Coin of Augury [Archive] - Wizards Community

Coin of Augury [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
2E Ranger
10-15-05, 03:57 PM I'm running a cleric with the Fate and Luck domains. He has been making most of his difficult decisions using a coin flip. I am thinking about crafting a Coin of Augury as a bit of character flavor / insurance.

1) Is such an item within the rules of the game?
2) How much would it cost. Using table 7-33 of the DMG I got a cost of 12,000 from (CL 3 x SL 2 x 2000 gp).

Thanks for the help.
Phantom Lord
10-15-05, 06:03 PM 1) Sure thing
2) I would think somewhere around 1,000 gp. You see, it's a level 0 psion power called Inkling...

Inkling
Clairsentience (Wis)
Level: Psion 0
Display: Ol, Au
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Power Points: 1
An inkling can tell whether a particular action will bring good or bad results for the manifester in the immediate future.
The base chance for receiving a meaningful reply is 50%, plus 1% per manifester level; the DM makes the roll secretly. The DM may determine that the question is so straightforward that a successful result is automatic, or so vague as to have no chance of success. If the inkling succeeds, the manifester gets one of four results:
“Weal” (if the action will probably bring good results).
“Woe” (for bad results).
“Weal and woe” (for both).
“Nothing” (for actions that don’t have especially good or bad results).
If the power fails, the manifester gets the “nothing” result. A psion who gets the “nothing” result has no way to tell whether it resulted from a failed or successful inkling.
The inkling can see into the future only about half an hour, so anything that might happen after that does not affect the inkling. Thus, it might miss the long-term consequences of the contemplated action. All inklings manifested by the same person about the same action use the same die roll result as the first inkling.

Now, if it was me, I would do it like so:

Coin of Inkling:
Heads up - "Weal"
Heads down - "Woe"
Misses hand/isn't caught - Nothing
Lands on edge - "Weal and Woe"
Manifester Level: 1st; Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item; Market Price: 1,000 gp; Weight: .02 lb.
2E Ranger
10-16-05, 03:00 AM Ok, so I see that there is precedent for this kind of item, which is nice, but am I right about the 12,000 GP cost? 1,000 GP would be the formula for the coin of inkling, yes, but I'm talking augury.
rks
10-16-05, 07:02 AM Make it at item x/day, otherwise it would be unbalanced.
ksbsnowowl
10-16-05, 12:04 PM Make it at item x/day, otherwise it would be unbalanced.Not according to WotC, it isn't.

You could base the item directly off an official WotC write-up:Oriental Adventures, page 140:

Eight Diagram Coins: These coins are actually copper discs, each engraved... Eight are always in a set... The minor variety grants the benefits of an augury spell...

Price: 2160 gp [minor]...
Sproik
10-16-05, 12:11 PM How about the Coin of Chaos? It looks like an ordinary silver coin, however it harnesses the infinite power of chaos, even penetrating anti-magic fields.

One simply flips the coin and asks a question whilst it is in the air. The results are determined using this table.

1d6 roll Answer
1 - 3 Heads (Yes!)
4 - 6 Tails (No!)

If for any reason the coin is not caught, there is a 99% chance that the coin still works as described above. The remaining 1% of the time, the coin will land on a soft surface edge-up, or possibly fall through a crack.

In some cases, the coin has been known to spontaneously summon Orcus and his entire war host. They are considered hostile.
2E Ranger
10-17-05, 08:10 PM I have a question about the Eight Diagram Coins. Why would eight coins of augury cost about 1/6th of the calculated cost of a single coin of augury from the DMG? Considering that it costs 2000-ish for eight coins, could I divide that cost by 8 to just make one?

Also, different question, what should it cost me to make, what I will call, an Amulet of Peril? It would be as follows:

Amulet of Peril:

The sleeping wearer of an Amulet of Peril is under constant benefit from the Omen of Peril spell. Rather than provide a vision to the user, however, an effect similar to the Alarm spell sounds in the wearers mind. The sound of safety is the sound of windchimes, the sound of peril is the sound of dog barking, and the sound of great danger is the sound of a trumpet blast.

