Professional spellcaster

[KillerKonijn]

If you ask a spellcaster to cast a spell for you, how to you determine his caster level and is it possible to that he fails?

If i pay a spellcaster to cast Remove affliction (3th level spell):

• - This will cost me 1000 credits (core book p 235)
  
• - The caster level is level 3, since it's a level 3 spell (or are you free to give him any caster level you want? Does the price goes up because of this?
  
• - In order to succeed, he must succeed on his caster check to overcome DC (= 4 + affliction DC). Do you let him make this check? Or does he auto succeed, since the players paid for it (so we can ignore the caster level) or does hiring a caster comes with a risk of failure?

[Xeall]

Price is usually minimum caster level required. Depends on disposition, availability and alignment though. Lawful evil might charge extra for “skilled hands” while “chaotic good” might bring the price down for the right cause.
- caster level and spell level are different. A mystic has to be caster lvl 7 before they can cast lvl3 spells.
- lastly up to you. This is where paying for a top end caster might be benificial if you change the cost. If the group suits a game where fixing it is a 100% guarantee then do that, but in my games even professionals can mess up. Of course you could then question how their reputation might fare if this got public or perhaps demand a refund.

Failure should lead to more RP, not the end of it

[thistledown]

In a professional setting like starfinder, if they fail to remove my affliction I don't pay them. I'm paying for a service, not an attempt.

[Ravingdork]

thistledown wrote:

In a professional setting like starfinder, if they fail to remove my affliction I don't pay them. I'm paying for a service, not an attempt.

Do skimp out on paying your hardworking doctors as well?

[Xenocrat]

Yeah, the service you're paying for is an attempt. Maybe the realities of the particular market will induce some people to offer "we'll keep trying until you're satisfied!" guarantees, but no one owes you that. Contingency fees in the real world exist only in very special circumstances.

[Metaphysician]

This is just my own judgement, but I would be inclined to apply a discount to the most common and universally useful hired spells, mainly the healing spells. This is because the demand is sufficiently high that economies of scale kick in. You aren't hiring a consultant to do custom work, you are going to a clinic that does nothing but cast Remove Affliction ( possibly with notably technical aid to assist in providing that single spell effect constantly ). The "Professional Spellcaster" pricing is for the former, the custom work consultant, rather than the latter.

[thistledown]

Ravingdork wrote:

thistledown wrote:

In a professional setting like starfinder, if they fail to remove my affliction I don't pay them. I'm paying for a service, not an attempt.

Do skimp out on paying your hardworking doctors as well?

Only major thing I've had done was knee surgery. I paid the copay, they did the surgery. If they'd messed it up, that's where malpractice and lawsuits come in. And in Starfinder, Abadarcorp.

[thistledown]

Though I'll admit my experience is limited as I've only ever worked with an IDS medical system, which may be different from standard.

[Xeall]

In real life there is a small percentage chance of medical procedures not working. With magic that percentage goes way up, so I imagine the promises made are not the same in general. Malpractice when magic just doesn’t take is an unlikely circumstance to exist.

I’d make it an RP experience.

Helpful Sam’s spells and things: halfling who offers 10% discount on return customers, but no guarantees of success.

Professor Versal: half-elf professional who has a clinic that only works for the wealthy and elite. You’ll have to be introduced if you wish to seek his services. You may have to wait a day or two if your not willing to pay the fee to skip the queue, but he guarantees success.

[Metaphysician]

I imagine that malpractice laws, lawsuits, and insurance exist for spellcasters, just like for any other relevant profession. "The spell doesn't take" just wouldn't count as such ( which doesn't mean no one ever sues over it ).

Things that would count as actual malpractice:

1. Not using standard divination techniques to determine the nature of an ailment, leading to the use of treatments for a curse failing against a disease ( or vice versa )

2. Misuse of information acquired via divination without consent ( ex: a psychiatric telepath exploiting memories observed during therapy )

3. Reckless handling of sympathetic foci, or the intentional malicious use thereof

4. Advertising useful spell effects without disclosing major restrictions ( ie, claiming a full strength healing spell which will work on androids, and charging for such, despite it only working half strength on constructs )

5. Anything that threatens the destruction or enslavement of the customer's soul ( even if there were a legally justifiable and useful magic with such a risk, it would definitely be strict liability )

[GM Rednal]

I admit, I'm curious to what extent churches remain involved - especially those dedicated to powers of healing. I mean, at a certain point, you've got to develop some sort of reputation. Do they have low-level trainees learn ailment-identifying techniques? Or perhaps they just use technology to analyze it and use magic for healing?

There might be a law saying churches can't be held accountable if magic fails to work, doubly so when it's charity healing... Good Samaritan laws are a thing now, and probably in the future.

[ghostunderasheet]

Ravingdork wrote:

thistledown wrote:

In a professional setting like starfinder, if they fail to remove my affliction I don't pay them. I'm paying for a service, not an attempt.

Do skimp out on paying your hardworking doctors as well?

as the parties healer my party does all the time its a thankless job but someone has to do it. And yes if the doctor attemps to fix a malady and does not. Then the doctor should be liable for getting the job done or paying death benefits. Sometimes death is inevitable and that's what you turn to the Priests of phrasma for all your dying needs. Get your plots now with extra blessed dirt free of charge. Eulogies and wailing women are paid for in advance.

[BigNorseWolf]

Ravingdork wrote:

thistledown wrote:

In a professional setting like starfinder, if they fail to remove my affliction I don't pay them. I'm paying for a service, not an attempt.

Do skimp out on paying your hardworking doctors as well?

Only once.

[Xeall]

Metaphysician wrote:

4. Advertising useful spell effects without disclosing major restrictions ( ie, claiming a full strength healing spell which will work on androids, and charging for such, despite it only working half strength on constructs)

FAQ: When determining what abilities affect an android, and how, replace the first sentence of the constructed ability with the following. "For effects targeting creatures by type, androids count as both constructs and humanoids (whichever type allows an ability to affect them for abilities that affect only one type, and whichever is worse for abilities that affect both types)."

Heal spells work fine on androids.

[Metaphysician]

Xeall wrote:

Metaphysician wrote:

4. Advertising useful spell effects without disclosing major restrictions ( ie, claiming a full strength healing spell which will work on androids, and charging for such, despite it only working half strength on constructs)

FAQ: When determining what abilities affect an android, and how, replace the first sentence of the constructed ability with the following. "For effects targeting creatures by type, androids count as both constructs and humanoids (whichever type allows an ability to affect them for abilities that affect only one type, and whichever is worse for abilities that affect both types)."

Heal spells work fine on androids.

This ruling does not forbid there from possibly existing a spell which specifies "Only works on ____" or "Is half strength on ____". The spells listed in the corebook are not the only spells in the whole setting.