| Selling Spells | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 30 2007, 02:00 PM (180 Views) | |
| kismetrose | Jul 30 2007, 02:00 PM Post #1 |
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On this week's agenda for my game, I am going to look closely at PCs selling their spells for profit. All of the PCs in my group currently have spellcasting power of some kind - there's one cleric, one wizard, and one paladin of sufficient level to cast spells. In the past, my players have asked me if they could try to sell some of their spells for gold. Sometimes they've been in such large places that I couldn't see why the economy couldn't handle such activity. The gold was out there, they have some very useful spells, so it's reasonable that some of their spells could be sold. As far as I'm aware, there really isn't a system in place for this. Valefor and I tried to make a system before based largely on the size of the community and the level of the spell, but it ended up being rather unbalanced. I understand that higher level spells probably wouldn't be sold very often; they simply cost too damned much. Whatever system I put in place, there will be a cap on higher level spells. I also realize that I have not taken local guilds into account; they would not appreciate outsiders sucking up their business. But what I want the most is something reasonable - a chance for them to sell spells, but not to such an extent that they amass a fortune. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to share them. Does this even come up in your games? |
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| Fixxxer | Jul 30 2007, 07:37 PM Post #2 |
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Are the costs given on page 129 of the PHB not good enough? |
| In my mind, it is that simple. But then, I'm simple minded. -Didge- | |
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| kismetrose | Jul 30 2007, 07:58 PM Post #3 |
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The prices of the spells are not the problem. We've used the prices as listed. The problem is that just because a character wants to sell spells, that doesn't mean they'll be able to, given their ties, location, and situation. Not every place will have folks who can afford spellcasting services, and in some places demand might be low, or covered tightly by the local wizard's guild. And higher level spells are so expensive as to rule out most people entirely. It's not that I mind the players making some money out of selling spells; I just want to have a reasonable and more balanced way of going about it. I want to have a quick way of taking into account the size of a place (and, generally, its ability to spend money on luxuries like spells), as well as a character's ties to the local population. Things like that. |
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| Fixxxer | Jul 31 2007, 11:47 AM Post #4 |
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Ah, I see. Well, another option might be to drop the spellcasting prices altogether and just allow them to make Profession (spellcaster) checks, using their caster level as a bonus. |
| In my mind, it is that simple. But then, I'm simple minded. -Didge- | |
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| kismetrose | Jul 31 2007, 09:54 PM Post #5 |
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We ended up hammering out some handy dandy charts to try. The first is for those times when the PCs are in a place for a day or two and try to sell spells. The DC for their check is based on the size of the place (village, city, etc.). The end result tells them how many 0 and 1st level spells they were able to sell. We're still using the prices found for spellcasting services in the PHB. The prices are based on the minimum caster level needed to produce the spell. The chart also has a maximum amount a character can make in a tenday (the FR week) based on the size of the place. If we have extended downtime during which characters mainly work on selling spells, then we have another chart. It's divided up by the size of the location, and each category gets a multiplier. The player's check is multiplied by the corresponding number and that's their profit in gold, so long as it doesn't exceed the maximum we've set. This chart is mainly for downtime of one month or longer. In some places, wandering in and trying to sell spells isn't really possible (as in Amn, which has tight control over who gets to perform magic). In other places, other circumstances might modify things. A place that has a high demand for magic but not enough supply might grant bonus gold, while a place with a very controlling magic guild might reduce the PC's profits. In any event, characters will be rolling Profession (spellcaster), Gather Information, or Caster Level checks. Anyone with 5 or more ranks in Diplomacy will get a +2 to these checks. It might sound like a bit of trouble, but our whole group likes the idea of being able to make some gold off of selling spells. My main concern is with keeping things balanced and making sure the results make sense. |
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1:25 AM Jul 11