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View Full Version : [Pathfinder/3.5] A Lighter



LibraryOgre
2009-02-26, 03:16 PM
So, I was making a character for my Thursday night Pathfinder game, and I wanted to give him a lighter... just a magical device that would reliably start a fire, if provided with fuel. Unable to find such a thing, I gave him a few tindertwigs, but how would you go about it?

A small, non-slotted magic item that would reliably produce a small flame long enough to start a fire on suitable fuel?

Townopolis
2009-02-26, 05:47 PM
Wondrous item of prestidigitation, unlimited uses/day.

IIRC, lighting a candle, campfire, or similar thingy has always been handled under the scope of that cantrip.

AslanCross
2009-02-26, 05:51 PM
Flint and steel? o_o I thought that was typically how adventurers started fires. Sure it's not magical, but it is reliable and cheap.

LibraryOgre
2009-02-26, 06:34 PM
Flint and steel? o_o I thought that was typically how adventurers started fires. Sure it's not magical, but it is reliable and cheap.

Yes and no. Cheap? Sure. Reliable? Sometimes. It's bad with wet wood or in a wind.

As for the unlimited use prestidigitation item, it would work... but it would cost 1800, since its unslotted.

Draz74
2009-02-26, 06:43 PM
It's much more limited than unlimited Prestidigitation.

I'd rate it as 20 gp, or 100 gp if it didn't require occasional fuel refills. After all, it's essentially just a more reliable version of the 1-gp flint and steel. (Maybe faster, too. But not as fast as the 1-gp tindertwig.)

Thurbane
2009-02-26, 07:26 PM
How about a small, sealed tube that squirts Alchemist's Fire out of one end when activated?

Person_Man
2009-02-27, 11:16 AM
Some sort of phosphorus tube? I know it can be self igniting, and can be distilled from urine. Of course, I'm a statistician and haven't taken a chemistry class in ten years. So you should check on that.

Of course, I can't imagine a DM who wouldn't just house rule some sort of item for you at a reasonable cost.

Arcane_Snowman
2009-02-27, 11:44 AM
As for the unlimited use prestidigitation item, it would work... but it would cost 1800, since its unslotted. Don't think so, you'd still be limited to having it in your hand (just like a spell trigger item) by the virtue of it having a command word of flipping the cap to activate prestigitation, that being said here is my take on it:

Box of Prestigitation, aka Lighter:
Spell Effect, Command Word: Flipping the cap of the Lighter.
Cost: 1800*1/2*1 = 900 gp.

A very simple and very useful little item.

Dyllan
2009-02-27, 12:00 PM
If we assume a tindertwig is a properly priced single use, use activated item that creates fire, and we want to make an unlimited use, use activated item that creates fire, we can base the price off of tindertwig.

Per the SRD, an unlimited use, use activated item costs 40 times as much as a single use, use activated item. So it would be 40 gold.

Of course, the tindertwig should cost more, per the formulas. So whatever discount the tindertwig was given, is carrying over if you price it this way.

Personally, I'd probably make it about 200 gold for one, in my campaign. But that's just a gut feeling - not based on any formula at all.

Ravens_cry
2009-02-27, 12:29 PM
On the other hand, the tinder-twig isn't magical, it's alchemical.
What's the system for pricing alchemical thingamabobs?
(and is there a system for crafting them? Heh, I have lot's of semi-magical ideas)

Randel
2009-02-27, 07:18 PM
how about a permanent match (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Match)? Which you can see in action here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6sFJoM-bcE).

its basically a metal bottle of lantern oil with a wick inside a steel tube attatched to the inside of the cap. A flint on the side of the bottle lets you strike the steel tube against it, ligthing the wick and therebye giving yourself a... well a match that never burns out (as long as you have the oil for it). Mechanically its exactly like a lighter but more low tech and requires two hands to use.

Plus its mundane and isn't alchemical (unless you count the oil in it). Should be only a little more expensive than a flint and steel. In an emergency you could whip it out and dump the oil onto something to set it ablaze, or just to make it slippery.

Another_Poet
2009-02-27, 07:28 PM
I would allow a character to make an actual lighter with a moderately high (DC20?) craft check. It's just flint, steel and fuel utilising the power of a tiny wheel.

For an alchemical version I would use the alch fire dispenser idea, charging 20 gp for the dispenser and 50 gp for the alchemist's fire, granting a total price of 70 gold and, let's say, it'll last for 50 uses.

But here is my personal favourite. Stat out your Box of Prestidigitation as suggested above. But then give it a failure rate... 75% of the time it just sparks and does nothing (like a real lighter). So it will typically take 2-3 rounds instead of one to get a flame from it, and you can justify a huge price reduction.

ap