Stycotl
2010-12-09, 01:20 AM
Geometer's Circle Crafting Incantations (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/incantations.htm)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ca_gallery/85437.jpg
The medieval, magical combination of a Wacom Cintiq and a 3D printer.
末Me, Myself and I
These incantations were created by a wizard obsessed with efficiency of energy in his spell research and magical item crafting. He noticed as he worked, that much of the magic unleashed when casting a spell or imbuing an item with power simply radiated into the atmosphere, or was absorbed into surrounding objects. Thus, he went to great lengths to make sure that every spark of magic that he loosed was applied directly to his objective. While never perfected by any means, these incantations have proven of immeasurable value to him and the few others that he has shared his secrets with.
The secret to these incantations is a series of geometric diagraming matrices that the wizard designed to route the magical energy directly to its target with very little loss of power. This not only decreases the overall amount of energy needed to be pumped into the enchantment, but it drastically reduces the necessary time expenditure as well. He took to calling these diagrams his "geometer's circles."
Limitations
A geometer's circle is not limited to specific sizes or complexities of objects. Indeed, the wizard who created the incantations is said to have used an enormous circle in order to construct a magical ship. However, all of the raw materials must be present at the time of the incantation, and the creator must have sufficient knowledge of every step of creation, or it will fail.
Further, a geometer's circle cannot be used to create a magical item with a caster level any higher than the ritualist's HD. Thus, a 10th level factotum using a geometer's circle would function as a 10th level caster.
Lastly, though a geometer's circle can handle enormous tasks, it puts more of a strain on both the magic, and the caster. If the total gp value of the final creation is over 50,000 gp, then all of the skill checks are at +2 DC; if over 100,000 gp, +4 DC; if over 150,000 gp, then +4 DC, etc (+2/50,000 gp).
Backlash
The difficult process of creating a geometer's circle is reflected in two kinds of incantation backlash that are specific to geometer's circle rituals. First, during the casting of any of these incantations, the DC of all Craft (drawing) checks for the purposes of creating the circle itself is always 5 points higher than the rest of the incantation's skill checks. And second, unlike the hour that must pass between each skill check, 4 hours pass between the Knowledge (nature or sciences) check and the Craft (appropriate type dependent upon the kind of item to be created) check, as the geometer's circle begins to analyze, transform and then assemble the materials. If the resultant Craft check fails, another 4 hours must be spent repeating the process before the check can be reattempted.
But the true, taxing nature of the incantation is reached at the end of the ritual, whether successful or unsuccessful. Upon finishing the ritual, the caster receives 4 negative levels which cannot be healed by magic (after 24 hours, a DC 19 Fortitude check heals negative levels on a one-for-one basis), 4 points of ability burn to his or her highest mental ability, and is exhausted.
Efficiency
The material agents required for creating a geometer's circle make it impractical for the augmentation of less powerful末and therefore, cheaper末magic. In general, if a crafting project would cost less than 5,000 gp (the cost of the resonance fork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9915423) and other material components), it is cheaper to do it by traditional rituals than by a geometer's circle incantation. Further, the physical and magical toll that it takes on the ritualist makes this incantation dangerous, and it should never be undertaken without proper precautions.
However, in the end, this incantation is almost always faster, sometimes by many weeks, and that may or may not be a deciding factor in whether or not it is worth it to use traditional rituals in order to craft less expensive magical items.
Mitigating Factors
Unlike normal incantations, the skill checks of a geometer's circle incantation can benefit from the efforts of the Aid Another action, so long as the
Substitutions
The wizard that created the geometer's circles happened to be a decent sketch artist, and therefore, circles were created from precisely drawn sketches, using the Craft (drawing) or Craft (drafting) skill. But there is no rule that the circles cannot be painted, using the Craft (painting) skill; or carved, using Craft (sculpture), Craft (stonemasonry), Craft (carpentry), Craft (gemcutting); or similar. In fact, using the Craft (leatherworking) skill, the circles could be burned or etched into hide, and using the Craft (weaving) skill, they could be made into great tapestries. Of course, the material components are consumed with fire during the crafting, so the cheaper the better. But anything reasonably conceivable of bearing complex images could be used to create a geometer's circle.
