Creating staff for drow NPC, need help with cost and xp [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating staff for drow NPC, need help with cost and xp [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
terrainmonkey
02-08-06, 11:33 AM Okay, so i have a Drow priestess of lolth, cleric 8/wiz 6 that wants to create a staff of Arachnida. Here are the powers: Summon swarm (spiders only) 1 charge, Summon monster 4, (fiendish monstrous spider large only) 2 charges, Web 1 charge, and freedom of movement 2 charges. The caster level on all of these is probably going to be 12, unless it has to be the same level of the caster as she is now, and that would be 14. I have no idea how to get started trying to figure the cost. the crafting magic items section seems to use advanced quadratic equations and is all greek to me, so i would like someone with a math background to figure out the cost in gold and XP. if you need more info, and why i need this, I am working this out for an adventure i am currently working on for Dungeon magazine so i need to be able to say, yess, here is what it does, and here's the math and it is game legal. normally i would just do it since it is for an NPC, but this is a different case. anyway, thanks in advance for the help.
tarkin
02-08-06, 01:06 PM First of all,your caster level is at best 8, not 14, without Prestige classes or feats. If you have Practised Spellcaster Cleric, your cleric level is 12. If you have Practised Spellcaster Wizard, that is 10.

Now the basic formula
375 gp × the level of the highest-level spell × the level of the caster, plus 75% of the value of the next most costly ability (281.25 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster), plus one-half of the value of any other abilities (187.5 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster).

Not including M or XP component costs. with charges restrictions applied before determining highest level.

The fact that you are restricting to specific creatures is not a set price reduction, but may be taken into account later.

Assuming a caster level of 8, the best you can do, you

Base prices (before applying the gp modification) would be based on spell level x caster level:

Summon Swarm: 2 * 8 = 16
Summon Monster IV: 4*8/2 = 16
Web: 2*8 = 16
Freedom of Movement: 4*8/2 = 16

All the spells cost the same, none have XP or M components

So that would be:

(16*375) + (16*281.25) + (16*187.5 ) + (16*187.5 )

= net cost to create it of 16,500 gp

That makes a staff that sells for 33,000 gp.

It takes 33 days to make this item, and costs you 1,320 xp to make it.

But it has a caster level of 8, your best one, not 12 or 14.
terrainmonkey
02-08-06, 01:56 PM okay, so i finally see the caster level would have to be 8th, that's kewl. Thanks for the doing the math and all that. i really appreciate it, man. now i can do the math for the encounter level and other gear. Excellent! :P
tarkin
02-08-06, 03:00 PM I did forget one thing.

The fact that you were restricting it specifically to spiders.

I would probably use that as an excuse to lower the cost from 33,000 gp to an even 30,000. (aproximately a 9% cost reduction)

That has a cost to make of 15,000 gp even, taking 30 days, and costing 1200 xp.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
terrainmonkey 02-08-06, 11:33 AM	Okay, so i have a Drow priestess of lolth, cleric 8/wiz 6 that wants to create a staff of Arachnida. Here are the powers: Summon swarm (spiders only) 1 charge, Summon monster 4, (fiendish monstrous spider large only) 2 charges, Web 1 charge, and freedom of movement 2 charges. The caster level on all of these is probably going to be 12, unless it has to be the same level of the caster as she is now, and that would be 14. I have no idea how to get started trying to figure the cost. the crafting magic items section seems to use advanced quadratic equations and is all greek to me, so i would like someone with a math background to figure out the cost in gold and XP. if you need more info, and why i need this, I am working this out for an adventure i am currently working on for Dungeon magazine so i need to be able to say, yess, here is what it does, and here's the math and it is game legal. normally i would just do it since it is for an NPC, but this is a different case. anyway, thanks in advance for the help.
tarkin 02-08-06, 01:06 PM	First of all,your caster level is at best 8, not 14, without Prestige classes or feats. If you have Practised Spellcaster Cleric, your cleric level is 12. If you have Practised Spellcaster Wizard, that is 10. Now the basic formula 375 gp × the level of the highest-level spell × the level of the caster, plus 75% of the value of the next most costly ability (281.25 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster), plus one-half of the value of any other abilities (187.5 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster). Not including M or XP component costs. with charges restrictions applied before determining highest level. The fact that you are restricting to specific creatures is not a set price reduction, but may be taken into account later. Assuming a caster level of 8, the best you can do, you Base prices (before applying the gp modification) would be based on spell level x caster level: Summon Swarm: 2 * 8 = 16 Summon Monster IV: 48/2 = 16 Web: 28 = 16 Freedom of Movement: 48/2 = 16 All the spells cost the same, none have XP or M components So that would be: (16375) + (16281.25) + (16187.5 ) + (16*187.5 ) = net cost to create it of 16,500 gp That makes a staff that sells for 33,000 gp. It takes 33 days to make this item, and costs you 1,320 xp to make it. But it has a caster level of 8, your best one, not 12 or 14.
terrainmonkey 02-08-06, 01:56 PM	okay, so i finally see the caster level would have to be 8th, that's kewl. Thanks for the doing the math and all that. i really appreciate it, man. now i can do the math for the encounter level and other gear. Excellent! :P
tarkin 02-08-06, 03:00 PM	I did forget one thing. The fact that you were restricting it specifically to spiders. I would probably use that as an excuse to lower the cost from 33,000 gp to an even 30,000. (aproximately a 9% cost reduction) That has a cost to make of 15,000 gp even, taking 30 days, and costing 1200 xp.