How much does a potion of shield cost? Is it legal for Pathfinder society play?
Thanks,
jh
Sorry. You normally can't make potions of spells with the range 'Personal'. Shield is range personal.
Some notes:
Many people believe the Alchemist class can create personal potions using their Brew Potion feat. I don't believe this is the case (I think it was careless wording in the class description as opposed to deliberately giving them a rule-breaking version of Brew Potion). However, using this belief, it is possible for just this one class to create a Potion of Shield, in which case, they could sell it for the standard price (Caster Level x Spell Level x 50gp).
I don't know if Alchemist is allowed in Society play. I assume not, since it's still a Beta class. However, I think it will become allowed once the APG is published. If they don't change or clarify the Alchemist class ability, it may therefore become an option to have Potions of Shield in Society play.
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I don't know if Alchemist is allowed in Society play. I assume not, since it's still a Beta class. However, I think it will become allowed once the APG is published. If they don't change or clarify the Alchemist class ability, it may therefore become an option to have Potions of Shield in Society play.
Blake -- yes Alchemist is currently a viable option for PFS (as are the other classes being tested) - which are subject to be modified in year 2 of PFS in August when the Advanced Players Guide is released and updates to the classes within are finalized.
The last four PFS mods I've played in there have been either a Summoner, Alchemist, or Cavalier, or more than one of these in combination.
Robert
The Alchemist is allowed, but does not gain access to the Brew Potion feat in Soceity, he gets Dodge instead.
Ahh, that clarifies things. So, either way, no Shield potions in Society.
Sorry. You normally can't make potions of spells with the range 'Personal'. Shield is range personal.The only alternative would be to create an elixir using Craft Wonderous Item that granted the effects of shield. Would actually have to work up the cost on that though.
Hmmm, I've been thinking about this, and there really isn't anything stopping you from doing this (except I don't believe you're allowed to make your own items in Society, and I don't think you can pay a NPC to do it either - correct me if I'm wrong on this).
But for non-Society play, I don't think there is anything in the RAW that would prevent someone from using Craft Wondrous Item to make an Elixir of Shield. The base price would be exactly the same as any other potion: SL x CL x 50 gp, or just 50gp for a level 1 elixir with a caster level of 1, and just 1/2 that base price to figure the cost of materials to make this elixir.
So, strangely enough, our Core rulebook very explicitly lays down the law that potions cannot be made from "Personal" spells, but then allows any old crafter to go make a wondrous elixir (or philtre, or brew, or substance, or whatever) that breaks the potion rule.
So we first should ask, why do we have this rule for potions? Is it because potions are inherently weak and cannot function properly if such powerful magic is brewed into them? Is Shield really more powerful than Invisibility or Flight or Haste?
Or is it because, mechanically, some spells are restricted to only work on the guy who is trained to cast them because they would be overpowered if cast on other recipients? If that's true, then allowing someone to "cast" these spells as potions and let other recipients drink them to gain the benefits would be a workaround that would be equally overpowered, so the restriction was added to prevent it.
I believe the latter theory is the correct one. Dropping a 4 AC Shield spell on a guy in Full Plate with a 2H sword is overpowered. Dropping that same Shield on a guy in robes hiding behind his melee meat-wall casting spells isn't overpowered - his AC still sucks.
So the rule about "Personal" potions is probably in place for game balance. Allowing a simple loophole to relabel it as an "elixir" is just that: a loophole. And it's a loophole that breaks the game balance the original rule was trying to preserver.
Consequently, I would suggest that it's a Very Bad Thing to allow someone to run off and whip up Elixirs of spells that they otherwise cannot brew as Potions.
(And this is why I also believe the wording of the Alchemist class feature is a careless error rather than a deliberate attempt to break this game balance - I think the class feature meant to say "they can make potions out of any spell on their list that would otherwise be eligible as a potion" - but who knows, maybe the official publication will prove me wrong)
Note that as an alternative to a "potion" (elixir, etc.), it's perfectly legal by the RAW to create a wondrous item that grants a temporary shield effect.
Shield bracelet: This bracelet allows its wearer to activate an invisible shield of force, as if from a shield spell, once per day on command (lasts 1 minute).
1 (spell level) x 1 (caster level) x 1,800 gp (command word) x 1 (charges per day) / 5 = 1,800 gp / 5 = 360 gp
It's only when you get into continuous or unlimited use where you need to use the "AC bonus (other)" line on Table 15-29: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, pg. 550).
Also, Pathfinder Society has additional restrictions on what is and isn't allowable.
I can't seem to find the place where it says you can't create potions of personal spells, could someone point me to that information.
All I can find about potions is as follows:
Brew Potion (Item Creation)
You can create magic potions.
Prerequisite: Caster level 3rd.
Benefit: You can create a potion of any 3rd-level or lower
spell that you know and that targets one or more creatures....
Range
A spell’s range indicates how far from you it can reach, as
defined in the range entry of the spell description....
Personal: The spell affects only you.
Target or Targets: Some spells have a target or targets.
You cast these spells on creatures or objects, as defined
by the spell itself....
If the target of a spell is yourself (the Target line of
the spell description includes “You”)....
SHIELD
School abjuration [force]; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S
Range: personal
Target: you
Duration 1 min./level (D)
It meets all the prerequisites: less than 3rd level and target of 1 or more creatures.
Under Creating Magic Items: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magicItems/magicItemCreation.html
Creating Potions
Prices assume that the potion was made at the minimum caster level. The cost to create a potion is half the base price.
The creator of a potion needs a level working surface and at least a few containers in which to mix liquids, as well as a source of heat to boil the brew. In addition, he needs ingredients. The costs for materials and ingredients are subsumed in the cost for brewing the potion: 25 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster.All ingredients and materials used to brew a potion must be fresh and unused. The character must pay the full cost for brewing each potion. (Economies of scale do not apply.)
The imbiber of the potion is both the caster and the target. Spells with a range of personal cannot be made into potions.
The creator must have prepared the spell to be placed in the potion (or must know the spell, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) and must provide any material component or focus the spell requires.
Material components are consumed when he begins working, but a focus is not. (A focus used in brewing a potion can be reused.) The act of brewing triggers the prepared spell, making it unavailable for casting until the character has rested and regained spells. (That is, that spell slot is expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if it had been cast.) Brewing a potion requires 1 day.
Item Creation Feat Required: Brew Potion.
Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft or Craft (alchemy)
An alchemist, so far, is the only class that can take a spell with a range of Personal or You and make it a potion. SO an alchemist can make potions of shield and true-strike but not in society play because the brew potion feat is out.
For other classes spells into potions have to be able to target someone other than the caster.
Alchemists can take the infusion discovery which allows their extracts to be used by other people. As such they can have an infusion of shield.
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And whenever a new magic item is being made you must compare it to similar items that already exist, in this case the ring of force shield.
--Vrocks magic missiles