Also, it is entirely realistic that a divine version of the geometer's circle could work, one based off of the Knowledge (religion) skill as opposed to the Knowledge (arcana) skill. Perhaps psionics or some other kind of magic or power could be adapted to work with this as well.
Rumors
Though two circles have been shared with a select few other artificers and geometers, it is thought that the wizard has a handful of even more potent geometer's circle incantations that he has perfected since then.
Incantations
First Geometery末Creation Circle
Transmutation
Effective Level: 6th
Skill Checks: Craft (drawing) DC 32, one success; Appraise DC 27, one success; Knowledge (nature or sciences) DC 27, one success; Craft (appropriate types) DC 27, one success; Spellcraft DC 27, one success; Knowledge (arcana) DC 27, one success
Failure: Destruction of all material components
Components: V, S, M, XP
Casting Time: at least 7-9 hours
Range: Touch
Target: A magic item
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This incantation was created as a means to significantly streamline the crafting of magical items. But it in fact works quite well for creating nonmagical items as well, taking raw materials and fabricating them into finished, polished objects as detailed in the drawn geometer's circle.
The ritualist must place all raw materials, including spell components, any scrolls used, etc, beside each other, with a struck resonance fork placed between them and touching at least one of the materials. Then the geometer's circle is drawn around the objects, requiring a Craft (drawing) check. The circle must connect each component and raw material to the resonance fork, and must include details about the physical properties and construction of the final object.
Then, an Appraise check, a Knowledge (nature or sciences) check, and a Craft (appropriate type dependent upon the kind of item to be created) check need to be made, where the success of these checks indicates that the ritualist correctly understands the physical crafting process and the natural sciences behind the crafting.
When all of these checks are successfully made, the circle itself animates, becoming a three-dimensional sphere of energy that slowly rises up off of the ground, levitating all of the raw materials and ritual components with it. During this time, they are melted down, cut, formed, cooled, composited, cast, and have anything else done to them as indicated in the drawing. Even if the incantation starts with a fully crafted item that needs no assembly, the geometer's circle takes 2 hours to analyze it and prepare it for enchantment. This is the most awe-inspiring part of the incantation, when all of the materials are held aloft in the air amid a glowing matrix of magical energy, being fractured, consumed and reformed by unearthly fires.
As mentioned earlier, the incantation can be used to craft nonmagic items if the ritualist does not want to enchant anything, in which case, he or she would abort the process at this point, and if successful, would have created a masterwork object.
If the ritualist is intent on enchanting the item within the matrix, he or she now makes a Spellcraft check, causing the spell components, scrolls, or whatever else to ignite and add their magic to the circle. Then a Knowledge (arcana) check is made, and if successful, the magic is correctly imbued into the item and the incantation is done.
Failure: If two consecutive skill checks are failed, then the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to highest mental ability score, and is exhausted末and all material components are destroyed
Variable Skill Check DC: The listed DCs are for a project of 50,000 gp or less. If the total gp value of the final creation is over 50,000 gp, then all of the skill checks are at +2 DC; if over 100,000 gp, then +4 DC; if over 150,000 gp, then +6 DC, etc (+2/50,000 gp).
Focus: Either a masterwork object, or all of the materials required to make a masterwork object
Material Component: A resonance fork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9915423); 2,000 gp worth of incensed charcoals and flammable chalks and powders; and a gp expenditure of 80% of the normal crafter's cost of the item that you are creating. Note that most magic items have the creation costs of the masterwork item built into the cost of the final magic item, but others will have to be figured in above the enchantment costs (such as most weapon and armor enchantments). If you have other abilities that reduce crafting gp costs, this one is applied first.
Experience Point Cost: This ritual requires the expenditure of 80% of the normal crafter's cost of the item that you are creating. If you have other abilities that reduce crafting XP costs, this one is applied first.
Backlash: The DC for Craft (drawing) checks is 5 points higher than for the rest of the skill checks required for the incantation. Four hours must pass between the Knowledge (nature or science) check and the Craft (appropriate type dependent upon type of magic item to be created). Also, the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to his or her highest mental ability, and is exhausted, owing to the intense drain of physical and magical strength during the ritual.
Special: This incantation cannot create artifacts or epic magical items of any kind.
