SQUEE! The rust monster revealed!

[Scribble]

Really this whole endevour reminds me of the Underpants Gnomes:

1. Phase one: collect rust monsters
2. Phase two: ??????
3. Phase three: profit.

Dude- phase two is boring anyway!

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Here's an idea: How about instead of residuum the PCs can get a mix of residuum and rust that can only be used to recreate the original item with a Make Whole ritual?

 

[Holy Bovine]

Here's an idea: How about instead of residuum the PCs can get a mix of residuum and rust that can only be used to recreate the original item with a Make Whole ritual?

This? This is brilliant. If I ever use rust monsters this is how it will work and the rust monster consumes 20% of the value every hour.

 

[darjr]

I can see it now.

"Why yes, you have several rust monsters, all well fed."

"Great! We begin the harvest!"

"Oh wait, I guess they were not ALL well fed. Did you use metal bars on those cages?"

 

[pawsplay]

This is not the Rust Monster. This is the Lost and Found Monster. This is a sad, sad day.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Not bad. I'm OK with the rust being a significant speedbump and not character-screwage. I don't like boning my PCs for having the temerity to fight monsters.

I mean how dare they, right?

 

[Kunimatyu]

Clever - I like it.

I do like the Make Whole idea too.

The simulationist take on the Rust Monster is hilarious (and would make a great plot for an incompetent low-level merchant conspiracy or the like - use Spiretop Drakes and thieves to steal magic items, then convert them into a massive pile of residuum)

I especially find it funny that some posters immediately focused on the economic uses of the Rust Monster. Sometimes D&D really is like letting a group of modern engineers into a fantasy world.

 

[Fenes]

Some of us never lost our "if this works that way, then that could work this way" way of thinking. Especially as a GM, such thoughts are often needed to get a plot going, or to do more than simply reskin the same monsters and scenes.

 

[Nymrohd]

There is a Magic Eater (probably a higher level rust monster that can eat your paragon items) and a swarm of young rust monsters in the SRD

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Clever - I like it.

I do like the Make Whole idea too.

The simulationist take on the Rust Monster is hilarious (and would make a great plot for an incompetent low-level merchant conspiracy or the like - use Spiretop Drakes and thieves to steal magic items, then convert them into a massive pile of residuum)

I especially find it funny that some posters immediately focused on the economic uses of the Rust Monster. Sometimes D&D really is like letting a group of modern engineers into a fantasy world.

It's also interesting to see how people suddenly accept the 20 % rule for disenchanting stuff and seem to think that getting 100 % for an item means they earn money!

You do not get more money out of it then you had. The only way to make more money of it is an epic item. And even then, you are still limited by RAW to create only items of up to your level while adventuring will always get you items that are your level or higher!

Can you get rich with it?

Maybe. But if you sell that epic item, you are instantly rich, too. If you somehow got to epic levels, find that item, would you really want to go in the Rust Monster Farming business? Or would you prefer something a little less complicated, or something more to your past interests (e.g. adventuring?)