Limit to the number of Pearls of Power Usable


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


My DM said there was an official errata that limited the number of pearls of power a character could use per day. I can't find this anywhere.

Does anyone know if this is true, and if so could you provide a link?

My DM specifically believes it is 1 pearl/spell level/day now. If it is houserule fine, but he has stated it is official errata and I'd like the clarification if possible.


WizardlyWizard wrote:

My DM said there was an official errata that limited the number of pearls of power a character could use per day. I can't find this anywhere.

Does anyone know if this is true, and if so could you provide a link?

My DM specifically believes it is 1 pearl/spell level/day now. If it is houserule fine, but he has stated it is official errata and I'd like the clarification if possible.

There is no such rule. If it was in the errata it would be in the PRD or the errata documents.

prd wrote:
This seemingly normal pearl of average size and luster is a potent aid to all spellcasters who prepare spells (clerics, druids, rangers, paladins, and wizards). Once per day on command, a pearl of power enables the possessor to recall any one spell that she had prepared and then cast that day. The spell is then prepared again, just as if it had not been cast. The spell must be of a particular level, depending on the pearl. Different pearls exist for recalling one spell per day of each level from 1st through 9th and for the recall of two spells per day (each of a different level, 6th or lower).

Pearls of Power Link

Edit:That "once per day" refers to that particular pearl, not all the pearls that you own.


There is no official errata saying that in Pathfinder. There might of been in 3.5/3.0 Dungeons and Dragons, but that would have nothing to do with Pathfinder.


There's no limit to them I know of. Except the obvious ones: It still costs money to get more of them, it still costs actions, and you can only get back spells you have already cast. No wizards with access to all their spellbooks.


WizardlyWizard wrote:

My DM said there was an official errata that limited the number of pearls of power a character could use per day. I can't find this anywhere.

Does anyone know if this is true, and if so could you provide a link?

My DM specifically believes it is 1 pearl/spell level/day now. If it is houserule fine, but he has stated it is official errata and I'd like the clarification if possible.

Hateful lies designed by the Man to keep players down. Fight the power, player.


WizardlyWizard wrote:
My DM specifically believes it is 1 pearl/spell level/day now. If it is houserule fine, but he has stated it is official errata and I'd like the clarification if possible.

There was such a rule in one of the 3.X living games -- I want to say Living Arcanis?

But as part of the core rules of any edition, no.

Liberty's Edge

It's the same limit as Ioun Stones - all of them.
-Kle.

Liberty's Edge

The campaign that I play in eventually got so overtaken by pearls of power (they were basically the only magic item that the party built/bought) that the GM had to enforce a house rule that we could only bring back a given spell slot with a pearl once per day. Seemed a bit harsh initially, but we were abusing pearls pretty badly.

Contributor

The limit is supposed to be budget. If the players are buying pearls of power, they're not buying other things. If you've given them too much wealth and they make a pile of them, that's what happens.

They're a great item and every spellcaster wants them.


Yeah, how do you abuse pearls of power? I include a lot of them in my games as treasure, my players craft them, and so forth. They're definitely useful, but last I checked they're pretty expensive.

81,000 gp for an additional 9th level spell?
That's about 1/10th your entire WBL at 20th level.

I love pearls of power, but I tend to stick to the lower-level ones for cost reasons (you still need your stat boosters, and defensive items, stuff like freedom of movement on your armors, etc).

Otherwise, they're just not all that cost effective (especially compared to wands, staffs, or even scrolls).

Grand Lodge

Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:

The limit is supposed to be budget. If the players are buying pearls of power, they're not buying other things. If you've given them too much wealth and they make a pile of them, that's what happens.

They're a great item and every spellcaster wants them.

Everyone that uses PREPARED spells. They're not that useful to spontaneous casters.

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Yeah, there's no actual limitation. I usually try to get 1 pearl each for spell levels 1-3, but after that it starts to get insanely expensive. If you have a high-level spell that you find yourself using pretty much all the time, but still want a little flexibility to avoid just filling that level's slots with the same thing, it's worthwhile to get another pearl for that level too.

The awesome thing about pearls is that, if your wizard doesn't need his 2nd-level pearl (or whatever) for that day, your cleric/druid/witch/etc/etc can use it instead. They're completely transferable, and that makes them handy.

The Exchange

Sayer_of_Nay wrote:
WizardlyWizard wrote:

My DM said there was an official errata that limited the number of pearls of power a character could use per day. I can't find this anywhere.

Does anyone know if this is true, and if so could you provide a link?

My DM specifically believes it is 1 pearl/spell level/day now. If it is houserule fine, but he has stated it is official errata and I'd like the clarification if possible.

Hateful lies designed by the Man to keep players down. Fight the power, player.

+1 Bring the system down brother!

Liberty's Edge

Well we weren't using them for high level spells. We were using them mainly for 1st-4th level spells (this was still 3.5, so we had Spell Compendium available). Things like nerveskitter before every combat, greater magic weapon/vestment for the entire 8 player party with 1 3rd level slot, protection from energy, etc. Lots of little cheap buffs that we rarely ran out of. We probably had more wealth than we should have, but still. It was a little silly.

Grand Lodge

For my sanity, I've rules that pearls of power have to be attuned to a specific user and that the attunement can only be changed at sunrise, basically ensuring that said pearl only gets used once per day.... period.


LazarX wrote:
For my sanity, I've rules that pearls of power have to be attuned to a specific user and that the attunement can only be changed at sunrise, basically ensuring that said pearl only gets used once per day.... period.

But pearls are already useable only once per day. If anyone uses it, its one use per day is expended. There's no need to add a requirement that only one specific user has access to it.

You can't have Cleric A use PoP level 1 to recover Bless, then pass that same pearl off to Wizard B who uses it to recover Mage Armor. Once Cleric A uses it, its power is expended for that day.


Zonto wrote:
Seemed a bit harsh initially, but we were abusing pearls pretty badly.

From what you've said I think you are incorrect here.

Instead you were using pearls very frequently.

Its not abuse to use something for its intended purpose. Perhaps it highlighted other problems in the campaign, but frankly this doesn't sound like a problem in and of itself.

-James

Liberty's Edge

james maissen wrote:
Zonto wrote:
Seemed a bit harsh initially, but we were abusing pearls pretty badly.

From what you've said I think you are incorrect here.

Instead you were using pearls very frequently.

Its not abuse to use something for its intended purpose. Perhaps it highlighted other problems in the campaign, but frankly this doesn't sound like a problem in and of itself.

-James

Fair enough. In any case, they were used too frequently for the DM's liking hence the house rule :)

Anyway, to the OP: I am not aware of any rule in Pathfinder that limits how many pearls you can use per spell or per day, other than the worded rule that a given pearl can only be used once per day.


Zonto wrote:


Fair enough. In any case, they were used too frequently for the DM's liking hence the house rule :)

Anyway, to the OP: I am not aware of any rule in Pathfinder that limits how many pearls you can use per spell or per day, other than the worded rule that a given pearl can only be used once per day.

Meh even at only once per spell slot it would still be possible to double your spells per day -- not a total nerfing at least.


Thanks everyone! I didn't think there was a rule, but wanted to make sure.

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