DC Factors:
DC 32 base transmution
末 expensive focus is not counted, because the focus itself is benefitting from the incantation
-2 med to close
-2 close to touch
-1 more than one skill
-1 more than one skill list
-1 one hour between checks
-2 expensive material component
-2 caster is exhausted
-16 caster gains 4 negative levels that cannot be healed magically (return after 24 hours as normal, Fort save DC 19)
-4 caster gains 2 ability burn to highest mental ability score
-4 special backlash: after final craft check, 4 hours pass (crafting time) before next (first spellcraft) check; even if items are already crafted before ritual start, 2 hours pass at this point as physical properties are analyzed by ritual and readied for enchantment.
-1 backlash: craft drawing checks are +5 DC
-1 for DC increase dependent upon cost of item to be created
+10 ad hoc for game balance-changing nature of incantation
+2 rounds to minutes
+4 minutes to hours
+6 hours to days
+10 days to permanent
final DC: 27
Second Geometry末Consumption Circle
Transmutation
Effective Level: 9th Skill Checks: Craft (drawing) DC 32, one success; Appraise DC 27, one success; Knowledge (nature or sciences) DC 27, one success; Craft (appropriate types) DC 27, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 27, 2 successes; Knowledge (arcana) DC 27, 2 successes
Failure: Destruction of both magical items and all material components
Components: V, S, M, F, XP Casting Time: at least 12 hours
Range: Touch
Target: A magic item
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This incantation strips the dweomer from one magic item, and adds it to another. Applied to most enchantments, this reduces some of the cost and time required to simply imbue a magical object with even power than it was created with, and negates the need of prerequisite spells, crafting feats, and various other minutia, but as it strips the magic from the sacrificial item, it is completely consumed, being reduced to a scattering of nonmagical ashes and dust. A magical item sacrificed in this manner cannot be restored by any method known.
Both magic items must be placed beside each other, with a struck resonance fork touching both of them, and then a geometer's circle must be drawn around the items in the requisite chalks, charcoals, and powders. The circle must touch the resonance fork, and must include details about the physical construction of the two items. A Craft (drawing) ensures that the geometer's circle is drafted to exacting standards, and an Appraise check, a Knowledge (nature or sciences) check, and a pair of Craft (appropriate type dependent upon the kind of item to be created, and the kind to be sacrificed) checks all ensure that the drawing contains all of the needed information about the physical properties of the items.
At this point, the geometer's circle animates, becoming a sphere of magical energy that rises up off of the ground with the magic items held aloft in its matrix. A pair of Spellcraft checks now fixes the magical natures of both items into the geometer's circle, and finally, a pair of Knowledge (arcana) checks are needed as the ritualist disconnects the magical properties of the sacrificial item, and then reconnects them to the item that is to receive its power.
It is possible to combine the magics of two different kinds of magical items (such as putting the abilities of a magic cloak on a pair of boots), and the system is not at all different for doing so. However, magical properties that are specific to armor or weapons or another kind of object cannot generally be applied to differing kinds of items (you could not put the flaming weapon magical weapon property on a pair of boots).
Failure: If two consecutive skill checks are failed, then the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to highest mental ability score, and is exhausted末and both magic items are destroyed and reduced to a scattering of nonmagical ashes and dust. Unlike a sacrificed item destroyed in a successful ritual, an item destroyed in this manner can be restored to the state that it was at immediately prior to this incantation with a wish spell (this means that it has the same number of charges and everything).
Variable Skill Check DC: The listed DCs are for a project of 50,000 gp or less. If the total gp value of the final creation is over 50,000 gp, then all of the skill checks are at +2 DC; if over 100,000 gp, +4 DC; if over 150,000 gp, then +4 DC, etc (+2/50,000 gp).
Focus: Either a masterwork object, or all of the materials required to make a masterwork object
Material Component: A magic item to be sacrificed for any of its abilties; a resonance fork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9915423); 2,000 gp worth of incensed charcoals and flammable chalks and powders; and 50% of the normal crafter's cost required to improve one of the magic items with the abilities of the other. For example, if the ritualist wanted to sacrifice a ring of feather falling in order to augment a ring of jumping, the normal monetary cost would be 3,300 gp (as per MIC, pg 233), but with this incantation, it would be 2640 gp (not including material component cost). This would be an example of a ritual that would be cheaper to do traditionally, but would take two days longer to finish. If you have other abilities that reduce crafting XP costs, this one is applied first.
