| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ranaghar Tsaran |
Posted - 16 Feb 2003 : 19:47:12
Could anybody tell me something about "Elminster's Eversmoking Pipe"? What's so special about it? |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cpthero2 |
Posted - 24 Sep 2018 : 18:09:42
Learned Scribe Tsaran,
This is from Ed Greenwood, Polyhedron Magazine 70, in his former Polyhedron Magazine Feature: "The Everwinking Eye." It is not formatted well due to the copy and past function and edit (Find and Replace All: ^p with ^s).
Elminster's Eversmoking Pipe Revealed
by Ed Greenwood
“There is something in a man that makes him want ta be a dragon. Wizards can manage the wings, scale s, tail and all—but the rest af us have to be content with lighting a pipe and puffing smoke about. Silly? Yes, / suppose— but, then , that word covers a lot of what men do, doesn't it?"
Vangerdahast,
Letters To Novice Court Wizards
Year of the Gulagoar
Several readers have asked for details of the pipe our good sage smokes when he visits me. I suspect certain among them hoped (correctly, as it turns out) it would prove to be some sort of magical item, perhaps even a weapon. 1 took the liberty of asking El minster about it on the occasion of his last visit. I recall that during the memorable winter when he first visited me he used a variety of pipes—long day models being favored— but later settled on a single distinctive specimen. This latter pipe is a curving, smooth pipe fashioned of some dark, lustrous wood. It is indeed special, and is described hereafter, DMs who hove Elminster put in a direct appearance in play are advised that authenticity demands they add the details of Elminster's eversmoking pipe to the descriptions of Elminster given in Issue 110 of DRAGON® Magazine and in the FR7 Hall of Heroes sourcebook. So as not to forget anything (Elminster does not lend himself to ready organization), I’ve described this pipe in the strict rules format first used in the D&D S game accessory book ACII The Book of Wondrous Inventions. Definition: A pipe for the smoking of tobacco, with a secondary use as a weapon. History; This pipe was developed by the wizard Elminster, and was unique to him until recently, when he made details of its making and construction available to the wizard Sarghun of Silvery moon, who also enjoys a good pipe. Various other mages of the Forgotten Realms have since gleaned details of the pipe from Sarghun. Description,: The invention looks like a large-bowled, curved-stemmed meer- schaum pipe. (The sort often depicted by artists portraying the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. In the Realms, most such pipes actually are carved of felsul root. Note that in the Sherlock Holmes stories the detective's pipes were long, straight-stemmed clay specimens, but the artists usually drew him smoking a meerschaum anyway.) Elminster's eversmoking pipe does not produce large amounts of smoke. How¬ ever, the smoke is thick, greenish-gray, and contains occasional tiny, winking sparks. The smoke keeps normal insects at bay, clearing them from a 10-foot radius around the user. This protection is effective even against magically sum¬ moned insects. Construction: 13,000 gp (Charged- version), 21,000 gp Permanent version }; 20 days (Charged), 28 ( Permanent ); 1,200 XP In addition to the enchant arc item spell, the pipe requires the following magics: pyrotechnics, wall of force, and Drawmij's Instant Summons. Unless the pipe is a charged version, it must also be given Permanency. In D&D® game campaigns, the re¬ quired spells are of fire, summon object, and force field, plus permanence if desired. A non-permanent euersmokingpipe can retain six charges. A single charge keeps the pipe lit for seven hours of continuous use (the pipe can be extin¬ guished and the remaining duration on a charge saved for later use.) The pipe can be recharged. Tb restore a single charge to the pipe a wizard must cast one spell of each type. The crushed and powdered gems required for Drawmij’s instant summons and wall of force spells must be tamped into the bowl. Statistics; Such a pipe is usually 10 inches long or less, and weighs less than one pound. Functioning: The pipe's bowl has the usual cavity for tobacco. When the pipe is activated, tobacco is constantly replen¬ ished at the bottom of the cavity by magi¬ cal means; the su/nmorca teleports tobacco in from a known store (usually a large sack or barrel in the owners domicile). Neither type of pipe can. stay lit if it. runs out of tobacco. If the pipe is a "charged” version, and it runs out of tobacco, it uses up the current charge regardless of the elapsed time of use. Simply restoring the tobacco supply is sufficient to allow the pipe to function again. (Of course, a charged pipe with no charges cannot function, tobacco- supply notwithstanding.