Editing Elminster (section)

==Elminster's Pipe==
One of Elminster's most iconic accoutrements is his pipe. Adding to his [[The Lord of the Rings|Gandalf-esque]] portrayal, ol' Elmy loves to smoke some tobacco, and it's so iconic to him that it's been fleshed out as a magical item called an ''Eversmoking Pipe'' - or, specifically, ''Elminster's Eversmoking Pipe''. That said, there's more than one of these in the [[multiverse]]; Elminster keeps several backups for himself, but has also both created pipes he's left around for lucky [[adventurer]]s to find (one of the Chosen of [[Mystra|Mystra's]] less glamorous duties is creating magical trinkets to stock [[dungeon]]s and the like with) and taught the basic recipe for making Eversmoking Pipes to other wizards, who've passed them on to others and others stil. And thus, in a small way, Elminster contributes to the ever-expanding existence of magic in the [[Forgotten Realms]].

The first ever iteration of the Eversmoking Pipe was for [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition, and debuted in [[Polyhedron]] #70; an unofficial follow-up to Elminster's first statblocks in [[Dragon Magazine]] #110 and the Hall of Heroes splatbook. This version provided mechanics for both charge-based pipes and permanent versions of the pipes. A charged pipe holds six charges, with each charge lasting until it has burned for 7 hours or the pipe runs out of tobacco - when you create a pipe, you designate a place for it to teleport fresh tobacco from as part of the process. Recharging the charged version requires recasting all of the spells you use to make it in the first place... what are those spells? Well, in [[Forgotten Realms]], you cast Pyrotechnics, Wall of Force and Drawmij's Instant Summons, whilst the generic D&D campaign version requires Wall of Fire, Summon Object and Forcefield - simply add a Permanency or Permanence spell as part of the process, and you get a permanent magical item.

You're probably wondering: what can it actually do? Well, aside from being able to just smoke it as long as you like, Eversmoking Pipes grant the following benefits...
*The flame will never go out until it either runs out of tobacco, is submerged in water (or an airless void), is subjected to suitable hostile spells (Dispel Magic or Extinguish Flame, namely) or you say the command word. It even has a handy little mini-force field that stops inclement weather from snuffing it involuntarily. That said, if you drop it or it gets knocked from your hand, it can potentially ignite anything it falls on that happens to be suitably flammable.
* The smoker can blow down the lit pipe to launch a tiny bolt of fire that has a 90ft range and does 1d4 damage. Oh, and it'll ignite a flammable target, just in case you weren't sure. Using this ability does extinguish the fire in the pipe bowl, though, which will use up a charge.
* A 9th level or higher wizard can mentally shape the smoke of an Eversmoking Pipe into crude but recognizable symbols and images; this isn't ''directly'' useful, but can be used to create simple messages and clues. C'mon, do we need to spell this out? Use your imagination! It takes 1d4+1 rounds of work to make the smoke take a distinctive image form, and it lasts for 1d4+1 rounds after that.
* The pipe can replicate one of the effects of a Pyrotechnics spell once per 3 rounds.
* Those who know a pipe's command word can teleport it to their side from anywhere in the [[multiverse]]; there's no known way of stopping it from showing up!
* You can also create alternative smokes by adding different combustible materials to the pipe before you light it - this just needs to be done when you start it up; once lit, it'll keep making that kind of smoke until turned off. Volatile fuels like lamp oil will make it spew jets of flame for 1d4 rounds before it explodes (2d6 damage to anyone smoking it). Wet leaves or grass will create thick, black, choking fumes that make an effective smokescreen. Dead, dry leaves or grass will produce a hot white smoke good for smoking meat. And finally perfumed cloth, paper or flower petals can be used to produce a variety of scented smokes. And obviously, you can smoke things other than tobacco - from other intoxicants, to combat stimulators and medicines.

There '''is''' a danger to using the Eversmoking Pipe, however. Firstly, if you try to overcharge it (and unless you made it, you have no way of knowing how many charges it has left at the moment), it'll explode! Secondly, if you expose it to a dust storm, dust devil, cloudkill, stinking cloud or pyrotechnics spell, it'll trigger a 3d6 Fireball directly on the smoker, destroying the pipe unless it makes a save vs. magical fire (as "wood, thin", but with a +3 bonus).

With all that said and done, it's worth noting that Elminister didn't pass on ''everything'' he knew about making these little trinkets. Elminster's customized recipe creates a more powerful pipe with three additional powers. Firstly, touching it to water whilst lit will cause it to cast an Airy Water spell (duration: 12 turns), allowing the smoker to breath and talk whilst underwater. Secondly, the smoker using it can Dimension Door up to 700 yards per teleport 9 times per day. Finally, as long as it's lit and in a person's mouth, that person is under the effects of a Protection From Normal Missiles spell ''and'' will reflect any magical missiles straight back at their caster.

The Eversmoking Pipe would return officially in 2nd edition in ''The Code of the Harpers'' and the ''Heroes' Lorebook''. Here, there was no longer a mention of a charge-based version, and it no longer risked exploding if subjected to the aforementioned spells. It could no longer create alternative smokes, but the smoke it emits whilst being used now repels all normal-sized insects, even magically summoned ones, making the smoker immune to spells like Insect Swarm and Creeping Doom (very popular in those editions as anti-wizard spells, since the constant distractions made spellcasting all but impossible). It's also stated that regular Eversmoking Pipes and Elminster's Eversmoking Pipes are virtually indestructible. A Dispel Magic spell will snuff out the fire, but otherwise does nothing. The only thing can hurt it is magical fire, but it gets a +3 to its saving throw and, if it passes the saving throw, is merely extinguished rather than being destroyed.

In [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]], the Eversmoking Pipe gets mentioned in Elminster's writeup on page 7 of the [[Forgotten Realms]] campaign guide, but no mechanics for it ever appear. Instead, you'd have to wait until you could get your hands on the Epic Level Handbook to find its mechanics. There are no longer two versions of the eversmoking pipes; now they all have the same powers:
* Light or extinguish on command.
* Smoke repels all Tiny-sized Vermin.
* Can cast Produce Flame at-will.
* Can cast Pyrotechnics 1/3 rounds.
* Can be summoned as per Drawmij's Instant Summons.
* Can form its smoke into simple, nonmagical, symbols that last 5 rounds.
* Can cast Dimension Door 9/day.
* Can cast Water Breathing for 2 hours 1/day.

Basically, it's a simplified version of its 2e version. If you want to make one yourself, you need to a 13th level caster with the Craft Wondrous Item and Craft Epic Wondrous Item feats, and use the spells repel vermin, produce flame, pyrotechnics, Drawmij’s instant summons, silent image, protection from arrows, shield, water breathing, and dimension door.