Item of Infinite Magic Missiles?

Valicore · Sep 30, 2012

So In a campaign not long ago, had the players fight a Eldritch Giant. They have the ability to cast magic missile at will. I was wondering if anyone had thought up a means to duplicate this ability as an item. The uses per day formula doesn't quite cover what im wanting to do.

RUMBLETiGER · Sep 30, 2012

Valicore said:
So In a campaign not long ago, had the players fight a Eldritch Giant. They have the ability to cast magic missile at will. I was wondering if anyone had thought up a means to duplicate this ability as an item. The uses per day formula doesn't quite cover what im wanting to do.

What caster level are you looking for?

Sekhmet · Sep 30, 2012

Honestly, Magic Missile is one of those infinite use items that wouldn't matter too much. You could use the DMG item creation guide for it.

Celebrim · Sep 30, 2012

I'm not sure what the RAW says, but the RAW in my opinion is at best rough guidelines on pricing (as shown by its failure to price a wand of cure light wounds equivalent to its impact on the game). At will usage of a single magic missile is a pretty minor ability. I mean, basically you are saying, "I'm ok with you doing 3.5 average damage per round most of the time." Assuming that the item requires a divine caster to invoke it, that it takes up a slot (either in hand or worn), that it casts at 1st level of ability, and uses a standard action I really don't have a problem with 3000 g.p. - equivalent to buying 4 wands of magic missile. Even 2000 gp probably wouldn't be out of line because going through more than the 200 charges involved in 4 wands of magic missiles would be excessive.

Multiply by increased caster level accordingly.

Double cost for an item invokable by anyone. Double for doesn't occupy a slot.

nijineko · Sep 30, 2012

The correct pricing for an item of infinite magic missiles would be as follows:

spell level (1) x caster level (1, 3, 5, 7, or 9) x 2000gp. the footnote covers extra cost for continuous items based on duration of the base effect, but they oddly did not mention instantaneous, so such effects seem to get off the hook. your total cost would be: 1 missile = 2000gp, 2 missiles = 6000gp, 3 missiles = 10,000gp, 4 missiles = 14,000gp, and 5 missiles = 18,000gp. only an arcane caster can (normally) create such an item. This assumes some sort of hand-held point & shoot item - that is technically not a wand. slot-less will cost you more.

now, in my opinion, that is a bit pricey, for such low level damage, despite it being up to 5 strikes per round. i might discount the higher priced ones on a sliding scale.

Valicore · Sep 30, 2012

My original thought was one for casting 5 missiles at 9th lvl. Kinda wizards back up item if all his spells are gone for the day, or all he has left is AoE spells and doesn't want to burn the melee guys.

At the same time i have never had the continuous spell effect formula work for instantaneous effects cause it seemed like it would get broken quick. Magic missile would fall away due to SR quick, even if you had it at 9th lvl. But somthing that could cast an infinite amount of Cure Light wounds for 2000gp? Or say Grave strike for the same amount? If you had the cash you could level a city with a infinite item of 5th lvl fire balls for 30,000gp. Laying siege to castle and every six seconds bast one of those off.

Perhaps if it has a duration of instantaneous it should have to have double the caster lvl of the effect you want. Infinite CL cure light wounds 4,000gp,(1x2x2000) Infinite CL 9 magic missiles 36,000gp (1x18x2000) I could live with that. Fire balls... (3x10x2000)
60,000gp Getting pricey but not horrible. Add in that you would have to be a certain class (30% discount) and you could still have wanton destruction all day. Going to run with it for a campaign see how it goes.

Celebrim · Sep 30, 2012

Valicore said:
At the same time i have never had the continuous spell effect formula work for instantaneous effects cause it seemed like it would get broken quick.

Yes. Yes it does. It's not at all clear to me that instantaneous duration spells can be priced as use activated items. Certainly use activated items which allow the casting of instantaneous effects are rare in the cannonical items.

But somthing that could cast an infinite amount of Cure Light wounds for 2000gp?

All the healing effects at a level higher than a potion are incorrectly valued in the raw. If wands of cure light wounds cost 10,000 gp, people would still buy them (assuming that the higher level wands were similarly expensive).

Loren Pechtel · Sep 30, 2012

You have to be very cautious with using the book formulas for an item like this.

I would certainly have no problem with it at level 1. As you go up in levels I get a bit skittish about it, though. 5d4+5 at will averages 17.5 points/round.

Jack Simth · Sep 30, 2012

Valicore said:
So In a campaign not long ago, had the players fight a Eldritch Giant. They have the ability to cast magic missile at will. I was wondering if anyone had thought up a means to duplicate this ability as an item. The uses per day formula doesn't quite cover what im wanting to do.

purl=http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#tableEstimatingMagicItemGoldPieceValues]DMG guidelines[/url] exist for this purpose. Note that many, many spells don't really line up with what the guidelines say, as noted in the guidelines themselves:

SRD said:
Not all items adhere to these formulas directly. The reasons for this are several. First and foremost, these few formulas aren’t enough to truly gauge the exact differences between items. The price of a magic item may be modified based on its actual worth. The formulas only provide a starting point. The pricing of scrolls assumes that, whenever possible, a wizard or cleric created it. Potions and wands follow the formulas exactly. Staffs follow the formulas closely, and other items require at least some judgment calls.

Command-word (usable by anyone), slotted item, at-will = 1,800 * spell level * caster level. If it's appropriately slotted, and you think that's a fair price, you're done. If it's not appropriately slotted, it's 1.5 times that; if it's unslotted, it's twice that.

By the estimates.

Empirate · Oct 1, 2012

Magic Missile at will, you ask? I know an item which does that. It's called a Wand of Magic Missile!

What? Only 50 charges, you say? Just try it out in the game, see if you ever burn through those 50 charges. I hold that even in a campaign with lots of Shadows, Wraiths etc., you won't ever use up that wand. Because usually, you'll have better things to do with your actions.