Focus: A magic item to be enhanced.
Experience Point Cost: The ritual requires an XP expenditure equal 50% of the normal crafter's cost required to improve one of the magic items with the additional abilities of the other. Thus, if the ritualist wanted to sacrifice a ring of feather falling in order to augment a ring of jumping, the normal XP cost would be 132 XP (as per MIC, pg 233), but with this incantation, it would be 106 XP. If you have other abilities that reduce crafting XP costs, this one is applied first.
Backlash: The DC for Craft (drawing) checks is 5 points higher than for the rest of the skill checks required for the incantation. Four hours must pass between the Knowledge (nature or science) check and the first Craft (appropriate type dependent upon type of magic item to be created, and the the type to be sacrificed) check. Also, the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to his or her highest mental ability, and is exhausted, owing to the intense drain of physical and magical strength during the ritual.
Special: This incantation cannot affect artifacts or epic magical items of any kind.
DC Factors:
DC 32 base transmution
末 expensive focus is not counted, because the focus itself is benefitting from the incantation
-2 med to close
-2 close to touch
-1 more than one skill
-1 more than one skill list
-1 one hour between checks
-2 expensive material component
-2 caster is exhausted
-16 caster gains 4 negative levels that cannot be healed magically (return after 24 hours as normal, Fort save DC 19)
-4 caster gains 2 ability burn to highest mental ability score
-4 special backlash: after final craft check, 4 hours pass (crafting time) before next (first spellcraft) check; even if items are already crafted before ritual start, 2 hours pass at this point as physical properties are analyzed by ritual and readied for enchantment.
-1 backlash: craft drawing checks are +5 DC
-1 for DC increase dependent upon cost of item to be created
+10 ad hoc for game balance-changing nature of incantation
+2 rounds to minutes
+4 minutes to hours
+6 hours to days
+10 days to permanent
final DC: 27
NOTES
As far as balance goes, these incantations cut crafting time down to 1 day for pretty much anything, even castles and airships. and they can cut prices by a decent amount, both in XP and gp, though smaller projects are cheaper (and slower) to do with normal crafting methods.
further, any character can create these items, whether they have caster levels末or sufficient caster levels to use a crafting feats末or not, so long as they can meet the material components and skill check prereqs.
but the cost is 4 negative levels that cannot be healed magically (negative level version of ability burn), and 2 ability burn (maybe not as taxing as negative levels, but lasts longer).
further, with the scaling skill check DC dependent upon gp value of the project, by the time you are crafting 100,00 gp objects (roughly WBL at 13th level, or half of WBL at 15th level), you are having to make DC 31 skill checks (with DC 36 Craft (drawing) checks. not hard, but still requiring some resources in and of itself to accomplish even if they are just skill points and a high ability score modifier.
originally, i had made so that the incantations could produce magic items of a higher caster level than the character level of the ritualist, going along with the ability of lower level characters to produce 9th level spell effects with other incantations. but then i figured that this made it waaaaaay too powerful, and that the other benefits already made it worth high level spell slots.
also, i have gone back and forth on whether destroyed magic items on a failed casting of the second ritual would be able to be restored through a wish spell, or a limited wish spell. i'm not sure which would be more balanced, frankly. or if it even matters.
so, balance?
final DCs? 27 base seems reasonable to me; if i need to go lower, i'll add more ability burn. if i need to go higher, i'll either cut ability burn or lower negative levels.
6th level sound right for 1st ritual?
9th sound right for 2nd?
is one-day crafting crazy-unbalanced, or is it ok?
wish or limited wish to fix items in a botched transfer, a la ritual #2?
spelling, grammar?
anything else?
do you guys even know what a wacom cintiq is?
changes:
12/18/10: allowed aid another uses (+2 DC); increased backlash from 3 to 4 negative levels, which cannot be healed magically (increasing DC and DC mitigating factor worth); and decreased backlash ability burn from 3 to 2; overall DC went from 35 to 27; changed gp/xp cost of 2nd ritual to 50% normal crafter's cost rather than 80%.
