Building a Magic Camera


Advice


So I run a bi-weekly Legend of Zelda campaign for my friends, using the Pathfinder system (with quite a few variant rules to better fit the setting). In an upcoming session, I plan on the heroes meeting an NPC who has a Picto Box (essentially a magic photograph camera).

My question is, what could you folks suggest as far as rules go to build such a magic item? Obviously, it would be a wondrous item, but what sort of spell (or spells) would serve as a creation requirement? How could a PC go about building such a device? Any help would be most appreciated.


hm, I would say a Silent Image (lvl 1) spell is all that needed, and considering it is magical it would already create more "advanced" than the normal photos, meaning the color pictures could move on their own, retelling a short story or similar just by looking at them

(still being silent images, although the camera could be improved depending what kind of spells you would use to make it)

and a cursed variant could do exactly what people feared, trapping soul or whole, living people inside


Box of Many Pictures

Price 1000 gp
--------------------------------------------------
Description
--------------------------------------------------
This small black box is too large to hold with one hand but too small to get a good grip on it with two hands. A black tube projects from the front, and the word "Crossbow" is emblazoned on side in stylized gold letters.

The box is covered with numerous gears and knobs of indeterminate purpose.

A creature who understands the purpose of the box, can attempt to activate it with a DC 15 Disable Device or Knowledge (Arcana) check.

When activated, the Box of Many Pictures produces a bright flash in a 15ft cone. (DC 10 fortitude or be dazzled for 1 round.) The Box of Many pictures can be activated 50 times before it runs out of power.

At any time, as a full-round action, the Box of Many Pictures can be commanded to open. When it does so, it conjures up to 50 sheets of paper with images that correspond to what the Box of Many Pictures was pointed at when it was activated. The pictures appear to be painted by a master-painter and faithfully reproduce whatever the Box of Many Pictures was pointed at. If the operator failed his check to activate the Box of Many Pictures, the little paintings are instead smudged, and look like they were finger-painted by a child.

The Box of Many Pictures may be recharged by placing a 300 gp sapphire into a special receptacle in the Box.

--------------------------------------------------
Construction Requirements
--------------------------------------------------
Craft Wondrous Item, Flare, Secret Page, Clairaudience-Clairvoyance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

Box of Soul-trapping

--------------------------------------------------
Description
--------------------------------------------------
At first glance, this small black box resembles a Box of Many Pictures. However, it holds an insidious secret. Most of the time, it functions as a normal Box of Many Pictures. It only reveals its secret when it is used to capture the picture of a mortal creature. Whenever it is activated while pointed at a creature within 65ft for the first time in a recharge, the victim is affected by a curse (Will DC 22 negates). Nothing happens until the Box of Soul-Trapping is commanded to produce its paintings. At that moment, the cursed victim's soul is instantly imprisoned in the gem inside the Box (as Trap the Soul.) The gem is then teleported to a random place on the same plane the camera is on. The victim's body instantly falls dead. If the victim is on another plane when the Box is thus activated, the curse is removed from it and it merely feels an odd chilling sensation.

If, when activating the box, the operator asks the target mortal to pose for the picture, and the target complies, there is no save against the curse and soul trapping.

If the creature realizes it is cursed before its soul is trapped it can remove the curse in the regular way.


I agree with Knight Magenta suggested as for the device itself, but I disagree on the activation requirement.

Disable Device doesn't seem like a skill one would use to try and activate something. I'd suggest Knowledge (Arcana) or Use Magic Device.


Disable device is used as a general tech-skill in PF as far as I can tell. They use it to program the Clockwork Prowler from the PFS Field guide. I wanted the camera to be more mechanical in nature so I went with that :)


I posted something like this in another thread...

Instant Painting
Aura faint illusion and transmutation; CL 3rd
SlotPrice 4,500 gp (I); 6,200 gp (II); 7,800 gp (III); 9,500 gp (IV); Weight varies

This empty frame is a marvel of a device for any that can afford it. The frame can come in any size, up to a 10 ft by 10 ft frame. This frame looks like it would contain a painting, but instead, contains highly lifelike images. By holding up the [i[instant painting[/i] the instant painting will capture the view and display it for view within the frame. If multiple images are stored, the frame will cycle through the images. Once an image has been stored, a switch on the side of the instant painting will display the images, leave the frame blank, or pause the instant painting on a chosen image. While paused, speaking a separate command word will delete the image.

Each instant painting has a limited memory capable of storing a small number of images. The type I instant painting can store up to 10 images; the type II instant painting can store up to 20 images, the type III instant painting can store up to 30 images, and the type IV instant painting can store up to 40 images.

Construction
Requirements
Craft Wondrous Item, fox’s cunning, silent image Cost 2,250 gp (I); 3,100 gp (II); 3,900 gp (III); 4,750 gp (IV);

Construction Process:
We got one of those digital picture frames for my mother for Christmas and stored some 7,000 pictures on it showing our lives from new-born – adult hood. I was watching this frame one day, when I also thought of the Harry Potter moving paintings and thought of a magical version of the digital frame for Pathfinder. The Fox’s Cunning spell provides the intelligence required for memory, and the silent image is the display mechanism. I also decided that the spells used are not used to their full power, and I applied the uses per-day mechanic and a 30% reduction as well. I decided that since Silent Image doesn’t fall under the duration modifiers present, I would use the Fox’s Cunning modifier for it instead.

Silent Image: CL 1 * SL 1 * 2,000 * 2 = 4,000
Fox’s Cunning (I): (CL 3 * SL 2* 2,000) / 5 = 2,400
Fox’s Cunning (II): (CL 3 * SL 2* 2,000) / 2.5 = 4,800
Fox’s Cunning (III): (CL 3 * SL 2* 2,000) / 1.66 = 7,229 ~ 7,200
Fox’s Cunning (IV): (CL 3 * SL 2* 2,000) / 1.25 = 9,600

Instant Painting (I) 4,000 + 2,400 * 0.7 = 4,480 ~ 4,500
Instant Painting (II) 4,000 + 4,800 * 0.7 = 6,160 ~ 6,200
Instant Painting (III) 4,000 + 7,200 * 0.7 = 7,840 ~ 7,800
Instant Painting (IV) 4,000 + 9,600 * 0.7 = 9,520 ~ 9,500


Thanks for the advice, everyone! I think I can come up with something well-balanced based on all of your suggestions. I really like the "soul-stealing cursed camera" idea as well, and considering the PCs are currently traveling through Ikana, a cursed kingdom where undead roam, there may be some opportunities to use such an item.


If you have print ability I think it should have fabricate spell as well.


Check out the Advanced Player's guide, it has light-sensitive plates as a 1gp alchemical item. Core rulebook has 100gp lens. Combine, add wooden box. Instant non-magical camera!

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Advice / Building a Magic Camera All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.