Here's how the whole Magic Item Reclamation thing works.
Basically, the illithids have been gathering magical junk from across Brackendale for centuries. The place was once lousy with magical armaments, so the ruins have tons of stuff lying around.
However, the area is full of magical radiation, which makes everything unpredictable. Mundane items may have spontaneously developed magical powers, magical items might have gained new abilities, but it is all random and sometimes dangerous. Cursed items are common, as old enchantments are corrupted.
And much of the stuff is just randomly magical junk that is valueless. They might find a bell that crows like a rooster when rung, or a painting that drips blood every second Tuesday at 10 am. Obviously magical, but not exactly useful.
Fortunately, the illithids are clever enough to find a use for such garbage: Artificers. The Artificer class has a feature that lets you drain the magic (represented by the xp it took to create) from an item, and spend it elsewhere. So the illithids have artificers working for them to recycle old junk into new goodies.
All magic items are worth 1/25th their price in XP. So a +1 shield (1000 gp, not counting the masterwork item) is 40 xp, a Ring of Regeneration (90000 gp) is 3600, etc. If given magical items, the illithids will drain the xp, keep 25% of it as a surcharge, and save the remaining 75% in an account for you to make new magic items.
No money is involved. The illithids have no use for gold, and the physical materials required for crafting the items can be acquired when they melt down or reuse items. So if one of them drains the power from an ornate, jewel encrusted +4 sword that happens to be useless because it is cursed, they still have a damn nice sword afterward, and will reuse those materials. This is somewhat different from the "book-legal" version of the Artificer, who must destroy the items to drain them. I'm just going to say that the illithids are intelligent enough and have been at this long enough to have more efficient methods.
Basically, this is a good deal because merely selling magical items nets you only 50% of their original value. Using Reclamation gets you 75%, providing you spend it directly on new magic items. And frankly, what the hell else are adventurers of your level going to buy?
For example, the illithids gave you a +4 Dwarven Waraxe for helping them. This item is worth 32330 gp, but you could only sell it for 16165 (possibly a bit more with a bluff or diplomacy check for good haggling). But the 32000 gp worth of magical enhancements (the MW axe itself doesn't count) are worth 1280 xp. After the illithids take their share, you've got 960 xp. That's a 24000 gp magic item you could trade the axe for, rather than selling it for 16165 and then buying an item with that money.
You can each have a separate account for xp, or share one as a group for all the party loot you don't need. The illithids will drain any magical items you bring to them; potions, scrolls, wands with only a few charges remaining, etc. Heck, if you can capture a construct "alive" and bring it to them, that'd be worth a lot. They aren't picky; magic is basically a liquid asset to them and the source doesn't matter.
As an alternative, if you want to gamble on a better deal the illithids will sell existing items from their junk piles to you, rather than craft new ones. These cost half as much xp as new ones, but they have been lying around in magical radiation for ages, and are thus a little unpredictable. Each of these comes with a curse (from the Cursed Items SRD page), which will be determined randomly upon purchase.
Some of these curses are completely harmless, and thus are an excellent deal; your hair may grow one inch, the item might feel oddly warm or cool, etc. Others are dangerous or render the item almost unusable. You must take a risk, and there are no refunds on cursed items.
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
How to Play Rogues Properly:
Spoiler
Like this:
Last edited by Starscream : 09-25-2011 at 01:14 PM.
Sounds interesting at least. What sort of spells can we cast that can identify curses? does Identify work?
From the SRD:
"A simple detect magic spell yields a misleading aura and strength, often indicating that the item is a noncursed item of similar sort. An identify spell only has a 1% chance per caster level to reveal a cursed item’s true properties, including the cursed aspect. Analyze dweomer reveals the true nature of a cursed item. "
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
What you really need for that is Analyze Dweomer... is the party Druid/Wizard/Mystic Theurge up to 6th level spells?
not for one more level myself, but i could use it if it were in an item/scroll. gives me cause to wonder if it is worth it to get such an item, even if the cost is split 5 ways; what's the cost to remove 5 curses?
not for one more level myself, but i could use it if it were in an item/scroll. gives me cause to wonder if it is worth it to get such an item, even if the cost is split 5 ways; what's the cost to remove 5 curses?
Remove Curse is a Cleric-3 spell without an expensive component. As long as someone else goes first, I can play cleanup at no cost other than time.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Couple of points:
1) Curse is determined at time of purchase. You say "Gimme a sword of tarrasque spanking", the illithids say "xp in advance, no refunds". Then if you find out that the sword only works while listening to Justine Bieber, you are stuck with it. Can't check the item before you decide to pay.
