Alchemical lamps

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

On a stand beside the door is a bottle made of thick clear glass, resting on a stone dias. Within it, a strange glowing goo floats, expanding and contracting, rising and falling, always shedding the same cool yellow-green light.

As part of the continuing sinister conspiracy to turn D&D into a videogame, I was wondering about EverQuest-style gnomish lava lamps. In D&D terms, I figure these would be an alchemical product that would produce a heatless lantern that would have the benefit of not causing fires if broken and could be carried underwater.

D&D has some magic item creation rules, but none that I've seen for the creation of new alchemical products.

How would you price an alchemy recipe that created a heatless lantern that lasted no longer than a regular lantern would and shed no more light. How difficult would it be to create?

 

[Warren Okuma]

Hmm... I do not have any alchemical research rules, so I' guessing it will cost at least 50 gp (continual flame) and a DC oh... DC 10 + 1/10 GP cost.

 

[KrazyHades]

Something like Warren said. Also, perhaps in some regions of the world they are cheaper, such as cave regions, which have access to phosphorescent fungi. Perhaps some town's economy is governed not by traditional agriculture, but by the cultivation of such fungi in caves. This could make for a great adventure hook too; some mysterious disease is destroying the crop, and therefore threatening the town by destroying its economic means of survival. The disease could be divine/arcane magic, or caused by a certain magic item, or even by a particular type of creature.

Perhaps it is an insane(or just harmful, if its not intelligent) plant creature which is releasing a spores into the groundwater. The spores initially affect the plants that take up the water, causing another funges to grow on them, destroying the plant. As the humans consume the plants, strange symptoms begin to appear. Some start to develop strange growths underneath the skin, which eventually burst the skin above them, revealing themselves to be bloated fungi living parasitically off the humans. Even if the fungus is removed, it is impossible to remove all the little spores from the body. The spores can quickly spread from person to person. The players must track down the plant creature BBEG and destroy it.

EDIT: Whaoh, I got off topic there. Well, here's a free adventure plot!

 

[howandwhy99]

It sounds like it works exactly like a normal lantern only it's heatless. So heatless fire, right? Or do you want to get rid of the burning ability too?

I'm of the mind that low lowcost stuff is less about character balance and more about world description. Normal lanterns are typically commonplace in worlds, so many people are likely to have 'em. OTOH, if Continual Light is a fairly predominant item in your world, I'd drop your new idea. It's uses are limited with standard lanterns around.

If CL is not that common, I'd say price a heatless lantern at whatever price is reasonable for the world. 3x normal lantern oil is probably best. If it requires a different kind of lantern, I'd price the new metalwork as equivalent to a normal one.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It sounds like it works exactly like a normal lantern only it's heatless. So heatless fire, right? Or do you want to get rid of the burning ability too?

I'm of the mind that low lowcost stuff is less about character balance and more about world description. Normal lanterns are typically commonplace in worlds, so many people are likely to have 'em. OTOH, if Continual Light is a fairly predominant item in your world, I'd drop your new idea. It's uses are limited with standard lanterns around.

If CL is not that common, I'd say price a heatless lantern at whatever price is reasonable for the world. 3x normal lantern oil is probably best. If it requires a different kind of lantern, I'd price the new metalwork as equivalent to a normal one.

Good arguments. Yeah, it'd lose the ability to burn stuff, too. It's mostly a flavor thing; I think I'll just make it a variant of the sunrod with identical cost and DC. It's not as useful as a sunrod, but suboptimal works for it being a flavor thing with one particular society, and not as a generally accepted innovation.

 

[Henrix]

Nevermind me, I misread.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Fire beetle in a small portable cage? That's what was used in some areas of the Against the Giants modules. I think the drow used luminescent fungus...

 

[Bagpuss]

There is a fire beetle like lantern in Complete Scoundrel.

 

[painandgreed]

Hmm... I do not have any alchemical research rules, so I' guessing it will cost at least 50 gp (continual flame) and a DC oh... DC 10 + 1/10 GP cost.

Seems too expensive to me. On the balance side, you could have a Continual Light, er, I mean Flame spell for 50gp and that would be continual. This lasts only for the same time as a lantern. It would be heavier and bigger than a sunstick, not require air, but not burn. I'd probably either put it at an easier DC and slightly higher price, or equal DC and higher price.

Something like have the lantern cost 8 for normal and 14 for bullseye for being sealed glass containers (Craft:Blacksmith DC 20 to make) Then the light part comes from two flasks that get mixed together to form the glowing solution and they cost 2 gp per use (Craft: Alchemy DC20). In a pinch, the two flasks could be mixed and dumped on the floor or painted on something for similar effect.

That puts it pretty much out of price range of normal people and uses but avaialble for special situations where it might be needed. Plus, it could only be purchased in a population area with an alchemist.