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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 4711400" data-attributes="member: 12731">Sorry, my post was a bit of a confused mess. I have several lines of thought - let me give it another stab...:First off, the item I'm giving to the BBEG can well be a consumable, a one use item. I really don't need it to be permanent.---However, I can't just make it a potion for the following reason: I appreciate consistency in my campaign, and if the PCs see an item, it isn't unreasonable for them to want to acquire such items for themselves later on; manufacturing them with the Create Magic Item ritual if need be.If I make it a potion specifically, i.e. an item whose only cost is a healing surge, this item becomes vastly more powerful in the hands of the PC than it could ever be in the hands of any single monster. Not because the item in itself is more powerful, but because a PC can use a whole string of them, back to back. Player characters have plenty of healing surges after all. This would be bad for the game, as it would essentially render the services of the leader (healing powers) irrelevant.And then there's price. Such a potion needs a market price that is in the stratosphere, not only to limit availability, but to not completely overshadow the existing potions. Right now, my players are at low level, and then the problem is such a potion will be severely over-priced and still do little more than the 10 hp a standard Potion of Healing gives you. At epic levels, assuming PCs routinely have 200 hp or more, the benefit from a healing surge equals that of a Potion of Recovery. And still, for an Ancient Red Dragon, this new potion would be infinitely more valuable than a mere Potion of Recovery (giving it back almost 350 hp).So I fully understand why the designers didn't add potions whose effect varied with your healing surge value. That simply doesn't make sense considering the 4E paradigm.---So what is the difference between this power being given in potion form and being given in cloth armor form? In the former, it could cost 25,000 gold and still be unbalanced (for Solo monsters). In the latter form, the designers have evidently concluded, you can practically get it for free (the +1 Robe of Contingency costs a mere 840 gp).It must be that you can only use the power once a day. (Feel free to come up with arguments why this, my central assumption, is flawed! I do not think the item slot restriction or the "you need to be bloodied" are very important, for instance)So what I want is a potion-ish item, but one with the additional restriction you can only use the power once a day (regardless of how many actual flasks or bottles you've got).Now. I immediately agree this normally is telling you the item should be a permanent magic item. The point of a consumable is that it should work everytime you consume one.So I could make it a "Decanter of True Vitality" or something, which once a day is filled with a liquid that contains the power.---But I'm still not satisfied. I believe this power is visually and thematically best realized as a potion, simple as that. So can't I simply "re-skin" the Decanter into a potion (or elixir or "Other Consumable" as I guess AV is teaching me the correct category would be)?As a (true) Potion, this power would cost 25,000 gold, absolute minimum.As a Robe, it can cost as little as 840 gold - and almost half of that sum (360 gp) is because of the +1 AC thing. So really the power is thrown away nearly for free, costing 480 gp. And still, for that you get a free reaction teleport thrown in too! So let's say the "spend a healing surge" part of the Rob is half of that, or 240 gp. That's a ridiculously low cost if you think about it.What it's telling me is that you are probably right: I can simply give the ability to any of my BBEGs without a second thought (for monetary balance - obviously it makes that BBEG very much stronger). Remember, my primary concern is that by making it into an item (and not simply giving the BBEG a Second Wind power) it becomes (at least in theory) accessible to the player characters (through item creation, most likely). And thus I need it to be balanced and not over-powered.---So, let's finish this thing. Let's complete the design of the item, so we can agree on a reasonable cost. Existing items don't really help us out here (it's either 240 or 25,000+ that's suggested; and I think we can agree it's reasonable to go somewhere in the middle).Draught of True VitalityOther consumable 5,000 gpPower (Consumable ✦ Healing): Standard Action. Drink this potion when you are bloodied. You can spend a healing surge.Special: Consuming more than one Draught of True Vitality before taking an Extended Rest has no benefits or effects.How about the price? The price should be high enough to signify it's not an item meant for newcomers. But I don't want a price so high I can't use the item at Heroic Tier (both because the BBEG then can't afford it, and because it would wreck the economy if my adventurers could get their hands on one before the BBEG has time to use it). So I arbitrarily set it to five grand. 2,500 is one zero more than the robe (240 gp) and one zero less than the potion (25,000+). And then I doubled that for good measure, arriving at 5,000 gp. What do you think? PS. Perhaps the moderators can move this thread into House Rules? Thanks muchly.</blockquote>

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