} The pipe is smoked normally. Tb one side of the tobacco cavity is the pipe- stem. On the other, across from the stem, is a tiny cavity containing a flame. Whenever the smoker sucks on the pipe, the flame is drawn into the tobacco, igniting it. The pipe is activated by the direct touch (flesh to wood) of any being who simultaneously says, "Flame,” or any single (usually cryptic) command word chosen during the initial enchantment. In like manner, "Out!” or an equivalent command word (plus simultaneous touch) de-nctivates the pipe. When activated, the pipe lights itself, and its bowl is shielded from the ele¬ ments by a miniature, hemispherical wall of force , Tins allows the user to keep the pipe lit even in rain, snow, gusts of wind or galc-forcc natural winds. The howl itself is magically protected against overheating and burn¬ ing during normal use. Hazards: Several conditions of the pipe-user’s surroundings, such pa the presence of a natural or magical dust storm or dust devil, a pyrotechnics spell, cloudkill, or stinking cloud, will cause the pipe to ignite a fiery 3d6 ftreball- like explosion. The pipe is allowed an item saving throw (it is “Wood, thin,” and gets a + 3 bonus as a magic item with fire-related powers; in this ease it saves vs. magical fire). If it fails, it is destroyed, and anyone in contact with it receives a penalty of - 3 on his own saving throw against the fiery explo¬ sion. A pipe cannot function under water Dr in an airless void. When a lit pipe is exposed to these conditions, or subjected to a quench fire spell, it automatically is extinguished and the current charge ends. Attempts to add more than six charges to the pipe cause an explosion POLYHEDRON 7 for 2d6 damage and destroys the item. Eversmoking pipes never indicate how many charges remain or when their capacity is approaching full, but the being enchanting a pipe knows the pipe’s capacity (and, of course, initial charges). If the pipe is struck or dropped, its flame may momentarily curl out of the bowl, or lit tobacco may spill out of the bowl and ignite nearby flammables. If the smoker of a charged version of the pipe blows hard through the stem, while murmuring the deactivation word,, the pipe will drain one charge [the current one if lit). As it goes out, it produces a single, spinning hall of flame that can inflict ld4 points of damage. This ball of flame will belch immedi¬ ately up out of the pipe. Tt is similar to a M elfs minute meteor, and the pipe- smoker can direct it at targets up to 90 feet distant by pointing. No verbal com¬ mand is required. Anything flammable struck by the ball must save versus magical fire or ignite. A permanent pipe can produce this ball of flame once each round, A wizard of 9th level or higher also can use an eversmoking pipe to produce crude images, symbols, or directive arrows from the smoke it emits, and can vary the hue and brightness of the smoke. Such displays can never trigger or substitute for magical symbols or runes, but they can convey messages to all who see them. And they can, with practice, work precisely enough to make the smoke-image resemble a specific being. Such images require two to five rounds to fully form, and last for an¬ other two to five rounds. An eversmoking pipe can be command¬ ed to reproduce one of the effects of a pyrotechnics spell once every three rounds (each such use drains a charge from a non-permanent pipe). The pipe- smoker launching the pyrotechnics is immune to any such effect generated by the pipe. Any eversmoking pipe can be com¬ manded (with a single, secret word) to return to the band of its owner, regard¬ less of distance., planar separation, or barriers and protections. The pipe will appear one to three rounds after the the command word is spoken. The summon¬ ing word can be changed at will by holding the pipe, flesh to wood, and speaking a certain rhyme that includes the new summoning word and cancels all others. If the