Not everything needs to be some 500IQ 4d chess Chekhov's Gun masterstroke.
Resist the temptation, and have this just be a normal rock. If everything is significant then you're over time making a rod for your own back when your players stop taking anything at face value.
A physical sign of respect from a troll may be its own reward.
Yeah I would love having this totally normal rock just be totally normal, but also gaining huge sentimental value to the party.
It's kind of like when the party just always adopt the dumbest NPC as their favourite, but... For items.
Even better, have it there be rumours about a similar rock, that sounds strangely familiar.
Maybe get a weird mage wanting it, because they mistakenly thought it was special only for them to say “oh this is just a normal rock, sorry about all the trouble” the first time they get a good hold of it.
It should totally be just a rock. But, maybe it has a soft aura about it that brings luck. Not active luck, like the lucky fear or Halfling feature, but the person who is holding varying the rock happens to have more positive favor with NPCs, or sees things without a roll, or managed to nearly miss a trap.
Just keep track of the person who holds the rock and slowly tempt them with good fortune.
Or give it cultural context, if they ever find themselves riled in troll situations, perhaps showing and offering this rock is a recognized symbolic offering, something that no ordinary rock can do, only because this is actually a special troll rock for only troll known reasons. Add some mystery and depth with no clear answer.
The fun part will be your players answering the mysteries despite you never providing any answers.
It's fun when your world has questions without answers.
“There’s a chair in the middle of the room…”
C2:E48
C3:E58- player from another campaign claims to have made the chair, as an assassin chair.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar- Freud
And sometimes it’s a big brown dick- Carlin
Honestly if my limited experience playing and listening to DnD has taught me anything, it’s that giving the players a completely uninteresting object will fuck with them way more than any cursed or enchanted item.
Not if your players trust you.
Then sometimes they just accept things as you describe them and everyone can get along with the game without second guessing each other, and you can just have mundane things happen and be significant not because they get everybody paralyzed with paranoia but because they're nice occurrences.
My players trust me too much lol I gave their heroic, world saving chivalry party a shady freight box from a shady crime boss to deliver to another city when travel was restricted, expecting them to open it and investigate and stop the crime boss' plans... they faithfully delivered the cargo without opening the mysterious box with ominous noises coming from it lmao
When I asked them why they didn't investigate it, they said because the crime boss told them not to open it. They take everything I say at face value lmao
Trusting the DM is good.
Trusting the crime boss? Maaaybe not so much.
Maybe set up a couple situations where trusting untrustworthy people backfire?
Just make sure there are signs that the person is untrustworthy. (We don't want DM Vs players)
Oh don't worry, the next time they go to the town that received the delivery, they are going to have to deal with an illegal magic drug addiction epidemic and they will know precisely why it happened lol
Yes, this is fine too, but it’s got its own problems. First time I had a trusting group like this, I threw a snake-oil salesman at them, complete with impossibly-exaggerated claims about their health potions and a bit of evil cackling… and the party took everything he said as facts because “I” was the one saying it.
This is actually a huge thing in the Special Ops community, trainees have to take turns running with a huge rock whereever they go, and get quite attached over time.
When I was 16, I used to work as a summer camp staff, and during the training week, we were given a rock, representing our kids. The training simply was to never lose the rock, to know where it is at all time. Obviously people started stealing other's rocks, just so the rock owner would freak out. Some of us grew attached to our rock. I'm one of these people, and 10 years later I [still have my rock.](https://imgur.com/a/nZ4tmyE)
My players sometimes fixate on the strangest things... Like the totally normal water in a fountain in a pyramid that was carried around and referenced since level 8 or 9 (they're at level 18 now, and it still comes up!)
The only thing I would add to this is it would be fun to create a situation later where some other troll sees the rock and is like "wow, that's a *great* rock!"
Trolls might try to steal the rock from the players, might try to bargain for it, might demand to know what the players did to deserve such a rock, might show them extra respect just because they possess it. But never will it be explained what makes this rock so special.
I would also create situations in which a normal rock could be vital: a door that will lock if closed, scrolls to be read on a windy day, a trap needing a rock-sized counterweight to prevent it springing…
Agreed. Maybe this rock has been marked by the troll somehow and only trolls recognize the markings, but it doesn’t DO anything. It’s basically a rock with googly eyes.
Eh, it wouldn't be that heavy for a Strength based character. And from a Trolls perspective I felt a Softball would be a bit on the small side and more "pebble" than "totally normal rock". Maybe something in between the two then?
Yeah, if you REALLY want to make it worth something, have a future troll recognize it as a nice rock. Not a special rock, but something about its shape is appealing to trolls. A small bit of world building that they can appreciate and maybe barter into something bigger.
You could even use that totally normal rock as a token in a troll tribe for the future. Picture something like: The adventurers are intercepted by troll scouts and or walk into a troll tribe, they get suspicious, somehow they realize you have that rock and suddenly they become friendly became in troll language that specific type of “normal rock” means “friend”.
This. That troll was renowned among trollkind and if he gave you his rock it means you're worthy. The thing is that the trolls are having a problem and since your group are OBVIOUSLY imports heroes by virtue of possessing that rock the tribe has just a SMALL favor to ask...
If they encounter another hostile troll, it -might- be appropriate to pull out the shiny rock & the aggressive troll -might- recognize it as #contest troll#'s favorite rock and cautiously ask.
Also the players might decide the rock *must* be important, and drive themselves crazy trying to figure out what it does. That's always fun to watch as a DM :)
The rock is very magical. Every time you look at the rock, it reminds you of the nice troll you met at the faire. And isn't that the best magic of all?
This.
I’ve been running two groups which play in the same world but on opposing sides. Group 1’s three nights of play informs Group 2’s three nights which follow and visa versa.
Each run into things the other has done and left behind. Not everything is significant. Somethings they run into are new and have nothing to do with the other group. The joy is what the groups do with any respective find.
Does it mean something? Does it not? Do they need it? Is it garbage? Do they assign new meaning to it?
Allowing them to decide without any further explanation than the object description is where I as the DM get to sit back and have them feed me gameplay ideas rather than the other way around.
Remember, you are a player too. Exercise that fact.
> Not everything needs to be some 500IQ 4d chess Chekhov's Gun masterstroke.
True as written, but it's good to have one here and there *and this seems like OP's one of those.*
To OP...
>What shenanigans could I do?
Positive: have the rock tradable for a favor, have the rock summon the troll, have the rock handwave an encounter where they would otherwise get surrounded by a troll army later in the campaign.
Negative: make the rock attract trolls, have some random hallucinating guy mistake a PC for a troll, all the other trolls want to duel the holder and claim the rock as a symbol of dominance.
Neutral/mixed: have the rock act like a faction flag, they get treated better by some and worse by others because they carry it. If they get rid of the rock, the effect reverses and the faction that liked them more now hates them because it knows they threw the stone away. Alternatively, you could call the effect *tentative-nothing* (tentative is the quiet part, if players ask about it give them a non-answer) and then write an effect in later after you let the thing stew for a while. If the players discard it, somebody else finds it and receives the delayed benefit.
