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Based on another thread today where it became obvious to me that the layout of the item purchase system in the Guide isn't nearly as clear as some of us might think I wrote this and sent it out via email.
Now it can be flagged for FAQ :)
Other Items
Beyond the gear noted above, your character is restricted to purchasing additional items from his accumulated Chronicle sheets, or by capitalizing on his prestige within his faction. Weapons, armor, equipment, magic items and so on that are outside of these lists are not available for purchase at any time. Items must be purchased at full value. This means you cannot buy broken weapons or armor, you cannot buy partially charged wands, rods, or staves, and you must buy ammunition in full lots (typically 10 or 20 for mundane ammunition and 50 for magical ammunition). You may only purchase items of less than full value if they appear that way on a Chronicle sheet.
The very first sentence says it all for me, but think about it in layers.
The base layer is the 'Always Available' stuff. Anyone can buy it as long as they have the money. This covers most types of mundane gear, weapons and armor. A new first level character spends his 150 gold on things from this category. As a character gains more gold, they will still be getting access to a lot of their gear via this list, as it includes masterwork and all +1 weapons and armor as well as 0 and 1st level spells and scrolls. As long as you have the gold, you can buy this stuff.
The next layer of items is from the Fame you hold with your Faction. This is how you are going to get access to most of the 'cool' magic items in the game. This is how you are going to get the specific magic items your class needs to help power it up. Each Fame total listed in table 5-3 shows the max gold piece cap you have to purchase things that you want. The very first entry on the table is for 4 Fame or less and limits you to 500 gp. So after your very first adventure you should earn about 500 gp and you could spend it all on a Whip Feather Token (500 gp) if you wanted even though nothing specially told you that (IE: it's not on your Chronicle). You just know that the Whip Feather Token is cool and you need one, so you buy it through your faction. One of the milestone Fame totals is 27. Once you have 27 Fame you can start buying +2 weapons. The reason it's not 22 (8000 gp) is that +2 weapons start at a base price of 8300 + weapon cost, so that's higher than 8000 gp and you need to hit the next spending limit above that.
The last layer of items is from the Chronicles themselves. Anything listed on a Chronicle is always avaliable for you to purchase if you have the gold. Some times it will list (limit 1) etc, which means after you buy it you cross it off, otherwise you can buy something off the Chronicle as many times as you need. You will never find things which fall under the 'Always Available' list on a Chronicle for this reason. You may find a +1 weapon during the course of a scenario, but it won't be listed on the Chronicle because you can already buy it. For tier 1-2 adventures you usually get about 500 gp, so after 2 adventures you'd have 1000 gp. If one of your two Chronicles had a Cloak of Resistance +1 (1000 gp) listed on it, you could buy it without having 9 Fame (spending limit 1500 gp).
I'm going to do an example of a longsword. After you have a masterwork weapon/armor you can pay to just have it enchanted, so you are just upgrading the item, but there is a trap that players fall in with this and I'll explain.
You start at level 1, you buy a longsword (15 gp, always available)
After your 1st adventure you earn 500 gp and you think buying a masterwork longsword is a good idea (315 gp, always available)
Now 4 more adventures go by, you earn another 500 gp on each, you are 2nd level (almost 3rd) and you think having a +1 longsword is a great idea (2000 gp upgrade, always available, total item cost 2315 gp)
Now here is where the trap starts, because you paid 2000 gp to upgrade from masterwork to +1, but the total you've spent on this item is 2315 gp. Players get it in their head that they paid 2000 gp and it didn't matter what their Fame was.
Later on down the road you want to upgrade to a +2 longsword and you need to pay the 6000 gp difference (+2 longsword costs 8315 gp, and you've already paid 2315 for +1 so the difference is 6000 to upgrade). Many people think they only need 22 Fame to do this. They are wrong. Your Fame spending limit has to cover the total cost of the item (8315) not just the incremental cost you are paying right now (6000). You need 27 Fame to buy +2 weapons. The way the wealth/Fame curve has been designed is they expect you to earn 1.5 Fame per session so earning 27 Fame should take an average of 18 sessions (or 14 if you've always earned 2 every time). Furthermore this means your character will be 7th level before you have a +2 weapon (18 sessions/3 XP per level) or 5th level (nearly 6th) if you earn 2 Fame per session. (6000 gp, 27 Fame, total item cost 8315 gp)
Hopefully this is making sense now. This also means you can buy a Belt of giant strength +2 (4000 gp) after you have 18 Fame unless you get a Chronicle that has one listed on it before you reach the 18 Fame spending limit.
