OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edited2)

[douglas]

Assuming nothing important happens very early next session to prevent it, could we go ahead and get everything identified and the total loot value totalled up here so we can start planning our purchases/crafting? We were going to analyze all the magic items the next morning anyway, we can dump the gems at the same shop as last time, and I'm sure between Gather Info and Kaylin's Knowledge skills we can find a good place to sell the rest. Note that we'd identify the axe too, as Analyze Dweomer doesn't require touching it.

Are we going to count the rather drastic increase in the value of Derrel's sword (52500 gp) out of his share of the loot?

What, if any, are the limits on what Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicke has available for sale or hired crafting/upgrading?

[Jack Simth]

douglas said:
Assuming nothing important happens very early next session to prevent it, could we go ahead and get everything identified and the total loot value totalled up here so we can start planning our purchases/crafting?
We were going to analyze all the magic items the next morning anyway, we can dump the gems at the same shop as last time, and I'm sure between Gather Info and Kaylin's Knowledge skills we can find a good place to sell the rest. Note that we'd identify the axe too, as Analyze Dweomer doesn't require touching it.

I suppose we could do that now, yes....
Let's see....
Code:

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Maralith treasure

art

    ancient  calendar,  embellished  with  turquoise  (862.7  gp)

    bizarre  idol,  made  of  serpentine  (587.1  gp)

    black  velvet  mask  with  numerous  lapis  lazuli  gems  (135.2  gp)

    carved  bone  statuette  (9.4  gp)

    carved  harp  of  exotic  wood  with  jade  inlay  and  emerald  gems  (457.8  gp)

    ceremonial  electrum  dagger  with  a  star  ruby  in  the  pommel  (938.3  gp)

    ceremonial  silver  dagger  with  a  star  sapphire  in  the  pommel  (741.5  gp)

    ceremonial  silver  dagger  with  golden  yellow  topaz  in  the  pommel  (375.7  gp)

    chased  silver  jewel  coffer  with  dryad  scene    (86.1  gp)

    choker,  wrought  silver,  with  a  small  sapphire  pendant  (93.7  gp)

    choker,  wrought  silver,  with  a  small  sapphire  pendant  (941  gp)

    cloth  of  gold  vestments  (166.8  gp)

    coronet,  wrought  silver  and  gold,  of  illithid  origin  (1,538.5  gp)

    crystal  flagon,  polished  smooth  (131.2  gp)

    elaborate  ship  in  a  bottle  (2,112.2  gp)

    golden  flagon,  intricately  decorated,  with  a  long  emerald  dominating  the  neck    (2,725.6  gp)

    golden  phoenix  cloak  pin  with  garnets  (993.2  gp)

    hairpins,  gilded,  with  sard  stones  (437.4  gp)

    large  gold  ring,  curlicue  motif,  with  a  claw  holding  a  large  round  alexandrite  gem  (1,185.1  gp)

    large,  well-done  wool  tapestry,  depicting  a  pastoral  scene  (180.4  gp)

    necklace  of  ancient  pierced  coins  (654.5  gp)

    oaken  staff,  shod  with  meteoric  iron,  and  smoky  quartz  gems  set  in  the  head  (1,021.3  gp)

    ornate  helmet  (570.2  gp)

    pirate's  hook,  mithril,  with  gold-plated  stump  set  with  golden  sapphire  stones  (746.2  gp)

    platinum  flask  inlaid  with  gold  and  silver  designs  (1,481.9  gp)

    silver  and  steel  slave-girl  outfit  (312.3  gp)

    silver  comb  with  moonstones  (305  gp)

    silver  locket  with  platinum  filigree  depicting  a  rose    (588.7  gp)

    silver-plated  greataxe  with  chrysoberyl  jewel  in  the  hilt  (564.2  gp)

    small  painting,  a  pastoral  scene  (627.4  gp)

    small  painting,  a  pastoral  scene  (280.2  gp)

    small,  intricately  beaded  pouch  (70.6  gp)

    wrought  gold  anklet  (1,069.7  gp)

    wrought  gold  eating  utensils  (69.8  gp)

coin

    7,435  gold  coins  (7,435  gp)

ring

    ring  of  invisibility  (20,000  gp)

scroll

    divine  (1,450  gp)

        Cure  Serious  Wounds  (l3,  cl5)

