Oil of keen edge?

[cibet44]

How do you make it?

PRD:
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.

Magic oils are similar to potions, except that oils are applied externally rather than imbibed. A potion or oil can be used only once. It can duplicate the effect of a spell of up to 3rd level that has a casting time of less than 1 minute and targets one or more creatures.

[Mike Kimmel]

Further down in the same section of the rules is another possibly relevant sentence:

Quote:

The person applying an oil is the effective caster, but the object is the target.

Emphasis mine.

[Happler]

Mike Kimmel wrote:

Further down in the same section of the rules is another possibly relevant sentence:

Quote:

The person applying an oil is the effective caster, but the object is the target.

Emphasis mine.

This is true, but per the brew potion rules, spells that target objects are not valid spells to be made into potions, only spells that target 1 or more creatures.

I had created a thread to get this FAQ'ed, but nothing has come from it yet:

Thread linkie

[Mike Kimmel]

Happler wrote:

Mike Kimmel wrote:

Further down in the same section of the rules is another possibly relevant sentence:

Quote:

The person applying an oil is the effective caster, but the object is the target.

Emphasis mine.

This is true, but per the brew potion rules, spells that target objects are not valid spells to be made into potions, only spells that target 1 or more creatures.

I had created a thread to get this FAQ'ed, but nothing has come from it yet:

Thread linkie

I understand that, by RAW, it seems you can only make potions that target creatures.

However it is clear that, RAI, you can make oils that target objects using Brew Potion.

FAQ it if you wish, and in the meantime, go by the intended rules! :)

[Darth_Slanderous]

funny thing is, there's at least one NPC in the Gamemastery Guide that has oil of magic weapon in its stat block. wonder where that came from.

[cibet44]

Darth_Slanderous wrote:

funny thing is, there's at least one NPC in the Gamemastery Guide that has oil of magic weapon in its stat block. wonder where that came from.

That is weird.

It seems odd that this is not explicitly stated somewhere so I thought maybe I just couldn't find it. Guess not.

I think the best solution would be to consider oils "Wondrous Items" (like Elixirs) and not related to potions at all. This keeps the potion rules clean and succinct (just remove any reference to oils) and allows some flexibility in the kind of oils you can create.

[Jiggy]

Yeah, I've personally chalked it up to a typographical error; if you add "or objects" to the targeting restriction, then suddenly everything's all peachy-keen.

[Cheapy]

I took 10 on my Perception check, and saw what you did there Jiggy.

[Jiggy]

cibet44 wrote:

I think the best solution would be to consider oils "Wondrous Items" (like Elixirs) and not related to potions at all. This keeps the potion rules clean and succinct (just remove any reference to oils) and allows some flexibility in the kind of oils you can create.

Except then you have to come up with pricing and whatnot. No offense, but my way's simpler and cleaner. ;)

[cibet44]

Jiggy wrote:

cibet44 wrote:

I think the best solution would be to consider oils "Wondrous Items" (like Elixirs) and not related to potions at all. This keeps the potion rules clean and succinct (just remove any reference to oils) and allows some flexibility in the kind of oils you can create.

Except then you have to come up with pricing and whatnot. No offense, but my way's simpler and cleaner. ;)

Maybe, but it seems convoluted to me to have "Potions" include "Oils" but not "Elixirs". It would seem simpler to me to have "Potions" be only 3rd level or lower spells that effect creatures and must be imbibed by the target. Everything else can be a wondrous item and the semantics of whether you imbibe it (elixir) or apply it to a weapon (oil) to skin (cream) or sprinkle it (dust) become basically flavor text.

[Mike Kimmel]

The GameMastery Guide section with random magic item tables includes potions and oils on the same table. It includes such items as "oil of bless weapon." It's pretty clear to me that oils, which can affect objects, can be created by Brew Potion.

Elixirs do not exactly mimic the effects of spells. Potions and oils do. That's why elixirs are wondrous items and potions and oils are.... potions and oils.

[Ultradan]

... et un peu de vitriol.

:D

Ultradan