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ca_gallery/85437.jpg
The medieval, magical combination of a Wacom Cintiq and a 3D printer.
末Me, Myself and I
These incantations were created by a wizard obsessed with efficiency of energy in his spell research and magical item crafting. He noticed as he worked, that much of the magic unleashed when casting a spell or imbuing an item with power simply radiated into the atmosphere, or was absorbed into surrounding objects. Thus, he went to great lengths to make sure that every spark of magic that he loosed was applied directly to his objective. While never perfected by any means, these incantations have proven of immeasurable value to him and the few others that he has shared his secrets with.
The secret to these incantations is a series of geometric diagraming matrices that the wizard designed to route the magical energy directly to its target with very little loss of power. This not only decreases the overall amount of energy needed to be pumped into the enchantment, but it drastically reduces the necessary time expenditure as well. He took to calling these diagrams his "geometer's circles."
Limitations
A geometer's circle is not limited to specific sizes or complexities of objects. Indeed, the wizard who created the incantations is said to have used an enormous circle in order to construct a magical ship. However, all of the raw materials must be present at the time of the incantation, and the creator must have sufficient knowledge of every step of creation, or it will fail.
Further, a geometer's circle cannot be used to create a magical item with a caster level any higher than the ritualist's HD. Thus, a 10th level factotum using a geometer's circle would function as a 10th level caster.
Lastly, though a geometer's circle can handle enormous tasks, it puts more of a strain on both the magic, and the caster. If the total gp value of the final creation is over 50,000 gp, then all of the skill checks are at +2 DC; if over 100,000 gp, +4 DC; if over 150,000 gp, then +4 DC, etc (+2/50,000 gp).
Backlash
The difficult process of creating a geometer's circle is reflected in two kinds of incantation backlash that are specific to geometer's circle rituals. First, during the casting of any of these incantations, the DC of all Craft (drawing) checks for the purposes of creating the circle itself is always 5 points higher than the rest of the incantation's skill checks. And second, unlike the hour that must pass between each skill check, 4 hours pass between the Knowledge (nature or sciences) check and the Craft (appropriate type dependent upon the kind of item to be created) check, as the geometer's circle begins to analyze, transform and then assemble the materials. If the resultant Craft check fails, another 4 hours must be spent repeating the process before the check can be reattempted.
But the true, taxing nature of the incantation is reached at the end of the ritual, whether successful or unsuccessful. Upon finishing the ritual, the caster receives 4 negative levels which cannot be healed by magic (after 24 hours, a DC 19 Fortitude check heals negative levels on a one-for-one basis), 4 points of ability burn to his or her highest mental ability, and is exhausted.
Efficiency
The material agents required for creating a geometer's circle make it impractical for the augmentation of less powerful末and therefore, cheaper末magic. In general, if a crafting project would cost less than 5,000 gp (the cost of the resonance fork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9915423) and other material components), it is cheaper to do it by traditional rituals than by a geometer's circle incantation. Further, the physical and magical toll that it takes on the ritualist makes this incantation dangerous, and it should never be undertaken without proper precautions.
However, in the end, this incantation is almost always faster, sometimes by many weeks, and that may or may not be a deciding factor in whether or not it is worth it to use traditional rituals in order to craft less expensive magical items.
Mitigating Factors
Unlike normal incantations, the skill checks of a geometer's circle incantation can benefit from the efforts of the Aid Another action, so long as the
Substitutions
The wizard that created the geometer's circles happened to be a decent sketch artist, and therefore, circles were created from precisely drawn sketches, using the Craft (drawing) or Craft (drafting) skill. But there is no rule that the circles cannot be painted, using the Craft (painting) skill; or carved, using Craft (sculpture), Craft (stonemasonry), Craft (carpentry), Craft (gemcutting); or similar. In fact, using the Craft (leatherworking) skill, the circles could be burned or etched into hide, and using the Craft (weaving) skill, they could be made into great tapestries. Of course, the material components are consumed with fire during the crafting, so the cheaper the better. But anything reasonably conceivable of bearing complex images could be used to create a geometer's circle.