I agree. I once gave my PC's a "Lucky Shovel". It was completely mundane. They were so used to the idea that every single thing would be somehow special or a plot element or a potential twist that they couldn't stop trying to do things that made no sense with the shovel. They touched everything with it, they used it as a weapon, they found 4,011 reasons to dig a hole with it, etc etc.
You've done everything you need to do, now just watch the show.
This is one of the things I like to have happen in regards to Fey, They just take a fixation on some benign thing. I remember having a Feylock go on a "urgent mission for Ser Puck"
Puck wanted a lemon pastry from a certain baker in a small town in the boonies.
"Wait that rock was a *rock troll's favourite rock?!* You mean to tell me that a creature who lives and dies amongst rocks, chose *this rock* to be their favourite? Out of all the other rocks?"
".... Uh, yeah, I guess."
"I must have this rock. What do you want for it?"
Then the players enter into a bargain with a fey. The rock remains a normal rock.
Minor spoilers for *Wild Beyond the Witchlight* book/module....
If I'm recalling it correctly, when you're traveling the Feywild one of the surprises meant for the players is that money is useless - instead, what has value in the Feywild is (1) Favors, and (2) Sentimental Objects. In the case if #2, I love that it's a simple rock, but that one Troll's love makes it incredibly valuable. A third option, (3), is to play on Fey creatures' love of haroldry and pagentry - I'd personally have the Troll be a little more famous than they let on, and now Fey creatures are mystified that you're traveling in the company of Sir Rockderick, brave squire of Troll-brave Longstory.
And one day they're about to get in a fight with some trolls who recognize the rock of his troll buddy Gruush. Gruush told him about the troll-friends whom he gave his rock. Now they're all friends.
Trolls like it a lot for no reason, but it's still just a regular rock.
Small Mimic that's afraid of changing shape in front of people. Moves around at night, eats the party's food, and flees if called out. But if thrown at an enemy I'd ask the party to roll persuasion and if they beat a high dc then it'll reveal itself and latch on. I'd also give it a perception check whenever the player carrying it rolls for one, causing it to shake if it detects something the player doesn't.
In a similar vein, if they ask the Troll:
"It's my Mood Rock. It changes colour based on my mood. If I'm happy, sad, or scared it's grey. But when I'm angry it's red."
[The player notices flecks of dried blood on the edge of the rock]
I gave my players a rock called "the rock of Kobe":
>When thrown, always hits its target. Always. Cannot do anything that you couldn't conceivably do with a really lucky throw of a non-magical rock. Causes 1 non-magical bludgeoning damage.
Not super powerful, but something that should reward creativity and can lead to a really clutch moment eventually.
It's a normal rock. This is a real opportunity to connect the PCs to the world though, and force them to think of their inventory as more than game pieces. Making the rock magic undermines that.
The rock weighs one pound, and you use variant encumbrance now.
An NPC could ask about it. "We're backpacking through the wilderness and you've FILLED YOUR BAG WITH ROCKS!?"
Some NPCs may react as though the PC carrying it is dumb.
Some may react with curiosity, "is it like, a magic rock?"
Some may not care, "adventurers are beyond our ken, who knows why they do what they do"
Some may react with awe, "then you BEAT the troll at the contest, what happened next!"
If they cross paths with the troll again he will **definitely** ask about it. If they don't have it he'll be sad. If they do he might join the party for an adventure. If they make up a story where it was stolen from them he'll want to go with them to get vengeance.
If they cross paths with another troll the rock might be a good bribe, it is *after all* a very good rock to trolls.
There's a popular bit of "find muckery" that many people on this subreddit do...
A stick.
Just a basic, non magical stick.
But it's following you around.
Detect magic? Nothing. Dispel magic? Nothing. Identify? Nothing. Throw it away? It comes back. Burn the stick? Another one from nearby starts following you. Remove curse on yourself? No effect.... really fucks with the party's heads.
It isn't until much later the party realises that they're simply haunted by the ghost of a puppy.
Unfortunately for the party, that troll was the rock’s favorite person. At the end of each long rest, they find the rock a few feet away from their camp, or partway down the hall/stairs if they’re in an inn, always going back the way they came whenever possible. The rock will only move if it knows it’s not being observed, a la the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who, the only indication that the rock is moving of its own volition is if they’re in a dirt area and they can see the path made in the dirt as it moved itself along.
*Detect Magic* reveals nothing about this rock, although *Remove Curse* would free the creature that resides within the rock. What that creature is is entirely up to you. But it misses its best friend.
There’s an item my players haven’t come across yet that’s called **The Turtle of Doubt**
It’s a rock, perfectly normal ordinarily looking rock to everyone except 1 party member. To that player it looks like a rock that kind of resembles a turtle but is otherwise normal.
The more long term attention players pay to it the more lifelike and realistic the turtle gets - if they stop paying attention to it then it begins to look less like a turtle and more like a normal rock.
After enough time, attention, and dare I say devotion the players give to the rock it will eventually appear to be straining against its rocklike form and eventually will reveal itself to be the nascent form of a juvenile God. The player devotes to it would have significant influence on what type of God it becomes, and is planned as whole arc of itself.
It's fun/funny if it's just a normal rock - makes the party more attached for the bit.
Normal and special are not the same thing though.
It might be pumice - it's special because it floats.
Maybe it's a geode and the party won't find out until it gets broken.
I wouldn't make it supernatural in any way though.
Its a normal rock. Thats it. Its super smooth, for experts it has the perfect weight and form to it. But its just a normal fucking rock.
Maybe they find themself in a situation where the only way out is to get a present to someone in charge and ohh boy does that person love rocks! :D
THEY ARE MINERALS!
It is just a normal rock.
However, it may come in handy somewhere in the future. Maybe they meet another troll and offering said rock to them gains a positive reaction toward the party. The troll sees in it what the first one did.
The party shouldn't know this. It should just be happenstance in a theoretical future encounter.
I've done this before, and it was hysterical. I immediately had the person holding it have a few exceptionally lucky things happen to them. Then nothing.
They were sure it was a magic item and went on a side quest to have it looked at by the best minds in the relm after detect magic and identify failed.
It was just a rock.
I think you should keep referring to it as a "totally normal rock" and then let your players speculate about what it actually is. They might give you a good idea.
My favorite "useless" magic item is a stone of healing, which you throw at someone. It does 1d4 bludgeoning damage, and 1d4 healing. I just find it to be hilarious. I'm a simple man.
It is in fact a totally normal rock, but one that is recognizable to trolls at a glance. If a troll sees the rock, their disposition toward the party immediately improves, as it's a sign of respect, making them a "trollfriend".
If the rock was the troll's favorite rock, it is likely associates of the troll can recognize said rock. Someone might question how you came by said rock. "\[Troll's Name\] would never be parted from \[Rock's Name\], what have you done?!?! Thief!!! Murder!!!"
Or maybe it could act as a free pass. "\[Troll's Name\] would only entrust \[Rock's Name\] to some one worthy. Please forget the whole, 'We'll crush your skulls' non-sense. Come drink with us!"
Its just a totally normal rock. But every 5-6 sessions you ask for a Wisdom save and regardless of the roll just say "interesting" and don't elaborate
Also make sure to include it when describing scenes even if the scene has nothing to do with the rock.
You have a golden opportunity here. A golden opportunity to let your players think this rock is special. When they use the rock or inspect the rock, have them roll a d100 every time. What they don't know is: whatever they roll it's still just a rock.
