Inherent Boni don't stack ?

[isoChron]

Bonus Boni Bonuses Bonae ...
It's the same with penalty / Malus / Mali ... some languages use this, some that ... whatever.

So to be on topic again.

Why at all do Tomes or Manuals which grant inherent bonuses exist ???
What reason would a wizard have to craft that item ? Scrolls (Wish) are more versatile and do the job, too.

Any idea ? Is it a lack of economic thinking, madness, or are the tomes just sold at a much higher price ? But this would effect the price for crafting the items, too...

Just wondering.

BYE

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Because where are you going to find a +5 book? This isn't aimed at you, it's just become assumed that these items are available in most campaigns, and that annoys me on general principle.

Forget the +5 book. I can just as well collect 5 wish scrolls (I should be able to get them. We have greater teleport and gate at our disposal, so we can go to the big cities on the material plane and alll other planes) and let a wizard cast them for me.

You have to realize what's needed to make one: a level 17+ spellcaster needs to give up 25,000 XP. That's more than an entire level. All he gets out of it is 137,500 gp. That sounds like a lot, but looking at the wealth tables it's considerably less than he'd get by actually increasing his level and fighting bigger enemies. So, why exactly is that spellcaster making books for a total stranger?

Well, the books are in the DMG, so they should be around *somewhere*. If noone sells them, we can track one down with high-level divinations.

 

[Cedric]

Adventurer looking for a cheap "upgrade": So, mister high level wizard, I've collected these scrolls of wish, will you use them to wish I was stronger five times in a row.

High level wizard: Of course I will for a small fee.

*money changes hands, short time passes, the scrolls are handed over*

*High level wizard opens the first scroll and begins to read*

High level wizard: I wish this embecile in front of me would forget about the other 4 scrolls and forget why he came here.

High level wizard: Well, that should do it, anything else?

Adventurer looking for a cheap "upgrade": *confused* Umm, no...thanks though.

...Cedric...

 

[Spatzimaus]

Originally posted by KaeYoss

Forget the +5 book. I can just as well collect 5 wish scrolls

And that's more reasonable. Wish scrolls have many other uses, making them useful things for a Wizard to have in case of emergencies. The advantage of the Tomes is that you don't need a high-level Wizard around to read them for you.

Also, while you'd still need to pay the XP to make each scroll, it'd be in five chunks of 5000 instead of one lump sum. The lump sum is the killer; the Wiz 17 or whatever he is has to actually forgo gaining a level solely to build up enough spare XP to make the item.

The same applies to finding a Wizard to cast Wish on you five times in a row. He still has to have a pool of 25 kXP stored up, which unless he's Epic means he had to choose not to level up.

Well, the books are in the DMG, so they should be around *somewhere*. If noone sells them, we can track one down with high-level divinations.

And my point is, why should they be ANYWHERE? What Wizard will actually make one? When I make an item for my friends I take an XP drain, of course, but I'm willing to do it because they're my friends, and giving them better equipment helps me in the long run. But why would you lose that much XP for a stranger? It can't be money.

When someone makes an item there's always this opportunity cost for lost levels, but its gold:XP ratio is constant (12.5:1). Except for items which have separate XP costs; the Tomes' ratio is only 5:1. So, even if you were in it for the money, they'd be the worst things you could make. To balance this, you'd basically have to double the cost of every Tome/Manual, just to get them closer to the right ratio.

To make things worse, the loot tables aren't linear, though; once you get to around 15th level, you'd make more money by adventuring at higher levels than you'd ever make selling items.

 

[the Jester]

For gods sake people, the plural of bonus is bonae, just as the plural of bacteria is bacteriae, and the plural of ninja is ninjae.

Please check your facts before posting nonsense to UNsenet bulletin boards. I always do.

No, no- it's bonese, like goose-->geese.

 

[Darkness]

I would laugh, but I wouldn't want to encourage him.

As if he'd need any encouragement to do that.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Adventurer looking for a cheap "upgrade": So, mister high level wizard, I've collected these scrolls of wish, will you use them to wish I was stronger five times in a row.

High level wizard: Of course I will for a small fee.

*money changes hands, short time passes, the scrolls are handed over*

*High level wizard opens the first scroll and begins to read*

High level wizard: I wish this embecile in front of me would forget about the other 4 scrolls and forget why he came here.

High level wizard: Well, that should do it, anything else?

Adventurer looking for a cheap "upgrade": *confused* Umm, no...thanks though.

Hm... the end of the story: the Adventurer's friends chop that wizard to pieces with big big weapons and slaying spells and use his soul to feed the antispell.

We're talking about a 140.000 upgrade here (if you call that cheap, I'd like to see what you call expensive) and that boy will take precautions.

And my point is, why should they be ANYWHERE? What Wizard will actually make one? When I make an item for my friends I take an XP drain, of course, but I'm willing to do it because they're my friends, and giving them better equipment helps me in the long run. But why would you lose that much XP for a stranger? It can't be money.

Maybe the gods of chance and luck create them and put them into dungeons so that adventurers take chances - and high-level adventurers need high-level rewards to take high-level chances.

Or something.