Ashamed by my performance in round one, I assigned myself the task of designing an item for each category. In case anyone has run out of items to critique elsewhere before it’s all maps - feel free to bash on these a bit!
**
Staff of the Hostile Haven
Aura strong conjuration and necromancy; CL 11th
Slot none; Price 26,500 gp; Weight 5 lbs.
Description
This staff is topped with a jagged, opaque stone that reshapes to match the wielder’s familiar. While touching the stone, the wielder’s familiar can enter the extradimensional space within as a move action. The haven contains one hour of air once entered, and no spells, abilities or effects can cross in or out of the haven except those already affecting the familiar or listed below. Only the familiar and up to 5 lbs. of carried or worn items may pass into the haven. Familiars in the haven can see, but not hear or smell, as if perched atop the staff. If capable of speech, familiars can telepathically communicate from the haven with anyone holding the staff. The haven is considered within arm’s reach of the staff’s wielder, who may recall a familiar from the haven with a command word. If the staff gains the broken condition, a familiar in the haven is expelled in a random adjacent square and takes 2d6 force damage, no save.
While a familiar is in the haven, a ghostly image of the familiar can deliver ranged touch attacks for spells cast from the staff, as if the wielder had previously cast spectral hand. This effect costs two additional charges, and the 1d4 hit points are deducted from the familiar.
This staff allows the use of the following spells:
Ghoul touch (1 charge)
Pilfering hand (1 charge)
Shocking grasp (1 charge)
Touch of idiocy (1 charge)
Construction
Requirements Craft Staff, ghoul touch, pilfering hand, rope trick, shocking grasp, spectral hand, stone shape, touch of idiocy, creator must have the familiar class feature; Cost 13,250 gp
**
Ring of Furious Resolve
Aura moderate abjuration; CL 7th
Slot ring; Price 10,000 gp; Weight -
Description
For each successful melee attack by the wielder, this ring grants a temporary +1 sacred bonus to the wearer’s will saves against fear, charm and compulsion effects, up to a total possible +4. This bonus always resets to +0 after one round, counting from when the first +1 bonus was granted.
Construction
Requirements Forge Ring, word of resolve; Cost 5,000 gp
**
Vanishing Crossbow
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 7,380 gp; Weight 8 lbs.
Description
This +1 heavy crossbow fires normally when loaded, but when cocked, aimed and fired without any ammunition, it disappears. During the next 24 hours, whoever fired the vanished crossbow may launch one bolt from her hand as if from the crossbow, without having the crossbow in hand. This requires a standard action and provokes an attack of opportunity. Only one attack is granted until the crossbow is dry-fired again. A command word recalls the crossbow to hand. After 24 hours in its ethereal hiding place, the crossbow returns unbidden, performing a disarm combat maneuver (CMB 15) if necessary to replace anything held by the hands that fired it.
Construction
Requirements Craft Arms and Armor, secret chest; Cost 3,850 gp
**
Rod of Stagecraft
Aura strong illusion; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 16,200 gp; Weight 5 lbs.
Description
This hollow brass rod with lenses on each end has five small buttons and functions as a mundane telescope. Prized by theatre producers and despised by stage illusionists’ guilds, rods of stagecraft can store and replicate powerful images. Pressing the small circular button captures the likeness of one object or creature of huge size or less currently in view, replacing whatever likeness was held by the rod previously. Pressing the small triangular button creates a matching persistent image. Whoever holds the rod may direct or program the image. Pressing the large circular button captures the likeness of the rod’s surroundings, while pressing the larger triangular button creates a matching mirage arcana centered on the rod. The square button turns the rod invisible. The rod is continually protected with a mask dweomer effect, which if dispelled, reasserts itself after 10 minutes.
Construction
Requirements Craft Rod, invisibility, persistent image, mask dweomer, mirage arcana; Cost 8,100 gp
**
Scales of Equality
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
Slot armor; Price 25,200 gp; Weight 35 lbs.
Description
Wearers of this +2 scale mail always apply the size bonus or penalty to CMD of the opponent attempting a combat maneuver against them. In addition, once the wearer has defended against a combat maneuver, successfully or not, the same bonus or penalty applies to the next combat maneuver against that opponent.
Construction
Requirements Craft Arms and Armor, enlarge person, reduce person; Cost 12,700 gp
Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9
|
There's no reason for you to be ashamed, Clockstomper.
I like that Ring of Furious Resolve! But I would probably have the bonus max at five and reset at the end of battle.
The Scales of Equality is very confusing. You have 300 words to work with. So taking the extra time to explain more in-depth is something that should be entertained.
Rod of Stagecraft is a little too SAK-ky. I don't think this would appeal to many people, and I'm not sure how I could go about changing it.
