Hi all,
I'm trying to update an old Planescape adventure to 3.5/pathfinder. Mostly this just means updating or rewriting NPC stat blocks to the new rules but one NPC - a 5th level fighter - has a ring of clear thought, which so far as I know never made it into 3.5. There is a pathfinder version by Iron Hills games, but its effects don't reflect the AD&D rules.
The AD&D version:
Similar in some ways to a ring of free action, this item diminishes the chance for others to gain mental control over the wearer or to confuse his or her perceptions or thought processes. The wearer becomes immune to confusion, emotion, chaos, feeblemind, and any form of insanity- or rage-producing magical or psionic effect (e.g., scarab of enraging enemies, id insinuation) or magical or psionic powers that internally distort the wearer's perceptions (e.g., psionic invisibility, false sensory input, inflict pain), including any illusions broadcast directly into the wearer's mind, such as blindness or phantasmal killer, though it grants no immunity to external illusions (e.g., phantasmal force, audible glamer, magical invisibility). The wearer gains a +2 bonus to saving throws vs. all other forms of magical or psionic mental attack.
Finally, for as long as the ring of clear thought is worn, the wearer gains a +1 bonus to his or her Intelligence score (maximum 18).
My Attempt to mimic this produced:
This ring renders its wearer immune to fear effects and effects that cause the confused condition. However it also denies the wearer any morale bonuses granted by spells such as bless, good hope, and rage, as well as negating a bard’s ability to inspire courage or a barbarian’s ability to rage. In addition the ring grants the wearer a +2 bonus on Will saves.
Feint Enchantment; CL 3rd; Forge Ring; Calm emotions; Price: 50,000gp
That's still a bit too good for a ring for a 5th level NPC - So Im trying to create a version that's better suited to an NPC of that level. From the adventure context, he needs to be difficult to charm or terrorize into giving information - so I reckoned a bonus on Will saves against fear, confusion and charm and compulsion effects is appropriate, but I'm not sure how to price it - the rules being for blanket resistance bonuses on all saves.
SO how do I price a ring that grants say a +5 resistance bonus to Will saves vs fear, charm, compulsion and confusion effects?
Thanks!
*Bump* Am I on the wrong part of the boards?
You're in the right area.
Is the npc someone the party is expected to kill? If not, that the item seems too powerful for a 5th level character is largely irrelevant.
Also, are you adding the bit about denying bonuses because calm emotion is used to create it? The properties of an item are not required to mimic the effects of a spell so exactly.
One minor point, the aura would be faint, not feint.
The original item appears far too powerful.
You version is much more reasonable, and even includes a drawback.
Personally, I would try to include the protection "against any spells or effects that possess or exercise mental control" as the protection against evil spell, as that seems to be the primary intent of the original item.
This might be better on the homebrew board.
I disagree, the original has little protection against control (only the +2 applies), it seems aimed against altering the state of the wearer's mind. Price for a save bonus against one save is bonus-squared time 500. I think you could drop that to 300-400 (7500-10000) for this.
You could price it as simply a permanent calm emotions. Either way, I'd remove charm from the +5 bonus, and add phantasm. You can use the descriptor "Emotion-based effects" as well.
Thanks, everyone!
@Scythia - the NPC is expected to be chased and interrogated. The ring is quite likely to end up in the party's hands. I added the disadvantages to try to mitigate the excessive power of the item - unlike the spell it doesnt actually prevent you fighting while wearing it - just makes the wearer rather stoic and detatched.
@Wheldrake - i think its still too powerful as it is - and i'm not sure how much of a reduction in cost the disadvantages might be worth. The trouble with a permanent protection from evil is that it renders the wearer immune to ALL enchantment spells, (there being practically none which do not have either the charm or compulsion descriptor) which is far too good for the mere 4000gp that creating an iitem of it is supposed to cost. Granted 4000gp is about the right cost for a 5th level npcs kit, but its far far too powerful.
@Majuba - iirc I calculated the save bonus as +2 to all saves, divided by 3 then muliplied by 1.5 to account for the additional effect - continuous calm emotions (48000gp) Plus +2 will save bonus (2000gp).
300gp x bonus squared per descriptor? Or for the all the descriptors listed?
Good catch on the charm thing - I thought that the rings main use of the item in the adventure, is to prevent the party simply charming information straight out of the npc - but it doesnt actually prevent that.