cancellation is left out of this charm, previous words will still work, and the pipe could end up flicking POL rapidly around the planes in an endless tug-of-war between rivals. The rhyme for changing the summon¬ ing word is a unique seventh-level CGTtju.Tat-wnfsummoning wizard Spell for which Elminster would give no details beyond a slow smile. It must be re¬ searched and developed independently by all wishing to exercise it. Staging: A wizard caught at a disad¬ vantage by a party could well use his pipe's offensive properties to attack the party, or to cause a fire in a party’s spell library, food store a or the like by acci¬ dentally or deliberately activating the pipe and leaving it where it will start a blaze. Despite the summons upon it, an eversmoking pipe cannot be magically traced to its owner. It can be teleported or telekinesed in an activated stale; for example, into an occupied bedroom. (Storm Silvorband told me wryly that Elm bister once played this trick on her and a gentleman friend.) Or into a pile of scrolls, or onto a precious map, A DM could introduce an eversmoking pipe into play as useful treasure by using rumors or ancient writings that tell PCs of a strange, wondrous magical device that belches smoke and flame upon command, and lies in a chest guarded by maniacal traps and fear¬ some monsters—the treasure, of course, being not a wand of fire or flamethrow¬ er but an innocent eversmoking pipe . Others Different substances burned in an euersmofcitt.g pipe have some strange effects. Experimentation in this field continues, but several results are known: Lamp oil and other volatile fuels cause sudden jets of flame to erupt for one to four rounds (reflected back upon the smoker by the pipe’s weather shield), followed by an explosion (dam¬ age 2d&) that destroys the pipe, Wet green leaves produce a thick, black, choking smoke. Once this has begun, the smoker can leave the pipe to create a smoke screen or to force air- breathing creatures out of a confined space. This smoke screen lasts until the pipe’s current charges are exhausted, plus one to three rounds (the smoke will clear in only one round if there is a brisk wind). Note that smoke production does not depend upon a constant supply of wet Leaves, or anything in the bowl at all, once begun; the pipe’s inherent magic creates the smoke. Note that an eversmoking pipe that is permanent will never stop producing smoke unless de^ stroyed, extinguished, or commanded Y H ED not to in the proper way. Immersion of either version of the pipe in water or another non-flammable liquid can extin¬ guish the flame and thus end the smoke, dispel magie will extinguish the pipe, but not drain it of magic or perma¬ nently affect it in any way. A hot, white smoke, useful for smok¬ ing meats, concealing Strong smells, and the like, of similar duration can be produced by using dry, dead leaves. Perfumed cloth, paper, or flower petals call be used to scent an area. Elminster’s Own Pipe: The Old Mage has added at least three additional powers to the particular pipe he carries (or pipes; he has several identical "back¬ up” pipes stashed in various places around Toril and Realmspace). These powers are as follows: When the pipe is lit and held in the lips, the smoker (only) is protected as if by a protection from normal missiles, and all magic missiles directed at the smoker are reflected back at their source, striking for their usual damage. When immersed in water, the pipe immediately creates an airy water effect with a 12-turn duration. If the pipe is lit, it goes out at this time, and cannot be ignited while it remains underwater. Nine times a day the pipe can be held and commanded silently to dbneasion door. This transports the hearer up to 700 yards, moving up to 500 pounds of non-living matter or 250 pounds of living matter that is in contact with the bearer. This can be done once per round (unlike the spell, no “round of recovery 1 ’ is needed between dimension door at¬ tempts). Certain malicious rivals have spread a rumor that Elminster is sufficiently addled as to think of his pipe as a living thing, and often talks £o it. This is pat¬ ently false—the only time I ever heard him talking to it was onee when The Simbul used it as the focus of an audible sending spell that allowed her to talk back and forth with the Old Mage. On that occasion, I heard Elminster argu¬ ing with his pipe.
