Caster levels, schools and prices for artifacts
- From: chris <seahen123@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:22:22 -0500
Caster level/school/price/cost lines below, followed by detailed
explanations.
Notes:
1. I do not use the ELH/ESRD rules; instead, I use the rules for
non-epic items, and assume that level 10 spell slots are gained at CL
21, level 11 at CL 23 and so on.
2. Notice that the Sphere of Annihilation is the only minor artifact
with a CL over 20.
BOOK OF EXALTED DEEDS: Strong evocation, CL 17. Craft Wondrous Item,
Transference, Miracle, creator must be a good divine spellcaster or good
deity. Price 127550 gp. Cost 1275 gp + 25102 xp.
BOOK OF VILE DARKNESS: Strong evocation, CL 17. Craft Wondrous Item,
Transference, Miracle, creator must be an evil divine spellcaster or
evil deity. Price 3127550 gp. Cost 1275 gp + 625102 xp + 3 days.
HAMMER OF THUNDERBOLTS: Strong evocation, necromancy and transmutation,
CL 15. Craft Magic Arms and Armour. Price 107824 gp.
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE: Strong transmutation, CL 17. Craft Wondrous Item,
Polymorph Any Object, True Resurrection. Price 49500 gp. Cost 45675 gp +
306 xp + 8 days.
SPHERE OF ANNIHILATION: Overwhelming transmutation, CL 23. Craft
Wondrous Item, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, Disintegrate. Price 506000 gp.
STAFF OF THE MAGI: Strong all schools; CL 17, Craft Staff, Heighten
Spell, Detect Magic, Enlarge Person, Hold Portal, Light, Mage Armour,
Mage Hand, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Ice Storm, Invisibility, Knock,
Lightning Bolt, Passwall, Pyrotechnics, Wall of Fire, Web, Summon
Monster IX, Plane Shift, Telekinesis, Spell Resistance, Spell Turning.
Price 381500 gp.
TALISMAN OF PURE GOOD/EVIL: Strong evocation [good/evil], CL 18. Craft
Wondrous Item, Miracle, creator must be a good/evil divine spellcaster
or good/evil deity. Price 38880 gp.
TALISMAN OF THE SPHERE: Strong transmutation, CL 16. Limited Wish or
Wish. Price 91080 gp.
TALISMAN OF ZAGY: Strong no school, CL 17. Miracle or Wish. Price 49124
gp, cost 15812 gp + 5965 xp + 12 days.
MACE OF CUTHBERT: Strong evocation [lawful good]. Craft Magic Arms and
Armour, Heal, Holy Smite, Order's Wrath, Searing Light, creator must be
lawful good. Price 404312 gp.
==THE EXPLANATIONS:==
BOOK OF EXALTED DEEDS: Grants up to about 20000 XP and a +1 inherent
bonus to Wisdom (the former effect being comparable to use-activated
Transference (50 gp overhead) and the latter effect being equivalent to
a Tome of Understanding +1. The requirement for a specific alignment and
for divine spellcasting ability is offset by the cost of damaging
effects to other readers.
BOOK OF VILE DARKNESS: Like the Book of Exalted Deeds, but usable by
infinitely many evil divine spellcasters. Since each user must spend a
week with it, and since it must change hands before it can be used
again, this can be seen as even more restrictive than a daily limit.
Thus, the XP cost is multiplied by 25 (although the base cost is
unchanged, since 1/7 charge per day costs no more than a single use).
HAMMER OF THUNDERBOLTS: Normally, a +3 Large returning warhammer deals
2d6+3 damage and costs 32324 gp. An extra d6 of damage is usually worth
a +1 bonus, as indicated by Flaming, and one of the extra d6s can be
seen as replacing the +3. Thus, its basic weapon cost is 50324 gp. But
when the right other wondrous items, it adds an extra +2 to its
enhancement bonus, gains an ability like but slightly better than
giantbane, and grants an effective +2 bonus to Strength. In that case,
its equivalent bonus is +9; add to that the Strength bonus (at +50% for
being an unrelated extra ability on a slotted item) and you get 165324
gp. Thus, the actual price should be between the two; because of the
restrictions on what else you can be wearing to use the latter state,
I'm putting it halfway between.
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE: 5000 pounds of iron turned into silver is a gain of
24500 gp; 1000 pounds of lead turned into gold is a gain of 49500 gp
assuming lead is no more valuable than iron; and a one-time
use-activated True Resurrection is CL 17, price 32650 gp, cost 28825 gp
+ 306 xp. To avoid arbitrage, the total price must be at least 49500 gp,
so that's what we'll use. The base cost will be taken from the True
Resurrection, and the rest will be materials.
SPHERE OF ANNIHILATION: This effect is closest to an empowered maximized
Disintegrate, which is an 11th-level spell slot, for a CL of 23. Since
it has unlimited uses and is unslotted, the base price would be
2000x11x23x2 = 506000 gp.