Also, it is entirely realistic that a divine version of the geometer's circle could work, one based off of the Knowledge (religion) skill as opposed to the Knowledge (arcana) skill. Perhaps psionics or some other kind of magic or power could be adapted to work with this as well.
Rumors
Though two circles have been shared with a select few other artificers and geometers, it is thought that the wizard has a handful of even more potent geometer's circle incantations that he has perfected since then.
Incantations
First Geometery末Creation Circle
Transmutation
Effective Level: 6th
Skill Checks: Craft (drawing) DC 32, one success; Appraise DC 27, one success; Knowledge (nature or sciences) DC 27, one success; Craft (appropriate types) DC 27, one success; Spellcraft DC 27, one success; Knowledge (arcana) DC 27, one success
Failure: Destruction of all material components
Components: V, S, M, XP
Casting Time: at least 7-9 hours
Range: Touch
Target: A magic item
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This incantation was created as a means to significantly streamline the crafting of magical items. But it in fact works quite well for creating nonmagical items as well, taking raw materials and fabricating them into finished, polished objects as detailed in the drawn geometer's circle.
The ritualist must place all raw materials, including spell components, any scrolls used, etc, beside each other, with a struck resonance fork placed between them and touching at least one of the materials. Then the geometer's circle is drawn around the objects, requiring a Craft (drawing) check. The circle must connect each component and raw material to the resonance fork, and must include details about the physical properties and construction of the final object.
Then, an Appraise check, a Knowledge (nature or sciences) check, and a Craft (appropriate type dependent upon the kind of item to be created) check need to be made, where the success of these checks indicates that the ritualist correctly understands the physical crafting process and the natural sciences behind the crafting.
When all of these checks are successfully made, the circle itself animates, becoming a three-dimensional sphere of energy that slowly rises up off of the ground, levitating all of the raw materials and ritual components with it. During this time, they are melted down, cut, formed, cooled, composited, cast, and have anything else done to them as indicated in the drawing. Even if the incantation starts with a fully crafted item that needs no assembly, the geometer's circle takes 2 hours to analyze it and prepare it for enchantment. This is the most awe-inspiring part of the incantation, when all of the materials are held aloft in the air amid a glowing matrix of magical energy, being fractured, consumed and reformed by unearthly fires.
As mentioned earlier, the incantation can be used to craft nonmagic items if the ritualist does not want to enchant anything, in which case, he or she would abort the process at this point, and if successful, would have created a masterwork object.
If the ritualist is intent on enchanting the item within the matrix, he or she now makes a Spellcraft check, causing the spell components, scrolls, or whatever else to ignite and add their magic to the circle. Then a Knowledge (arcana) check is made, and if successful, the magic is correctly imbued into the item and the incantation is done.
Failure: If two consecutive skill checks are failed, then the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to highest mental ability score, and is exhausted末and all material components are destroyed
Variable Skill Check DC: The listed DCs are for a project of 50,000 gp or less. If the total gp value of the final creation is over 50,000 gp, then all of the skill checks are at +2 DC; if over 100,000 gp, then +4 DC; if over 150,000 gp, then +6 DC, etc (+2/50,000 gp).
Focus: Either a masterwork object, or all of the materials required to make a masterwork object
Material Component: A resonance fork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9915423); 2,000 gp worth of incensed charcoals and flammable chalks and powders; and a gp expenditure of 80% of the normal crafter's cost of the item that you are creating. Note that most magic items have the creation costs of the masterwork item built into the cost of the final magic item, but others will have to be figured in above the enchantment costs (such as most weapon and armor enchantments). If you have other abilities that reduce crafting gp costs, this one is applied first.
Experience Point Cost: This ritual requires the expenditure of 80% of the normal crafter's cost of the item that you are creating. If you have other abilities that reduce crafting XP costs, this one is applied first.
Backlash: The DC for Craft (drawing) checks is 5 points higher than for the rest of the skill checks required for the incantation. Four hours must pass between the Knowledge (nature or science) check and the Craft (appropriate type dependent upon type of magic item to be created). Also, the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to his or her highest mental ability, and is exhausted, owing to the intense drain of physical and magical strength during the ritual.
Special: This incantation cannot create artifacts or epic magical items of any kind.
