Why aren't all 9th level wizards rich?

czak808

First Post
This will probably make all the DM's scream, but...

Intelligence being the primary ability, a wizard probably has at least a +2 modifier.
So, just putting 4 - 6 skill points in Craft; Armorsmithing and the Fabricate spell would provide you with 250 (Banded mail) to 1500 (Full Plate) each day for one-third the cost. And how many 9th level Wizards don't have 90 gp for materials?
 

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czak808 said:
This will probably make all the DM's scream, but...

Intelligence being the primary ability, a wizard probably has at least a +2 modifier.
So, just putting 4 - 6 skill points in Craft; Armorsmithing and the Fabricate spell would provide you with 250 (Banded mail) to 1500 (Full Plate) each day for one-third the cost. And how many 9th level Wizards don't have 90 gp for materials?

Darn it, DON'T let my gaming group see this! One of my players is always looking for ways to make money that don't involve dungeon delving, so when he DOES go dungeon delving, he's more prepared than Batman. :)
 

czak808 said:
This will probably make all the DM's scream, but...

Intelligence being the primary ability, a wizard probably has at least a +2 modifier.
So, just putting 4 - 6 skill points in Craft; Armorsmithing and the Fabricate spell would provide you with 250 (Banded mail) to 1500 (Full Plate) each day for one-third the cost. And how many 9th level Wizards don't have 90 gp for materials?
And then there's wall of iron... basically, D&D economics don't work. Using spell effects like they'd logically be used (in non-obvious ways) breaks the game. This isn't new. See WotC's CharOpt forum for more. :)

Cheers, -- N
 

czak808 said:
This will probably make all the DM's scream, but...

Intelligence being the primary ability, a wizard probably has at least a +2 modifier.
So, just putting 4 - 6 skill points in Craft; Armorsmithing and the Fabricate spell would provide you with 250 (Banded mail) to 1500 (Full Plate) each day for one-third the cost. And how many 9th level Wizards don't have 90 gp for materials?

You can make a suit of armor every day, but unless you run a full time shop, you can't sell it at retail, you sell it at half value. For a profit of 1/6 of the cost of the item.

Good money, but not great money.

--
gnfnrf
 

Nifft said:
And then there's wall of iron... basically, D&D economics don't work. Using spell effects like they'd logically be used (in non-obvious ways) breaks the game. This isn't new. See WotC's CharOpt forum for more. :)

Cheers, -- N
Yeah, Wall of Iron is a particularly nifty one... as Iron is a trade good, valued by the pound, and it's heavy stuff. It is, however, a 6th level spell, so needs to wait until 11th...
 

Jack Simth said:
Yeah, Wall of Iron is a particularly nifty one... as Iron is a trade good, valued by the pound, and it's heavy stuff. It is, however, a 6th level spell, so needs to wait until 11th...
True. At 9th level, the most broken would probably be lesser planar binding, so you could get a Lantern Archon to use his at-will spell-like ability continual flame to make one 50 gp item every round.

Anyway, point stands: D&D economics don't work. This isn't news, and your DM has every right to smite your PC dead if you try anything like this in a game.

Cheers, -- N
 

In games I've been in, all ninth level wizards are rich. Or at least pretty well off.

They tend to live in big houses with nice furniture and not worry much about where the next meal is coming from, is what I'm saying.
 

czak808 said:
So, just putting 4 - 6 skill points in Craft; Armorsmithing and the Fabricate spell would provide you with 250 (Banded mail) to 1500 (Full Plate) each day for one-third the cost. And how many 9th level Wizards don't have 90 gp for materials?
Banded mail and full plate consist of multiple materials. The spell fabricate: "You convert material of one sort into a product that is of the same material."

However, I'm sure there are things you can create, but I don't think these are good examples.

Other than that, I agree with the above posters about not letting the bad economics of D&D get out of hand. If you really want to run a business-oriented RPG, find something else.
 

Of course, you know, there has to be a market for all these reams and reams of items you're making every day..... Really, how many suits of banded mail or whatnot is the city guard willing to purchase? How much cash do they really have to spend on it anyway?

Even if you wait until 11th level when you can Teleport from city to city, there's only so much you can sell before there's no more market for whatever item you're producing. So maybe one wizard every few decades will get rich that way, until the market is saturated and won't buy any more. (even if the items are Everburning Torches, there's still only a limited market for the items; you can't count the people who can't even afford the items, anyway)

And, of course, you need the raw materials before Fabricate-ing. You can't just produce a few metric tons of goods out of thin air, you need to get the materials from other folks. And that'll mean those materials aren't going to the normal craftsmen that would otherwise be working with them. Putting a lot of normal folks out of jobs. They might sabotage the items you flooded the market with, since they're items those normal folks would've been producing to make their living. Or something else. If the wizard starts deforesting areas to Fabricate some real estate or whatnot, he might find the druidic council springing out of the trees at him all of a sudden, Flame Striking the bejeezus out of him.


Wall of Iron and Wall of Stone are still an issue, though..... I still have no idea why the heck they're Instantaneous rather than just 1 day/level or 1 hour/level in duration.
 

Nifft said:
True. At 9th level, the most broken would probably be lesser planar binding, so you could get a Lantern Archon to use his at-will spell-like ability continual flame to make one 50 gp item every round.

Anyway, point stands: D&D economics don't work. This isn't news, and your DM has every right to smite your PC dead if you try anything like this in a game.

Cheers, -- N
When you're doing so for money (or as money) then yes - time for the DM to let the hammer drop.

However, there are circumstances under which casting Wall of Iron, Fabricate, or even using lesser planar binding to get a Lantern Archont to make a zillion Everburning Torches (which are actuctually valued at 110 gp, incidentally - 2nd level spell, 3rd level caster, 50 gp component) is appropriet (e.g., when setting up fortifications - Wall of Iron to make walls, Fabricate to make gates, chains, cantelations, and the like; Light Archon makes lots of light to hinder nighttime attacks). It's just that you should not be using that to break wealth by level, is all...
 

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