Some rules questions...

[covaithe]

I like the caltrop rules suggestion. The price would have to be balanced against similar items in the AV, like tanglefoot bags, slowstep oil, and things like beastbane that create a zone. Also, if the caltrops are recoverable, i.e. if you can pick them up after the fight and reuse them, that makes a difference too.

 

[elecgraystone]

Personally, I'd make it a mix of tracking dust and a tanglefoot bag. You'd have to make caltrops comsumable to balance them against alchemy items.


Caltrops Level 4+

Lvl 4 40 gp Lvl 19 4,200 gp​

Lvl 9 160 gp Lvl 24 21,000 gp
Lvl 14 800 gp Lvl 29 105,000 gp

​

​

Alchemical Item​

Power (Consumable ✦ Zone): Standard Action. The caltrops creates a zone of 5 contiguous squares. Any creature entering one of those squares is subject to an attack; +5 vs. Reflex; on a hit, the target takes 1 hp damage and is slowed until the end of its next turn.
Level 9: +10 vs. Reflex.
Level 14: +15 vs. Reflex.
Level 19: +20 vs. Reflex.​

Level 24: +25 vs. Reflex.

Level 29: +30 vs. Reflex.​

 

[KenHood]

Making them alchemical doesn't quite fit. I would have them single-use, just to keep things simple. Increasing the power of a caltrop with level... Nah. At higher levels, you're going to invest in magical poop. Caltrops should be a mundane solution for low-level characters.

I'd go...

Caltrops
(Consumable, Zone): Standard Action. One bag of caltrops creates a zone of 1 square. The zone counts as difficult terrain. Any creature entering the zone takes an attack of +3 v. Reflex. On a hit, the target suffers 1 HP damage and is slowed (save ends).
Special: If the target is a minion, it takes no damage, but is still slowed.
Cost: 5 gp
Weight: 2 lbs

 

[elecgraystone]

Your is way more powerful than mine and at a discount price KenHood. The auto-difficult terrain alone is worth as much as as my whole item. Yours covers 4 more squares. Yours adds slow on TOP of difficult terrain, making total movement 1 and stopping normal shifting.

Now if you want difficult terrain, 5 contiguous squares of that sounds like a 40gp item by itself. My item sounds like a 40gp item. Yours sounds like a 6th level, 75gp item IMO.

 

[KenHood]

It creates a zone of ONE square, not a burst, not a blast.

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By the way, is Dragon 373 approved?

 

[elecgraystone]

Ah, just one. I misread that as burst 1. So 1 square per standard action for 5gp each? That sounds fine to me, though I think I'd bump the cost up to 7 or 8gp each since placing multiple ones can be just nasty if you have time and the right location.

 

[KenHood]

Yeah, you're probably right about the price. On a note of verisimilitude, I hate that, because caltrops are pretty much a couple of nails twisted together and sharpened on all ends, but I have to remind myself that 4E is not a simulation. Heck, because of the limitations of the game structure, you can't have a character go out and chop a branch off a tree to make a club or quarterstaff.

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Another thing to consider, using a 'bag of marbles' to create difficult terrain. Maybe even a Reflex attack to force a target prone.

 

[elecgraystone]

Well nothing stops you from making a club or a staff in 4e. However unless you pay the 'price' of the item [in materials], it's an improvised weapon. That doesn't break my verisimilitude in the least that a professionally made item works better than one I just chopped off a tree.

And caltrops WERE crafted, with a metal ball in the middle and spikes attached to it. The one's you talk of at twisted nails would fall under improvised and I'd say would have a much lower attack than correctly made ones.

For a 'bag of marbles', at best I'd require an acrobatics check of 10. Failure would halt movement and require a save or fall prone. If the creature treats the marbles as difficult terrain [takes it easy moving through], then no check is needed.

 

[Atanatotatos]

I did say this same sentence in another post in the last couple of days, so I might sound repetitive. But: this is not a videogame. You can do something that is not regulated by the rules. It's just that you won't know what your DM will make of it.

 

[KenHood]

That doesn't break my verisimilitude in the least that a professionally made item works better than one I just chopped off a tree.

"Yes, my professionally crafted heavy stick is much more effective than your stick you made yourself."

It...

It just...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

And caltrops WERE crafted, with a metal ball in the middle and spikes attached to it. The one's you talk of at twisted nails would fall under improvised and I'd say would have a much lower attack than correctly made ones.

Those are one kind of caltrop. There's a lot of different styles. The ones used in ninjutsu are little more than a couple of nails twisted together. You can also make simple ones by taking a lump of wood and driving nails through it at different angles, or you can take a sheet of metal, clip it, and twist it so it has several points.

There's really no difference between them as far as effectiveness in real life. Usually, you go with the cheap materials, because they're a disposable item, intended to aid in escape.