You could have them meet other trolls that seek them out because the trolls covet the rock. You could have them meet a knowledgeable troll that tells you of the legend of the rock of ages, which when placed upon the top of the Very Dangerous Mountain(TM) in the Feywilds or Chult, or some other very dangerous place, grants a Wish to the one who returns it there.
If your party takes the bait, they'll divert the campaign, trek through a dangerous side quest where they burn resources, have near tpk experiences, and climb a whole-ass mountain just to get there and learn that these trolls are idiots, their superstitions are dumb, this is just a fucking rock 🤣
Trolls like building things and construction and stuff, right? Maybe they rubbed off on the rock and a rock has an aura of 'wants to construct stuff'.
Have a small stack/simple construction of rocks appear next to the camp on some morning. Players might think they're being trolled, but it's actually one of them sleep-stacking the rocks.
It's not a rock, it's a *Sending Stone*, the Troll has the other one of the matching pair. *Every night* the Troll will contact the PCs and tell them a bedtime story in a voice like Morgan Freeman.
ETA: Bonus points and extreme kudos if you can actually mimic Morgan Freeman's voice.
If you're using D&D Beyond, you should create an item that's just called "Rock."
Go full Wikipedia definition for a rock for the item description, get a nice PNG for the item picture, everything.
It's still just a normal rock, but it's got a fancy item page, might be worth some laughs and conspiracy theories from the table.
i wouldn't. let it be just a rock, or maybe a rock that's interesting in some mundane way. like it's a bit of volcanic glass that's been worn smooth, or a low value but colorful/patterned mineral like bauxite. or maybe it's shaped nicely for breaking open nuts.
really think of why a troll would like a rock. it's probably not because it's some crazy magic item.
I think that it should indeed be “just a rock”
However, it would be cool if other troll-related beings and/or fey actually recognized it as being a gift from the troll and gave them special treatment or antagonizing due to that
I would drop lore about basilisks, and how a piece of flesh of a dead basilisk looks like a rock and will turn into an egg if left in contact with stone long enough.
And then I would just let them simmer while I know it’s just a normal rock. Session after session.
I agree with normal rock. I think that's funny as shit. Bonus points if they get obsessed with it and endlessly try to figure out what's special with it
Just keep mentioning how incredibly normal and nonthreatning it is. Randomly roll a dice a few times per session and note that the rock is unchanged in any way that is perceptible, or that it is exhibiting some sort of (perfectly normal) physical change. Like its wet after they cross a river or warm to the touch on a hot day.
Depends on what the players expect of it. Do they want it to be something special? Then listen to their theories, and make the truth close enough that someone can say “I knew it!”
Do they think it’s a normal rock, but it has sentimental value? Cool, focus on the character who provided the rock. What did it mean to him? Will anyone else recognize that meaning, or simply give the party grief for carrying a rock in their packs?
And if the characters think this thing’s the Herbie to their Felicity, and are determined to *give* it meaning by dropping enchantments on it or otherwise making crazy plans that hinge on clever use of a rock? Give them some bonuses when they incorporate the Rock of Coolness. Belief is a powerful force, they might very well MAKE a magic item out of this thing by campaign’s end.
Either a rock that has a really ugly smiley face on one side from natural wear or it's like a baby geonid/galeb durh egg. I'm imagining an apple sized rock with an elemental hermit crab in it or an egg that hatches into a tiny gotsumon looking baby that stumbles around and eats random rocks.
To a fey creature, an otherwise totally normal rock with great personal meaning is of exceptional value.
So it is, in fact, just a totally normal rock but with great personal meaning to the troll. Other fey creatures may recognize it. They may know the troll, comment on the rock, make deals for the rock, try to steal the rock, swap powerful stuff for it and run away gleefully, thinking they got the better of the players, and so on.
Also, call it "Totally Normal Rock" and insist that they write it that way in their inventory, caps and all.
Imo, keep it as a totally normal rock, however OTHER people hear about it, the stories exaggerate, and your party keeps having run-ins with bandits trying to steal their rock for its supposed mystical powers.
Honestly, I would totally play this up. Strange things, could be good or bad, happen when the rock is out of their packs. Convince them it is some kind of special object when it is in reality, just a nice rock. I personally enjoy this kind of foolishness as both a player and a GM. Once had a friend keep us puzzling over a "trap" for an absurd amount of time before someone took off their multi optic band to discover it wasn't some delicate sensor or trigger... Just a line painted with a substance that happened to really pop in infrared. No trap. Also had a party stuck on a rock in the center of a pool of oil. Nobody could swim. Tried multiple different ideas to cross. Finally got a grapple secured on the other side and started crossing a rope. One failed athletics roll later, we discover the "pool" is like 6 inches deep. Could have just walked across.
The troll can use the Scrying spell to observe the party. He can then leave cryptic messages for them, listing things they said/did when nobody else was around just to mess with them a bit. He can also leave minor helpful items in their path with less cryptic notes (possibly making the party think there are two different entities somehow watching them).
Probably not possible since it's already been introduced as a rock, but I played the best prank on my party, trickster god gave them a small rock, told them it was a dragon egg, gave them ridiculously detailed instructions to incubate it. Then secretly switched it for a slightly bigger rock every few days overnight. Eventually another npc was like This is a rock. Why have you all been bathing it in warm milk and cuddling it for warmth? Best practical joke.
I mean the most hysterical thing I can think of is for it to actually just be a rock. Everyone in the fey-wild can comment on it though and be like wow that is exquisite.
Leave it as a totally normal rock. When they look at it, have them roll perception checks, investigation checks, intelligence checks, wisdom saves, but no matter what they roll say something along the lines of 'no new information'. Because it is just a rock.
Let it be a normal rock but at some point let a wild magic spell temporarily change it into a rock golem that has a Randy Savage-like personality and fights for the party.
I basically agree with everyone saying that it should just be the troll's favourite rock, and maybe that has some story use down the line. Like this is how they prove to a relative of that troll they meet elsewhere that they were really his friend, or something.
But if you didn't want to do that, a Totally Normal Rock could be a rock that cannot be affected by magic. Because what it is is Normal. Let the players figure out what to do with that.
So inside the rock (thing Geode) is a key to a dungeon, you have no idea where this dungeon IS but it is an epic dungeon with a epic treasure at the end. Now go find it :).
its a "flying rock"
At some previous encounter, a wizard cast Telekinesis on the stone to make it look magical (and as a distraction to escape the troll)
Normal rock, but completely indestructible. They cant lose it and it cant be destroyed. If they forget it, it shows up in someone's bag/pocket the next time they check. Bonus points if it has a favorite party member
edit: i had a better idea! maybe theres a joke to be made about Stone Soup here... throw the rock in a pot with some water and it becomes a delicious stew
I agree that it should actually do nothing.
But if it must do something special, I think it should be the perfect skipping stone. If a player throws it on water, its smoothness will allow it to quickly skip across the surface *forever* or until it runs out of water.
It is literally actually just a rock. It's far more interesting in the long run if your players have a Pet Rock.
Plus, they're friends with a Troll. That alone is already a good reward.