The need for a specific ability score to control it, the reduced range,
the limited speed, and the safety issues with using it at close range,
are offset by the unlimited HP affected and lack of saving throw or
touch attack. The lack of a body slot is offset by the difficulty in
guarding it.
STAFF OF THE MAGI: Unlimited Detect Magic is 1x0.5x2000 = 1000 gp,
unlimited Enlarge Person is 1x1x2000 = 2000 gp, unlimited Hold Portal is
2000 gp, unlimited Light 1000 gp, unlimited Mage Armor 2000 gp,
unlimited Mage Hand 1000 gp. The one-charge abilities' values are:
Dispel magic 5x3x2000/2 = 15000 gp; Fireball (heightened to CL 10)
10x3x2000/2 = 30000 gp; Ice Storm 7x4x2000/2 = 28000 gp; Invisibility
3x2x2000/2 = 6000 gp; Knock 3x2x2000/2 = 6000 gp; Lighting Bolt (CL 10)
10x3x2000/2 = 30000 gp; Passwall 9x5x2000/2 = 45000 gp; Pyrotechnics
3x2x2000/2 = 6000 gp; Wall of Fire 7x4x2000/2 = 28000 gp; Web 3x2x2000/2
= 6000 gp. The two-charge abilities' values are: Summon Monster IX
17x9x2000/4 = 76500 gp; Plane Shift 9x5x2000/4 = 22500 gp; Telekinesis
(heightened to CL 16) 16x5x2000/4 = 40000 gp. Spell resistance 23 is
worth 110000 gp and has CL 11 (extrapolating the Mantle of Resistance);
and a Rod of Absorption is worth 50000 gp and requires Spell Turning and
CL 15.
The retributive strike has a 50% chance of killing the user and making
them impossible to resurrect, and destroys the item in the process, so I
think that's cost enough.
Applying the two-times-highest rule to all the charged abilities, the
rod thus has multiple abilities worth 1000 gp, 2000 gp, 2000 gp, 1000
gp, 2000 gp, 1000 gp, 153000 gp, 50000 gp and 110000 gp. Additional
abilities beyond the first cost 1.5x as much for a slotted item (except
the Rod of Absorption ability because it can't be used at the same time
as the spell resistance). Thus, the total price is 153000 + 1.5x110000 +
50000 + 1.5x2000 + 1.5x2000 + 1.5x2000 + 1.5x1000 + 1.5x1000 + 1.5x1000
= 381 500 gp.
TALISMAN OF PURE GOOD/EVIL: This is basically an Imprisonment effect,
but improved somewhat because the victim dies rather than going into
suspended animation, so we'll say it's CL 18 rather than 17 and requires
Miracle. Because of the different description, I'm willing to change it
to evocation rather than abjuration. Six charges of a use-activated
effect of this type are worth 6*18*9*50 = 48600 gp. Requiring the victim
to be of a specific class-group *and* alignment decreases the price by 20%.
TALISMAN OF ZAGY: This usually grants one Wish, but one time out of
twenty it grants up to about four wishes (let's say three on average).
The trap detection it provides is somewhere between the 1st-level Detect
Snares and Pits and the 9th-level Foresight; let's say it's 5th-level
(and that Wish or Miracle can duplicate it rather than having to add
anything to the requirements). So we get an average of 1.1 wishes
(1.1x17x9x50) = 8 415 gp + 27500 gp for 5500 xp, and a 5% chance of a
continuous 5th-level spell (0.05x9x5x2000 = 4500 gp). Both base prices
are then reduced by 10% because they require high Charisma to use. We
also get a 10000 gp diamond when it's all over, so that's added to the
material cost.
TALISMAN OF THE SPHERE: Because it improves safety and control over a
Sphere of Annihilation, it increases the value of one by maybe 20%.
Since it requires arcane spellcasting ability, its values is reduced by
20%. Thus, its price is 18% of that of a Sphere of Annihilation, or
91080 gp. Since it does not seem to fit any particular spell, let's just
keep the CL 16 the book gives, and require Limited Wish or Wish.
MACE OF CUTHBERT: This is fairly straightforward: a +5 holy axiomatic
(I'm assuming that's what they mean by lawful) heavy mace of disruption
is 242312 gp; command word Searing Light heightened to CL 20 is
20x3x1800 = 108000 gp, and is a second unrelated ability so it's at +50%.
MOANING DIAMOND: This is a very unusual case as far as caster level is
concerned: for a single casting of Stone Shape to affect 5000 cubic feet
of material, it has to be done at caster level 4990. Let's instead
assume that each casting is actually multiple castings, condensed
together using Quicken Spell (making them each 7th-level), and at the
same price per cubic foot per day as they would be at the spell's
minimum level. Three charges per day of minimum Stone Shape would cost
Caster level is determined by the other ability -- equivalent to an
extended maximized Summon Monster IX -- which occupies a level 13 slot
and is thus CL 27.
--
"...[T]he only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over
any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent
harm to others."
--John Stuart Mill
.
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