I've got a group of players in a D&D 3.5 campaign:
- a human rog3/clr1
- a human clr4
- an elven bard2/sorc2
- an elven druid4
- a dwarven fighter4
Soon they'll be playing a special Thanksgiving/Xmas game (we missed the game right after Thanksgiving and we're skipping the one that would be right after Xmas) where their characters can't die and WILL get loot.
They've been sorta role-play heavy and have gotten most of their loot through roleplay (talking down sides to a war, solving mysteries). I try to keep my game realistic-ish, so I can't really get their WBL up to where it should be at this point. Most of the situations they've been in would have been easily avoidable if either side had a large amount of currency to throw around, they haven't been heavily involved with people able to wield large amounts of magic (for the same reason), and I can't load them up with enough mundane equipment to make a dent in the difference.
As a reward for their hard work, their mysterious (and obviously magical) benefactor is going to send them to a party. The idea is that powerful beings (very old dragons, gods, potent wizards, etc) hold a party every decade or so and each nominate mortals to attend. Their sent to a small plane where all damage is nonlethal and put through a series of tests (some serious, many silly). Essentially, they're going to get to star in YouTube videos for the gods.
As a reward for doing well, each character will get a magical item. The potency of the magical item will be relative to how well the characters do.
The rogue will get a magical dancing dagger which (unlike normal dancing weapons) will flank her current opponent. The enchantment bonus will depend on how well she does (going from a penalty to hit to a +2 attack).
The cleric (who is really, really, REALLY concerned with logistics) will get either a ring of sustenance, an eternal ration, a small belt of hidden pouches, or a small bag of holding.
The bard will get a simulacrum – a 'mini-me' that will back him up on his Perform checks and can keep his bard songs going while he does other things in combat. It's differences will be in personality (going from EXACTLY like the bard and scaling up to a helpful, eager-to-please personality).
The fighter will get a dwarven waraxe that can transform into another object. It'll start as a +1 waraxe that turns into a stepstool (and back) when you use a command word. The highest form will be a +1 flaming waraxe that transforms into any mundane wooden equipment on use of a command word.
The munchkin in me sees these items as potential FUN, and I know my players well enough to know that they won't abuse them in game-shattering ways.
My problem is that I don't know what to get the druid. I mean, what do you get for the class that has everything? Is there something I can hand to a druid that is relatively similar in power to what I'm giving the rest? What would be useful?
Edit: Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. The druid will get one of the following (in order of top tier to worst tier):
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Staff of Nature (based off of Dakeyras's answer, with a bit of Leezard's) 2/day it will bolster plant growth in an area (as the Enrichment ability of the spell of the same name) in a greatly reduced area. It also has two leaves growing from the top, a holly and an oak which will (if consumed, a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity) permit the recall of a single 1st or 2nd level spell that has already been cast (or forgotten for Summon Nature's Ally). Leaves so used regrow in 1d4-1 days.
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Tent of Solace (based off of MACN's answer) a tent that serves as a Tiny Hut for the druid and her animal companion, providing each with water (but not food). 1/day the druid's animal companion may enter or leave the tent even if it is not set up.
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Collar of Enhancement (inspired by Phill.Zitt) a collar that, when worn, allows an animal companion to treat their druid master as if they were 1 druid level higher when determining animal companion enhancements.
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Nature's bow – a bow that creates its own arrows (1/round) when drawn and grants each arrow a random bonus:
- +1 attack/damage
- +1d6 cold damage
- Arrow grows thorns on hit, causing 1 damage/round until removed. Removal does and additional 1d6 damage
- Successful hit causes no damage, target goes to sleep (Fort save DC 10+attacker's Wisdom bonus to resist)
- Successful hit deals no damage, target must pass a DC 18 Reflex save or become Entangled (as if hit by a tanglefoot bag)
- Successful hit deals no damage, target must pass a DC 15 + attacker's WIS modifier Will save or become passive, non-hostile, and lose their DEX bonus to AC for 1d4-1 rounds.
They're a bit more potent than I'd hand to a more experienced player, but they all have immediate useful effects, and they should enhance the game while remaining fun.
Best Answer
Something fun and interesting for the druid could be a custom magic item called Staff of Plant Growth or something similar, that has X charges per day (maybe depends on how well she does) and can create grass, small trees, or some other form of plant life. It follows the pattern you've established so far, namely that it's partially class-specific, and this could be useful in combat (heavy plant life could be used as (partial) cover) or good fun if roleplayed well - she could use it to cover tracks, hide items, and scare commoners (or even convince them she's the messiah!), while being generally magical.
I'm mostly suggesting this because it's fairly simple, quite versatile, interesting to roleplay with, and you've not shown much indication that you want something too balanced for the characters (in terms of equal cost). Also, unique magic items are always more interesting, I find.
Other cool unique items I've used in the past include a small, portable one-way dimensional hole to the Elemental Plane of Fire that was effectively a firelighter, a quill that writes down people's thoughts within a ten-foot radius, and a ten-foot pole that turns into a match and back again when a command word is uttered. They range from quite handy to very powerful, but in my campaign they were all moderately useful at the point where the players got them. You should be very careful about accepting advice on item balance in your games, especially if they're not combat-heavy.