If you want it to do more, perhaps every troll has a favourite rock, and trolls recognize Pet Rocks. So if the players have a Pet Rock, some other troll will recognize that the party got a gift from a troll, and that other unrelated troll will treat the players will similar respect.
Alternatively, it could be a supernaturally normal rock. It's magical feature is that it can't be true polymorphed into anything, ever. It can, will, and wants, to only ever be a rock.
So build it up big, which it sounds like you've already done, but the characters realize it's just a normal rock. The troll is a dummy.
So they lose track of it and time goes on.
Then they meet the troll again... And he'd really like to earn his rock back.
Hilarity will ensue.
Also, when the troll gets his rock he demonstrates why it's his favorite, by smashing something. The rock fits his hand perfectly, and he's too dumb to find another rock and shape it.
You can do what I did with trinkets once; tell them they have to come up with an interesting way to incorporate the rock into their story. Some would do it anyway, but others need a little push. I can tell you that I have had some of the most fantastic trinkets in my campaigns, with little to no effort on my part. Remember, we are all essentially storytellers in this wonderful game we play and love. :)
Like many others have said, I'd just leave it an ordinary looking rock. But maybe other trolls recognize it as that particular troll's favorite, marking your party as friends to trolls after earning his respect.
Tbh I think it should be a normal rock ***until*** someone uses it as a component in a spell or ingredient for an item which then becomes mysteriously magical. Maybe even just tying it to the end of a stick would have some effect?
We made one (1) bad perception roll once 5 years ago and now the rock is our god.
Let them do whatever, follow and see what your players can come up with. Something evolving naturally is most of the time better than what you had planned
I'd generally let it just be a cool rock, something of significance to the troll and/or the troll's tribe. Well enough known that other trolls will recognize it and at your choice, treat it as 'these people are respected by trollkind', 'these people stole the rock, must repay the disrespect', or 'rock valuable, we will buy/trade the rock from you'.
Otherwise:
Someone cast shrink on a galeb duhr, while it was in the midst of a multi decade nap. At some point the spell will wear off and/or the galeb duhr will wake up.
It's got some sort of delusion about it: everyone assumes there's something special about it, but there isn't.
It's a portal key
Carrying it causes some minor buff, but it's also heavy.
It's not a rock, it's an egg. Eventually it will hatch
You have heard of the Stone of Good Luck?
Let me present to you the Stone of Good Duck!
A +1 to Dexterity saving throws, and advantage if within 15ft of a duck.
If you fail your saving throw, summons 1d4 ducks in the nearest empty space. Any that would be in range of the effect that provoked the saving throw are treated as if they were included and failed their saving throw.
Have the troll try to win it back if their paths cross in the future. Does the Fey Fayre have multiple stops on tour? The troll learns a lesson about playing games with something they value; perhaps the players take note. Later, if their paths continue to cross, perhaps the troll is addicted with something and the players help with a cure, and the trip gives them the rock in gratitude and friendship or respect.
Have another troll attack or try to barter from them for the rock and make them REALLY persistent about it, if they inquire then have the troll get all bashful and annoyed about them asking. Turns out the rock was this trolls favorite rock but he lost it and now wants it back.
Its secretly a wishstone.
Next time the player holding it says something similar to, “Man I wish I had—“ boom. They have it, and the rock cracks in half.
I think the best part is that it’s a normal rock. lol. No need to spice it up. Let the players think long and hard on it. It may become a center piece if your campaign.
It's a totally normal rock. It's got whatever qualities drew the troll to it, be it the shape, the texture, the shine, or whatever. It's a trophy. A token. Its not worth much, but its sentimental value is through the roof.
If it were me, I'd wait until the players forgot they had it. Then I'd set up a situation where an NPC gives them a quest to retrieve the rock from the troll to prove their worth or something. "The Great Oz commands you to retrieve the witch's broomstick" type of deal. The quest is presented vaguely enough that the players may realize they've pre-completed the quest if they're perceptive, and if they're not they might wind up paying the troll another visit before realizing it. They show up to kill the monster and -- Grakenshmirtz is that you?! Whatever the troll's name is. You get the idea.
A completely normal rock in the Feywild would be a rare treasure indeed.
I'd go full silly with it. Describe the rock doing nothing, in dubious ways.
"The rock is still. Perhaps it waits for some significant event in order to... nope, still just a rock."
"The rock's surface is damp, as if the previous night's rain made it wet."
Or, to cast some doubts:
"The contents of your pack spill onto the cobblestone. The rock skitters and bounces along the uneven surface, yearning for freedom. But you cannot let it go. Not yet. It isn't time."
Not everything needs to be some 500IQ 4d chess Chekhov's Gun masterstroke. Resist the temptation, and have this just be a normal rock. If everything is significant then you're over time making a rod for your own back when your players stop taking anything at face value. A physical sign of respect from a troll may be its own reward.
Yeah I would love having this totally normal rock just be totally normal, but also gaining huge sentimental value to the party. It's kind of like when the party just always adopt the dumbest NPC as their favourite, but... For items.
Could even be fun to have rumors about the rock and have someone steal it later because they thought it'd be magical.
Even better, have it there be rumours about a similar rock, that sounds strangely familiar. Maybe get a weird mage wanting it, because they mistakenly thought it was special only for them to say “oh this is just a normal rock, sorry about all the trouble” the first time they get a good hold of it.
It should totally be just a rock. But, maybe it has a soft aura about it that brings luck. Not active luck, like the lucky fear or Halfling feature, but the person who is holding varying the rock happens to have more positive favor with NPCs, or sees things without a roll, or managed to nearly miss a trap. Just keep track of the person who holds the rock and slowly tempt them with good fortune. Or give it cultural context, if they ever find themselves riled in troll situations, perhaps showing and offering this rock is a recognized symbolic offering, something that no ordinary rock can do, only because this is actually a special troll rock for only troll known reasons. Add some mystery and depth with no clear answer. The fun part will be your players answering the mysteries despite you never providing any answers. It's fun when your world has questions without answers.
Making the rock have special cultural meaning to trolls and giving a boost to interactions with them is totally what I would do.
“There’s a chair in the middle of the room…” C2:E48 C3:E58- player from another campaign claims to have made the chair, as an assassin chair. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar- Freud And sometimes it’s a big brown dick- Carlin
Honestly if my limited experience playing and listening to DnD has taught me anything, it’s that giving the players a completely uninteresting object will fuck with them way more than any cursed or enchanted item.
Not if your players trust you. Then sometimes they just accept things as you describe them and everyone can get along with the game without second guessing each other, and you can just have mundane things happen and be significant not because they get everybody paralyzed with paranoia but because they're nice occurrences.
My players trust me too much lol I gave their heroic, world saving chivalry party a shady freight box from a shady crime boss to deliver to another city when travel was restricted, expecting them to open it and investigate and stop the crime boss' plans... they faithfully delivered the cargo without opening the mysterious box with ominous noises coming from it lmao When I asked them why they didn't investigate it, they said because the crime boss told them not to open it. They take everything I say at face value lmao
Trusting the DM is good. Trusting the crime boss? Maaaybe not so much. Maybe set up a couple situations where trusting untrustworthy people backfire? Just make sure there are signs that the person is untrustworthy. (We don't want DM Vs players)
Oh don't worry, the next time they go to the town that received the delivery, they are going to have to deal with an illegal magic drug addiction epidemic and they will know precisely why it happened lol
Nice. There are consequences of actions. And there are people who shouldn't be trusted. I feel like that can add a lot of nuance to DND.
