Healing spells and use activated items= 1d8 per round?

[kreynolds]

Another interesting use for this item is to hold the charge on the Cure Light Wounds and make touch attacks against undead.

Eh? The item cast the spell. How can you hold the charge on a spell you didn't cast?

Can you do that?

 

[rassav]

My mistake!

That is what I get for not checking to see if my file was the current copy.

I've edited the description in the previous message, and reposted the description here.

Headband of Moradin's Mercy

The simple gold headband, adorned with the symbol of Moradin on the brow, allows any character wearing it to Cure Light Wounds once per round, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name.

(description edited from earlier post)

Caster Level: 1st Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Cure Light Wounds. Market Price: 2000gp Weight: -


We had the same question at first, concerning how items cast spells with a range of touch. Did the item have to touch the target, or did the character holding the item have to touch them?
I think the charge could be held in either case, according to the rules for holding the charge on touch spells, but you probably don't want to to be headbutting undead with a headband though!

To avoid these questions, we have made an effort to use standard terminology and use descriptions that more closely match those of the system reference document. The current description in a result of this.

Sorry for the confusion.

With that question hopefully answered, what do you think of the item?

p.s. I personally think that this item should function more like a spell trigger item, but it hasn't been a problem in our group so far.

 

[Petrosian]

Headband of Moradin's Mercy

The simple gold headband, adorned with the symbol of Moradin on the brow, allows any character wearing it to Cure Light Wounds once per round, exactly as if he had cast the spell of the same name.

(description edited from earlier post)

Caster Level: 1st Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Cure Light Wounds. Market Price: 2000gp Weight: -

Ok, for my games, this custom item would not be allowed.

it seems incredibly imbalancing to have a cumulative effect, curing, with unlimited uses per day.

After each fight, they cure an average of around 5 hp per round. unless pressed foer every minute, they heal back to full between each encounter.

That would throw in my experience way too many issues out the window. The wear down of HP only occurs and extends to the end of a given combat. The wear down of curing never occurs, on a strategic sense at least.

************

Pricing is way off unless you have changed the other items. this thing costs only a little less than three wands of cure light wounds, but it never runs out of charges and does not even require the cleric. Anyone can use it. Would you EVER consider buying three CLW wands over this item? if the answer is no, its too cheap.

***************

As stated way above, before the nonsense got started, the only way i could see such an item was as a unique thing given to alleviate a metagame story element... like say if a party had NO magical healer and this was the deus ex machina i used to keep them moving.

even then tho, i would probably find a better solution. heck, my current gang has run for 10 levels with their only healer being a half-multiclassed druid. Since i did not hand them a cleric-in-a-box, they spent quite a bit of time seeking out churches and doing them favors and such to keep a very good relationship with the people who can make healing items and potions for them.

 

[Petrosian]

[/B][/QUOTE]

1) Custom magic items must be made by the characters and are not readily availavble for sale in our game. accordingly, this item requires a character to sacrifice experience in creating it.

yet, surely NPCs make this item as well. (or are the PCs the only ones allowed to have one? Exclusive to PCs?) if so it should appear now and again in treasures?

2) The price is equal to approximately 266 charges worth of Cure Light Wounds wands. The difference between 266 charges and unlimited charges has not been apparent. We have yet to use it more than 266 times.

CLW wands cost 750 for 50 charges. This thingy of yours is worth 133 charges. (you used maker expense for the wand and market price for the item for some reason.)

By 10th level or so, a typical CLW wand would cure 275 hp and my gang would run through one within 3-4 encounters at best. When your fighter is down 80 hp, the clw wands go quick.

My experience on the rate of use of CLW in post-combat healing is grossly different than yours.

3) At caster level 1, the item is easy to dispel.

Since this thing will only be used out of combat, the dispel thing is silly and pointless. might as well say 'since it is a headband it will cause magic headband hair" as a drawback.

HINT; if your enemy is using his actions to throw dispel magics at your CURE LIGHT WOUNDS SPELLS... you are winning big time.

geesh.

4) The item is less and less useful in encounters as the characters advance in levels. The characters are 10th level now, and the item is rarely used in encounters. Most things you fight at that level deal enough damage that you need more than that 1d8+1 to keep you going.

the value of the item is its POST COMBAT recovery. identify is likewise useless in combat, should an unlimited identify item be cheap too?

5) The item is primarily used between counters to heal. Before the item was created the characters would simply rest and heal up, using their spells to restore their hitpoints. They were almost always at close to full strength for the next encounter. The item has simply reduced the bookkeeping and made game play more streamlined. This is well worth it for us and our current style of play, which focuses on the big encounters. If your style includes worrying about every small thing, you probably won't like this item. We also assume that the charcters have enough food and water without them having to inventory it, unless that is a key story element.

Rather than focusing on micromanaging minutia like food, we tend to worry about things like being stalked by the survivors. there is a tremendous difference between pulling out for a days nap and getting 5 minutes to heal back to full in terms of the actions the NPCs can do in that time.

thats not "every little thing" for my games.

However, you are indeed correct. Style of GMing has a lot to do with it. if monsters stay sitting and waiting while your PCs "click the rest button" then the effective difference bwteeen the day or two off and the 5 minutes and ready to go is indeed negligable.

i just dont run those games.

heck, my NPCs get raised, come back and pursue vengence at times.