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My only point I would like to add to this is how some of the wording on th elatest Fame purchase limit chart has messed with what I thought I knew about it.
So, 4 or less 500 gp, which is different from the old 4 500 gp. Understandable.
But, and here is my new confusion, 9 is 1,500 gp.
So what does 5-8 do?
Is 9 when you can start to spend up to 1,500 gp for a not-always-available but legal item, or is that the top of the 1,500 gp range now, so 5-9 is 1,500 gp, or, as it used to appear to be, is the 9-12 range the 1,500 gp spending cap group?
Under the old table, it was implied that 0-3 was only always available items, and 4-8 was 500 gp. The new table changes that, and confuses the following entries, at least for me.
Especially since the last entry is still something like 67 or more, which implies the old reading is still correct.
So, IMO, either the 4 or less entry needs to be changed to 8 or less; or the 67 or more needs to be changed to 64 or more; or some other way of clarifying the issue needs to be done.
4 or less 500 gp
9 1,500 gp
13 3,000 gp
18 5,250 gp
22 8,000 gp
27 11,750 gp
31 16,500 gp
36 23,000 gp
40 31,000 gp
45 41,000 gp
49 54,000 gp
54 70,000 gp
58 92,500 gp
63 120,000 gp
67 or more 157,500 gp
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But, and here is my new confusion, 9 is 1,500 gp.
So what does 5-8 do?
4 is less is a change from the previous Guide and seems a little clunky, but in order to keep the Fame/Gold limits the same it just means that effectively 0-8 Fame is a 500 gp limit. 9-12 is 1500 gp, 13-17 is 5250 gp etc. So the most expensive item you could by with Fame appears to be 157, 500 gp.
Does that help?
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But, and here is my new confusion, 9 is 1,500 gp.
So what does 5-8 do?
4 is less is a change from the previous Guide and seems a little clunky, but in order to keep the Fame/Gold limits the same it just means that effectively 0-8 Fame is a 500 gp limit. 9-12 is 1500 gp, 13-17 is 5250 gp etc. So the most expensive item you could by with Fame appears to be 157, 500 gp.
Does that help?
Not really. Is there something, somewhere, from an "official source" that explains it?
At this point, changing 4 to 4 or less, and not making it 8 or less, is confusing the issue, at least to me.
Especially since, under the table, there was a change in your buying power every 4.5 Fame. So, does this mean that there is no longer any change in buying power until you reach 9 Fame, or is the first step still between 4 & 5, in which case all the steps move "down" the chart from where they used to be.
Could you also address weapon sizes other then small, medium, and large here?
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Could you also address weapon sizes other then small, medium, and large here?The point of this thread is to understand how Fame, Chronicles and Always Available work.
Correct. This is something that needs to be addressed if it is always available or not.
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I'm still wondering if Intelligent Items are legal or not.
/Waiting to pull the trigger if they are.
I thought the answer was basically no?
You can price out a +1 keen scimitar, but you cannot price out a custom wondrous item or intelligent item.
Why can't you price it out? The cost breakdowns are all there.
/Doesn't have an intelligent item.
//Well, I can buy one off a chronicle sheet, but I'm holding off on that purchase.
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I'm still wondering if Intelligent Items are legal or not.
/Waiting to pull the trigger if they are.
I thought the answer was basically no?
You can price out a +1 keen scimitar, but you cannot price out a custom wondrous item or intelligent item.
Why can't you price it out? The cost breakdowns are all there.
/Doesn't have an intelligent item.
//Well, I can buy one off a chronicle sheet, but I'm holding off on that purchase.
I'm not 100% sure, but I assume that because it's fairly easy to understand how 'building' a 'custom' magic weapon works the additional complexity of understanding a 'custom' wondrous or intelligent item is much higher increasing the potential table complexity disproportionally.
Disclaimer: This is not an official campaign stance, this is merely my opinion.
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I'm not 100% sure, but I assume that because it's fairly easy to understand how 'building' a 'custom' magic weapon works the additional complexity of understanding a 'custom' wondrous or intelligent item is much higher increasing the potential table complexity disproportionally.
Disclaimer: This is not an official campaign stance, this is merely my opinion.