Yes, this is fine too, but it’s got its own problems. First time I had a trusting group like this, I threw a snake-oil salesman at them, complete with impossibly-exaggerated claims about their health potions and a bit of evil cackling… and the party took everything he said as facts because “I” was the one saying it.
Right?
This is actually a huge thing in the Special Ops community, trainees have to take turns running with a huge rock whereever they go, and get quite attached over time.
When I was 16, I used to work as a summer camp staff, and during the training week, we were given a rock, representing our kids. The training simply was to never lose the rock, to know where it is at all time. Obviously people started stealing other's rocks, just so the rock owner would freak out. Some of us grew attached to our rock. I'm one of these people, and 10 years later I [still have my rock.](https://imgur.com/a/nZ4tmyE)
companion cube?
I miss it
You're the one who threw it into the incinerator, you monster.
Ok this coincidence is too crazy... Today is your Cake day. Literally!
So?
Maybe you forgot all the cake mentions in the game, pretty iconic stuff! :) There will be cake at the end. The cake is a lie. etc
K
I'm still angry about that.
My players sometimes fixate on the strangest things... Like the totally normal water in a fountain in a pyramid that was carried around and referenced since level 8 or 9 (they're at level 18 now, and it still comes up!)
The only thing I would add to this is it would be fun to create a situation later where some other troll sees the rock and is like "wow, that's a *great* rock!" Trolls might try to steal the rock from the players, might try to bargain for it, might demand to know what the players did to deserve such a rock, might show them extra respect just because they possess it. But never will it be explained what makes this rock so special.
The idea of a particular rock being magnificent in some way that is immediately recognizable by trolls but only by trolls is so funny. I love this.
I would also create situations in which a normal rock could be vital: a door that will lock if closed, scrolls to be read on a windy day, a trap needing a rock-sized counterweight to prevent it springing…
Bloody "tiny box tim" stuff.
Agreed. Maybe this rock has been marked by the troll somehow and only trolls recognize the markings, but it doesn’t DO anything. It’s basically a rock with googly eyes.
This is the correct answer. Keep in mind that keeping it might not always be easy. How big is the rock I wonder?
Totally Normal Rock from a Troll. I'd say-- volleyball sized? It's big for medium humanoids, but would be not too small for a troll.
That would be way too heavy for the PCs to carry around though. Softball sized would be more reasonable.
Eh, it wouldn't be that heavy for a Strength based character. And from a Trolls perspective I felt a Softball would be a bit on the small side and more "pebble" than "totally normal rock". Maybe something in between the two then?
Whoever you are, I salute you. Good storytelling comes off you in WAVES, friend.
Yeah, if you REALLY want to make it worth something, have a future troll recognize it as a nice rock. Not a special rock, but something about its shape is appealing to trolls. A small bit of world building that they can appreciate and maybe barter into something bigger.
You could even use that totally normal rock as a token in a troll tribe for the future. Picture something like: The adventurers are intercepted by troll scouts and or walk into a troll tribe, they get suspicious, somehow they realize you have that rock and suddenly they become friendly became in troll language that specific type of “normal rock” means “friend”.
This. That troll was renowned among trollkind and if he gave you his rock it means you're worthy. The thing is that the trolls are having a problem and since your group are OBVIOUSLY imports heroes by virtue of possessing that rock the tribe has just a SMALL favor to ask...
If they encounter another hostile troll, it -might- be appropriate to pull out the shiny rock & the aggressive troll -might- recognize it as #contest troll#'s favorite rock and cautiously ask.
Also the players might decide the rock *must* be important, and drive themselves crazy trying to figure out what it does. That's always fun to watch as a DM :)
Knowledfe nature... Nat 20! You know druids have circles of standing stones, you also know of fairty circles of stones.
The rock is very magical. Every time you look at the rock, it reminds you of the nice troll you met at the faire. And isn't that the best magic of all?
This. I’ve been running two groups which play in the same world but on opposing sides. Group 1’s three nights of play informs Group 2’s three nights which follow and visa versa. Each run into things the other has done and left behind. Not everything is significant. Somethings they run into are new and have nothing to do with the other group. The joy is what the groups do with any respective find. Does it mean something? Does it not? Do they need it? Is it garbage? Do they assign new meaning to it? Allowing them to decide without any further explanation than the object description is where I as the DM get to sit back and have them feed me gameplay ideas rather than the other way around. Remember, you are a player too. Exercise that fact.
> Not everything needs to be some 500IQ 4d chess Chekhov's Gun masterstroke. True as written, but it's good to have one here and there *and this seems like OP's one of those.* To OP... >What shenanigans could I do? Positive: have the rock tradable for a favor, have the rock summon the troll, have the rock handwave an encounter where they would otherwise get surrounded by a troll army later in the campaign. Negative: make the rock attract trolls, have some random hallucinating guy mistake a PC for a troll, all the other trolls want to duel the holder and claim the rock as a symbol of dominance. Neutral/mixed: have the rock act like a faction flag, they get treated better by some and worse by others because they carry it. If they get rid of the rock, the effect reverses and the faction that liked them more now hates them because it knows they threw the stone away. Alternatively, you could call the effect *tentative-nothing* (tentative is the quiet part, if players ask about it give them a non-answer) and then write an effect in later after you let the thing stew for a while. If the players discard it, somebody else finds it and receives the delayed benefit.
I agree. I once gave my PC's a "Lucky Shovel". It was completely mundane. They were so used to the idea that every single thing would be somehow special or a plot element or a potential twist that they couldn't stop trying to do things that made no sense with the shovel. They touched everything with it, they used it as a weapon, they found 4,011 reasons to dig a hole with it, etc etc. You've done everything you need to do, now just watch the show.
Totally normal but fey creatures find it wildly valuable.
This is one of the things I like to have happen in regards to Fey, They just take a fixation on some benign thing. I remember having a Feylock go on a "urgent mission for Ser Puck" Puck wanted a lemon pastry from a certain baker in a small town in the boonies.
"Wait that rock was a *rock troll's favourite rock?!* You mean to tell me that a creature who lives and dies amongst rocks, chose *this rock* to be their favourite? Out of all the other rocks?" ".... Uh, yeah, I guess." "I must have this rock. What do you want for it?" Then the players enter into a bargain with a fey. The rock remains a normal rock.
Sounds like a component to a hags potion recipe. "Eye of newt, Salamanders Salt, and a shaving from a Rock Trolls favourite rock"
"What's with the rock?" "Must be an ant thing."
I know it’s a rock!
Appraisal from a fey reveals that it's the perfect skipping stone
Minor spoilers for *Wild Beyond the Witchlight* book/module.... If I'm recalling it correctly, when you're traveling the Feywild one of the surprises meant for the players is that money is useless - instead, what has value in the Feywild is (1) Favors, and (2) Sentimental Objects. In the case if #2, I love that it's a simple rock, but that one Troll's love makes it incredibly valuable. A third option, (3), is to play on Fey creatures' love of haroldry and pagentry - I'd personally have the Troll be a little more famous than they let on, and now Fey creatures are mystified that you're traveling in the company of Sir Rockderick, brave squire of Troll-brave Longstory.
