Wheel of Endless Brie

Aura moderate conjuration; CL 9th
Slot —; Price 18,000 gp; Weight 5 lbs.

DESCRIPTION

At first glance, this item appears to be an enormous wheel of pale golden brie wrapped in a flawless wax rind. The cheese is always cool to the touch and never spoils, regardless of age or environmental conditions. It emits a rich, buttery aroma that is pleasantly inviting to humanoids yet does not attract vermin or scavengers.

Once per day, the wielder may activate the Wheel of Endless Brie by speaking its command word as a standard action. For the next 10 minutes, the wheel continuously replenishes itself as portions are removed. During this time, the wheel can produce enough nourishing cheese to feed up to 100 Medium creatures. Any creature that spends at least 1 minute consuming the cheese receives nourishment equivalent to a full day's meals and gains the benefits of a goodberry spell, healing 1 hit point. A creature can benefit from this healing only once per day, regardless of how much cheese it consumes.

Sharing a meal from the wheel inspires fellowship and goodwill. Any creature that eats at least three servings gains a +2 morale bonus on Diplomacy checks for 1 hour. In addition, domesticated animals eagerly accept the cheese as a treat, granting the bearer a +4 circumstance bonus on Handle Animal checks made while offering portions from the wheel.

At the conclusion of the 10-minute duration, the wheel immediately returns to its original size. Any slices removed during the activation remain mundane, wholesome cheese indefinitely, but any magical properties they possess fade after 24 hours. The Wheel of Endless Brie cannot be activated again until the following dawn.

LORE

The first Wheel of Endless Brie was commissioned by Duchess Élodie de Fromage, a noblewoman whose estates bordered the fertile grazing lands of western Da'Ma. Believing that no traveler should ever be turned away hungry, she employed a circle of conjurers, druids, and master cheesemakers to create a feast that could sustain entire villages through the lean months. The resulting enchantment proved so successful that the duchess's annual harvest festivals became legendary throughout the kingdom.

Today, Wheels of Endless Brie are prized not only by wealthy households but also by military quartermasters, charitable temples, and adventuring companies preparing for long expeditions. A single wheel can transform a desperate refugee camp into a place of comfort, or keep an isolated mountain outpost well-fed through an unforgiving winter. Many rulers consider ownership of one to be both a symbol of prosperity and an obligation to provide for those in need.

Not all stories surrounding the wheel are entirely wholesome. Tavern tales insist that a particularly greedy merchant once attempted to monopolize its bounty by selling endless slices throughout an entire kingdom. Before the year was over, every wheel of ordinary cheese in his warehouses had inexplicably transformed into bland, tasteless curds overnight. Whether this was divine punishment, fey mischief, or merely an amusing coincidence remains a matter of spirited debate among scholars and cheesemakers alike.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, create food and water, goodberry; creator must possess 9 ranks in Craft (Cooking) and use a full wheel of artisan-crafted brie aged no fewer than six months as the focus of the enchantment; Cost 9,000 gp + 720 XP

Kelwyn's Notes

There exists a curious tendency among wizards to believe that true magical achievement must always be spectacular. They strive to command storms, imprison dragons, or unravel the very laws governing time itself. Yet I have lived long enough to observe that the enchantments most fondly remembered are often the simplest. A warm fire on a bitter evening. A lantern that never gutters. A blanket that always remains dry. Or, in this case, an inexhaustible wheel of remarkably fine cheese.

One quickly discovers that there are two kinds of adventurers. The first carefully ration every crumb of food, calculating supplies with admirable discipline and worrying endlessly over the next meal. The second see an enchanted wheel of brie and immediately begin discussing wines, crackers, and whether mushrooms might improve the experience. I have traveled beside both sorts, and while the former undoubtedly survive longer on paper, the latter generally tell far better stories.

There is an undeniable magic in sharing food that no spell description can adequately capture. Around a meal, strangers become companions, frightened children remember how to laugh, and even the most hardened mercenary often finds themselves lingering to hear another tale before continuing down the road. One should never underestimate how thoroughly an empty stomach can poison good judgment, nor how effectively a satisfying meal can restore hope when swords and sorcery have accomplished very little.

I recall one particularly obstinate mule that refused to haul a supply wagon another inch until it received its customary slice from one of these wheels. The teamsters insisted the creature had become spoiled by the enchantment. I argued that it had merely learned the value of negotiating from a position of strength. The mule got its cheese. The wagon reached its destination. Everyone involved considered the arrangement entirely satisfactory, save perhaps the accountant responsible for purchasing ordinary feed.

Should fortune ever place one of these marvelous wheels into your possession, cherish it not because it produces endless food, but because it grants endless opportunities to gather people together. Heroes are remembered for slaying monsters, kings for winning wars, and archmages for crafting impossible wonders. Yet ask an old traveler what they remember most vividly, and more often than not they will tell you about a shared meal, good company, and laughter echoing long after the plates had been cleared. That, I think, is a kind of magic worthy of preservation.