DC Factors:
DC 32 base transmution
末 expensive focus is not counted, because the focus itself is benefitting from the incantation
-2 med to close
-2 close to touch
-1 more than one skill
-1 more than one skill list
-1 one hour between checks
-2 expensive material component
-2 caster is exhausted
-16 caster gains 4 negative levels that cannot be healed magically (return after 24 hours as normal, Fort save DC 19)
-4 caster gains 2 ability burn to highest mental ability score
-4 special backlash: after final craft check, 4 hours pass (crafting time) before next (first spellcraft) check; even if items are already crafted before ritual start, 2 hours pass at this point as physical properties are analyzed by ritual and readied for enchantment.
-1 backlash: craft drawing checks are +5 DC
-1 for DC increase dependent upon cost of item to be created
+10 ad hoc for game balance-changing nature of incantation
+2 rounds to minutes
+4 minutes to hours
+6 hours to days
+10 days to permanent
final DC: 27
Second Geometry末Consumption Circle
Transmutation
Effective Level: 9th Skill Checks: Craft (drawing) DC 32, one success; Appraise DC 27, one success; Knowledge (nature or sciences) DC 27, one success; Craft (appropriate types) DC 27, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 27, 2 successes; Knowledge (arcana) DC 27, 2 successes
Failure: Destruction of both magical items and all material components
Components: V, S, M, F, XP Casting Time: at least 12 hours
Range: Touch
Target: A magic item
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This incantation strips the dweomer from one magic item, and adds it to another. Applied to most enchantments, this reduces some of the cost and time required to simply imbue a magical object with even power than it was created with, and negates the need of prerequisite spells, crafting feats, and various other minutia, but as it strips the magic from the sacrificial item, it is completely consumed, being reduced to a scattering of nonmagical ashes and dust. A magical item sacrificed in this manner cannot be restored by any method known.
Both magic items must be placed beside each other, with a struck resonance fork touching both of them, and then a geometer's circle must be drawn around the items in the requisite chalks, charcoals, and powders. The circle must touch the resonance fork, and must include details about the physical construction of the two items. A Craft (drawing) ensures that the geometer's circle is drafted to exacting standards, and an Appraise check, a Knowledge (nature or sciences) check, and a pair of Craft (appropriate type dependent upon the kind of item to be created, and the kind to be sacrificed) checks all ensure that the drawing contains all of the needed information about the physical properties of the items.
At this point, the geometer's circle animates, becoming a sphere of magical energy that rises up off of the ground with the magic items held aloft in its matrix. A pair of Spellcraft checks now fixes the magical natures of both items into the geometer's circle, and finally, a pair of Knowledge (arcana) checks are needed as the ritualist disconnects the magical properties of the sacrificial item, and then reconnects them to the item that is to receive its power.
It is possible to combine the magics of two different kinds of magical items (such as putting the abilities of a magic cloak on a pair of boots), and the system is not at all different for doing so. However, magical properties that are specific to armor or weapons or another kind of object cannot generally be applied to differing kinds of items (you could not put the flaming weapon magical weapon property on a pair of boots).
Failure: If two consecutive skill checks are failed, then the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to highest mental ability score, and is exhausted末and both magic items are destroyed and reduced to a scattering of nonmagical ashes and dust. Unlike a sacrificed item destroyed in a successful ritual, an item destroyed in this manner can be restored to the state that it was at immediately prior to this incantation with a wish spell (this means that it has the same number of charges and everything).
Variable Skill Check DC: The listed DCs are for a project of 50,000 gp or less. If the total gp value of the final creation is over 50,000 gp, then all of the skill checks are at +2 DC; if over 100,000 gp, +4 DC; if over 150,000 gp, then +4 DC, etc (+2/50,000 gp).
Focus: Either a masterwork object, or all of the materials required to make a masterwork object
Material Component: A magic item to be sacrificed for any of its abilties; a resonance fork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9915423); 2,000 gp worth of incensed charcoals and flammable chalks and powders; and 50% of the normal crafter's cost required to improve one of the magic items with the abilities of the other. For example, if the ritualist wanted to sacrifice a ring of feather falling in order to augment a ring of jumping, the normal monetary cost would be 3,300 gp (as per MIC, pg 233), but with this incantation, it would be 2640 gp (not including material component cost). This would be an example of a ritual that would be cheaper to do traditionally, but would take two days longer to finish. If you have other abilities that reduce crafting XP costs, this one is applied first.