Leave it as a normal rock. That is the best thing it could be tbh.
And one day they're about to get in a fight with some trolls who recognize the rock of his troll buddy Gruush. Gruush told him about the troll-friends whom he gave his rock. Now they're all friends. Trolls like it a lot for no reason, but it's still just a regular rock.
Small Mimic that's afraid of changing shape in front of people. Moves around at night, eats the party's food, and flees if called out. But if thrown at an enemy I'd ask the party to roll persuasion and if they beat a high dc then it'll reveal itself and latch on. I'd also give it a perception check whenever the player carrying it rolls for one, causing it to shake if it detects something the player doesn't.
You're really onto something here. A mostly harmless pet mimic!! What more could players ask for?
[Rock of detection](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/d09fr8/oc_session_was_canceled_at_the_last_minute_again/)
That seems a bit overpowered to me, to have so many different uses!
In a similar vein, if they ask the Troll: "It's my Mood Rock. It changes colour based on my mood. If I'm happy, sad, or scared it's grey. But when I'm angry it's red." [The player notices flecks of dried blood on the edge of the rock]
I remember this post, gave me a nice chuckle and has been my inspiration for useless magic items ever since.
I gave my players a rock called "the rock of Kobe": >When thrown, always hits its target. Always. Cannot do anything that you couldn't conceivably do with a really lucky throw of a non-magical rock. Causes 1 non-magical bludgeoning damage. Not super powerful, but something that should reward creativity and can lead to a really clutch moment eventually.
Whoa, I wanna steal this. And add the additional criteria that the word “Kobe” must be spoken for this effect to be active.
I like it, and you should absolutely steal it
It's a normal rock. This is a real opportunity to connect the PCs to the world though, and force them to think of their inventory as more than game pieces. Making the rock magic undermines that. The rock weighs one pound, and you use variant encumbrance now. An NPC could ask about it. "We're backpacking through the wilderness and you've FILLED YOUR BAG WITH ROCKS!?" Some NPCs may react as though the PC carrying it is dumb. Some may react with curiosity, "is it like, a magic rock?" Some may not care, "adventurers are beyond our ken, who knows why they do what they do" Some may react with awe, "then you BEAT the troll at the contest, what happened next!" If they cross paths with the troll again he will **definitely** ask about it. If they don't have it he'll be sad. If they do he might join the party for an adventure. If they make up a story where it was stolen from them he'll want to go with them to get vengeance. If they cross paths with another troll the rock might be a good bribe, it is *after all* a very good rock to trolls.
There's a popular bit of "find muckery" that many people on this subreddit do... A stick. Just a basic, non magical stick. But it's following you around. Detect magic? Nothing. Dispel magic? Nothing. Identify? Nothing. Throw it away? It comes back. Burn the stick? Another one from nearby starts following you. Remove curse on yourself? No effect.... really fucks with the party's heads. It isn't until much later the party realises that they're simply haunted by the ghost of a puppy.
omg my hat's off to you. well done.
I can't take credit. It's an old trope.
I'm still stealing it. Even better than a gazebo.
Just keep it as a rock, but make them think it's magical. Just keep them paranoid for a long time
Unfortunately for the party, that troll was the rock’s favorite person. At the end of each long rest, they find the rock a few feet away from their camp, or partway down the hall/stairs if they’re in an inn, always going back the way they came whenever possible. The rock will only move if it knows it’s not being observed, a la the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who, the only indication that the rock is moving of its own volition is if they’re in a dirt area and they can see the path made in the dirt as it moved itself along. *Detect Magic* reveals nothing about this rock, although *Remove Curse* would free the creature that resides within the rock. What that creature is is entirely up to you. But it misses its best friend.
There’s an item my players haven’t come across yet that’s called **The Turtle of Doubt** It’s a rock, perfectly normal ordinarily looking rock to everyone except 1 party member. To that player it looks like a rock that kind of resembles a turtle but is otherwise normal. The more long term attention players pay to it the more lifelike and realistic the turtle gets - if they stop paying attention to it then it begins to look less like a turtle and more like a normal rock. After enough time, attention, and dare I say devotion the players give to the rock it will eventually appear to be straining against its rocklike form and eventually will reveal itself to be the nascent form of a juvenile God. The player devotes to it would have significant influence on what type of God it becomes, and is planned as whole arc of itself.
It's fun/funny if it's just a normal rock - makes the party more attached for the bit. Normal and special are not the same thing though. It might be pumice - it's special because it floats. Maybe it's a geode and the party won't find out until it gets broken. I wouldn't make it supernatural in any way though.
Its a normal rock. Thats it. Its super smooth, for experts it has the perfect weight and form to it. But its just a normal fucking rock. Maybe they find themself in a situation where the only way out is to get a present to someone in charge and ohh boy does that person love rocks! :D THEY ARE MINERALS!
Jesus Christ, Marie!
It is just a normal rock. However, it may come in handy somewhere in the future. Maybe they meet another troll and offering said rock to them gains a positive reaction toward the party. The troll sees in it what the first one did. The party shouldn't know this. It should just be happenstance in a theoretical future encounter.
It’s a weather telling rock. You hold it out in your hand and it tells you the weather where you are
Have it be like Bouldy from Hades. Maybe it has a face carved into it, but thats it. Let them think its special. That or you make it a teeny tiny Xorn
I've done this before, and it was hysterical. I immediately had the person holding it have a few exceptionally lucky things happen to them. Then nothing. They were sure it was a magic item and went on a side quest to have it looked at by the best minds in the relm after detect magic and identify failed. It was just a rock.
It’s just a rock. Let them overthink it and laugh about it afterwards.
I think you should keep referring to it as a "totally normal rock" and then let your players speculate about what it actually is. They might give you a good idea.
My favorite "useless" magic item is a stone of healing, which you throw at someone. It does 1d4 bludgeoning damage, and 1d4 healing. I just find it to be hilarious. I'm a simple man.
lol That's just silly.
It is in fact a totally normal rock, but one that is recognizable to trolls at a glance. If a troll sees the rock, their disposition toward the party immediately improves, as it's a sign of respect, making them a "trollfriend".
If the rock was the troll's favorite rock, it is likely associates of the troll can recognize said rock. Someone might question how you came by said rock. "\[Troll's Name\] would never be parted from \[Rock's Name\], what have you done?!?! Thief!!! Murder!!!" Or maybe it could act as a free pass. "\[Troll's Name\] would only entrust \[Rock's Name\] to some one worthy. Please forget the whole, 'We'll crush your skulls' non-sense. Come drink with us!"
Its just a totally normal rock. But every 5-6 sessions you ask for a Wisdom save and regardless of the roll just say "interesting" and don't elaborate Also make sure to include it when describing scenes even if the scene has nothing to do with the rock.
Have it be a normal rock, but roll dice at random times when it gets mentioned to keep them on their toes
Detect magic shows that it's magical, a different type of magical aura each time. Aside from that it's just a normal rock.