Twice per day, while awale, the wearer can use a command word to trigger the spell Omen of Peril as a standard action.

Requirements, I'm thinking, would be Omen of Peril and Alarm.

For those that do not have the Complete Divine book,

Omen of Peril
Clr 1/Drd 1
Casting time - 1 full round
Personal range
Instantaneous duration

Gives brief vision of how dangerous the immediate future is. Base chance of success is 70% + 1% per caster level. Success tells whether the caster is safe, in peril, or in great danger. Failure randomly produces one of the two wrong results.

- Is this item reasonable, or broken? I am mostly concerned about the warning while sleeping bit, considering that my level one party nearly got wiped out by a small pack of wolves during the night.
spectralphoenix
10-17-05, 09:21 PM I believe all eight coins are required to cast augury.
ksbsnowowl
10-17-05, 09:23 PM I have a question about the Eight Diagram Coins. Why would eight coins of augury cost about 1/6th of the calculated cost of a single coin of augury from the DMG? Considering that it costs 2000-ish for eight coins, could I divide that cost by 8 to just make one?Well, it doesn't give you 8 coins that can each be used individually, you use all of them at once to get the augury effect. It's the context of the thing. You toss the coins on the ground, and read portents from them based upon how they land. Similar to a norse oracle who would use rune-carved bones cast upon the ground to find answers (ala The 13th Warrior).

The fact that it is 8 coins is merely a flavor aspect based upon the way oracles in history would try to read omens, etc. You could just as easily make it one coin that is flipped to gain answers.

Also, the 'rules' in the DMG are merely guidelines, and the DMG specifically says to compare the calculated price with that of an item producing a similar effect. So the guidelines were wrong this time. WotC has already produced an item with the exact effect you are looking for; merely change its flavor to fit your needs. I do so in my heavily Norse-flavored campaign; in that setting they are a set of rune-carved bones, rather than coins.

Note that there was also a Major version of the coins in OA that produced a Divination effect, but cost approximately 10k gp.
littlenog
10-17-05, 09:58 PM When using the craft item feats.

I'd go with what your DM says.

