The Magic Item Discount Bin

This is the brainchild of Dan M., a friend of mine. His concept is of a bin at the magic shop of a Shadow Dragon NPC of his. These items are not cursed...completely. They just are lacking something or have unwanted side effects that make them unsuitable for sale (at least at full price!) You'll understand further as you read on (believe me, you will!)...

Wand of Lightning; Conductor
This is a metal wand approximately 1 1/2 feet long. It functions like a standard wand of lightning but has a crucial drawback: the bolt starts at the tip of the wand. The holder of the wand will take the same damage through conduction that the struck creatures will. If you ask nicely at the shop, the shadow dragon could sell you a glove of protection from lightning... Also, rumor has it that there are a couple wands of fireballs with this defect. Generally, those don't survive the initial test firing. (Nor, typically, does the wielder)

Blade Barrier Cloak; "Turncoat"
This cloak is a finely made leather cloak. Ideally, when finished, this item will enact the blade barrier spell once per day if a switch on the brooch is shifted. The blade barrier stays at a range of 5 feet from the wearer, and moves with the wearer. The problem with this one, is that the surfaces that focus the magic were reversed; the seams were sewn in backwards. The biggest drawback to this is that when the cloak is put on rightside out, the magic is focused inward, causing the wearer to take twice the normal blade barrier damage. If the cloak is turned inside out and worn, it functions just fine (but I wouldn't wear it to any formal affairs...).

Boomerang of Sharpness This one just plain was not a good idea. The bladed boomerang is enchanted like a sword of sharpness. On a hit roll of 19 or 20 it will sever a limb on the target. However, the stakes get a little higher when you try to catch said boomerang. This one is enchanted to come back to the wielders hand, no matter how awkward the throw. Unless the weilder does a full scale dodge (forfeits attacks the round following the throw), there is a 50% chance that the wielders hand will be severed upon the return of the boomerang (unless the boomerang is physically blockes some other way).

Necklace of Unstable Missiles This functions as a standard necklace of missiles from the Dungeon Master's Guide. The beads work great. However, the actual necklace was shoddily done. When a bead is pulled off the necklace, there is a 30% chance that the string (string?!?) holding the necklace together severs completely, causing the rest of the remaining beads to fall to the ground and go off, leaving the wearer at ground zero for multiple fireballs. The wearer may make a Dex check, and catch d4 beads before they hit the ground. Of course, if the wearer fails any of the saving throws, the beads in his hand will go off too. (Definately a case of "several beads in the bush are better than a bead in the hand")

Ring of Trollish Regeneration This ring is much like a standard ring of regeneration, except that it is much more powerful - the wearer gains back 3 hp per round! When this ring was made though, the mage used twice as much troll thyroid as he should have. (Who knows why the mage needed troll thyroid? *shudder*) The result is that the skin that grows back is green, bumpy, and very much subject to fire! If the wearer is subject to fire or acid, the damage will not regenerate or heal normally. If a limb is lost, a trollish limb grows from the stump. Given time, this can make things very complicated for the wearer, as a troll is a size L creature. A trollish arm may not be so bad, but try a trollish leg and a human leg...

Boots of Constantly Varied Tracks Unfortunately, the creator of these boots was a little confused. The boots function like the boots of varied tracks found in the DMG, but after 5 rounds (5 minutes) get confused as to what tracks to lay. The DM rolls randomly every five minutes to see what kind of tracks the wearer is making. In addition, these boots will only shut off when they are removed. As a result, there will be tracks left whether the wearer wants them there or not. Tile floors will have dirty footprints, rocks will have scrapes, etc. The only thing unaffected is water, because, frankly, nobody has figured out how to leave tracks on water!