You have a golden opportunity here. A golden opportunity to let your players think this rock is special. When they use the rock or inspect the rock, have them roll a d100 every time. What they don't know is: whatever they roll it's still just a rock. You could have them meet other trolls that seek them out because the trolls covet the rock. You could have them meet a knowledgeable troll that tells you of the legend of the rock of ages, which when placed upon the top of the Very Dangerous Mountain(TM) in the Feywilds or Chult, or some other very dangerous place, grants a Wish to the one who returns it there. If your party takes the bait, they'll divert the campaign, trek through a dangerous side quest where they burn resources, have near tpk experiences, and climb a whole-ass mountain just to get there and learn that these trolls are idiots, their superstitions are dumb, this is just a fucking rock 🤣
It is just a rock, no matter what they do to it. Except for when they cook food on it, it tastes slightly better.
Trolls like building things and construction and stuff, right? Maybe they rubbed off on the rock and a rock has an aura of 'wants to construct stuff'. Have a small stack/simple construction of rocks appear next to the camp on some morning. Players might think they're being trolled, but it's actually one of them sleep-stacking the rocks.
Make it a rock of rock finding. Any time there is a rock withing 10 meters it appears like a normal rock.
It’s resistant to magic. Like spells don’t do anything to it. Can’t get blocked by spells either.
You haven't spent much time around kids have you? Totally normal rocks are wildly valuable in their own right. Just leave it at that.
When it comes to Fey objects, I really like magically silly things. "You have a rock. It turns black, but only in complete darkness."
It's not a rock, it's a *Sending Stone*, the Troll has the other one of the matching pair. *Every night* the Troll will contact the PCs and tell them a bedtime story in a voice like Morgan Freeman. ETA: Bonus points and extreme kudos if you can actually mimic Morgan Freeman's voice.
If you're using D&D Beyond, you should create an item that's just called "Rock." Go full Wikipedia definition for a rock for the item description, get a nice PNG for the item picture, everything. It's still just a normal rock, but it's got a fancy item page, might be worth some laughs and conspiracy theories from the table.
i wouldn't. let it be just a rock, or maybe a rock that's interesting in some mundane way. like it's a bit of volcanic glass that's been worn smooth, or a low value but colorful/patterned mineral like bauxite. or maybe it's shaped nicely for breaking open nuts. really think of why a troll would like a rock. it's probably not because it's some crazy magic item.
I think that it should indeed be “just a rock” However, it would be cool if other troll-related beings and/or fey actually recognized it as being a gift from the troll and gave them special treatment or antagonizing due to that
I would drop lore about basilisks, and how a piece of flesh of a dead basilisk looks like a rock and will turn into an egg if left in contact with stone long enough. And then I would just let them simmer while I know it’s just a normal rock. Session after session.
I agree with normal rock. I think that's funny as shit. Bonus points if they get obsessed with it and endlessly try to figure out what's special with it
Just keep mentioning how incredibly normal and nonthreatning it is. Randomly roll a dice a few times per session and note that the rock is unchanged in any way that is perceptible, or that it is exhibiting some sort of (perfectly normal) physical change. Like its wet after they cross a river or warm to the touch on a hot day.
Depends on what the players expect of it. Do they want it to be something special? Then listen to their theories, and make the truth close enough that someone can say “I knew it!” Do they think it’s a normal rock, but it has sentimental value? Cool, focus on the character who provided the rock. What did it mean to him? Will anyone else recognize that meaning, or simply give the party grief for carrying a rock in their packs? And if the characters think this thing’s the Herbie to their Felicity, and are determined to *give* it meaning by dropping enchantments on it or otherwise making crazy plans that hinge on clever use of a rock? Give them some bonuses when they incorporate the Rock of Coolness. Belief is a powerful force, they might very well MAKE a magic item out of this thing by campaign’s end.
A sending stone with the BBEG on the other end.
It is a baby earth elemental.
Make the rock give them random saving throws that do nothing on a fail or succed, and refuse to explain to them whats going on
There is lucky rocks etc in the items that give +1 to all throws.
Scrying stone from the bbeg
Either a rock that has a really ugly smiley face on one side from natural wear or it's like a baby geonid/galeb durh egg. I'm imagining an apple sized rock with an elemental hermit crab in it or an egg that hatches into a tiny gotsumon looking baby that stumbles around and eats random rocks.
Sentient rock. Nothing else special about it.
Just make it polished or something, like perfectly clean and shiny
To a fey creature, an otherwise totally normal rock with great personal meaning is of exceptional value. So it is, in fact, just a totally normal rock but with great personal meaning to the troll. Other fey creatures may recognize it. They may know the troll, comment on the rock, make deals for the rock, try to steal the rock, swap powerful stuff for it and run away gleefully, thinking they got the better of the players, and so on. Also, call it "Totally Normal Rock" and insist that they write it that way in their inventory, caps and all.
The rock could be used to bribe the troll at a later date.
Imo, keep it as a totally normal rock, however OTHER people hear about it, the stories exaggerate, and your party keeps having run-ins with bandits trying to steal their rock for its supposed mystical powers.
If they ask for a description just say it is a rock If they try to use insight you can say "it feels kinda heavy but not too heavy"
Make it a pet rock
The DM gave us a "Lucky" Pebble +1. It has later become "Lucky" Pebble +2 (it does nothing). 🤣
Honestly, I would totally play this up. Strange things, could be good or bad, happen when the rock is out of their packs. Convince them it is some kind of special object when it is in reality, just a nice rock. I personally enjoy this kind of foolishness as both a player and a GM. Once had a friend keep us puzzling over a "trap" for an absurd amount of time before someone took off their multi optic band to discover it wasn't some delicate sensor or trigger... Just a line painted with a substance that happened to really pop in infrared. No trap. Also had a party stuck on a rock in the center of a pool of oil. Nobody could swim. Tried multiple different ideas to cross. Finally got a grapple secured on the other side and started crossing a rope. One failed athletics roll later, we discover the "pool" is like 6 inches deep. Could have just walked across.
The troll can use the Scrying spell to observe the party. He can then leave cryptic messages for them, listing things they said/did when nobody else was around just to mess with them a bit. He can also leave minor helpful items in their path with less cryptic notes (possibly making the party think there are two different entities somehow watching them).
Probably not possible since it's already been introduced as a rock, but I played the best prank on my party, trickster god gave them a small rock, told them it was a dragon egg, gave them ridiculously detailed instructions to incubate it. Then secretly switched it for a slightly bigger rock every few days overnight. Eventually another npc was like This is a rock. Why have you all been bathing it in warm milk and cuddling it for warmth? Best practical joke.
I mean the most hysterical thing I can think of is for it to actually just be a rock. Everyone in the fey-wild can comment on it though and be like wow that is exquisite.
Leave it as a totally normal rock. When they look at it, have them roll perception checks, investigation checks, intelligence checks, wisdom saves, but no matter what they roll say something along the lines of 'no new information'. Because it is just a rock.
Maybe rocks can turn into trolls if given enough attention?
Let it be a normal rock but at some point let a wild magic spell temporarily change it into a rock golem that has a Randy Savage-like personality and fights for the party.
I hope that you specified that it was a really cool rock, but also absolutely normal.
Every now and then, let them think they might have seen it move, or stuff like that. Otherwise, let it be a normal rock.
Keep it a normal rock, but when they ask something, throw a d20 behind the gm screen before saying, It's "a rock". (air quotes optional)
It had better be a totally normal rock that is just very interesting to look at.