I think if you were to limit it to the items in Tables 15-21 thru 15-24 from the Core, the complexity of item is about the same as that of a familiar. And you're unlike to see one be too overpowered because creating them gets pretty expensive very quickly. Besides already having one type of intelligent item you can buy, PFS does allow for intelligent items through that one magus archetype from UM.
I don't use them and have told others not to create them because they might be in conflict with PFS (and better not to waste your own gp and character investment in the item if it is illegal). But technically they are not disallowed by the current rules and adding their abilities are akin to giving a weapon an enhancement bonus (unlike trying to price items for slots they weren't meant for). But whichever side the ruling falls, having that explicitly stated is at least FAQ worthy in my opinion.
/I have 30k gp waiting to be spent.
//Intelligent Shield and / or Armor waiting to go!
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It's been the general rule that if an item is clearly statted out already in a legal resource, it's not available for purchase.
Purchasing an intelligent item is like purchasing a scroll at a higher CL or with metamagic applied. There are rules on how to cost such an item, but purchasing them is essentially making them as far as PFS is concerned.
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It's been the general rule that if an item is clearly statted out already in a legal resource, it's not available for purchase.
Purchasing an intelligent item is like purchasing a scroll at a higher CL or with metamagic applied. There are rules on how to cost such an item, but purchasing them is essentially making them as far as PFS is concerned.
You might want to addendum that by stating unless they are weapons, shields, or armors.
I don't understand why you can't buy higher CL wands / scrolls/ etc. if you have the Fame for it. I think you should be able to buy useable magical items with a max CL of 12 (considering that's the level cap and we can't get access to anything higher than 6th level spells). I mean, you can already buy magical items that have a higher CL than you can buy for scrolls and such. But I guess that's a completely different issue.
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I'm sorry are you saying that with the proper fame score one cannot buy a CL 2 scroll of magic missile but could buy a +6 stat item?
Are you sure, cause that sounds insane.
All potions, scrolls, and wands are available only at minimum caster level unless found at a higher caster level on a Chronicle sheet.
Further, is Kyle right in that you can't buy metamagic'd scrolls, cause I don't see that restriction.
-James
It has been stated before that this falls under the item crafting ban and is not allowed.
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Hell, it's even worse than that. You can't buy a wand of magic missile at CL 9 with 50 charges for 6750 gp. That's absurd to me.
If you have the Fame for it, you should be able to buy it. I don't think a fully-charge wand of magic missile at CL 9 is "item crafting" at the slightest. Especially since you're not making it yourself and having to pay full price.
/Not with all those gazebos around.
//PFS has some facepalmy rules.
///This is near the top of the list for me.
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@ Mark Garringer:
I was one of the "other threads" that started with this question, and I really appreciate you taking the time to break this down so that everyone can understand it.
This makes a great reference point for anyone asking questions down the road.
Hopefully I will get the chance to meet you at a con or event somewhere to thank you face to face.
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There have been choices made for the ease of transparency in items that you can purchase.
Wands, Scrolls, and Potions are considered to be created at their base value. They are consumables and not upgradeable.
Arms and Armor, are non-consumables and upgradeable.
From a design perspective consumables that are beyond the standard aren't available.
There are many reasons for this and off the top of my head the main one is that in a five hour session a GM may get an hour or less (usually much less) to handle the shopping portion of a session. As for me, I want more time adventuring, less time shopping.
Many players forget that everything is meant to be handled in a five hour window. You might have more time in your home game, but the five hour window will not go away.
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This makes a great reference point for anyone asking questions down the road.
Hopefully I will get the chance to meet you at a con or event somewhere to thank you face to face.
Awesome! That was my intent after trading some posts/emails with DCII. I'm glad you were able to get some value out of it!
If you are ever passing through Indy let me know and I'll see about getting you a game ;)
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There have been choices made for the ease of transparency in items that you can purchase.
Wands, Scrolls, and Potions are considered to be created at their base value. They are consumables and not upgradeable.
Arms and Armor, are non-consumables and upgradeable.
From a design perspective consumables that are beyond the standard aren't available.
There are many reasons for this and off the top of my head the main one is that in a five hour session a GM may get an hour or less (usually much less) to handle the shopping portion of a session. As for me, I want more time adventuring, less time shopping.
Many players forget that everything is meant to be handled in a five hour window. You might have more time in your home game, but the five hour window will not go away.
Sorry, but I think that is a poor reasoning to not allow higher CL consumables. First off, ask your players to come prepared with purchases they want. Second, if folks can't easily calculate a higher CL wand, especially with the proliferation of smart phones around, then maybe people need to re-visit some math text books as PFS homework. It's tougher to reference a cost for a +3 mithril full-plate (non-consumable) than it is a CL 9 wand of magic missile (consumable).