Best regards,
quote:
Originally posted by Ranaghar Tsaran
Could anybody tell me something about "Elminster's Eversmoking Pipe"? What's so special about it?
|
| Ranaghar Tsaran |
Posted - 19 Feb 2003 : 14:40:42
quote:
Originally posted by Elminster
Unfortunately, as i am sorry to confess, it be not not available on e-bay 
Ohhhh nooo....what a pity  |
| zemd |
Posted - 19 Feb 2003 : 10:32:35
quote:
Originally posted by Ranaghar Tsaran
Thank you for your help, my lady. ::bows::
I haven't read it, yet...that's why I dind't konw anything about it
 Thank you Ranaghar |
| Elminster |
Posted - 19 Feb 2003 : 06:23:02
Yea indeed. Tis my pipe you speak of fair maiden...and an amazing pipe it is too
Unfortunately, as i am sorry to confess, it be not not available on e-bay
Fair travels wee adventurer |
| Ranaghar Tsaran |
Posted - 18 Feb 2003 : 21:50:17
Thank you for your help, my lady. ::bows::
I haven't read it, yet...that's why I dind't konw anything about it |
| zemd |
Posted - 18 Feb 2003 : 21:32:48
Code of the harpers page 48-49 |
| Ranaghar Tsaran |
Posted - 17 Feb 2003 : 16:55:31
Mielikki, my dear goddess!!
Where did you find that??You're wonderful!! |
| zemd |
Posted - 16 Feb 2003 : 21:57:51
I found more:
Elminsterís Eversmoking Pipe (XP Valueó
1,200; GP Valueó9,000 (6,500 if not Elminsterës
own)): A curving pipe smooth-carved of dark,
lustrous felsul-root, developed by Elminster. He
had the only one until he recently gave details
of its making and construction to the wizard
Sarghun of Silverymoon (a Harper ally), who
enjoys a good pipe. Other mages have since
gleaned pipe details from Sarghun in card
games and other high-level, secretive meetings
of solemn masters of magic.
The pipe is smoked in the normal fashion. Its
smoke is thick and greenish-grey, laced with
tiny winking sparks, and it keeps insects of normal
size (even magically summoned or directed
ones) at bay, clear of a ten-foot-radius area centered
on the pipe.
If the smoker blows very hard through the
pipe while deactivating it (see below; the user
forcefully exhales the deactivation word down the pipestem), it goes out but emits a single,
spinning ball of flame. Like a Melfís minute
meteor, this fiery missile is under the mental
control of the smoker, who can direct it at targets
up to 90 feet distant by pointing (no verbal
command required). Anything flammable
struck by the ball must make a successful saving
throw vs. magical fire or ignite. Beings hit
suffer 1d4 points of damage (no saving throw).
An eversmoking pipe can be commanded to
reproduce one of the effects of a pyrotechnics
spell, once every three rounds. The smoker is
immune to all such pipe effects even when companions
are chokingly overcome. This protection
canít be extended to others.
By uttering a single secret word, an eversmoking
pipe can be commanded to return to the
hand of its owner, regardless of the distance
between them, planar separation, or any barriers
and protections, appearing 1d3 rounds after
the word is spoken. This power can be used by
any being that utters the summoning word,
which can be changed by holding the pipe, flesh
to wood, and speaking a certain rhyme that
includes the new summoning word and cancels
all others. If the cancellation is left out of this
charm, previous words still work, and the pipe
could end up flicking rapidly around the planes
in an endless tug-of-war between rivals. This
charm is a 7th-level conjuration/summoning
wizard spell that only Elminster knows; other
wizards must devise their own. It also prevents
any being from magically tracing the owner via
the pipe.
A wizard of 9th or higher level can shape the
smoke from an eversmoking pipe into crude
images, symbols, or directive arrows, and can
vary smoke hue and brightness. Such displays
can never trigger or substitute for magical symbols
or runes, but they can convey messages to
all who see them. They also can, with practice,
be worked precisely enough to make the
smoke-image recognizably resemble a specific
being. Such images take 1d4+1 rounds to fully
form, and last for another 1d4+1 rounds.
Elminster has added at least three more powers to his own pipe (or pipes, actually; he has
several identical ones stashed in various places
around Toril and Realmspace). When the pipe is
lit and held in the lips, the smoker (only) is protected
as if by a protection from normal missiles
spell, and all magic missiles directed at the
smoker are reflected back to their source, striking
for their usual damage.
