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Higher-level players, have you ever looked at your latest Chronicle Sheet and been like this:
"Man, that's a lot of gold. What could I possibly buy with that?"
"I don't want to sink a 5-digit figure into another weapon enhancement just yet...Not really looking to buff my armor yet either..."
"Good on potions...wands...Cloak...Ring...Amulet..."
"Nope...I don't need anything."
It was when this happened to me that I began to pour over Ultimate Equipment and the Wondrous Item chapters of other books. What I found was a venerable treasure-trove of toys just waiting to come off the bench and onto the battlefield.
For me, it was Elemental Gems. Now I'm going into Troll Bones and Origami Swarms. I even decided to buy an Aegis of Recovery and a Gravedigger's Spade, just to try them out.
Have you ever glanced through any of the Pathfinder manuals, found an interesting item, and said, "Why not? I'll give this a spin!"? If so, how did it work out?
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My first big purchase in PFS was a Ring of Invisibility for my Rogue. He bought it at level 8, just before playing in that season's special. I had debated dropping 20k on it for the longest time, especially since I didn't have a lot of the "normal" items yet.
But that special was the perfect testing ground. At one point we had to sneak into a guarded camp and steal a chest of gold. Everyone turned to me, since they all knew what I had just purchased.
How many times is an encounter actually designed for a solo Rogue to handle?
So, I stealthed in, under cover of Invisibility. Walked right past the guards and into the wagon. My Trap Spotter triggered, and I disarmed the Alarm spell. I picked the lock to make sure it wasn't a fake target (it wasn't). I picked it up (luckily I hadn't dumped my Strength!), reactivated my ring, and returned to the party. The entire encounter took minutes, and by the time we were done every other table in the room had begun Initiative.
As icing on the cake, our GM told us afterwards that each encounter kept track of so many "points" depending on our decisions, and that not killing the guards ranked high for that encounter.
As we all walked away together to grab an early lunch all eyes were on us, and we kept overhearing "Wait, how did they finish so soon?"
It was epic.
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I'm either 'REALLY flush' (ie.. my casters) or 'Got enough for emergencies' (ie.. bribes, paying for spells like restoration, or such) on my 9th+ characters.
My slow progression PCs (fighter, wizard, cleric) all have upwares of 10k for 'rainy days'. Now now of them have, as yet, gone past 12th so I can't say.
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I can't say I've ever had too much gold on any character. There's always something I still want to buy.
For most of my PCs, I intentionally save up my prestige until I have the 21 for body extraction and raise dead, other than spending the first two on a cure wand.
But I decided that I'd intentionally play one particular character more recklessly, and I've been spending his prestige after every adventure. At level 4, I'm having a hard time coming up with more stuff for him to spend it on. I've used it on wands of Cure Light, Infernal Healing, Protection from Evil, oil of Daylight, potion of Fly, scrolls of various situational spells that could be useful (Comprehend Languages, Air Bubble, etc). I finally decided to save up the 5 prestige for body retrieval, since that can't be paid for in cash, and he's up to the level where he could probably afford a Raise Dead if it came up (possibly relying on other party members to chip in a little).
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For casters, a wand of Channel the gift is the new staff, letting you burn charges instead of your spell slots for levels 3 on down. (~11 k but sooo worth it for those long slogs)
My casters tend to be boom and bust: save up enough cash for something takes a while.
My martials are a lot more incremental. Whereas my casters can just memorize a daylight, the martials need an oil of it. Where martials pick up one big expensive item after another (metamagic rods_, martials are all about the upgrades of existing items. (stat belt,
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For casters, a wand of Channel the gift is the new staff, letting you burn charges instead of your spell slots for levels 3 on down. (~11 k but sooo worth it for those long slogs)Note that it's probably not worth it for spontaneous casters to pick up, as they cannot self target.
ahh Good catch.
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My archer ranger undead hunter has a holy bow. The real advantage is that I can still do good damage against evil targets even without deadly aim. I can turn off deadly aim against evil targets with very high AC if necessary.
