D&D 5E Teleportation circles costs *how* much?!

[Jester David]

The spell teleportation circle lets you teleport between a chalk circle you create to a permanent circle you are aware of. Creating the chalk circle costs 50 gp. This is high from a commoner perspective, but affordable for the 9th level wizards that will be teleporting.
However, creating a permanent circle requires "you" to cast the spell in the same location every day for one year. Which means consuming 50 gp of gem encrusted chalk each and every single day for 365 days. That's 18,250 gold pieces! Miss a day? Start again. Get sick or want to adventure? Start again. Region runs out of sapphire chalk? Start again.

While a single good treasure hoard (level 11 to 16) might hold enough gold, that's a lot to ask a single character to pay (and said treasure hoard would be split between the party, so it's everyone's treasure).

But what kingdom would fork over that money for a circle? That's a tonne of cash - a literal dragon hoard - for something only rare wizards can use.
And they'd have to pay the wage for the wizard to cast said spell again and again. That could conceivably radically increase the price. (Even in a 3e Eberron campaign, where wizards were common and spellcasting costs codified, a single casting would have a cost of 450 gp.)

Keep in mind that the spell is literally useless without permanent teleportation circles, and the circles are useless without a mid-level wizard.
They don't even make much sense from a worldbuilding perspective. You'd never put one in a castle, since that's a giant security hole for invasions. Using one for trade seems unlikely given the sizable initial investment and the need to burn at least 50 gp each time you open the portal (50 gp being 500 lbs of wheat, 25 sheep, or 5 cows). For the price of creating a single portal you could charter a fleet of five ships to sail 100 miles away.

Just something that leapt out at me in the rules.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Maybe this thread should be cross-refernced with the ones complaining about how high-level characters have nothing to spend their money on.

 

[Shasarak]

They don't even make much sense from a worldbuilding perspective. You'd never put one in a castle, since that's a giant security hole for invasions. Using one for trade seems unlikely given the sizable initial investment and the need to burn at least 50 gp each time you open the portal (50 gp being 500 lbs of wheat, 25 sheep, or 5 cows). For the price of creating a single portal you could charter a fleet of five ships to sail 100 miles away.

Having a teleport circle is a giant security hole the same way that having a gate in your wall is a giant security hole. You just build your security around it.

Afterall it is better to have one secure place to have people teleporting into rather then just directly to the treasury or kings bed chamber.

 

[Halivar]

This also struck me. What this implies, from a world-building perspective, is that permanent circles are rare, and due to the collaborative effort required (one mage by himself cannot arrange a year's worth of sapphire dust) are either shared, or were at some time in the past. This means those circles are documented, and can be found in dusty tomes throughout the world.

That makes them a little bit cooler, IMHO.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

The current cost is not necessarily the historical cost. Numerous permanent circles could have been made in some period prior to the chalks and inks needed becoming as rare and expensive as they currently are.

Also, teleportation circles are no less secure than any door with a key, and are actually more secure because there is no sigil sequence equivalent to picking a lock with thieves' tools.

 

[rlor]

I think the cost and to a bigger part the time spent is to have it more as an NPC option than a PC option. Much like clone: "Ok everyone, we're going to take 120 days off adventuring until these clones mature, don't worry, that lich probably won't have crushed too many villages between now and then".

As a GM I'd let Wish's ability to bypass requirements allow a wizard casting it to make stuff like permanent teleportation circles with a wave of their hand.

It has been very rare for me to play in a game that has the PCs running a barony where the game covers multiple years of time where the multiple casting option can come into play, I think the last time was before 3E came out.

I could see the strategic benefits to a permanent circle. Have the circles placed at strategic locations and a mage present with Private Sanctum and dispel magic. They keep it shut down with Private Sanctum until they get a Sending to open it in which case they dispel the Sanctum and out pours the rapid response force. With several castings you could move a small army through the portal allowing a kingdom to keep their army in a central location then deploy to major threats with minimal time. Overall they'd need a smaller army which would eventually be a cost reduction.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Stargates!

 

[Saeviomagy]

They don't even make much sense from a worldbuilding perspective. You'd never put one in a castle, since that's a giant security hole for invasions. Using one for trade seems unlikely given the sizable initial investment and the need to burn at least 50 gp each time you open the portal (50 gp being 500 lbs of wheat, 25 sheep, or 5 cows). For the price of creating a single portal you could charter a fleet of five ships to sail 100 miles away.

50gp only buys 500lbs of wheat if wheat is available. Same goes for sheep and cows. If you can open the portal and bring 2500lbs of wheat through (ie - a draft horse pulling a cart), then sell it for twice the listed rate (ie - in the middle of a desert), then you've just made 200gp. We'll call it 150gp on the assumption that you need to get back again.

Incidentally http://www.igrain.com.au/listing/search/ suggests that I can get the required 100% markup point to point within modern day australia, where transportation is significantly easier, safer and faster than your typical medieval points of light monster world.

And why would you bring through a single cart? 6 seconds and a 10 foot radius should be able to get you multiple cartloads. And you should be able to haul something worthwhile back again - even if it's just sand.

Those ships you chartered cost 10,000-30,000gp each plus the price of the ports to support them and training their crew. Spending 18,000 to get instant secure travel seems like a bargain.

 

[Halivar]

50gp only buys 500lbs of wheat if wheat is available. Same goes for sheep and cows. If you can open the portal and bring 2500lbs of wheat through (ie - a draft horse pulling a cart), then sell it for twice the listed rate (ie - in the middle of a desert), then you've just made 200gp. We'll call it 150gp on the assumption that you need to get back again.

And why would you bring through a single cart? 6 seconds and a 10 foot radius should be able to get you multiple cartloads. And you should be able to haul something worthwhile back again - even if it's just sand.

Those ships you chartered cost 10,000-30,000gp each plus the price of the ports to support them and training their crew. Spending 18,000 to get instant secure travel seems like a bargain.

And this explains why all the richest people in D&D worlds should be wizards.

 

[Saeviomagy]

And this explains why all the richest people in D&D worlds should be wizards.

No, the richest people are the people who bankroll wizards, just like in the real world. Unless all wizards are adventurers, then the average wizard can't afford 18,000gp (plus living expenses) to set up a circle, doesn't have the contacts with a circle at the other end to trade with, doesn't have a supply of grain etc etc. He probably creates and operates the circle for a wage, or loses most of his profits paying back his business loan.