manner the other rings would become noticeably warm (but not uncomfortably) and glow with candle brightness. Then they could activate the primary function to gain Status on the others - knowing automatically which ring sent the ping.

That would cost a bit more (~15k / ring), but what he is asking for is basically four rings of alarm (mental) tied exclusively to each other. That would be about 2k each, but considering their limitation (can only send a single to the other three rings) and the fact that they must be bought as a set, I would likely only charge 1,500 gp each - thus 6k for all 4 rings ( buy 3, get the 4th one free! ).

I can actually see something like this being commercially made. A Lord having a ring allowing him to call upon a specific servant (or several) at will, for instance.

Add "Know North" to the rings as a secondary function and each ring is now 3k (or even 2,500 gp / ring, considering the limitations). But I would state that the spell was modified due to the nature of the ring, so instead it pointed towards each of the other rings. That could also be useful, but note that this only determines direction - not distance. One would not be able to tell which of the other rings is closest, for instance, or whether a ring was a fifty feet away or fifty miles or five thousand miles (assuming you limit it to the plane; I would likely limit its "know direction" special, although I'm not certain how much would be fair: ten miles? one mile? one hundred miles?).

 

[EdL]

Sorry for the vague title, all I could think of. I'm currently DMing a 3.5 game.

One of my PCs recently brought up a desire to purchase a set of signet rings that the entire party could wear, so that if one ever needed to call the other, they could do something- and the other party members rings would glow, or get warm, or something.

They wouldn't be able to communicate any message of any kind other than "Hey, my rings glowing."

Do any of you know of such an item? Or have any ideas on generating one, and what it's availability/base market price would be?

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like a Justic Leage of America ring, but without the flight ability. Seriously, the 1K gp cost sounds fine, given how limited it is. In fact, if someone else got hold of one somehow, think of all the fun you could have with it! (They get to the prearranged meeting place and there's an ambush waiting. Or joe doesn't show up because a thief, er rogue, stole it and is using Use Magic Device on it. Etc.)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sounds like a Justic Leage of America ring, but without the flight ability.

Do you mean Legion of Super-Heroes, or has DC Comics gone nuts when I wasn't looking?

 

[Thaumaturge]

Eberron has Arcane signet rings. Which are signet rings with arcane mark on them. The rune only glows when the person for which the ring was made wears it (this is connected to dragonmarks, but I see no reason you can't use it). 150gp each. (pg 122)

Thaumaturge.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Do you mean Legion of Super-Heroes, or has DC Comics gone nuts when I wasn't looking?

OT: START

Dang, I'm going to show my geek roots.

The Legion of Super Heroes was a "far future" series set around 3000AD with Saturn Girl, Braniac 5, and others. My googling says it first appeared in 1958.

The JLA is the "current era" superheroes (Batman, Wonderwoman, Flash, Superman, etc) and first was printed in 1960.

So if you've gone nuts, you went nuts a looooong time ago 'cuz neither of these are exactly new 'round here.

OT: END