When immersed in water, the pipe instantly
casts an airy water spell (of 12 turns duration). If
the pipe is lit, it goes out and canít be reignited
while it remains underwater.
When the pipe is held, its bearer can by silent
force of will dimension door (up to 700 yards distant,
moving up to 500 lbs. of non-living matter
or 250 lbs. of living matter in contact with the
bearer). This can be done once per round (unlike
the spell, no ìround of recoveryî is needed
between dimension door attempts), to a maximum
of nine times per day
Substances other than tobacco burned in such
a pipe have some strange effects. Experimentation
in this field continues, but several results
are known. The use of lamp oil and other
volatile liquid fuels causes sudden jets of flame
to erupt for 1d4 rounds (reflected back on the
smoker by the pipeís weather shield), followed
by a 2d6-die explosion that destroys the pipe.
The use of wet green leaves produces a thick,
black, choking smoke. Once this has begun, the
smoker can leave the pipe to create a smoke-screen,
to smoke insects or air-breathing creatures out of a
confined space, and the like. This smoke-screen
lasts until the pipe is destroyed, immersed in
non-flammable liquid, or commanded to stop (the
smoke will clear in only one round if there is a
brisk wind). Smoke production doesnít depend on
a constant supply of wet leaves, or anything in the
bowl at all, once begun; the pipeís inherent magic
creates the smoke.
A hot, white smoke (useful for smoking
meats, concealing strong smells, and the like) of
similar duration can be produced by using dry,
dead, fallen leaves. Perfumed cloth, paper, or
flower petals can be used to scent an area.
An eversmoking pipe is activated by the direct touch (flesh to wood) of any being who says,
ìFlame!î or another single (usually cryptic)
word chosen during the initial pipe enchantment.
In like manner, ìOut!î or another chosen
single word, plus simultaneous direct touch,
de-activates the pipe again.
When the pipe is activated, it lights itself, and
its bowl is shielded from the elements by a
miniature, hemispherical wall of force, allowing
the user to keep the pipe lit even in rain, snow,
gusts of wind or gale-force natural winds. The
pipeís bowl is magically protected against overheating
and burning during normal use.
Tobacco is constantly replenished at the bottom
of the bowl, teleported in from a known store
(usually a large sack or barrel in the smokerís
own keep). When the pipe is enchanted, the
summons must, for safety reasons, be restricted
in the type of substance (e.g., crushed tobacco)
it will teleport in.
Making such a pipe requires any fire-producing
magic and the spells wall of force, Drawmijís
instant summons, and permanency.
The presence of a lit eversmoking pipe in the
area of effect of a natural or magical dust storm
or whirlwind of sand, a pyrotechnics not of the
pipeís making, a cloudkill, or a stinking cloud,
will cause the pipe to ignite a fiery 3d6 fireball
burst, centered on itself.
The pipe is allowed an item saving throw vs.
magical fire (it is ìwood, thin,î and gets a +3
bonus as a magical item with fire-related powers).
If the throw fails, it is destroyed, and anyone
in contact with it receives a penalty of -3 to their
own saving throw against the fiery explosion. If
the saving throw succeeds, the pipe goes out
(losing all tobacco in it at the time, but being
otherwise undamaged), and must be reactivated.
A successful saving throw against any
eversmoking pipe means a victim receives half
damage (shock effects but not heat or flame
damage).
If the pipe is struck severely or dropped, its
flame may momentarily curl out of the bowl, or
lit tobacco may spill out of the bowl, slide down
the shield, and ignite nearby flammables. A dispel magic spell can extinguish an
eversmoking pipe, but not drain it of magic or
permanently affect it in any way.
An eversmoking pipe can be teleported or
telekinesed in an activated stateófor example,
into an occupied bedroom (as Storm Silverhand
wryly tells), or onto a pile of scrolls, maps, or
valuable documents.
