Low level Soul Stealing

[Shape D.]

Hey Everyone, I've got a 8th level LE Mystic Theurge, clr3/wiz3/mt2, and I'm searching for a way to try and obtain someones soul. the main intent is to use this to make magic items without seeing xp loss, via rules in the BoVD. (it fits the characters views on other peoples worth, and results in no xp loss.) For smaller items, scrolls, potions, ect. I've been doing sacrifices, but if I read the rules correctly you can only use one sacrafice dark craft awards per item, but you can use as many souls as you want.

So far all I've found is a level 8 or 9 spell (Trap the soul and Soul bind) or an epic weapon (the gripsoul). Are there any other options out there for this or is this the only three. I've searched through the books I own and haven't been able to find anything yet...

Thank you.

 

[jaelis]

Would a thinaun weapon (CW) work for you? That would be just 10k gp for a sacrificial dagger or the like.

 

[sukael]

Would a thinaun weapon (CW) work for you? That would be just 10k gp for a sacrificial dagger or the like.

As a side note to that, each weapon would only hold one soul, but it'd be possible to get a bunch of them to use separately.

 

[nick012000]

Go to the Lower Planes and buy them off of the local fiends. Alternately, go to the Upper Planes, and start nabbing petitioners while trying to dodge the local celestials.

 

[moritheil]

Go to the Lower Planes and buy them off of the local fiends. Alternately, go to the Upper Planes, and start nabbing petitioners while trying to dodge the local celestials.

Sounds like a campaign.

 

[Darklone]

Magic Jar is not enough ?

 

[Shape D.]

Would a thinaun weapon (CW) work for you? That would be just 10k gp for a sacrificial dagger or the like.

I think this might be my best bet..... Other than only being able to hold one soul at a time. I'll probably check with the DM and see if theres some sort of homebrew item I could create/have created to remove them from the weapon.

Go to the Lower Planes and buy them off of the local fiends. Alternately, go to the Upper Planes, and start nabbing petitioners while trying to dodge the local celestials.

I've thought about that, but I don't like doing a whole lot that pulls time away from the game for something that just helps my character. Plus I don't think that my party would want to go with me. I play a changeling cleric of a LE god with the trickery domain, and pretend to be a cleric of the LG god of justice. (I cast undetectible alignment on myself daily)

But I think taking them all to the planes to collect souls may ruin my cover.

Magic Jar is not enough ?

I love magic jar, and will most likely be using it often, but there's a time limit on it, and I could only have one soul During the duration of the spell. I'm looking to soak up more xp that just one soul's worth (10xp)

 

[Shin Okada]

Go to lower plane seems to be too hard for a clr3/wiz3/mt2. But you should have at least wis of 14 and practiced spellcaster feat for both classes (very typical for MT build). If so, you can at least buy some Lessor Planer Ally scrolls. If I were a DM, I allow you to bargain with the called devils for trading. IIRC Lemures are oftem used as currency in the nine hell.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Thinaun is the best method, now dealing with the expense is a major issue. The problem is as an option what's in CW is actually rather nerfed. Only melee weapons, and adding 10-25k to price, just to hold 1 soul? See if your DM will allow you to work up a variation on this is my advice.

 

[moritheil]

Thinaun is the best method, now dealing with the expense is a major issue. The problem is as an option what's in CW is actually rather nerfed. Only melee weapons, and adding 10-25k to price, just to hold 1 soul? See if your DM will allow you to work up a variation on this is my advice.

As a DM, I would not allow a price reduction. Before anyone cries foul, let me point out that across multiple campaigns, the only circumstances under which I have seen players keenly interested in using souls for item creation were as follows: Artificer characters with craft XP buffer as a class feature, multiple feats that reduce creation cost several times, and constructs/followers that do the actual crafting. They also had access to an evil shrine (obviously, it's an evil party if the artificer is going to burn souls to upgrade everyone's armor/weapons) and the means to supply sacrifices (not hard in the typical setting if you are above level 5.)

The problem with "spending souls" lies in what you are giving up. Sure, the soul is "worth something" in the universe (it's currency on the lower planes), but from a metagame perspective, is any given soul really worth something? That is, do you have to give up anything when you are spending it in item creation? I would argue no. Normally adventurers kill dozens of enemies and simply leave their souls be. Taking the soul out of an enemy therefore already constitutes an extra benefit; offering a weapon that allows this is effectively no different than if you allowed your party to buy "daggers of greed" that increased the gp value of loot from virtually every encounter they faced.

Now, you might whip up some math to argue that a case could still be made for a price reduction. However, stealing the souls of your enemies already has a tremendous game benefit even if you don't use those souls to do anything - it prevents your opponents' allies from raising them or (in some cases) speaking to them to obtain vital information. Spending the soul does not in any way diminish that benefit and in fact increases it.