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Emergency Staircase

wondrous item, uncommon

Emergency Staircase
Illustration: ChatGPT

This polished brass cube is covered in tiny engraved steps and folds.

Ascend

As an action, you place the cube on a solid surface and speak its command word. The cube rapidly unfolds into a sturdy staircase, up to 30 feet high. The staircase remains for 10 minutes before folding itself back into cube form.
 The staircase supports up to 2,000 pounds.
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Lore

While most of Cassiodora Inayaris Pompellini Xifilius's inventions are celebrated for their brilliance, the Emergency Staircase is beloved for its practicality. The device was reportedly conceived after Cass spent three frustrating hours trapped atop a warehouse in Waterdeep following a failed experiment involving levitation, fireworks, and a prototype self-propelled wagon. Upon finally climbing down using a collection of ropes, crates, and increasingly questionable engineering decisions, she declared that no civilized person should ever be stranded somewhere merely because they lacked a convenient staircase.
The result was a polished brass cube no larger than a clenched fist. Through a combination of transmutation magic and impossibly compact clockwork mechanisms, the cube unfolds in moments into a fully functional staircase capable of supporting tremendous weight. The design proved so useful that it quickly spread beyond the artificer's workshop. City guards used them to reach rooftops during pursuits, firefighters employed them to rescue trapped civilians, and adventurers discovered that "up" was often the safest direction during a crisis.
 Although Cass created the Emergency Staircase as a serious tool, she could never resist adding a touch of flair. When unfolding, many examples emit a triumphant fanfare audible up to sixty feet away, while others announce phrases such as "Ascending problem solved!" or "Please mind the steps." Whether these embellishments were intentional features or side effects of the artificer's sense of humor remains a matter of debate.
 Today, Emergency Staircases are considered among the most successful utility items ever produced by Cass's workshop. They lack the prestige of her legendary creations and rarely attract the attention of powerful collectors, yet countless adventurers quietly regard them as the most useful invention she ever made. As one veteran explorer famously remarked, "You'll only use it a handful of times in your life, but every one of those times will be the moment it saves your neck."
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