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Last night I did a mini audit on a L3 character with an obscene amount of magic items.
Turned out that he'd spent something like 12 prestige using his Expedition Manager boon. Quoted below.
When I read the boon this was "clearly" an error. "A single item" seemed to me to unambiguously mean "A single item".
I found an old thread that seems to imply that this was INTENDED to be a 1 use boon by what appears to be the author. But Mike was quoted as saying it can be used multiple times.
I'd like to urge Mike to reconsider that opinion. This significantly breaks the WBL curve at lower levels. The character in question had more than double the magic a character at that level would be expected to have.
Old thread:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p65j?Expedition-Manager-clarification#1
Boon:
#4 - Expedition Manager: In addition to your more dangerous duties as a Pathfinder, you also have undertaken an archaeological expedition at a minor site. Your venture-captain expects you to fund the expedition yourself, but so long as you report on your findings, you may keep any physical goods uncovered for yourself. When rolling you day job check at the end of a scenario, you may spend between 2 and 6 prestige points to pay for supplies, expenses, and personnel. The next time you roll a day job check, the expedition returns with research and relics dependant upon how many prestige points you spent.
You can acquire any single item of the listed price or less at no cost. An item acquired in this way is worth 0 gp and cannot be sold. In addition, your archaelogical findings may contain clues about historical events, arcane enigmas, or other mysteries. As a free action, you gain a bonus on a knowledge (arcana, history, planes, or religion) check equal to the number of prestige points that you spent. When you use the skill bonus, cross this boon off of your chronicle sheet.
2PP: the item acquired costs 1000gp or less
4pp: the item acquired costs 2000gp or less
6pp: the item acquired costs 3500gp or less
It was originally a Gen Con boon, but I got it at a local con Special.
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I'd like clarification on this as well. I have it on a character, and I assumed it was a one time boon, but after seeing the other threads a while back I don't want to cost myself uses if that's not the case. I also don't want to use it multiple times if it's just going to be reversed. The conflicting statements from John and Mike have left it up in the air, although John did say his was RAI not RAW, and Mike's answer was pretty direct. Mike's answer was in an email, though, and not a messageboard post. In my case, I'm trying to salvage a character who had to Raise right when he hit 3rd level (with some help from the party and selling off some of his bigger items), so he's been behind the WBL curve and the prestige curve for almost half his career (just hit 5th his last game). In theory, I've sent the expedition out for the second 2,000gp item. I don't play that character often, though, so they haven't come back yet with it. It would be great to get some definitive clarification one way or the other.
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Keep in mind there's a new boon that allows a PC with 4 or more prestige and 20 fame to spend all their remaining prestige on a raise dead and then make up the rest with each subsequent prestige point they earn. That lessens the blow of a high prestige expenditure quite a bit.
I'm not convinced that this is broken, however. I could acquire some nice weapons and armour, or a +5 stat item. I don't think I can actually break the game with those though.
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If he wants to spend all of his prestige this way and have none left for a raise dead, then so be it. But when he dies and has to sell half of his items (not counting the ones he acquired this way since they are worth 0gp) to get a raise he may reconsider.
Also, remember that it takes 2 sessions to get an item and he has to have a Day Job in order to do it: The first session he sends the "expedition" out and spends the prestige, the next session they come back with said item.
I don't find this particularly powerful as there are only so many items that are under 3500gp that are even useful. Most of the better items start at 4000gp such as your belts and headbands.
I have one of these on one of my characters and only used it once for lenses of detection (3500 gp). Though this is also a higher level character that had already bought most of the lower cost items prior to getting this boon.
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The thing about spending the prestige for the items is that there's a significant trade off, especially at the lower levels. If you spend all your prestige on spiffy items, that's all well and good and now you've got a bunch of fancy magical items, but you're out of prestige. When you've spent all your money and prestige on gearing out your character, when you die and have no gold or prestige to come back with, then you're out of luck.
Yes, I understand most players would help chip in and bring a fellow party member back, but if someone's blasted everything they have instead of preparing for the inevitable, then I think it's important to let the group know before they start pouring out their funds to bring said character back. They decided to spend everything, perhaps that should be a lesson in learning about moderation.
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In my experience death is relatively rare up here so I think that it is a good gamble to spend prestige to make yourself more powerful. And as Adam stated above that gamble just became safer with another boon that was given out at a local Con last weekend.
But that risk of death doesn't really matter. It acts as a disincentive for some players. But others will decide they prefer the cool toys. And blow the WBL chart out.
I hadn't noticed (and suspect the player hadn't either) that it takes 2 sessions to spend the boon. But given that it takes at least 3 to acquire the prestige for the more expensive items that is no huge deal.
Note : I'm definitely NOT saying that this is game breaking. But doubling your WBL at low levels (admittedly with significant restrictions on hoq that is spent) is WAY more power than a single boon should give.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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But doubling your WBL at low levels (admittedly with significant restrictions on hoq that is spent) is WAY more power than a single boon should give.
Okay, so what about when someone spends 2PP a pop to get potions of haste, fly, heroism, etc? And maybe some scrolls of fireball (if he's a caster, all he needs is a DC 6 caster level check to activate it).
You're still only looking at this as breaking WBL because you're failing to look at Prestige as a resource. This boon doesn't give the PC extra stuff, it just broadens what they can acquire with a resource they already have.
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Keep in mind there's a new boon that allows a PC with 4 or more prestige and 20 fame to spend all their remaining prestige on a raise dead and then make up the rest with each subsequent prestige point they earn.I love that boon!
I do too. Lets me blow all my prestige points on cool stuff (vanities etc) at a much earlier level.
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The main purposes of the boon were to:
1) Provide a means for character recovery if they had just died recently and paid for it with PP.
2) Provide a means to pay for a raise dead with PP for a fellow party member who can't do so on their own.
3) Encourage the spending of PP on cool things like followers and personal islands!
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Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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When this PC dies and has to spend cash on a raise dead and a pair of restorations while his buddy spends 24PP, will you still think he's vastly ahead of the curve? Or are you counting his items without counting his peers' unspent Prestige?
Nope, I'll think he made out like a bandit.
He spends 24 PP, gets 14K of magic, and banks 8K gold earned from adventures. When he dies, he spends that 8K, and is still 6K ahead.
His friend spends 24 PP for Raise + 2 restores, and doesn't get anything else out of it.
Now, if he is fool enough to spend all his prestige *and* all his gold, then that is another problem.