        Discern  Lies  (l4,  cl7)

        Water  Walk  (l3,  cl5)

wand

    Summon  Monster  IV  (l4,  cl7)  (7  charges)  (2,940  gp)

        curse:  item  actually  has  a  completely  different  effect (Secure Shelter)

        with a small engraving of some animal

wondrous  item

    necklace  of  prayer  beads  (healing)  (29  semiprecious  stones)  (10,000  gp)

        something  provides  a  clue  to  its  function

weapon

    dwarven  waraxe  +2  (25,830  gp)

        Int:  15  (2)

        Wis:  14  (2)

        Cha:  16  (3)

        Ego:  12

        Communication:  speech

        Alignment:  chaotic  evil

        Languages:

            common

            elven

            orc

        'locate  object'  in  120-ft.  radius

        'haste'  (self  only,  10  rounds)  (1  per  day)

        sheds  light  in  a  20-foot  radius  (as  a  torch)

    nunchaku  +1  (2,302  gp)

-------------------

Total  Value:  93,017.9  gp

---

34 art pieces to evaluate, 6 magic items. One casting of Detect Magic to sort, 1 of Analize Dewomer to identify, and 34 gp of hiring evaluations.

douglas said:
Are we going to count the rather drastic increase in the value of Derrel's sword (52500 gp) out of his share of the loot?

Well... I dropped that on Derrel for the simple reason that when looking over the new character sheets, I had been rather remiss on handing out treasure; Derrel was still running at only a little over 11th starting capital, and the newer characters were coming in with 13th; so I worked out roughly what the difference was, and selected the added abilities based on that. It's fine for Kibin to be a bit behind on wealth, as he has two extra HD (pretty good HD, too - full Bab, good Fort and Ref saves), and wealth doesn't matter near so much for Jason as it does for others (granted, he could probably use an Amulet of Resistance or something to help with his saves, but he's immune to a good many effects that require them, and he already has +10 Deflection to AC, +4 Dex to AC, +3 AC from a Monk's Belt (+1 belt, +2 Wis), and +4 Shield, +4 Armor when he casts Shield and Mage Armor - his AC already tops out at 35 vs. critters on the Material Plane... and all but 8 of that both touch and constant).

douglas said:
What, if any, are the limits on what Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicke has available for sale or hired crafting/upgrading?

They follow Fungibility ... as adjucated by myself, of course... but not many limits, no.

[douglas]

Jack Simth said:
...
Total Value: 93,017.9 gp

Let's see, the only thing in there I think we might want to keep is the Ring of Invisibility and the cash. Selling everything else for standard half price gives a total of 60266.45 gp value, and that's assuming the temple we deliver the axe to pays us for the privilege of having the opportunity to redeem it.

The Ring of Blinking, Ring of Aid, and sale price for everything else from the mega-Troll and Oraneormu's chest gives another 48737.5.

The Manual of Gainful Exercise and gems from the previous session add 29648.25 more, assuming we keep the Manual either to use or upgrade eventually.

Add it all up and take off the 34 this time and 12 last time for appraisal services, and that's a total gain of 138606.2 gp for the party, not counting Derrel's sword which was just to make up for the previous lack.

Divided among five party members, the new characters still need another 12-13 thousand or so to meet the starting wealth for 14th level PC's. If Derrel was still stuck around 70k before his sword upgrade, your generosity with treasure has improved immensely, but we're still a little bit behind where we're supposed to be. Of course, this is in large part because we started with minimum 13th level equipment but considerably more than the minimum 13th level xp, but it's still something that should be considered. I can't really comment on the status of Derrel, Kibin, and Jason's wealth, as I don't know what they've got.

Jack Simth said:

They follow Fungibility ... as adjucated by myself, of course... but not many limits, no.

Hmm, are they capable of increasing the maximum strength bonus of a composite bow or transferring its enchantment to a new bow? I probably won't want to do this right away, but eventually I will upgrade my belt to +6 strength and (pretty far down the line) get a +4 or +5 Manual, and I'll want to be able to get the bonus damage from that.

Oh, and Violist don't forget to spend skill points on Knowledge (Arcana). You get 7 per level right now, and 10 of them over this level and the next need to go into Knowledge (Arcana) in order to qualify for Archmage.