My big vice is that I pour money into resistance cloaks on every PC. And all my martials have adamantine weapons. A bit cookie-cutterish but I'm also playing the odds. Maybe that's why my martial PCs' DPRs always lack behind.
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I generally make a list of things each character will want and particularly what they will want next. I also try and balance the cost of a raise dead versus the new item. I remake the list whenever I do buy something, and especially if a chronicle offers something juicy. But mostly that is just so I have an opportunity to page through the books of magic items.
What is on the list is different for each character. My jeweler has several rings on the list, balanced with general armor as he is a second line melee. His PP has been spent on jewelry shops. My Red Mantis Assassin assassin's list includes things that mimic the actual class (hypnotize, sabers, a bug-eyed mask, etc.) My fire-wizard actually has a short list (one item?) probably because I want an expensive staff eventually. Right now even a poor day-job gives her a new 1st level spell for her book every session, and the occasional 2nd level spell. But she has no major purchases. My healer is similar, though I did have to get a HH early, just because the favored weapon took almost all of the encumbrance. In this case though I will be able to get a specific juicy shield (from a chronicle :) in one more scenario, (because I cannae see any of my other characters wanting it. :)
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My geisha themed ninja bought an Origami Swarm somewhere around 3rd level. She carried it until 7th, waiting for the right time to use it. I really wanted to find an excuse to unleash it at the Blakross Wedding, but I refrained. When she finally was able to use it, it was pretty great (to me, anyway).
My Osirian sorcerer (this character) has a flying carpet. He spends much of his time on it, floating around at mission briefings (and now as a Venture Captain he'll float in to give mission briefings). Despite being in his mid-20s, he appears as a much older, almost elderly man. His bones actually make audible cracks and pops when he does move. It's the result of him accidentally Boneshattering himself (blasted Spell Turning! Failed the save against his own spell and took himself down to -6. He swapped out that spell the first chance he got and no longer can even cast it). I've also been known to play Magic Carpet Ride on my phone when he makes his entrance.
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Save for a holy weapon? Normally i'd say save for a +3 but as a paladin DR on the really nasty things doesn't matter that much to you.I was considering this, but I can get 2 combats worth of Holy from Divine Bond right now. I'm not sure it's worth it.
And when I said +2 weapon, it's actually a +1 keen nodachi.
The problem with divine bond is that its a standard action, and you're entering the rocket tag stages of the game where thats half the combat.
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I never seem to have enough gold, there's always something to buy between magic armor/weapon, amulets, rings, cloaks, boots, stat boosters, special items, consumables... etc. My wizard spent tons on scrolls and spells, though he did save up for a lesser rod of persistent spells (9000gp), which was the biggest purchase I've ever made behind boots of haste.
Now I have some lvl ones that need to save up for items I want. I'm wondering how early I can a quicken rod for my oracle.
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I always have the problem that my characters have too much money, because i feel like buying something that gives me new things to do is more fun than getting a +1 in something. But there are too many choices, so I cannot decide and thus, piles of money.
But I have managed to buy some things for my higher-leveled characters.
My paladin bought a Helm of Read Magic and Comprehend Languages. At least she can no follow all conversations, even if she cannot say anything in contribution. She also has a Merciful Holy Battleaxe, mostly because of an unfortunate accident early in her career when she killed someone she was supposed to save (they were kinda possesed or like that).
My healer cleric of Sarenrae went with a Staff of Radiance. It's thematic, and, well, there is no such thing as too many Daylights, now is there?
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I just retired my -1 after five and a half years on Saturday, and applied the accumulated credit from running Eyes of the Ten a while back. I then had 79000 gold to spend and was *mightily* tempted by my spouse's suggestion to throw it all into a Rod of MM Quicken (1st-6th, 75000gp). I held myself to just a 1st-3rd, along with the Monk's robe and the Goz Mask I've been eyeing forever. But it was sooooo tempting.