2) Remove Curse can help you get rid of a clingy item (the sort that won't go away), but it can't actually cleanse the item of its curse. A cursed item is cursed, plain and simple. If 3rd level spells with no pricey material components could fix them, the illithids would do that and then sell them at full price.
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
well, shame as that is, seems like it might still be worth it in the long run.
Also, as much as I really, -really- wanted to RP with the black dragon this weekend, I have an opportunity for an Extra Credit field trip to a nature preserve this weekend for roughly an extra 12.5% of points in my class (50 points out of 400). unfortunately, the field trip is all damn day Saturday (we leave at 9 AM, get back at 5 PM), so I think it's safe to say I won't make it back in time for game, unfortunately.
Short notice, but I probably won't make the next two session - this weekend I'm helping my sister move, and next weekend I've got a date.
Quote:
Originally Posted by magotter
might as well post that i won't be attending the october 15th game either; gonna take my practice GRE test.
Well, the good news is that I won't be attending October 15th either, so you won't miss anything. My mother is coming down to visit, and me, her, my aunt, my uncle, and my cousin are all going to New Orleans for the weekend.
In other news, Drakon (Muku's player) will be taking a hiatus for a while (duration unknown). He may very well return, but is not sure of when. magotter will continue to play, but since Deego was designed to be a double act with Muku, he will be taking on a new character for the time being. Who I guess will be introduced on the 22nd, since three of us won't be here the 15th.
Also, server online.
IP: 68.109.12.224
Port: 51234
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
Session closed. Lots of story stuff that not everyone was present for, so I'll recap in detail and put XP and loot in another post.
Decided rather than to slay/subdue Spime the black dragon as the Elder Brain suggested, you would parlay with her. Set up a sign to get her attention and waited overnight.
During the night, a harpy archer named Gretta attacked, but Ornald took control of her mind.
The next morning you spied a mouse watching the party suspiciously, and it turned out this was Spime in disguise. She was initially not receptive to the idea of helping you, even when offered the possibility of ruling the area with both Brains gone. It quickly became clear that she had some sort of grudge against the Elder, and would not consider helping it under any circumstances.
Eventually she explained; 400 years ago Spime and her mate Kryxx worked for the Council of Magi that ruled Brackendale. They lived in an old temple and guarded various artifacts that the Magi studied (several of which were used to merge the Magi into the Master Brain, including the Key). The artifacts were kept as part of the dragons' hoard, in the hope that no intruders would cross two dragons. The dragons were well paid and enjoyed being around the priceless objects.
However, when the war began between the Elder and the Master, some of the Elder's illithids raided the Temple for as many items as they could get, to understand how the Master had been created and prevent it from happening again. Spime was Charmed and rendered helpless, but could not be made to attack her mate. Kryxx charged the intruders in a rage, and a panicked illithid smacked him with the closest object to hand, the Key of Earth. Instantly Kryxx was petrified.
When the Charm wore off Spime tried to catch up with the illithids in the hopes the Key could restore Kryxx, but couldn't find them. Dragons learn new spells slowly, so Spime sealed Kryxx in the temple for safe-keeping until she could learn the spell to restore him. This took a couple of centuries.
When she was ready, she discovered to her horror that the Temple was now occupied by a Fey called a Ruin Chanter, who had been given the land by the Elder in return for information. The Fey, called Barnum, had mistaken the stone Kryxx for a normal statue and smashed him, using the pieces to assemble creatures called Ruin Elementals. Spime tried to get the pieces back, but Barnum refused, and had powerful magic at his disposal that was very effective against the dragon, forcing her to flee. The machinations of the Elder Brain had now not only cost Spime her mate, but also her chances at recovering him.
The party agreed to help in return for information. Traveling to the temple, you first found an elemental in a room covered in spikes, where the creature tried to bull rush you into walls. It was quickly dispatched and a piece of Kryss retrieved.
Next you faced Barnum himself, along with three more elementals. This was a much tougher battle, as Barnum could age you prematurely draining Rilath's physical stats, or baffle your mind causing confusion to Madila. Eventually he was forced to teleport away, and the elementals were smashed. After the fight Deego noticed a couple of coins near the wall and found a secret room containing treasure.
Next there was an elemental in a room full of mirrors that caused the creature to develop two Mirror Images per round, but you were soon able to eliminate the duplicates and kill the real thing, by having Rilath target all three at once with Scorching Rays.