[Jack Simth]

douglas said:

Let's see, the only thing in there I think we might want to keep is the Ring of Invisibility and the cash. Selling everything else for standard half price gives a total of 60266.45 gp value, and that's assuming the temple we deliver the axe to pays us for the privilege of having the opportunity to redeem it.

Not saying at this point; needs to be RP'd when we get to it.

douglas said:
The Ring of Blinking, Ring of Aid, and sale price for everything else from the mega-Troll and Oraneormu's chest gives another 48737.5.

You may find you have difficulties convincing Kibin to part with the Ring of Aid.... it gives him back several of his skills.

douglas said:
The Manual of Gainful Exercise and gems from the previous session add 29648.25 more, assuming we keep the Manual either to use or upgrade eventually.

... gems were sold during the 9/17/2005 session, towards the end, shortly before logging off, and were mentioned as sold in the summery on the 17th:

Jack Simth said:
7 dire wolves killed, 1 escaped, one demon slain; 600 xp for Kibin (you are ECL 15 in an otherwise ECL 13 party, facing off against a CR 14 encounter), 1170 xp each for the rest of the party members (Jason, Derrel, Kaylin, Elorin); treasure in the form of a reward from the mayor for taking down the dire wolves - 429.65 gp to each player (sold gems), except for Kaylin, who pulled some gems from the pool and hired some jewelery (however, she now sports an exquisite gold hair comb with an Elbaite gem and a delicate silver neclace with a black opal).

Also, we have the fate of a +1 Manual of Gainful Exercise (from the mayor's chest; market value: 27,500 gp) to debate - do we use it on a party member to add a +1 Inherent Bonus to Str, or do we sell it for 13,750 gp?

douglas said:
Add it all up and take off the 34 this time and 12 last time for appraisal services, and that's a total gain of 138606.2 gp for the party, not counting Derrel's sword which was just to make up for the previous lack.

Divided among five party members, the new characters still need another 12-13 thousand or so to meet the starting wealth for 14th level PC's. If Derrel was still stuck around 70k before his sword upgrade, your generosity with treasure has improved immensely, but we're still a little bit behind where we're supposed to be. Of course, this is in large part because we started with minimum 13th level equipment but considerably more than the minimum 13th level xp, but it's still something that should be considered. I can't really comment on the status of Derrel, Kibin, and Jason's wealth, as I don't know what they've got.

Hmm, are they capable of increasing the maximum strength bonus of a composite bow or transferring its enchantment to a new bow? I probably won't want to do this right away, but eventually I will upgrade my belt to +6 strength and (pretty far down the line) get a +4 or +5 Manual, and I'll want to be able to get the bonus damage from that.

They won't mess with the physical stuff much (other than adjusting the leather straps and whatnot to fit a suit of Platemail to a new, same-size and same basic-shape user), but they can transfer - it just costs what you would get for selling it outright - and so is usually only worthwhile for rather unique items, such as intelligent ones you wish to keep for non-commerce reasons.

[douglas]

Jack Simth said:
You may find you have difficulties convincing Kibin to part with the Ring of Aid.... it gives him back several of his skills.

Which is why I counted it at full value instead of expected sale price. He can keep it, but it should count towards his share of the loot.

Jack Simth said:
... gems were sold during the 9/17/2005 session, towards the end, shortly before logging off, and were mentioned as sold in the summery on the 17th:

I only counted them because I was adding up the total gp gain for all the time I and Violist have been playing so I could compare it to the 40000 difference between starting wealth for 13th and 14th level characters.

Jack Simth said:
They won't mess with the physical stuff much (other than adjusting the leather straps and whatnot to fit a suit of Platemail to a new, same-size and same basic-shape user), but they can transfer - it just costs what you would get for selling it outright - and so is usually only worthwhile for rather unique items, such as intelligent ones you wish to keep for non-commerce reasons.

So I might as well sell and buy new for the bow as far as what this shop can do is concerned. Would it be worthwhile to search for an expert bowmaker to do the job? I'm not really sure whether strengthening an existing bow would be possible or not through mundane means, but I think my character would have some knowledge on the subject as a long-time expert with a bow and follower of a deity that favors the longbow. Of course, the existence of magic in D&D should make near anything possible, but finding such a craftsman might be a bit harder.

