Just a quick question. My players never take item creation feats but for some reason one of the players has broken the mould and decided to take Brew Potion.
What I'm not understanding is that the creation price seems to be the same as the market price. E.G. Potion of Owl's Wisdom would be 2 (spell level) x 3 (caster level) x 50gp = 300gp + 12xp. The DMG lists it's market value as 300gp and of course there is no xp cost.
Am I missing something?
|
Just a quick question. My players never take item creation feats but for some reason one of the players has broken the mould and decided to take Brew Potion.
What I'm not understanding is that the creation price seems to be the same as the market price. E.G. Potion of Owl's Wisdom would be 2 (spell level) x 3 (caster level) x 50gp = 300gp + 12xp. The DMG lists it's market value as 300gp and of course there is no xp cost.
Am I missing something?
I've just had a look and it seems to be badly worded in the DMG. I take it you are looking at p286 of the DMG? There is a table which sets out the base cost (25gp x spell level x caster level) and a table just below setting out the costs to make them (half the above).
I think it says this in the PHB under the feat description, but I take the rules as follows. The cost to buy it "retail" is 25gp x spell level x caster level. The cost to create it, in gp terms, is half that plus 1/25 (or 4%) of the RETAIL price in xp.
So, for your example, the retail cost is 300gp, the creation cost is 150gp plus 12xp.
PS Orcwart, don't you live in Leicester? Are you the guy I bought The Return to the Tomb of Horrors from on ebay? Just curious (I live in Hinckley, by the way).
Alex/Aubrey
Thanks, mate. That makes a lot more sense.
Yup, on eBay I am Orcwart too but I don't remember selling that product. But I do live in Leicester. If you wish to get in touch you can drop me a line at orcwart at ntlworld dot com.
When your player is making potions, remember these restrictions:
1) No "Personal" range spells. No potions of divine favor.
2) The spell must have a target. No potions of fireball.
The first one is the most likely one to trip up somebody, but I have had players ask about the second, too. He wanted to brew a potion of fireball, label it as a potion of cure serious wounds, and leave it laying around for the party rogue to find. :rolleyes:
Why not just use a touch attack fire spell? If a suitable one doesn't exist, create it!
Why not just use a touch attack fire spell? If a suitable one doesn't exist, create it!
The party rogue was one of those jerks who writes "Chaotic Neutral" in the alignment field of their character sheet, and believes that gives them free rein to act like a jerkwad. He would regularly go through the other players' packs while they were sleeping and take things - just because he could.
So that was why the one player wanted the potion of fireball. He wanted to rogue to steal it, then have the rogue go BOOM! when he used it.
He wanted to rogue to steal it, then have the rogue go BOOM! when he used it.
Verily, a noble sentiment!
Don't potions of range Personal get treated as Wondrous Items? Keoghum's Ointment, etc.
|
So that was why the one player wanted the potion of fireball. He wanted to rogue to steal it, then have the rogue go BOOM! when he used it.
He could put something nasty in the potion; maybe an alchemist knows how to make laxative powder--10x the normal dose--or if he was real mean, ground glass. If my character had someone thiefly around, I used to put broken glass in my decoy coinpurse. Then you get the satisfaction of killing his character, if he's that annoying. Yeah, I think laxative powder in a potion would be doubly humiliating.
Pretty much. Potions of fireball are a bad idea to get back to a thieving character. It could explode with you in range. Cursed potions, potions of inflict wounds instead of cure wounds, a little bit of poison in the potion, exploding runes on the label of a bottle of an explosive/napalm, stabbing him in the back while he sleeps, etc.
Ancient campaign history: Magic mouth on all the backpacks and pouches in the party that go off if Black Moran opens them: "Black Moran's being stupid again!" in a very loud voice.
Or summon a demon to eat his soul if he opens the pack.
I like that one.
I've actually allowed potions of fireball, designed to be thrown rather than imbibed. Grenades!
Hmmm...I like that. Kind of a magically enhanced Alchemists Fire.
I've done something similar with magical "balls of twine." That's what they look like, anyway. In reality, they cast either Evard's black tentacles, entangle or briar web. Then there's the magic missle claymore...
|
When your player is making potions, remember these restrictions:
1) No "Personal" range spells. No potions of divine favor.
2) The spell must have a target. No potions of fireball.The first one is the most likely one to trip up somebody, but I have had players ask about the second, too.
I posted elsewhere related to this --
The expanded psionics handbook says that a tattoo (psionic equivalent to potions) with a range of personal can be made at double the cost. Seems like a reasonable compromise to me for potions as well.
When your player is making potions, remember these restrictions:
1) No "Personal" range spells. No potions of divine favor.
No matter how hard I've looked in the PHB, DMG, and the Errata, I can't find where that's listed. I figure I've just overlooked it. Can someone let me know where to find it so I can satisfy my curiosity?
EDIT: Don't worry, I've found it. DMG p286 for anyone else with selective blindness.
Steve
It appears even seasoned Dungeon writers and editors have missed this particular as well. I was just upgrading Filge from WC for a return appearance, and noticed that he is originally equipped with an injectable potion of false life.
Anyhow, I'm curious as to the rationale behind the rule . . .
|
|
Anyhow, I'm curious as to the rationale behind the rule . . .
This is just a theory --
I think that the level of some spells are lower simply because they have a range of personal. Mirror Image probably wouldn't be a 2nd level spell if it could be cast on other people. Also, some spells could be a bit more game balancing if it could be cast on other characters -- Divine favor at higher levels would be devasting on a fighter -- on a cleric, it just helps him keep up.