/Hate posting from my iPhone.
There are many reasons for this and off the top of my head the main one is that in a five hour session a GM may get an hour or less (usually much less) to handle the shopping portion of a session. As for me, I want more time adventuring, less time shopping.
So let me get this straight.. you think that this rule makes it take LESS time for a DM to check pricing?
Old way Table 1:
PC decides he wants a wand of Lesser Restoration.
He is a cleric but doesn't realize it's on also the Paladin list.
So he figures it's a 2nd level spell so it needs at least CL3 (earliest he can cast it) and doesn't see the need to make it any higher.
Now he takes 750gpx2(level of spell)x3(CL)=4500gp
If he, for whatever reason wanted CL4 instead of 1500gpx3 it would be 1500gpx4=6000gp.Both of these wands would be perfectly legal. Now the Cleric could have found a cheaper way of doing this, but the game is filled with these kinds of choices. If another spell list had it as a level 3 spell then there would also be a more expensive way.
Now to compare-
New way Table 2:
PC decides he wants a scroll of magic mouth.
He is a 1st level bard and it's on his spell list as a 1st level spell. Like the cleric above he doesn't realize it's on other spell lists.
But now because of the rule he has to check the wizard, cleric and druid spell lists to see if it's there as well.
It is a 2nd level wizard/sorcerer spell. He needs to look up the wizard and sorcerer classes to see what the minimum CL is for that. For wizards its CL3 and for sorcerers its CL4.
Now he takes 25gpx2(level of the wizard spell)x3(CL)=150gp.I'll believe that the old way was quicker. Mind you the 'new way' example comes up with the wrong price and I'll leave you all to figure out that the price of that scroll should be 160gp rather than 150gp.
So I don't see what 'time is saved' by making players look up classes that they might not be familiar with and having to check over 3 other spell lists for a spell on...
Have you ever considered that you might be happier overall if you were to stop trying to apply logic or rational thought to discussions on the messageboards?
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There are many reasons for this and off the top of my head the main one is that in a five hour session a GM may get an hour or less (usually much less) to handle the shopping portion of a session. As for me, I want more time adventuring, less time shopping.
So let me get this straight.. you think that this rule makes it take LESS time for a DM to check pricing?
Yep!
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PC decides he wants a wand of Lesser Restoration.
He is a cleric but doesn't realize it's on also the Paladin list.
So he figures it's a 2nd level spell so it needs at least CL3 (earliest he can cast it) and doesn't see the need to make it any higher.
Now he takes 750gpx2(level of spell)x3(CL)=4500gp
If he, for whatever reason wanted CL4 instead of 1500gpx3 it would be 1500gpx4=6000gp.Both of these wands would be perfectly legal.
Please note, consumables are always purchased at the minimum CL unless found on a Chronicle, so it is not perfectly legal for a player to decide to purchase a CL4 Wand of Lesser Restoration (as priced by a Cleric).
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Please note, consumables are always purchased at the minimum CL unless found on a Chronicle, so it is not perfectly legal for a player to decide to purchase a CL4 Wand of Lesser Restoration (as priced by a Cleric).
Still don't understand why you can't purchase a higher CL wand that isn't on a chronicle sheet if you have the Fame for such a purchase. 22 Fame needed to buy a CL 9 wand of magic missle (it costs 6750 gp).
The chronicle sheet response is lacking anyway, because most sheets don't offer things that you can't buy otherwise (poisons don't count). I know I sound like a parrot, but I find the ruling on this to be as ridiculous as the requirements for a 5 star GM. Hopefully having a new PFS coordinator soon will see these issues cleared up quickly.
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Personally I like the consumable rules where you are required to buy things at the cleric/wizard price and don't get 750gp wands of lesser restoration. Personally I find this way simpler as I never remember what the minimum caster level for bard/paladin/ranger is for various spells.
As for the higher level consumables my preference would be to only have minimum caster level items available and to have frequent access to higher caster level items from chronicle sheets. I'm not sure that's going to happen and I'm not sure if I prefer the current situation or one where items are buyable at any caster level.
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Still don't understand why you can't purchase a higher CL wand that isn't on a chronicle sheet if you have the Fame for such a purchase. 22 Fame needed to buy a CL 9 wand of magic missle (it costs 6750 gp).
