Lowering the caster level of staves?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

Silver Crusade

Just wanted to get people's opinions on possibly lowering the caster level requirement on staves, allowing them to be made at less than CL 8. They've been the subject of a bit of debate lately, and I personally like the idea, though I can see them stepping on the toes of wands a bit, though there will still be time I prefer a wand to a staff.

For a bit of background, I'm a GM who enjoys a good high magic world (and will likely be running with automatic bonus progression) so would like a few magical, yet still not overpowered, items to throw around in lower levels. As it stands, the least expensive staff still requires a CR 12 encounter to provide enough treasure to pay for it.


Val'bryn2 wrote:
As it stands, the least expensive staff still requires a CR 12 encounter to provide enough treasure to pay for it.

Well,.... not really. Remember that treasure-per-encounter is a long-term average, and, as the rules put it, "if the PCs face a number of creatures with little or no treasure, they should have the opportunity to acquire a number of significantly more valuable objects sometime in the near future to make up for the imbalance." So it's perfectly legitimate to put something high-value into the dragon's hoard at the end of an adventure filled primarily with animals, plants, constructs, mindless undead, oozes, and traps. Or even to say that the BBEG's guards and henchmen don't have very much stuff (because she's a miser), but the BBEG herself has a huge hoard.

This sounds very draconic to me, actually. Browbeat a tribe of ogres or something into giving up all their treasure and guarding my lair for me (on pain of being eaten), and then when you finally get to my Draconic Halls of Glory, I have -- literally -- all of my own money plus all of the ogres'.

Silver Crusade

Yeah, I was just using it as an example for a single fight, going off the treasure values by encounter table. Still, it is a good point. Something I'm going to be using before long since one adventure I'm planning involves fighting a bunch of animals, before finding their druid overlords.


Val'bryn2 wrote:
Yeah, I was just using it as an example for a single fight, going off the treasure values by encounter table. Still, it is a good point. Something I'm going to be using before long since one adventure I'm planning involves fighting a bunch of animals, before finding their druid overlords.

That could work. Remember first that humanoid NPCs typically award much more wealth per encounter than the standard. But it's fairly easy to stat out a reasonable treasure "hoard" at a reasonable level. Our 5th level druid, let's say, has a staff of blessed relief (7200 gp) plus another 1800 gp or so in "stuff" to bring it up to a round 9000 gp in treasure.

So here are your encounters:
* 3 CR 3 encounters (800 gp each) -- 2400 gp
* 3 CR 4 encounters (1150 gp each) -- 3450 gp
* 1 CR 5 miniboss enounter (1550 gp) plus the druid himself (1550 gp, deliberately ignoring NPC WBL numbers) -- 3100 gp

Total loot: 8950 gold pieces, by the book.

And just to flesh out the encounter list, designed for the Great Marsh of Eternal Peril:

* two giant frogs (CR 3)
* four sting rays (CR 3 but watch out for poison)
* one bog nixie (CR 3, and if you bribe her, she may be able to cure poison)
* two electric eels (CR 4)
* one five-headed hydra (CR 4)
* six stirges (CR 4)
* one bog mummy (CR 5)
* one fifth level druid

I think that would actually make a pretty good adventure for a 3-4th level party. I may have to remember this setup.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / General Discussion / Lowering the caster level of staves? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in General Discussion