[NullAshton]

My share of the loot! You need a rogue! Otherwise, you'd be stuck at the first mechanical trap you come across, and we'd still be trying to open that chest. So no, it shouldn't count as my share of the loot. It's for the party.

[Jack Simth]

douglas said:
Which is why I counted it at full value instead of expected sale price. He can keep it, but it should count towards his share of the loot.

NullAshton said:
My share of the loot! You need a rogue! Otherwise, you'd be stuck at the first mechanical trap you come across, and we'd still be trying to open that chest. So no, it shouldn't count as my share of the loot. It's for the party.

There may be some interesting party interactions in the next session....

douglas said:

I only counted them because I was adding up the total gp gain for all the time I and Violist have been playing so I could compare it to the 40000 difference between starting wealth for 13th and 14th level characters.

So a few more double/triple treasure critter... hmm...

douglas said:
So I might as well sell and buy new for the bow as far as what this shop can do is concerned. Would it be worthwhile to search for an expert bowmaker to do the job? I'm not really sure whether strengthening an existing bow would be possible or not through mundane means, but I think my character would have some knowledge on the subject as a long-time expert with a bow and follower of a deity that favors the longbow. Of course, the existence of magic in D&D should make near anything possible, but finding such a craftsman might be a bit harder.

I suppose a quest could be made from it ... find the anchient elven zen bowmaster ... convince him to work your bow ... do the chore he wants done as payment ... and find the material he needs to hold the enchantment whilst he works on the actual bow... yes... could be done, when the time comes.

[Violist]

Arrgh, I'm not used to chests being that dangerous... Next time we're in town I'm buying a frying pan and sticking it on my head.

That's some really juicy loot we've got going there... a lot of decorative stuff...

I added Greater Teleport and Waves of Exhaustion to my spellbook for levelling up, but I heard rumour someone had a Teleport scroll - if that's true and I could use that, I could ditch Greater Teleport if we think it's not worth it.

Only got +2 to HP All the way up to 51 now. Also put a bunch of ranks in Knowledge (Arcana).... I really want the Archmage thing, if I can make little holes in spell areas of effect...

Hey, cool, the axe speaks elven... we could have a little chaotic moment without having to get rid of Derrel

[Violist]

There may be some interesting party interactions in the next session....

Lookin' forward to it

[douglas]

NullAshton said:
My share of the loot! You need a rogue! Otherwise, you'd be stuck at the first mechanical trap you come across, and we'd still be trying to open that chest. So no, it shouldn't count as my share of the loot. It's for the party.

Well, ok, I'll let it pass as a special case. But if you want the Ring of Blinking, that is definitely counting towards your share of the loot.

Just for the record, leaving the Ring of Aid out of the calculations puts me and Violist another 1600 gp behind the curve.

Violist said:
but I heard rumour someone had a Teleport scroll - if that's true and I could use that, I could ditch Greater Teleport if we think it's not worth it.

Yes, I do have a scroll of Teleport, bought specifically to give to you because you ran out of money for spells when creating your character. Now that we have a reason to travel long distance quickly, assuming a suitable temple can't be found nearby, I'll probably hand it over free of charge with a comment along the lines of "Oh, so that's why I had a strange inspired impulse to pick this up on the way out here." Of course, if you volunteer to pay me for it I'll accept graciously, but it's all for a good cause.

You'll probably want to pick up Delayed Blast Fireball at some point, but it might not be worth it until your caster level is a little higher - the real reason to learn it is not for the optional delay, but for the higher cap on damage dice. Mage's Sword could be good. Banishment would be very useful against demons if we could put together a large array of anti-demon items. Reverse Gravity can be fun. There's always Limited Wish, of course.

Violist said:
Only got +2 to HP All the way up to 51 now.

You city-bred softy . All the more reason to stay in the back, just like almost any sane wizard.

Violist said:
Also put a bunch of ranks in Knowledge (Arcana).... I really want the Archmage thing, if I can make little holes in spell areas of effect...

Oh, Archmages can do much more than just that, though they can only learn one special ability per level. It's Mastery of Shaping that you want for that effect. Mastery of Elements is another good one, though a tad expensive with an 8th-level spell slot as the price. Then there's Spell Power - +1 to penetrate Spell Resistance, +1 damage dice on all your blasting spells (up to the cap), etc. I think Spell Power can even be taken multiple times for another +1 bonus each time.