You don't think that 'easy' access to a CL9 Wand of Magic Missiles might have an unbalancing impact on a more closed and managed ecosystem?
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You don't think that 'easy' access to a CL9 Wand of Magic Missiles might have an unbalancing impact on a more closed and managed ecosystem?
Not any more than other magic items with similar prices, Mark. For example, a +1 human bane bow. (We could toss minor distinctions back and forth, but I think it's reasonable that thos two items are priced similarly.)
Still don't understand why you can't purchase a higher CL wand that isn't on a chronicle sheet if you have the Fame for such a purchase. 22 Fame needed to buy a CL 9 wand of magic missle (it costs 6750 gp).You don't think that 'easy' access to a CL9 Wand of Magic Missiles might have an unbalancing impact on a more closed and managed ecosystem?
No more so than any of a hundred other perfectly campaign-legal items or options.
To fall into the James Maisson trap of trying to employ rational thought to the process:
Given that:
A - Possibly Unbalanced Item A is Not allowed in the campaign because it might be unbalanced.
and:
B - Known unbalanced items B through ZZ are allowed in the campaign.
It is not a valid argument to state that the reason A is disallowed is because it might be game unbalancing.
To me, the more probable reason for prohibiting magic items that serve casters is simple bias against casting classes. One of the key features to wizards and other casting classes has also been the ability to have cool magical items to make up for the very limited amount of actual casting that can be done in one day. The decision was apparently made at some point that casters were having too much fun, and that this must be limited in some way.
Easiest way to limit casters is to simply remove some of their class features. Take away Item Creation Feats. Take away the ability to purchase useful items that are class-dependent. (+1 Sword of X, Y, and Z - perfectly fine. Wand of Magic Missile CL 5 - denied).
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As an aside...
I've long held the opinion that the problem with the paladin's 1st-level wand of lesser restoration is that the pricing guildlines in the Core Rulebook are off.
The price for a wand is "level of the spell × the creator's caster level × 750 gp." I think it should have been "level of the spell × the creator's class level × 750 gp". So a paladin makes a wand of lesser restoration? It costs (1 x 4 x 750 gp) = 3000 gp. That's still a little cheaper than the 4500 gp cleric version, but its in the same ball park.
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You don't think that 'easy' access to a CL9 Wand of Magic Missiles might have an unbalancing impact on a more closed and managed ecosystem?Not any more than other magic items with similar prices, Mark. For example, a +1 human bane bow. (We could toss minor distinctions back and forth, but I think it's reasonable that thos two items are priced similarly.)
To be fair, I'm not 100% convinced myself that this position is right or wrong. I'm curious. I am, however 100% convinced that it is the position of this campaign at present.
It does seem somewhat illogical, and thus I'm open to hearing opinions.
Specifically in your example though Chris, are you telling me the use case for a CL9 WoMM and a +1 human bane bow are the same? I have a feeling that one is going to get a lot more mileage than the other.
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Specifically in your example though Chris, are you telling me the use case for a CL9 WoMM and a +1 human bane bow are the same? I have a feeling that one is going to get a lot more mileage than the other.
I suppose so, but which one? Depends on how many archers you have at your table, versus how many wizards. But an unlimited number of arrows that hit humans at +3 and do an additional 2d6 damage, modifiable by an enormous number of feats and class abilities, versus 50 volleys of 5d4+5, seems like a fair trade-off.
(If the archer had manyshot and rapid shot, those extra 2d6 add up fast.)
I picked human bane because humans are so prevalent in PFS scenarios. But if you like, switch that to frost.
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And you'll see it was listed under 'old system' rather than the current one.
There is no old system or new system. The Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play is a living document. Changes will be made as per need.
Just to make sure that we are all on the same page. This rule wasn't made to punish spell casters. Let's not just make up facts like this.
This was an effort to keep the in game economy in control. All of this has been brought up before. Feel free to search for that information on the boards.
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You don't think that 'easy' access to a CL9 Wand of Magic Missiles might have an unbalancing impact on a more closed and managed ecosystem?
