What
is a Caster Level?
This
is the level of the creator (or the casting level
of the spells placed within the item, if lower than
the actual level of the creator).
From
the Dungeon Master's Guide*:
Caster
Level: The power of the
item (just as a spell's caster level measures its
power). The caster level determines the item's saving
throw bonus, as well as the range or other level-dependent
aspects of the powers of the item (if variable).
It also determines the level that must be contended
with should the item come under the effect of a
dispel magicor similar
situation.
Note
what it doesn't say. It doesn't say that
you have to be the listed level to make a given
item. It's not a prerequisite. You don't
have to be 17th level to create a 1st-level
pearl of power -- you just have to meet the
prerequisites. Prerequisites, you'll notice, get
their own section. It comes next. All you do with
caster levels is determine the level-dependent effects
of an item. Those listed in the DMG are just averages.
When you determine an item randomly, or pick one
out of the book for your player characters to find
or to equip an NPC, that's the caster level of the
item. That's all it is.
The
DMG goes on:
For
potions, scrolls, and wands, the creator can set
the caster level of the item at any number high
enough to cast the stored spell, and not higher
than her own caster level. For example, at 5th level,
Mialee could scribe a scroll of invisibilityat
caster level 3 (making it last 30 minutes), caster
level 4 (40 minutes), or caster level 5 (50 minutes).
For other magic items, the caster level is determined
by the item itself. In this case, the creator's
caster level must be as high as the item's caster
level (and prerequisites may effectively put a higher
minimum on the creator's level).
Note
that caster level can be a variable. The DM may
decide that a particular carpet of flying was
created by a high-level caster who decided to put
the spells in at her own level. Such a carpet could
withstand attacks and dispelling with a much greater
chance. Most items conform to the caster levels
listed. Of the exceptions, the differences often
aren't that telling, except for occasional items
(say, a staff of frost) where the differences
truly matter.
How
about another example. Let's say you're an 8th-level
wizard, and you're going to make a wand of mage
armor (good choice, by the way, and your friend
the monk thinks so too). What's the caster level
of the finished wand? 8th? The answer is: maybe.
It's actually whatever you want it to be, from level
1 to 8. You can choose to voluntarily set the caster
level lower than your own to make the wand less
expensive. But the duration of the mage armor
spell in the wand is based on whatever level you
set it at.
That
means it's possible to have a caster level of a
rod lower than 9, even though you have to be 9th
level to use the Craft Rod feat.
What
is a Prerequisite?
Again,
let's first see what the DMG says:
Prerequisites:
The requirements that must be met in order for a
character to create the item. These include feats,
spells, and miscellaneous requirements such as level,
alignment, and race or kind.
Seems
simple enough, right? This is the stuff you need
to have to make the item. And let me point out again,
level isn't in here (actually, on rare occasions,
level is listed, such as with a potion of heroism,
but if that's the case, look for it under prerequisites,
not caster level).
Really,
there are two kinds of magic items (three, counting
armor and shields, but let's ignore them right now).
First, there are potions, scrolls, and wands (and
let's include staffs, too) -- the kind of magic
where a caster applies a spell that she knows directly
to an item. Really straightforward. The second type
is much, much trickier: rings, rods, and wondrous
items. These, for the most part, are not straight
applications of spells. They have weird powers that
approximate spells, combine spells or generate completely
new effects, such as the horn of blasting
or the mirror of opposition. Now, this second,
nonstandard type of item usually has prerequisites
that are spells, but -- and this is important --
those spells are not directly “placed into”
the item the way a spell is placed into a potion
or scribed onto a scroll. You cast them in the process
of making it, but the finished item does something
different.
For
example, clone is a prerequisite for the
mirror of opposition. But you shouldn't look
to the clone spell description to find out
how the mirror works. You should look at the mirror
of opposition description. This is a subtle
but occasionally important difference. For these
sorts of items, you, as the DM, can assign whatever
prerequisites you want. When I came up with the
prerequisites in the DMG, I just tried to match
up the spells as closely as I could with the items.
That's all you need to do, too, with new wondrous
items. This is also a good place to stick in some
balance, but it's tricky. If a player wants to create
a ring or a rod with some power that you think would
be unbalancing at his character's level, stick in
a prereq that's currently beyond the character's
reach.
As
new books with spells come out, you may find spells
that fit DMG item prerequisites better than the
core spell listed. Feel free to change the items
to fit with the new spells.
What
about when some Prerequisites are divine spells
and some are arcane spells?
Check
out what the DMG says on page 178, under prerequisites.
Casters can work together to make items. The one
with the proper feat -- Craft Wondrous Item, Brew
Potion, or whatever -- is the one who loses
the XP, as the primary creator. If they both have
the feat, they need to agree on who's the primary
creator and who's the helper.
Likewise,
you can use scroll spells or even a spell out of
another item (like a wand) to meet prerequisites.
This gives sorcerers a better chance at making more
items than they normally would seem to have.
So,
in a way, the Prereqs determine the Caster Level,
right?
Sort
of, in that haste is needed to make horseshoes
of speed, and thus the caster level should be
at least 5th: the minimum level to cast haste.
However -- and here's that subtle difference I mentioned
above -- if it's an item with its own unique power,
like the lens of detection, and the prerequisite
is only somewhat related to the item (as with true
seeing in the case of the lens), you could
rule that the prerequisite spell dictates nothing
in terms of caster level. You could set the caster
level for the lens of detection lower than
5th. In theory. (This rationale shows up a couple
of times in published items, I think.) The idea
should be used sparingly, though, if at all.
