Minimum caster levels

[BrokenChord]

Wait, so under-cutting everyone else's profits is honest now?

I said mostly honest, not totally honest. You're still putting in effort and selling things to customers for fair prices (they're just lower fair prices, because the CL is lower; lower price for lower quality, y'know?).

[Necroticplague]

Uh... No, not really. Though I suspect that has more to do with my definition of grandiose differing from that of most people.

I mean, take Ur-Priest. You're stealing power from gods and have 9ths earlier than most everybody else sans shenanigans, plus, y'know, required Evil alignment. Why sit around making a mostly honest living in the form of scrolls when you can conquer planes? (Or at least rule kingdoms, for those who haven't come quite that far yet.)

Because both of those things require funds. Kingdoms need armed forces of some kind to be rules, planes need large armies of exotic creatures to be conquered. Even if you plan on abusing calling spells to get your army instead, you still need to pay the resultant fiends (and if you plan on paying them in souls, you need money for either material components for trap the soul, or thinuam weapons). Selling consumable at a lower cost both gets you these funds, while also allowing you to weaken the resources of who might be your greatest competition (other casters, especially clerics).

Also, on the topic of lower CL=lower quality, this isn't really that true. Most of the spells you want in a wand or a scroll are pretty CL independent, like resurrection magics or healing spells.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Because both of those things require funds. Kingdoms need armed forces of some kind to be rules, planes need large armies of exotic creatures to be conquered. Even if you plan on abusing calling spells to get your army instead, you still need to pay the resultant fiends (and if you plan on paying them in souls, you need money for either material components for trap the soul, or thinuam weapons). Selling consumable at a lower cost both gets you these funds, while also allowing you to weaken the resources of who might be your greatest competition (other casters, especially clerics).

Also, on the topic of lower CL=lower quality, this isn't really that true. Most of the spells you want in a wand or a scroll are pretty CL independent, like resurrection magics or healing spells.

In short:

What You Make

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What You Play

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[General Sajaru]

Also, on the topic of lower CL=lower quality, this isn't really that true. Most of the spells you want in a wand or a scroll are pretty CL independent, like resurrection magics or healing spells.

I think this could go either way; especially at low levels (when cost is most important) you're going to rely upon the wand or scroll maker's CL. At higher levels, paying a little more doesn't really matter.