6) We like to err in favor of the players keeping their characters alive. Yes, characters do die in our games, but this helps to insure that they don't die from being nickeled and dimed in some minor encounter.

while i am sure it has happened, i do not recall a clw sabing characters from death anytime after fourth.

clearly our games are very very different.

 

[dcollins]

He was seeking verfication, or clarification, of his theory as to how the item would work, thus he was asking how it would work.

True, but he was also making an assumption that he (as a player) already had permission to make such an item (and in fact that it had already been "playtested"). I actually think it's quite a bit more important that that prior assumption be addressed and corrected.

 

[kreynolds]

True, but he was also making an assumption that he (as a player) already had permission to make such an item

See, this is where the misunderstanding is. What item exactly, do you think he wanted to make? He asked about 1) constant 1d8+1 every round and 2) 9 permanent hit points. He didn't say he favored 1 over 2, nor the other way around. Just about everyone on this thread immediately jumped onto the "What the hell are you thinking!?!" bandwagon without even giving any credit to the original poster.

Here's another question. If a player asks, "Can I make this item?", are you just gonna tell them yes or no? Aren't you going to encourage roleplay? Think about it. The only way to find out if you can make an item is to try and make it. Now, don't get me wrong, I never screw over my players with this by having them waste all their time and money. They will at least end up with a really basic item. Though it no doubt won't be what they wanted, it will be worth some cash at least.

In the end, the player does indeed have permission to try anything they want. If they want to try to research a new spell, they can. If they want to try to make a Ring of Fast Healing 13, they can. The only question is whether or not you will allow the new spell or item. Besides, it would be really strange to explain why the character feels an omnipotent presence in his mind telling him "No. It's not allowed."

Basically, hardly anybody gave the original poster any credit, and few really wanted to help him either. Most were too busy making assumptions and getting all high and mighty to actually listen to him.

(and in fact that it had already been "playtested").

Voneth, the original poster, never said any such thing. Rassav did.

I actually think it's quite a bit more important that that prior assumption be addressed and corrected.

Perhaps.

 

[dcollins]

See, this is where the misunderstanding is. What item exactly, do you think he wanted to make? He asked about 1) constant 1d8+1 every round and 2) 9 permanent hit points.

The first thing he mentioned was "a use actived magic item with a Cure Light Wounds". He's not thinking about an in-game item, or any particular desired effect, nor did he think he needed to ask what it would cost. He's just looking at the "new items" table under "use-activated" and wondering what he can get for the presumed low-low price of 2,000 gp.

Your other points are all quite reasonable -- but they assume that the PC is interested in being an item-crafter. I would handle a PC crafter much the same way in-game as you describe, but in point of fact, none of my player-crafters have ever requested a "new item".

The only time I've ever heard interest in a "new item" was from a player making a higher-level PC (non item-crafter), thinking he'd be able to just be assigned a "new item" at a given market price. I suspect a lot of other players in other games expect the same. I did in fact tell this player "No, core items only". In this case, it got his PC created faster and the game running sooner than any other response.

 

[kreynolds]

The first thing he mentioned was "a use actived magic item with a Cure Light Wounds".

Actually, the first thing he said was "I".

He's not thinking about an in-game item, or any particular desired effect, nor did he think he needed to ask what it would cost. He's just looking at the "new items" table under "use-activated" and wondering what he can get for the presumed low-low price of 2,000 gp.

How do you know? Did you ask him or just make an assumption? If he didn't ask about money, then how can you possibly know that he wants to know "what he can get for the presumed low-low price of 2,000 gp." Come on. Give the guy some credit.

Personally, I think he just thought he saw a hole in the rules and wanted it filled. Instead, he almost got pushed in, which is pretty uncool.

Tell you what. Why don't we just agree to diagree about psychoanalyzing Voneth's motivations behind asking a question, and insted, agree that he got unnecessarily hosed by asking a simple question? Sound good?

Your other points are all quite reasonable -- but they assume that the PC is interested in being an item-crafter.

Well, yeah. That's the topic at hand. Voneth wants to make a ring.

I would handle a PC crafter much the same way in-game as you describe, but in point of fact, none of my player-crafters have ever requested a "new item".

Really? Do they not get much down time or are they just not interested in item creation? I can understand the later, because as a player, I'm not that interested, except for minor stuff, like potions, scrolls, wands, etc.

The only time I've ever heard interest in a "new item" was from a player making a higher-level PC (non item-crafter), thinking he'd be able to just be assigned a "new item" at a given market price. I suspect a lot of other players in other games expect the same. I did in fact tell this player "No, core items only". In this case, it got his PC created faster and the game running sooner than any other response.

I hear ya'. Sometimes I'll allow a custom item if you can explain to me how, when, where, and why you got it. Sometimes.

 

[Petrosian]

Voneth, the original poster, never said any such thing. Rassav did.

What Voneth did say, and this was part of my focus ...

"And I would hate to think that something this obvious would have escaped WotC playtesters"

 

[kreynolds]

What Voneth did say, and this was part of my focus ...

"And I would hate to think that something this obvious would have escaped WotC playtesters"

I don't see where you're going with this. Voneth didn't say that he playtested this. It wasn't even implied. He thought he saw a hole in the rules and was surprised that this "hole" got past the playtesters.