At-Will Magic Item Question

[Bao Hadir]

Hey guys, I'm setting up an optional boss fight for my players and I gave my secret boss a ring of at-will Unwitting Ally. The fight hasn't taken place yet, so I figured I'd see if what I was planning would actually work. See, at the start of the fight, I'd like my boss to cast Unwitting Ally via the ring then move up and brutally attack one of the players. The question is, if the ring is At-Will, can she cast Unwitting Ally on everyone one after the other on the same turn without spending an action?

For those curious, my boss is a tristalt (rather than the gestalt of my players) Unchained Rogue 8/Unchained Monk 8/Red Mantis Assassin 4 with Trickster Path 1.

[Arkat]

Using an item like that is a Standard Action, I believe.

If so, you can only do it once a turn.

At will, in this case, just means there's no limit to how many times it can be used...just once a turn, though.

[Taja the Barbarian]

Baseline, such an item would be a Standard Action to activate. In theory, you could build such an item (at greatly increased cost) using a Quickened version of the spell and only require an immediate action to activate, but you would still be limited to one such activation per round.

Keep in mind that Unwitting Ally does offer a Will Save to negate, and a baseline cantrip from a magic item would only be DC10 (or DC12 for the quickened version) to resist, which seems like something your PCs would laugh at if a level 8 foe is considered reasonable...

[Bao Hadir]

Thanks for the info! I'll tweak it to be Quickened. Or some kind of custom Quickened Mass version. It's not necessarily something that will break the campaign if the players get it, since the setting is zombie apocalypse, most of the enemies are undead, and currency isn't really important. I didn't go with this option previously because one of my players is a rules-reading fiend and I'd probably have to stop everything before or mid-fight and explain it.

[Azothath]

Bao Hadir wrote:

Thanks for the info! I'll tweak it to be Quickened. Or some kind of custom Quickened Mass version. It's not necessarily something that will break the campaign if the players get it, since the setting is zombie apocalypse, most of the enemies are undead, and currency isn't really important. I didn't go with this option previously because one of my players is a rules-reading fiend and I'd probably have to stop everything before or mid-fight and explain it.

Sadly metamagics don't increase DCs except for Heighten and a few that explicitly say that in their description.

hmmm...

suggestions:

→ Azothath's Homebrew: Nitwitting Allies:E2 spell requires attackers to be a bit more selective tactically.

You could do something else. A classic: +1 arrows of human bane? Thematic: ring of gluttonous feasting $5000? Kinda kick-ass: Ring of the Grasping Grave (1d4+2 rnds) + Vampiric Touch:N3@6 Use Activated for 3d6 $40000? or [3]/d $24000?

Don't forget the effect of Enervation:N4 on Undead. It works both ways for necromancers. A Wand:Enervation:N4@7 [8]chg would be very handy.

Wand: Scorching Ray:K2@7 2 rngd tch within 40ft (4d6)[fire] [10]chg $2100 or as WI token on bow (gaining bow's enhancement) cmmd "burn!" 40ft rngd tch else normal attack vs AC within projectile wpns first range increment. Requires 1 day to attune to projectile weapon before it will activate. [3]/d $25200.
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Don't stop to explain nuthin behind the GM veil unless the PC casts Detect Magic, Identify, or starts using Skill checks. The PC should have used Spellcraft to identify the casting. You are giving out free info in an attempt to seem fair or justify your actions. Say you will discuss it after the combat (if there's downtime) but will need the PCs to cast a few spells and make knowledge checks.