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<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 7113519" data-attributes="member: 6669384">At 9th level my character had a Ring of Wizardry I.&nbsp; In an attempt to rebalance character wealth, which was way out of line, I had to reduce his goodies from 81k worth to 36k.&nbsp; Dropping the Ring of Wizardry (20 K) in exchange for some number of Pearls of Power (1K each) is well within my budget.&nbsp; I could get four or five, and a couple of PoP 2nd level as well, and still be solidly in the black on the deal.&nbsp; (4 x 1K + 2 x 4k = 12K &lt; 20k)I figure that 10 Pearls of Power would have been affordable, but broken.&nbsp; (18 K if I toss in the level II pearls, still cheaper than the Ring I)My question was, at what point do they cross that line between &quot;Bargain&quot; and &quot;Broken&quot;.By the way, anyone can carry and use a Potion.&nbsp; Only a caster with Cure Light Wounds on the spell list for their class can use the Wand.&nbsp; It's an apples/oranges comparison.Price wise, 1st level Potions cost 50 gp per use.&nbsp; 1st level Wand costs 15 gp per per.&nbsp; That's 70% cheaper. Matching the slot capacity of the Ring using Pearls costs 40% as much.&nbsp; The pearl solution is scaleable, however, and the wand isn't.&nbsp; That is, I can get more Pearls at the same price.&nbsp; Cost/benefit curve is linear. No increase per effect.&nbsp; Scaling the wand up, however, is anything but linear.&nbsp; Price curve heads for the roof, fast.Simply put, a 1st level caster Cure Light Wounds wand is a bargain.&nbsp; Same wand created at 2nd level caster gives +1 to each healing use but doubles the price.&nbsp; Going to a Cure Moderate wand multiplies the cost by six for slightly more than double the effect.&nbsp; No longer a bargain.Now, looking back at the value of 1st level spells at higher levels:&nbsp; Grease is the gift that keeps on giving.&nbsp; It's a Balance check, a skill that few ever take and no monster other than the house cat comes with.&nbsp; Magic Missile, at 9th level, does about the same damage as a Fireball from the same caster a level later, albeit to a single target.&nbsp; And Ray of Enfeeblement can ruin the biggest, baddest tough guy's whole day.&nbsp; Silent Image is near infinite in its versatility.&nbsp; The list goes on.The ability to stack 1st level spells, and pretty much reshuffle the spells at will, gives the Pearls a flexibility that the Ring never had.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 7113519, member: 6669384"] At 9th level my character had a Ring of Wizardry I. In an attempt to rebalance character wealth, which was way out of line, I had to reduce his goodies from 81k worth to 36k. Dropping the Ring of Wizardry (20 K) in exchange for some number of Pearls of Power (1K each) is well within my budget. I could get four or five, and a couple of PoP 2nd level as well, and still be solidly in the black on the deal. (4 x 1K + 2 x 4k = 12K < 20k) I figure that 10 Pearls of Power would have been affordable, but broken. (18 K if I toss in the level II pearls, still cheaper than the Ring I) My question was, at what point do they cross that line between "Bargain" and "Broken". By the way, anyone can carry and use a Potion. Only a caster with Cure Light Wounds on the spell list for their class can use the Wand. It's an apples/oranges comparison. Price wise, 1st level Potions cost 50 gp per use. 1st level Wand costs 15 gp per per. That's 70% cheaper. Matching the slot capacity of the Ring using Pearls costs 40% as much. The pearl solution is scaleable, however, and the wand isn't. That is, I can get more Pearls at the same price. Cost/benefit curve is linear. No increase per effect. Scaling the wand up, however, is anything but linear. Price curve heads for the roof, fast. Simply put, a 1st level caster Cure Light Wounds wand is a bargain. Same wand created at 2nd level caster gives +1 to each healing use but doubles the price. Going to a Cure Moderate wand multiplies the cost by six for slightly more than double the effect. No longer a bargain. Now, looking back at the value of 1st level spells at higher levels: Grease is the gift that keeps on giving. It's a Balance check, a skill that few ever take and no monster other than the house cat comes with. Magic Missile, at 9th level, does about the same damage as a Fireball from the same caster a level later, albeit to a single target. And Ray of Enfeeblement can ruin the biggest, baddest tough guy's whole day. Silent Image is near infinite in its versatility. The list goes on. The ability to stack 1st level spells, and pretty much reshuffle the spells at will, gives the Pearls a flexibility that the Ring never had. [/QUOTE]

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