THE DRUNK DM or "The Gem of Timestop".

[Visigani]

As discussed in an earlier thread... Craft Wondrous item is CRAZY powerful...


The situation is thus... if my DM was unrepentantly open to letting me do pretty much whatever I wished within the confines of the rules... upto and including creating a gem that cast a 9th level spell (i.e. timestop) 3 times per day...



How much would it cost, assuming the gem was a diamond.. both in xp and gold for the crafter... or if I purchased it from the marketplace?

 

[xigbar]

I would make it something like (gem price)(cost to buy a casting of the spell/2)(charges)

 

[SolitonMan]

Based purely on the RAW for creating magic items (found here) I get this cost:

Use-activated item cost = spell level X caster level X 2000 gp
other factors: no body slot = X2
limited daily uses: cost / (5/daily uses)

So far a time stop 3x/day item we'd have

Price = 9 (spell level) X 17 (minimum caster level for spell) X 2000 X 2 / (5/3)
Price = 367,200 gp

That price doesn't include the cost of the gem if used as the base item, but I believe that that would just be added on. However, this price does exceed the 200,000 gp limit described for epic magic items (found here). I personally don't understand that limit, except insofar as it's an arbitrary point of managing power level for a game. But if you're in a position where you can craft time stop items, I guess the power level is pretty high.

 

[Greenfield]

Well, running purely by the DMG and SRD rules, you could make a once-per-day item to do it for a relatively sane 55,80 gp price, costing 2,204 Exp to make. The three use variety would be 165,240.

Use activated items are spell level x caster level x 2000 x (uses/5).
Command activated are spell level x caster level x 1800 x (uses/5).

Personally, I'd make it as an hourglass. As an incidental function it allows you to know the time by consulting it, and no matter what happens it's always right side up.

You activate it by laying it on its side. When the spell expires, it rights itself again.

Now an item this powerful should have a down side, don't you agree? So, should the user break it, well, what happens when your time runs out? While it can be given away or sold, it will otherwise behave like a cursed item, always reappearing in the owner's pack or pouch if left behind. Storing it in an extra-dimensional or non-dimensional space "for safekeeping" would be treated as "being left behind", and it would transport itself to some other pouch, pocket or bag the owner is carrying. If none are available, the owner would at some point find it in his hand.

It does come with a padded carrying case, of course.

 

[Visigani]

And thus is an absolutely amazing toy for a low to mid level villain or potentate.


How did the King's family become King so many hundreds of years ago? Well, one of the poor farm boys stumbled upon this this precious gem while plowing a field one day... and the rest is history.

 

[Dandu]

And he used it to peep in the women's showers?

 

[Empirate]

In 1d4 rounds? Unless he was a very... virile, young, energetic, overeager, hasty, peeping tom, he wouldn't get much out of that.

 

[Dandu]

1d4+1!

 

[Empirate]

Oh, right. Seems he'd only have to be real eager, not overeager.

 

[Visigani]

Now here comes the interesting question... could you make this a "persistant' time stop in a vein similar to how bull's strength is persistant when placed on an item that gives +4 to STR?