Finally you came to a room with an elemental that was already dead. Deego (who had been polymorphed into a red dragon for the last fight) quickly ran in to get the body, but found the elemental was covered in Sovereign Glue. Struggling against it, a trap was set off that unleashed a Slime Wave on him, which Madila had to burn off. Rilath tried to polymorph Deego into a Black Pudding to dissolve the glue, but the spell backfired and pelted him with rotten fruit, which also stuck to the glue. Then it backfired again and polymorphed Rilath instead, who had to damage Deego to remove the glue.
All pieces collected, you reassembled Kryxx and Spime was at long last able to restore him. She tells you that the Master Brain, much like the Elder Brain, lives in a citadel on another plane where it is safe from the mutations that roam the land. It is on the Plane of Shadow, and the only way to reach it is by activating a Way Gate that can pinpoint specific locations, as opposed to ordinary planar travel which is highly inaccurate. She knows where this Way Gate is, as she has visited the Master often to deliver reports. However, she does not know how to work it, it was always activated for her when she was expected. You'll have to decipher the controls yourselves, and the area might be dangerous; the Master tends to get rid of its failed experiments by simply tossing them out the Gate, and some of them stick around.
Spime also informs you that you might not be the only people currently interested in Brackendale. Last time she visited, the dragon witnessed a meeting between the Master and some "honored guests", who seemed to be discussing an alliance. Spime doesn't know what these creatures are, but they came in many different shapes and she suspects them to be Fiends of some kind.
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
Crunch time. Four players in attendance for 1st part, three for 2nd.
XP:
Ruin Elemental in spiked room: 263 for level 14, 325 for level 13
3 Elementals and Barnum: 1575 for level 14, 1950 for level 13
Ruin Elemental in mirror room: 350 for level 14, 433 for level 13
Trapped Elemental: 117 for level 14, 163 for level 13
Treasure:
2308 gp
212 pp
Arcane Scroll (Gaseous Form, Heroism) (750 gp)
Chain Shirt (Small) (+4 armor, Cold Resistance) (34250 gp)
Heavy Steel Shield (+2 shield, Arrow Catching)(9170 gp)
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds (750 gp)
Wand of Fireball (5th) (9 of 50 charges) (2025 gp)
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
Hmm... how much XP do I add to Ornald? Obviously the "Ruin elemental in the spiked room", and obviously not mirror's and soverign glue... but what do we do about Barnum and baily, where I was there for the first half of the combat, but not the second?
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Hmm... how much XP do I add to Ornald? Obviously the "Ruin elemental in the spiked room", and obviously not mirror's and soverign glue... but what do we do about Barnum and baily, where I was there for the first half of the combat, but not the second?
You handed out a couple of Cure spells afterward, took out one of the elementals yourself by rebuking it, and the harpy you dominated was involved throughout, so just go ahead and count yourself as a participant for the whole thing.
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
You handed out a couple of Cure spells afterward, took out one of the elementals yourself by rebuking it, and the harpy you dominated was involved throughout, so just go ahead and count yourself as a participant for the whole thing.
So 2305, then. OK. Sheet updated with new XP total.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Hey guys, I hate to do this on such short notice, but I am feeling Not Well tonight (probably minor food poisoning, ate some really crappy gyros for dinner). As such, it has become abundantly clear that I'm not going to be getting to sleep at a sane hour tonight, and will no doubt want to sleep in tomorrow.
Sorry.
Oh, Magotter, were you planning to introduce your new character this week, or play Deego? I haven't got a sheet yet, and at the very least this delay will allow me time to find a way to introduce him.
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
Hey guys, I hate to do this on such short notice, but I am feeling Not Well tonight (probably minor food poisoning, ate some really crappy gyros for dinner). As such, it has become abundantly clear that I'm not going to be getting to sleep at a sane hour tonight, and will no doubt want to sleep in tomorrow.
Life takes priority. I hope you get to feeling better soon.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Hey guys, I hate to do this on such short notice,
Oh, Magotter, were you planning to introduce your new character this week, or play Deego? I haven't got a sheet yet, and at the very least this delay will allow me time to find a way to introduce him.
I am more or less ready to play my new PC, save that as usual i am tardy buying his gear/spells. Though, I dunno, i am still feeling wishy washy over switching PCs. I rather like deego, and have been musing just rebuilding him and losing all my XP for level 13 gained so far, as you did with Drakon. Eh, not sure.
Hey guys, I hate to throw this up last minute, but last minute is what I was told: I won't be around for the early portion of the game; my sister has invited (read: forced) me to come to one of the "interviewing help seminars" being hosted by the corporation she works for. it runs from 10am till 1pm, and i should be back by 1:30 for the tail end of game.
I gotta tell ya, i'm starting to get the shakes after lacking so much game
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Re: Key of Creation OOC Thread