Certain malicious mages have spread a rumor
that Elminster is sufficiently addled to think of
his pipe as a living thing, and that he often talks
to it. The Simbul sometimes uses it as the focus
of an audible sending-related spell, allowing
her to talk back and forth with the Old Mage.
About every third middle-aged or elderly mage
of the Realms appears to have once been-however
brieflyóElminsterís apprentice; particularly,
it seems, those who were once very
beautiful women of human, elven (even drow!),
or half-elven stock. |
| zemd |
Posted - 16 Feb 2003 : 21:54:06
I can be more specific if you wish |
| zemd |
Posted - 16 Feb 2003 : 21:51:25
Elminsterís Eversmoking Pipe
A meerschaum pipe carved of darkly lustrous felsul root, this is
a magical item originally designed by Elminster himself. It is activated
(lit) by touching it and speaking a certain command
word unique to each such item, and deactivated (extinguished)
in similar fashion with a second word. The pipe is smoked in
normal fashion, but its smoke is a thick greenish gray, terribly
foul-smelling, and is laced with twinkling sparks. The smoke
keeps all normal insects (even those magically summoned or directed)
outside of a 10-foot radius from the pipe.
If the smoker exhales forcefully through the pipe while deactivating
it, the pipe goes out but emits a single spinning ball
of flame. Like a Melfís minute meteor, the fiery ball is under
the control of the smoker, who can direct it at a target up to
90 feet distant by pointing (no verbal command required).
Anything flammable struck by the ball must save vs. magical
fire or ignite. Beings struck by the ball suffer 1d4+1 points of
damage with no saving throw.
The pipe also can produce one of the three effects of a pyrotechnics
spell, once every 3 rounds.
By uttering a single secret word, Elminster can cause the pipe
to appear at his current location in 1d3 rounds.
Elminster also can form the pipeís smoke into crude (nonmagical)
images, symbols, or directional arrows. These images
take 1d4+1 rounds to form and last for an additional 1d4+1
rounds thereafter.
Elminsterís personal pipe has three more powers. When the
pipe (or pipes, more accurately; Elminster has several stashed in
caches across the Realms) is lit and held in the lips, the smoker
(only) gets the benefit of protection from normal missiles, and all
magic missiles cast at the smoker reflect back upon their source,
inflicting their normal damage. When immersed in water, the
pipe instantly evokes an airy water effect with a 12-turn duration.
If the pipe goes out underwater (even within the airy
water), it cannot be relit while underwater. By silent force of will, the smoker can dimension door up to 700 yards distant,
moving up to 500 lbs. of nonliving matter and 250 lbs. of living
matter in contact with him. This last effect effect can be called
upon once per round to a maximum of nine times per day.
The pipe is impervious to most forms of physical attack,
whether mundane or magical in nature. Magical fire can harm
it, but the pipe is allowed a saving throw (as ìwood, thinî) with
a +3 bonus because it has fire-related powers of its own. If the
save is failed, the pipe is destroyed. If it succeeds, the pipe merely
goes out and must be reactivated. Also, a dispel magic extinguishes
the pipe, but does not affect it in any permanent way. |
| Ranaghar Tsaran |
Posted - 16 Feb 2003 : 20:21:31
quote:
Originally posted by Echon
I can be more specific if you wish.
Why not? More information, more fun |
| Echon |
Posted - 16 Feb 2003 : 19:57:59
Excepts from Heroes Lorebook, 2E:
A magical meerschaum pipe created by Elminster himself. Actived (lit) by touch and command word. Extinguished in the fashion.
The foul-smelling smoke keeps insects out in a 10 foot radius (even summoned insects).
Forceful exhaling can produce a single Melf's Minute Meteors under the control of the smoker.
Pyrotechnics every 3rd round.
By uttering a single word, Elminster can cause the pipe to appear in his current location in 1D3 rounds.
Elminster can form the smoke into runes and other symbols.
When smoked, Protection from Normal Missiles, Magic Missiles rebound, if under water -> Airy Water and Dimension Door.
The pipe is also very resist to damage and all sorts of attacks.
I can be more specific if you wish.
-Echon |
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