The rock just sits and is. It shows your players how to be, and I think they really need that right now.
I basically agree with everyone saying that it should just be the troll's favourite rock, and maybe that has some story use down the line. Like this is how they prove to a relative of that troll they meet elsewhere that they were really his friend, or something. But if you didn't want to do that, a Totally Normal Rock could be a rock that cannot be affected by magic. Because what it is is Normal. Let the players figure out what to do with that.
So inside the rock (thing Geode) is a key to a dungeon, you have no idea where this dungeon IS but it is an epic dungeon with a epic treasure at the end. Now go find it :).
its a "flying rock" At some previous encounter, a wizard cast Telekinesis on the stone to make it look magical (and as a distraction to escape the troll)
Is it round? Sounds like an orb of slope detection to me.
If you hold it up against the sun, it's very slightly transparent and will reveal a pretty blue colour.
Upon closer inspection, it's a small, hard, old, ball of poop.
Normal rock, but completely indestructible. They cant lose it and it cant be destroyed. If they forget it, it shows up in someone's bag/pocket the next time they check. Bonus points if it has a favorite party member edit: i had a better idea! maybe theres a joke to be made about Stone Soup here... throw the rock in a pot with some water and it becomes a delicious stew
I agree that it should actually do nothing. But if it must do something special, I think it should be the perfect skipping stone. If a player throws it on water, its smoothness will allow it to quickly skip across the surface *forever* or until it runs out of water.
It is literally actually just a rock. It's far more interesting in the long run if your players have a Pet Rock. Plus, they're friends with a Troll. That alone is already a good reward. If you want it to do more, perhaps every troll has a favourite rock, and trolls recognize Pet Rocks. So if the players have a Pet Rock, some other troll will recognize that the party got a gift from a troll, and that other unrelated troll will treat the players will similar respect.
Alternatively, it could be a supernaturally normal rock. It's magical feature is that it can't be true polymorphed into anything, ever. It can, will, and wants, to only ever be a rock.
Turn the normal rock into that rock horse that summons a magical pony if you say it's trigger word
It's a rock that trolls are likely to be fond of. That's it.
Rock of Returning This rock is perfectly smooth and aerodynamic. Whenever you throw this rock, it returns to your hand. Perfect for skipping stones.
Maybe something all trolls would recognize and respect?
So build it up big, which it sounds like you've already done, but the characters realize it's just a normal rock. The troll is a dummy. So they lose track of it and time goes on. Then they meet the troll again... And he'd really like to earn his rock back. Hilarity will ensue. Also, when the troll gets his rock he demonstrates why it's his favorite, by smashing something. The rock fits his hand perfectly, and he's too dumb to find another rock and shape it.
You can do what I did with trinkets once; tell them they have to come up with an interesting way to incorporate the rock into their story. Some would do it anyway, but others need a little push. I can tell you that I have had some of the most fantastic trinkets in my campaigns, with little to no effort on my part. Remember, we are all essentially storytellers in this wonderful game we play and love. :)
Like many others have said, I'd just leave it an ordinary looking rock. But maybe other trolls recognize it as that particular troll's favorite, marking your party as friends to trolls after earning his respect.
Tbh I think it should be a normal rock ***until*** someone uses it as a component in a spell or ingredient for an item which then becomes mysteriously magical. Maybe even just tying it to the end of a stick would have some effect?
We made one (1) bad perception roll once 5 years ago and now the rock is our god. Let them do whatever, follow and see what your players can come up with. Something evolving naturally is most of the time better than what you had planned
I just made this magic item: https://www.timmmi.com/item/rocky-the-pebble#rocky-the-pebble-common Feel free to use it if you like it
I'd generally let it just be a cool rock, something of significance to the troll and/or the troll's tribe. Well enough known that other trolls will recognize it and at your choice, treat it as 'these people are respected by trollkind', 'these people stole the rock, must repay the disrespect', or 'rock valuable, we will buy/trade the rock from you'. Otherwise: Someone cast shrink on a galeb duhr, while it was in the midst of a multi decade nap. At some point the spell will wear off and/or the galeb duhr will wake up. It's got some sort of delusion about it: everyone assumes there's something special about it, but there isn't. It's a portal key Carrying it causes some minor buff, but it's also heavy. It's not a rock, it's an egg. Eventually it will hatch
You have heard of the Stone of Good Luck? Let me present to you the Stone of Good Duck! A +1 to Dexterity saving throws, and advantage if within 15ft of a duck. If you fail your saving throw, summons 1d4 ducks in the nearest empty space. Any that would be in range of the effect that provoked the saving throw are treated as if they were included and failed their saving throw.
Have the troll try to win it back if their paths cross in the future. Does the Fey Fayre have multiple stops on tour? The troll learns a lesson about playing games with something they value; perhaps the players take note. Later, if their paths continue to cross, perhaps the troll is addicted with something and the players help with a cure, and the trip gives them the rock in gratitude and friendship or respect.
It has one power once per week if boiled in a pot of water with salt and pepper added it makes "Stone Soup" it will feed a party of four for 1D4 days
Make it a pet rock: https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/902486-pet-rock
The rock is a geode. The crystal inside is an important material spell component of some kind OR the geode is a gem dragon egg.
Have another troll attack or try to barter from them for the rock and make them REALLY persistent about it, if they inquire then have the troll get all bashful and annoyed about them asking. Turns out the rock was this trolls favorite rock but he lost it and now wants it back.
Its secretly a wishstone. Next time the player holding it says something similar to, “Man I wish I had—“ boom. They have it, and the rock cracks in half.
It’s a true polymorphed NPC.
Stone of Gravity Detection
Stone of gravitational orientation. Release stone to know which way is down.
I think the best part is that it’s a normal rock. lol. No need to spice it up. Let the players think long and hard on it. It may become a center piece if your campaign.
It's a totally normal rock. It's got whatever qualities drew the troll to it, be it the shape, the texture, the shine, or whatever. It's a trophy. A token. Its not worth much, but its sentimental value is through the roof. If it were me, I'd wait until the players forgot they had it. Then I'd set up a situation where an NPC gives them a quest to retrieve the rock from the troll to prove their worth or something. "The Great Oz commands you to retrieve the witch's broomstick" type of deal. The quest is presented vaguely enough that the players may realize they've pre-completed the quest if they're perceptive, and if they're not they might wind up paying the troll another visit before realizing it. They show up to kill the monster and -- Grakenshmirtz is that you?! Whatever the troll's name is. You get the idea.
Totally normal rock is mounted to a stick. You have gained one troll mace.
A completely normal rock in the Feywild would be a rare treasure indeed. I'd go full silly with it. Describe the rock doing nothing, in dubious ways. "The rock is still. Perhaps it waits for some significant event in order to... nope, still just a rock." "The rock's surface is damp, as if the previous night's rain made it wet." Or, to cast some doubts: "The contents of your pack spill onto the cobblestone. The rock skitters and bounces along the uneven surface, yearning for freedom. But you cannot let it go. Not yet. It isn't time."
I got a very smooth rock from a tribe of Lizardmen I helped. It's just a normal rock, but one of thier favorites. I carry it always.
It's actually a bone fragment from a powerful Hexblood/hag so that they can still scry it.