That Vanishing Crossbow is FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!! 2 things, though: I would drop the "This requires a standard action that provokes" sentence. This sentence is completely unnecessary as it reiterates rules on ranged combat from the core rulebook. I would limit this to a number of uses per day. And I would change the last sentence by just having the crossbow, after 24-hours vanished, reappear at the feet of the person that made it disappear. It's less complicated that way.
Good stuffs, though!!!
Again, don't be down on yourself. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again! ^.^!!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Can you make a magic item called "Clockstomper's Penance"? That's kind of what I was expecting. It's a cool name.
Edit: Also, look forward to the Blazing 9 topic, which I understand will come later.
|
Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
I can certainly appreciate wanting to make amends with oneself over the results. Let's have a look at these now...
Staff of the Hostile Haven-
I like the concept, and it seems to suit short-term familiar management without giving an option for shunting the poor little fellow altogether, as is often the case for familiars. It really forces you to acknowledge your familiar while still protecting it. The ranged attack option is a bit powerful, but having it use up charges is a good compromise. I wonder how that would play out; it could merit some tweaking.
The spell list seems curious, and I'd like to know of your intentions on the selections.
Ring of Furious Resolve-
I am in favor of lower priced magical rings. It seems to grant a potent benefit, though I wonder if it ought not just apply to all will saves. The implementation of the bonuses might be tricky, and complicate combat rolls, so I wonder if the method could be altered slightly. Perhaps having the bonuses accrue per round of attack actions, and be removed if a round passes with an attack being made?
Allow me to ponder further the remaining entries.
Hello All:
Thanks for the notes. I agree scales is a little short on the explanation.
And I debated the standard action bit a lot for the crossbow... I feel that saying "as if from the crossbow" is pretty clear, but I wanted to make sure that the attraction of the item wouldn't be "action abuse". Maybe I should look again at the language for "as if from the crossbow" to make sure it looks less like fluff and more like a mechanical rule?
For the spell list on the staff, I went with a set of different touch attacks with various outcomes: one elemental attack, one "status" attack, one ability damage attack. Pilfering hand I liked because it felt thematic, and I wanted the staff to have one spell that the "spectral familiar" wouldn't be needed for.
Oh, and for the record, my familiar almost died in tonight's game. She got slowed, two negative levels, and even with Improved Evasion, she took a beating.
I went back and forth on which will saves the ring should help on. I ended up guessing it would be too powerful if it was all will saves, but I'm always willing to concede "it's simpler without that condition".
|
Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
Vanishing Crossbow- A neat idea, but I feel that it could be integrated into a bracer, gauntlet or tattoo? Also, would such an attack have an increased chance to bluff or catch the target by surprise?
Rod of Stagecraft- I love the concept to this, but I wonder if the pricing is too low, considering the high level spell that is integrated into its use. Still though, illusion magic and items that exploit it have always caught my fancy.
Scales of Equality- The idea is sound, but I wonder if the bonus could be simplified somewhat. Perhaps giving a flat bonus equal to the opponents size?
Back to the Staff, I would consider instead a bevy of spells that aid familiars to keep it within the thematic. Perhaps even from the Animal Guide. A wizard (or what have you) with a familiar that makes use of their ability to deliver touch spells is likely to already have a milieu of appropriate spells.
I liked the idea that the crossbow is still usable as a crossbow because this makes it a multi-class weapon, i.e., it's great for a wizard who can't really use a heavy crossbow turn by turn, just in case she needs one physical shot - but also great for a fighter who wants to get off one shot before they can close, but in a ranged skirmish could recall the crossbow and use it as a normal; but great point on the surprise. I thought about including something like the gunslinger's pistol whip language, that allows you to get in a surprise attack, etc., but I felt the entry was already too long. Worth reconsidering!
On the staff - I was specifically trying to help the wizard avoid putting the familiar in danger while giving them an opportunity to use something like that effect (with an appropriate cost. I thought 2 charges was worth getting a limited quickened spectral hand, but maybe it's not enough?)
|
Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
Fair enough on both counts. I do favor the crossbow as being a relatively low priced item that could be incorporated into a strategic panoply.
Regarding the staff, your reasoning is sound. How would it work to cast a spell using the staff with the staff's power to make ranged touch attacks? Just expend the necessary charges? I should probably read up on staves.
I was going with just expend the charges; in one version of the write-up, I made it change the casting from the staff to a full-round action.
I also noticed the new "Mirror" spells in the ACG recently, and wondered about rewriting the staff to use that instead of "Rope Trick" as the base. It could work thematically with the idea that the "Spectral Hand" version of the familiar is a "Reflection". Thinking it through.