Thought bottle - Abuse [Archive] - Wizards Community

Thought bottle - Abuse [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
HIDragonstar
03-06-07, 03:25 AM I've been looking for some sort of errata or FAQ answer on the Thought Bottle from Complete Arcane. A friend of mine has found something that I am extremely uncomfortable with.

A thought bottle can be used to offset level loss as a restoration spell can, but is effective against level loss that even restoration can't undo (including levels lost due to death, but not the negative levels bestowed by magic items such as holy weapon). When a user's experience has bee stored within the bottle, he can subsequently access the bottle to restore his XP total to exactly what it was when it was last stored, negating any levels lost in the interim. Storing experience in the bottle is difficult, and the user must pay 500 XP (deducted before storing) to do so. Only the creature that stored experience can retrieve it, but if the bottle is destroyed or lost, the user suffers no ill effects.

He figures any time he loses a level due to either Death, or perhaps purposefully failing a Level Drain. He can then use up the experience points he had to create magic items. (Since the amount of experience you lose is enough to put you at 1/2 of the previous level.) Get to the lowest xp he can presently reach, then use the thought bottle to recover the level he lost, and get the magic items for no xp cost.
SillyRobot
03-06-07, 06:35 AM The thought bottle is open to whole set of abuses. Do yourself a favour and just say it doesn't exist. The whole lose a level on death thing really doesn't have much sting in 3.5 anyway.
Merestil Haye
03-06-07, 06:41 AM He figures any time he loses a level due to either Death, or perhaps purposefully failing a Level Drain. He can then use up the experience points he had to create magic items. (Since the amount of experience you lose is enough to put you at 1/2 of the previous level.) Get to the lowest xp he can presently reach, then use the thought bottle to recover the level he lost, and get the magic items for no xp cost.Well, he appears to have interpreted the written words correctly. It does indeed allow that sort of shenanigans.

I personally don't allow the thought bottle to store xp. Any other function, yes fine. That, no.
Artector
03-06-07, 06:56 AM As has been stated before. The Thought Bottle is so broken the Character Optimization Boards won't touch it.

QFT:
The thought bottle is open to whole set of abuses. Do yourself a favour and just say it doesn't exist. The whole lose a level on death thing really doesn't have much sting in 3.5 anyway.
Dragonteuthis
03-06-07, 07:01 PM Yes. Why WotC saw fit to introduce a "save point" into a pen-and-paper RPG is beyond me.

Leave save points in the video games, folks.
Krusk
03-07-07, 01:29 AM easy solution aside from banning it.

tell him it will give a set ammount of xp based on the level of the character using it. To use it a character must have been slain with the past 3 days and brought back to life. the set ammount of xp is exactly equal to the ammount needed to level from the halfway point.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
HIDragonstar 03-06-07, 03:25 AM	I've been looking for some sort of errata or FAQ answer on the Thought Bottle from Complete Arcane. A friend of mine has found something that I am extremely uncomfortable with. A thought bottle can be used to offset level loss as a restoration spell can, but is effective against level loss that even restoration can't undo (including levels lost due to death, but not the negative levels bestowed by magic items such as holy weapon). When a user's experience has bee stored within the bottle, he can subsequently access the bottle to restore his XP total to exactly what it was when it was last stored, negating any levels lost in the interim. Storing experience in the bottle is difficult, and the user must pay 500 XP (deducted before storing) to do so. Only the creature that stored experience can retrieve it, but if the bottle is destroyed or lost, the user suffers no ill effects. He figures any time he loses a level due to either Death, or perhaps purposefully failing a Level Drain. He can then use up the experience points he had to create magic items. (Since the amount of experience you lose is enough to put you at 1/2 of the previous level.) Get to the lowest xp he can presently reach, then use the thought bottle to recover the level he lost, and get the magic items for no xp cost.
SillyRobot 03-06-07, 06:35 AM	The thought bottle is open to whole set of abuses. Do yourself a favour and just say it doesn't exist. The whole lose a level on death thing really doesn't have much sting in 3.5 anyway.
Merestil Haye 03-06-07, 06:41 AM	He figures any time he loses a level due to either Death, or perhaps purposefully failing a Level Drain. He can then use up the experience points he had to create magic items. (Since the amount of experience you lose is enough to put you at 1/2 of the previous level.) Get to the lowest xp he can presently reach, then use the thought bottle to recover the level he lost, and get the magic items for no xp cost.Well, he appears to have interpreted the written words correctly. It does indeed allow that sort of shenanigans. I personally don't allow the thought bottle to store xp. Any other function, yes fine. That, no.
Artector 03-06-07, 06:56 AM	As has been stated before. The Thought Bottle is so broken the Character Optimization Boards won't touch it. QFT: The thought bottle is open to whole set of abuses. Do yourself a favour and just say it doesn't exist. The whole lose a level on death thing really doesn't have much sting in 3.5 anyway.
Dragonteuthis 03-06-07, 07:01 PM	Yes. Why WotC saw fit to introduce a "save point" into a pen-and-paper RPG is beyond me. Leave save points in the video games, folks.
Krusk 03-07-07, 01:29 AM	easy solution aside from banning it. tell him it will give a set ammount of xp based on the level of the character using it. To use it a character must have been slain with the past 3 days and brought back to life. the set ammount of xp is exactly equal to the ammount needed to level from the halfway point.