In the ongoing game that I run with my friends, one of their primary means of powering themselves up is to have their weapons and armor enchanted, or to improve on enchantments they already have. I allow them to using the guidelines in the Core book, however it's occurred to me that this might be causing a balance issue.
One of the PCs is upgrading his sword from a +3 enchantment to a +5 one, a feat that would take nearly a month by RAW. I don't mind taking the opportunity to make a more city-oriented adventure, but something else crossed my mind. The party is about APL 11, so the gold they have plenty of gold to go through with this. However, is it logical for the enchanter to happen to have all of the spells required to make the signature enchantments (flaming, freezing, etc.)? It also seems unlikely that any non-spellcaster character is going to know what kind of special effects exist. Not to mention that the one providing the service would have to be at least CL15.
The joke is that the blacksmith is a level 20 wizard with huge muscles, that uses a copy of his spellbook as the store catalog. But this isn't going to cut it - how do I limit my party's ability to enhance their equipment?
The joke is that the blacksmith is a level 20 wizard with huge muscles, that uses a copy of his spellbook as the store catalog. But this isn't going to cut it - how do I limit my party's ability to enhance their equipment?
You limit their gold.
In the ongoing game that I run with my friends, one of their primary means of powering themselves up is to have their weapons and armor enchanted, or to improve on enchantments they already have. I allow them to using the guidelines in the Core book, however it's occurred to me that this might be causing a balance issue.
One of the PCs is upgrading his sword from a +3 enchantment to a +5 one, a feat that would take nearly a month by RAW. I don't mind taking the opportunity to make a more city-oriented adventure, but something else crossed my mind. The party is about APL 11, so the gold they have plenty of gold to go through with this. However, is it logical for the enchanter to happen to have all of the spells required to make the signature enchantments (flaming, freezing, etc.)? It also seems unlikely that any non-spellcaster character is going to know what kind of special effects exist. Not to mention that the one providing the service would have to be at least CL15.
The joke is that the blacksmith is a level 20 wizard with huge muscles, that uses a copy of his spellbook as the store catalog. But this isn't going to cut it - how do I limit my party's ability to enhance their equipment?
1.Stop giving them so much money. A +5 sword is unlikely at level 11 in most people's games. Changing the way you have been doing this* mid game might not go over well either. The caster could easily purchase the scroll even if he did not have it for that particular weapon enchantment. He will be getting the money back when he sells the weapon to the PC's anyway.
Example: If you come to me to paint you a portrait that you are paying 5000 dollars for I will be more than happy to spend 500 on supplies.*this = allowing them to enchant the items.
I would have decided the enchanter level a long time ago assuming he is not just a shop keeper that has connections.
You limit their gold.
The joke is that the blacksmith is a level 20 wizard with huge muscles, that uses a copy of his spellbook as the store catalog. But this isn't going to cut it - how do I limit my party's ability to enhance their equipment?
And/or the blacksmith's availability. Doesn't he make gear for anyone else? Does he drop everything else just for them? Does he go off for a month at time visiting friends or family or looking for a new ore supply? Or this very high level enchantment might need special materials that aren't available. Give the poor blacksmith a life! (In a game I played the high-level magic item creator had an extended holiday off all the cash he'd got the last time he'd made stuff for us.)
You limit their gold.
The joke is that the blacksmith is a level 20 wizard with huge muscles, that uses a copy of his spellbook as the store catalog. But this isn't going to cut it - how do I limit my party's ability to enhance their equipment?
And time.
But this isn't going to cut it - how do I limit my party's ability to enhance their equipment?
The limiting factor for PC to create there own magic items is = Level to gain the feats, Gold to create the item, Time you give them to make the items (the higher the cost the longer it takes to create).
On the Other Hand.
If you have a NPC magic shop = You control there magic items, by saying. We have this is stock or that is stock, for this price or that price.
Just because the PC have the money, does not mean the item is aviable.
.........
On the other hand, if you want to give a 1st level PC, the ability get get high level magic items, you as DM can. (not recamended for game balance reasons).
Nice tho, if you want a Magic Super Hero type game, with:
Iron Man
Hulk
X-Man
etc.
Aye, I figured it was rooted to the amount of gold they have for their level. I have a bad habit of throwing too much raw gold at the PCs to catch up with average character wealth. Limiting the PCs' time is difficult because there's no overarching motivation or threat to their existence to keep them moving.
As for limiting the enchantment service itself, how should I choose which abilities and whatnot are available for purchase?
It's not too hard to make magic items if you don't have all the spells required. Increases the required spellcraft check, but they can often live with that.
The real limit is caster level. You need to have a CL of 15 to make a +5 weapon. No way around that. Usually, that kind of power isn't that widespread, and of those who have that power, not all will be willing to get into the item crafting business.
Those that are there will be those that supply the whole area. It's unreasonable to just assume that you can take up all their time.
Time and money are another thing. A +5 weapon represents more than half of the suggested total wealth for an 11th-level character. Unless you have a lot more money than suggested, that's going to be a big hole burnt into your purse. You might have a great weapon, but not much else. Your stat boosters, armour and other protective gear will be below what you would otherwise have, and that can become a huge problem, since that stuff helps you keep on living. Not to mention everything else, like secondary weapon, shields, items that do more than just boost you, and so on.
I personally don't give my players a hard time getting what they want, especially if it's standard stuff, but I do stick to the wealth guidelines. So you can have magic weapons, but you won't be able to afford +5 weapons too early.