Some magic items, or, Why Jed Didn’t Start With A Ring of Dark Vision
by mshrm
Some items and services that might be of general interest to any adventurer.
- Blessed Button: If a character can come into town and walk into the temple, that character can receive a Bless spell from the priests, for a reasonable donation. The blessing will add a bonus to all the character’s rolls until it ends, using itself up to avert some evil fate. But, what if you can’t make it in, for whatever reason? (“Like being an excommunicated wizard who traffics with demons!” adds the heckler in the back.) Well, if you’ve got a friend who can show his face in the template, you can have him pick up one of these. It’s a bronze button with the holy symbol of the god of your choice, considered Ornate +1 to coreligionists. It is enchanted with a 1 point Bless, adding 1 to all the wearer’s rolls until it can avert fate, as described above. (Warning: Those who actually are excommunicated or otherwise infernal are unlikely to receive the benefits of the blessing, even if they do wear the button.) $110; 0.08 lbs.
- Rod of Insight: Useful to the suspicious dungeon delver, this is a fine baton enchanted with the Staff spell. It has two further enchantments, only usable by a mage. It allows the user to cast Aura and Detect Magic. The Aura spell is useful as a “litmus test” for impostors, the possessed, and the murderous, making it especially useful before the delve, while interviewing potential party members. Be warned, however, it’s considered rude to cast spells on people without their permission. Even asking might lose some candidates, who might resent it. $290; 1 lb.
- Self-Mapping Scroll: A scroll enchanted with the Mapmaker spell. It takes 4 Fatigue to activate for an hour, then 2 Fatigue for each hour thereafter. This isn’t a replacement for the Cartography skill, but it is a replacement for quill and ink. $100; 0.05 lbs.
- Ring of Fresh Air: As I’ve been doing more research into the effects of poor ventilation and smoke on characters’ ability to breathe in the deep dungeon, I thought it might be worthwhile to offer this item. It’s a silver ring, enchanted to allow the user to cast Purify Air. This is the bargain version; self-powering versions are considerably more expensive. $215; 0.15 lbs.
One of the first magic items to be requested by a PC was a ring enchanted with Dark Vision, to allow him to see in the dark. At first glance, he thought it would only be a few hundred dollars. It’s been a learning experience, figuring out how the enchanting rules work, but I think I’ve finally got the “official” version of what he’s asking for… as well as some alternatives.
- Ring of Dark Vision: A silver ring enchanted with Dark Vision and sufficient Power to make it “always on”. $168,115; 0.15 lbs
- Budget Ring of Dark Vision: As above, without the expensive Power enchantment. Rather than allowing the wearer to see in the dark while the ring is worn, it allows the user to cast the Dark Vision spell upon himself, at a cost of 5 Fatigue for 1 minute’s duration. Cost is reduced to $8,115.
- Ring of Heat Vision: For those who can’t afford true Dark Vision. A silver ring enchanted with always-on Infravision. Anyone wearing the ring can see infrared radiation. $40,215
- Mage-Light Cloak Buckle: A silver buckle, appearing to be worth $230, enchanted with Continual Mage Light, so that it glows with a light that’s only visible to wizards. Meant to be used on a cloak, backpack, or the like, so the mage-light shines forth in front of the wearer. $4,230 for the equivalent of a candle, $8,230 for torch-level illumination, and $12,230 for a brightness equivalent to the light of day; 0.25 lbs.
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Once an enchanter has gone to the effort of enchanting an item with Power he should pile on more spells. Using it for just one spell is a criminal waste.
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I’ve been coming to that same conclusion, myself. It seems like the point where you add Power is another watershed moment, like crossing the 100 energy threshold. That’s odd, though, because (as shown) once you’ve gone to the trouble of making a ring to see in the dark, you might as well keep throwing enchantments on and end up make it The One True Ring.
I think the greater point, though, is that the PCs won’t be able to do like they thought, and remove the need for illumination by spending a couple thousand dollars… with a secondary theory that high-end miscellaneous magic is going to be REALLY spendy. It makes sense, they’re the peak of their technology, but seeing that dollar sign followed by that many digits… that brings it home like a random number of gp doesn’t.
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[…] while back, by player request, I statted up an always-on Ring of Dark Vision, which ended up costing over […]
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[…] for FuBar, who usually can’t make it into town, and so has to get by with a mere 1-point blessed button up his nose. From my perspective as the GM, there’s good and bad sides to […]
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[…] Bronze Button: This is the new and improved version of the old blessed button. It is a bronze button, with bit of relief carving to display the symbol or visage of the god of […]
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