I'm trying to come up w/ a correct DC for Identifying and Saving vs. the Waters of Lamashtu found in the Catecombs B12. As I've always been terrible at the art of item creation, so I wanted to get some input to see if I've got this wrong...
The main questions that seemed to impact the calcs were:
1) Is the basin just Waters of Lamashtu (a divine spell) cast w/ Permanency (an arcane spell)?
2) Is the basin actually a magic item, like a Decanter of Endless Water?
3) If it's an item, is it considered Cursed?
First the save against the effects -
The spell is 3rd level, so in building the DC should I assume that the caster had at least a 13 Wis required to cast the spell? That would make the DC 14(10+3+1). But if the the basin is considered a magic item per above, would the creation be more difficult than a low level cleric could handle? If so, then should I assume the Wis bonus of the creator was higher, and thus the save higher would also be higher?
Now for Identifying it -
The spell as mentioned is 3rd level, so if the alter is actually #1 above (active spell), the DC to ID it would be 18 (15+3).
Should the check be vs. a magic item (per #2 above), then there is the question as to what the CL of the basin is. Assuming minimum to cast the spell (like a wand or scroll) would give DC 20 (15+5).
However, using a Decanter of Endless Water as a proxy (lvl 4 spell pre-req intead of lvl 3 spell here), the CL for the decanter is 9th, so that would increase the DC to 24 (15+9). Perhaps since the base spell is one level less for the Water of Lamashtu, that would reduce the DC by 2 (15+7).
Lastly, and this has the largest bearing on the check... is Waters of Lamashtu considered cursed? If so, then per the cursed item rules that would increase the DC by 10, and otherwise it would look to have a positive effect. If cursed, now we're looking at DC 32 to ID the water as not so tasty.
The description of the water in RotR was not so appealing, but the description in Inner Sea World Guide was more tricksy (looks like clean, pure water). I think I'm leaning toward the latter here, so there is a good chance the PCs might try some. Worst case, I'm thinking that if Erylium retreats to heal, she'll probably come back w/ some vials of the stuff to pour on unsuspecting PCs. Either way, it's likely I'll need the DCs for this, so I figured I'd ask rather than fudge on the fly...
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Rule of thumb, I'd base it as an unusual effect of the Catacombs. The basin magically creates waters of Lamashtu on a continual basis, but only creates more when enough water has been removed to necessitate a new dose. The basin's not a magical item, nor is it cursed - it's simply a mystical wonder of the world, much like fountains whose water can cure anyone who drinks it, but only once for that person's lifetime. It's a blasphemous miracle, and probably can't be replicated anywhere else. A permanency spell isn't necessary, since this is a place where the Mother of Monsters has touched reality and changed it to suit her needs. Mechanically, the DC would be 14, but that does sound low. I'd make it an even 15, just because it is and unusual place.
I am going to side with Misroi, either make it a miracle or an integrated magic item that draws it's power from the cathedral itself.