Focus: A magic item to be enhanced.
Experience Point Cost: The ritual requires an XP expenditure equal 50% of the normal crafter's cost required to improve one of the magic items with the additional abilities of the other. Thus, if the ritualist wanted to sacrifice a ring of feather falling in order to augment a ring of jumping, the normal XP cost would be 132 XP (as per MIC, pg 233), but with this incantation, it would be 106 XP. If you have other abilities that reduce crafting XP costs, this one is applied first.
Backlash: The DC for Craft (drawing) checks is 5 points higher than for the rest of the skill checks required for the incantation. Four hours must pass between the Knowledge (nature or science) check and the first Craft (appropriate type dependent upon type of magic item to be created, and the the type to be sacrificed) check. Also, the caster gains 4 negative levels, 2 points of ability burn to his or her highest mental ability, and is exhausted, owing to the intense drain of physical and magical strength during the ritual.
Special: This incantation cannot affect artifacts or epic magical items of any kind.
DC Factors:
DC 32 base transmution
末 expensive focus is not counted, because the focus itself is benefitting from the incantation
-2 med to close
-2 close to touch
-1 more than one skill
-1 more than one skill list
-1 one hour between checks
-2 expensive material component
-2 caster is exhausted
-16 caster gains 4 negative levels that cannot be healed magically (return after 24 hours as normal, Fort save DC 19)
-4 caster gains 2 ability burn to highest mental ability score
-4 special backlash: after final craft check, 4 hours pass (crafting time) before next (first spellcraft) check; even if items are already crafted before ritual start, 2 hours pass at this point as physical properties are analyzed by ritual and readied for enchantment.
-1 backlash: craft drawing checks are +5 DC
-1 for DC increase dependent upon cost of item to be created
+10 ad hoc for game balance-changing nature of incantation
+2 rounds to minutes
+4 minutes to hours
+6 hours to days
+10 days to permanent
final DC: 27
NOTES
As far as balance goes, these incantations cut crafting time down to 1 day for pretty much anything, even castles and airships. and they can cut prices by a decent amount, both in XP and gp, though smaller projects are cheaper (and slower) to do with normal crafting methods.
further, any character can create these items, whether they have caster levels末or sufficient caster levels to use a crafting feats末or not, so long as they can meet the material components and skill check prereqs.
but the cost is 4 negative levels that cannot be healed magically (negative level version of ability burn), and 2 ability burn (maybe not as taxing as negative levels, but lasts longer).
further, with the scaling skill check DC dependent upon gp value of the project, by the time you are crafting 100,00 gp objects (roughly WBL at 13th level, or half of WBL at 15th level), you are having to make DC 31 skill checks (with DC 36 Craft (drawing) checks. not hard, but still requiring some resources in and of itself to accomplish even if they are just skill points and a high ability score modifier.
originally, i had made so that the incantations could produce magic items of a higher caster level than the character level of the ritualist, going along with the ability of lower level characters to produce 9th level spell effects with other incantations. but then i figured that this made it waaaaaay too powerful, and that the other benefits already made it worth high level spell slots.
also, i have gone back and forth on whether destroyed magic items on a failed casting of the second ritual would be able to be restored through a wish spell, or a limited wish spell. i'm not sure which would be more balanced, frankly. or if it even matters.
so, balance?
final DCs? 27 base seems reasonable to me; if i need to go lower, i'll add more ability burn. if i need to go higher, i'll either cut ability burn or lower negative levels.
6th level sound right for 1st ritual?
9th sound right for 2nd?
is one-day crafting crazy-unbalanced, or is it ok?
wish or limited wish to fix items in a botched transfer, a la ritual #2?
spelling, grammar?
anything else?
do you guys even know what a wacom cintiq is?
changes:
12/18/10: allowed aid another uses (+2 DC); increased backlash from 3 to 4 negative levels, which cannot be healed magically (increasing DC and DC mitigating factor worth); and decreased backlash ability burn from 3 to 2; overall DC went from 35 to 27; changed gp/xp cost of 2nd ritual to 50% normal crafter's cost rather than 80%.