Most are reasonable if the item does not grant undo power for an minor cost.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
2E Ranger 10-15-05, 03:57 PM	I'm running a cleric with the Fate and Luck domains. He has been making most of his difficult decisions using a coin flip. I am thinking about crafting a Coin of Augury as a bit of character flavor / insurance. 1) Is such an item within the rules of the game? 2) How much would it cost. Using table 7-33 of the DMG I got a cost of 12,000 from (CL 3 x SL 2 x 2000 gp). Thanks for the help.
Phantom Lord 10-15-05, 06:03 PM	1) Sure thing 2) I would think somewhere around 1,000 gp. You see, it's a level 0 psion power called Inkling... Inkling Clairsentience (Wis) Level: Psion 0 Display: Ol, Au Manifestation Time: 1 action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Instantaneous Power Points: 1 An inkling can tell whether a particular action will bring good or bad results for the manifester in the immediate future. The base chance for receiving a meaningful reply is 50%, plus 1% per manifester level; the DM makes the roll secretly. The DM may determine that the question is so straightforward that a successful result is automatic, or so vague as to have no chance of success. If the inkling succeeds, the manifester gets one of four results: “Weal” (if the action will probably bring good results). “Woe” (for bad results). “Weal and woe” (for both). “Nothing” (for actions that don’t have especially good or bad results). If the power fails, the manifester gets the “nothing” result. A psion who gets the “nothing” result has no way to tell whether it resulted from a failed or successful inkling. The inkling can see into the future only about half an hour, so anything that might happen after that does not affect the inkling. Thus, it might miss the long-term consequences of the contemplated action. All inklings manifested by the same person about the same action use the same die roll result as the first inkling. Now, if it was me, I would do it like so: Coin of Inkling: Heads up - "Weal" Heads down - "Woe" Misses hand/isn't caught - Nothing Lands on edge - "Weal and Woe" Manifester Level: 1st; Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item; Market Price: 1,000 gp; Weight: .02 lb.
2E Ranger 10-16-05, 03:00 AM	Ok, so I see that there is precedent for this kind of item, which is nice, but am I right about the 12,000 GP cost? 1,000 GP would be the formula for the coin of inkling, yes, but I'm talking augury.
rks 10-16-05, 07:02 AM	Make it at item x/day, otherwise it would be unbalanced.
ksbsnowowl 10-16-05, 12:04 PM	Make it at item x/day, otherwise it would be unbalanced.Not according to WotC, it isn't. You could base the item directly off an official WotC write-up:Oriental Adventures, page 140: Eight Diagram Coins: These coins are actually copper discs, each engraved... Eight are always in a set... The minor variety grants the benefits of an augury spell... Price: 2160 gp [minor]...
Sproik 10-16-05, 12:11 PM	How about the Coin of Chaos? It looks like an ordinary silver coin, however it harnesses the infinite power of chaos, even penetrating anti-magic fields. One simply flips the coin and asks a question whilst it is in the air. The results are determined using this table. 1d6 roll Answer 1 - 3 Heads (Yes!) 4 - 6 Tails (No!) If for any reason the coin is not caught, there is a 99% chance that the coin still works as described above. The remaining 1% of the time, the coin will land on a soft surface edge-up, or possibly fall through a crack. In some cases, the coin has been known to spontaneously summon Orcus and his entire war host. They are considered hostile.
2E Ranger 10-17-05, 08:10 PM	I have a question about the Eight Diagram Coins. Why would eight coins of augury cost about 1/6th of the calculated cost of a single coin of augury from the DMG? Considering that it costs 2000-ish for eight coins, could I divide that cost by 8 to just make one? Also, different question, what should it cost me to make, what I will call, an Amulet of Peril? It would be as follows: Amulet of Peril: The sleeping wearer of an Amulet of Peril is under constant benefit from the Omen of Peril spell. Rather than provide a vision to the user, however, an effect similar to the Alarm spell sounds in the wearers mind. The sound of safety is the sound of windchimes, the sound of peril is the sound of dog barking, and the sound of great danger is the sound of a trumpet blast. Twice per day, while awale, the wearer can use a command word to trigger the spell Omen of Peril as a standard action. Requirements, I'm thinking, would be Omen of Peril and Alarm. For those that do not have the Complete Divine book, Omen of Peril Clr 1/Drd 1 Casting time - 1 full round Personal range Instantaneous duration Gives brief vision of how dangerous the immediate future is. Base chance of success is 70% + 1% per caster level. Success tells whether the caster is safe, in peril, or in great danger. Failure randomly produces one of the two wrong results. - Is this item reasonable, or broken? I am mostly concerned about the warning while sleeping bit, considering that my level one party nearly got wiped out by a small pack of wolves during the night.
spectralphoenix 10-17-05, 09:21 PM	I believe all eight coins are required to cast augury.
ksbsnowowl 10-17-05, 09:23 PM	I have a question about the Eight Diagram Coins. Why would eight coins of augury cost about 1/6th of the calculated cost of a single coin of augury from the DMG? Considering that it costs 2000-ish for eight coins, could I divide that cost by 8 to just make one?Well, it doesn't give you 8 coins that can each be used individually, you use all of them at once to get the augury effect. It's the context of the thing. You toss the coins on the ground, and read portents from them based upon how they land. Similar to a norse oracle who would use rune-carved bones cast upon the ground to find answers (ala The 13th Warrior). The fact that it is 8 coins is merely a flavor aspect based upon the way oracles in history would try to read omens, etc. You could just as easily make it one coin that is flipped to gain answers. Also, the 'rules' in the DMG are merely guidelines, and the DMG specifically says to compare the calculated price with that of an item producing a similar effect. So the guidelines were wrong this time. WotC has already produced an item with the exact effect you are looking for; merely change its flavor to fit your needs. I do so in my heavily Norse-flavored campaign; in that setting they are a set of rune-carved bones, rather than coins. Note that there was also a Major version of the coins in OA that produced a Divination effect, but cost approximately 10k gp.
littlenog 10-17-05, 09:58 PM	When using the craft item feats. I'd go with what your DM says. Most are reasonable if the item does not grant undo power for an minor cost.