How
do you figure Market Value?
That's
really the trick, isn't it? Some days I look at
Table 8-40 on page 242 of the DMG and wish it wasn't
there at all. At these times, I wish the rule was
simply, “Match your new item as closely as
you can with an existing item, then give it a similar
price.” That's really the ultimate pricing
rule. It can get you into trouble (as it did with
me and boots of striding and springing),
but generally it will give you fewer headaches than
using the table. At the very least, we should have
called the table "Estimating Magic Item Gold
Piece Values" rather than "Calculating
Magic Item Gold Piece Values."
But
to answer the question we must discuss something
about the question itself. The "you"in
"How do you figure Market Value?" should
ALWAYS be the DM. It should always be the last thing
that's done in the process. Do not -- I repeat --
do not allow players to look at that table
and see what they can make for X amount of gold.
This isn't Champions or GURPS (see
below).
So,
you have an item either that you have created and
want to put into your campaign, or that a player
has proposed that he would like his character to
make. If it's a straightforward item that's a potion,
scroll, wand or staff, just use the formulas provided.
Keep your eyes open, but feel confident that you
can trust the system to handle those without a problem.
But if it's not a straightforward item, be careful.
Find a formula on Table 8-40 if you can, and see
what the price gets you. Look on the charts at similarly
priced items. Is this item of comparable use and
power? If the answer is no, adjust the price until
it is in range with items of approximately the same
use and power.
Avoid
the "disadvantage trap." That is to say,
don't assume that, because an item has some sort
of drawback, its price should go down. For example,
say the elf Vexander makes a staff whose spells
can be accessed only by elves. That might seem like
a limitation. But really, it's not -- it doesn't
affect Vexander in any way. In fact, if some non-elf
steals it, the thief can't use it against him. It's
actually a benefit. And even if an item really does
have some true disadvantage, or has a cursed effect
as described in the DMG (starting on page 231),
don't discount the price too much; 10% is probably
fine.
The
most important thing to remember is, Table 8-40
doesn't determine prices. It suggests them. Don't
say, "Wow, these shoes of continual
improved invisibility sure are cheap."
Do say, "Hmm, these formulas don't work when
it comes to spells like improved invisibility."
When someone asks me, "Can I really make
an item that will cast cure light wounds at
will, activated by a command word, for only 900
gp?"I now reply, "Only if your DM isn't
paying attention."
The
main problem is that spells aren't balanced in the
same way as magic items. A single casting of improved
invisibility, for example, might be equal to
a single casting of locate creature. But
an item that allows you to use improved invisibility
at will is not equal to one that lets you use
locate creature at will, because a character
wants to cast improved invisibility numerous
times a day, every day. Not so with locate creature.
Spells are balanced because of their durations,
and because casters only have access to a limited
number of uses in a given day. Take those away,
as with a constant effect in a magic ring, and the
magical effects on the game need rebalancing.
The
other problem is that sometimes there isn't a good
spell equivalent for an item, or sometimes the closest
spell equivalent is too low or too high a level
for what the item does.
Can
you give an example of figuring the price of an
item?
Sure.
How about the necklace of adaptation?
Caster
level is listed as 7th, and the important prerequisite
is water breathing, a 3rd-level spell (always
use the lowest level if an item can be cast at different
levels by different classes, although in this case,
everyone casts it at 3rd). So, let's start with
the easiest thing and take the spell level (3) and
multiply it by the lowest caster level (5) and then
by 2,000 because it's "use activated"(you
wear it to use it). 3 x 5 x 2,000 = 30,000. But
wait, that's not really fair. Water breathing
can be used by a whole party, but this item can't.
Plus, while the constant effect is useful, it's
not as great as, say, a constant displacement
would be, right? Let's see what other items
come in at or around 30K. Drums of panic?
Helm of telepathy? Carpet of flying?
No, the necklace does not fit in this group.
So
maybe we should reduce the price by a third. 20K.
Hmm. That's the cloak of the manta ray, and
the necklace isn't as good as the cloak, which allows
you to breathe underwater and do other stuff. But,
the necklace isn't just water breathing. It makes
you immune to gases and even lets you breathe in
a vacuum. That's gotta be worth something. So, 19,000
gp? That puts it right between a +3 amulet of
natural armor and cloak of the manta ray.
Seemed about right at the time.
But
speaking of which, even as I went over this example,
I noticed the iridescent spindle ioun stone.
That sustains you without air. Is that the same
as a necklace of adaptation? Unfortunately,
it's not clear. Maybe the ioun stone wouldn't
let you survive a vacuum. Maybe gases still affect
you. Even so, it should probably cost more than
it does (15K), because it doesn't occupy any space
on your character. You can have as many ioun
stones as you want, but you can wear only one
necklace. It should cost probably twice what it
does.
Oh
well, no one's perfect, and hindsight's 20/20.
Why
is Market Value so important? In my game, I don't
want to reduce magic items to just equipment that
you can buy in a shop.
That's
fine, but without a listed value, you can't determine
how much it costs in money, time, or XP, to make
an item. None of the Item Creation feats work without
this value.
Why
is there any judgment call involved at all? Why
can't we just have a straightforward point system
like GURPS
or Champions?
I'll
reserve my analysis of how systems like GURPS
and Champions don't actually work as well
as people think they do, and instead address this
from a purely D&D perspective.
..