Not in the slightest. Let's take a look at about when you'll see someone have access to it. Assuming the average Fame gained per level is 4.5 (I believe this is the accepted amount), You would get enough by 5th level (your Fame would be 22.5 and your spending cap would be 8000 gp). Even after purchasing it, which is a good chunk of change for a character at this level, still has to make caster level checks each time they fire off the wand. Granted, at level 5 you only need to roll a 4 or higher, but that's a 15% chance of failure (and that chance goes up if you are awesome and get Fame faster). Also, you'd be doing on average 17 (17.5 if you want to be exact) points of damage per use. That is not much compared to your other fighter types or spells that you would have access to at that point. And this is just looking at what it takes for an arcane caster who has access to the wand and not looking at classes with UMD. Hardly unbalancing in my opinion, ymmv.
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I think my biggest problem I have with minimum CL consumable item purchasing is that staves are available. If my 10th level sorcerer has a Staff of Fire, I can toss out CL 10 fireballs pretty freely (5 per scenario, every scenario), but my wand would always be limited to CL 5.
At higher levels, low CL consumables are often wastes of actions given CRs. I honestly don't see the simplification that's being discussed. I waste more time each scenario making sure that any consumables follow a rule that many have previously considered non-obvious. Compared to the simple forumla for higher CL items, I don't feel this rule has gained me any time in things I've run - ever.
What it has done is created frustration for players in my game who had no access to force damage beyond a wand of magic missile, and I had to tell them their CL 9 wand that they had the fame for and paid for wasn't legit. It's counter-intuitive versus a reading of the core, and honestly, I feel it helps no one and balances nothing.
I cannot fathom a circumstance where someone who could afford a high-CL consumable would break an encounter with such an item. Quite the opposite, such rules are needed for the items to keep pace with the enemies found at higher tier games.
Minimum level consumables serve no balancing functions, and simply serve to make such items far, far less useful in high level play. It also tends to devalue investments in UMD. Balance, though, no. It doesn't do that.
To me, the more probable reason for prohibiting magic items that serve casters is simple bias against casting classes. One of the key features to wizards and other casting classes has also been the ability to have cool magical items to make up for the very limited amount of actual casting that can be done in one day. The decision was apparently made at some point that casters were having too much fun, and that this must be limited in some way.Easiest way to limit casters is to simply remove some of their class features. Take away Item Creation Feats. Take away the ability to purchase useful items that are class-dependent. (+1 Sword of X, Y, and Z - perfectly fine. Wand of Magic Missile CL 5 - denied).
You really think that wizards (for instance) ever run out of spells after say, 3rd level? Do they even come close? That certainly hasn't been my experience.
Rubia
Any spellcaster who doesn't work the 15-minute workday - yes.
Every spellcaster I've ever played (and spellcasting is my usual go-to class) has relied heavily on wands, scrolls and potions.
As James mentioned. It defies logic that a +1 Human Bane bow, granting an archer an insane amount of damage over his career against the majority of foes he will face in PFS is readily available, but a 50-charge item is not.
Hmm. At 4 combats per module. 4 rounds per combat, a 50 charge wand will last just over 3 modules. This is hardly an entire career.
Assuming the caster were to buy it late 6th level. That leaves him 5 levels to use the wand. On slow track that is 30 modules. Are you arguing that the weapon is overpowered (and thus likely to be highly used) while at the same time arguing that it will last 30 modules ,meaning that he only uses it 1.7 times per module?
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[still has to make caster level checks each time they fire off the wand. Granted, at level 5 you only need to roll a 4 or higher, but that's a 15% chance of failure (and that chance goes up if you are awesome and get Fame faster).
Wands require no Caster Level checks. If it's on your list, it works. If it's not, UMD DC 20 and it works. You're thinking scrolls
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[still has to make caster level checks each time they fire off the wand. Granted, at level 5 you only need to roll a 4 or higher, but that's a 15% chance of failure (and that chance goes up if you are awesome and get Fame faster).Wands require no Caster Level checks. If it's on your list, it works. If it's not, UMD DC 20 and it works. You're thinking scrolls
Good point. I also agree with everything you posted up and highlights the issue very well. I can hardly think of any balance issues allowing higher CL consumables could bring forth.
In all honesty, the cap should be you can't have any wand / scroll / potion that is higher than a 6th level spell (if your consumable can go that high) and the CL cap is 12 on any consumable item created.
I cannot fathom a circumstance where someone who could afford a high-CL consumable would break an encounter with such an item.
Well, I can think of some APL 1 combats that would be trivialized by a CL 9 scroll of Magic Missile, for instance. But those same combats would likely also be trivialized by a CL 5 scroll of Fireball, which is perfectly legal and easily available at APL 1.
I would be more sympathetic to a house rule along the lines of "no consumables with CL higher than your character level".