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Amiel
2010-03-02, 02:38 AM
Each morning, you awaken to find an unassuming, nondescript box placed at the front door of your place of residence; be it a tavern, a stronghold you liberated from monsters, a wizard's tower et al.

Presented with the box is a card that bears the following inscription;
"Each time you open the box, you will be gifted with an artifact (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/artifacts.htm) of your devising or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#alterReality) of your choice. However, every time you do open the box, someone within the multiverse dies, without hope of resurrection or reincarnation; their souls are obliterated. What will you do? Choose wisely"

Roc Ness
2010-03-02, 02:44 AM
Personally, I'd be terrified. Really.

Even if I was an adventurer. I mean, even with magic, whose going to get hold of so many artifacts, and then be able to kill people in that way at least once every single day?

Khorebh
2010-03-02, 02:48 AM
I, for one, would get the feeling like I'd seen this movie...

But seriously, no, I'd like flip out too. Especially if the box were to follow me around as I changed residences.

ryzouken
2010-03-02, 02:49 AM
The human in me says to leave the box alone or try to destroy it without opening it. The PC in me says crack that pupper open, make my first wish that I will never be the target of the box's killing ability, and continue to crack open further boxes to my benefit, likely at the cost of countless lives.

I mean, if a new person is born every few minutes or so, my cracking open a box a day isn't going to depopulate the planet to a dangerous degree or anything... Maybe I'll make one in five or ten wishes a community service wish or something.

At any rate, I suspect the uber powerful being that set up this thing would get tired of my shenanigans at some point and stop sending me boxes. Serves em right, stupid infernal telemarketers...

Fhaolan
2010-03-02, 02:54 AM
I'd do the exact same thing I do with all the debt consolidation letters I get every day. Ignore them. It's a scam of some sort, and I don't have the time or the energy to work out exactly how. :smallsmile:

HunterOfJello
2010-03-02, 03:07 AM
if you changed it to "a random person in the multiverse" i'd open it every time. otherwise i'd expect it to be a demon screwing with me just so they'd be able to kill a friend of mine and make me feel bad about it

faceroll
2010-03-02, 03:24 AM
This makes casting all those Apocalypse from the Skies so much easier.

Dexam
2010-03-02, 03:40 AM
1. Do not open the box.

2. Employ liberal use of Legend Lore, Contact Other Plane, Object Reading, etc to: a) confirm that this isn't a hoax; b) find out who is sending the boxes; c) find out the address of whomever/whatever is sending the boxes.

3. Place unopened box(es) inside a larger box.

4. Fill larger box with every mechanical, alchemical, magical, psionic, whatever~ trap/poison/spell/remote-killing-device/enraged-barbarian-in-a-tin-can I can lay my hands on.

5. Return to sender.

Sure, it probably won't kill whatever is powerful enough to hand out artifacts like candy and/or grant wishes per day, but at least it'll send the message that I am not to be *beep*ed with! :smalltongue:

ryzouken
2010-03-02, 03:59 AM
So much more entertaining (and poetic) to repeatedly open the boxes until the sender is the one that gets inevitably munched by the mechanism.

Heck, with the free wishes the box's giving you, you can even engineer it such that the sender is guaranteed to bite the big one.

But then, I'm evil...

Amiel
2010-03-02, 04:38 AM
The box seems to be unmagical and non-responsive to other "interrogative" measures. It appears, for all intents and purposes, to be an ordinary, average box.

Is the box granting the beneficiary effects and following you around, or is it something else?
If it really is something else, surely they would be able to monitor what you do? And who, or what for that matter, would be interested in such a experiment of cause and effect?

JeminiZero
2010-03-02, 04:43 AM
The box seems to be unmagical and non-responsive to other "interrogative" measures. It appears, for all intents and purposes, to be an ordinary, average box.


Actually, thats a sure sign that something is wrong. Even an ordinary average box will have a source of wood (or whatever it is made of), a maker, and the guy who delivered it to your doorstep. Being unable to divine any of this will raise all sorts of alarm bells.

magic9mushroom
2010-03-02, 04:48 AM
I figure the odds are quite high that I'm among the first few snuffed by it, and don't open it.

faceroll
2010-03-02, 04:52 AM
I figure the odds are quite high that I'm among the first few snuffed by it, and don't open it.

But you're already undead; what've you got to lose?

Abd al-Azrad
2010-03-02, 04:52 AM
Approach a high-level wizard. Buy a Wish on credit- they may be interested, if not, find another one. It's a tough sell, but if you're receiving daily potential Wishes, I imagine there would be a possible market.

Use your first Wish, the one you buy on credit, to prevent the killing condition of all further boxes, while retaining the condition that you get a Wish/Artifact box daily. It's a Wish, it's powerful enough to do this if worded properly.

Infinite free wishes.

Pay one (or ten) back to your high-level Wizard friend who helped you word and craft your first, defensive, Wish.

Ba-boom. Wishes can win anything.

Superglucose
2010-03-02, 05:01 AM
No thanks at opening the box. If it keeps coming after me, hire Rodriguez to deliver a restraining order to the box.

I honestly know I couldn't live with killing someone, and the temptation would be large enough that I'd want to open the box.

Khorebh
2010-03-02, 05:01 AM
D: Oh no! It is a BBEG that surpasses even the most depraved demons and devils. The yugoloths tremble in fear of this thing!

It's a SOCIOLOGIST!

Yora
2010-03-02, 05:05 AM
It's a trap!

It says someone somewhere in the multiverse. Which also includes me and all people I know and care about. And we know, the thing with the free wishes always comes back to bite you in the ass and makes you wish you never got involved in this mess. :smallbiggrin:

aboyd
2010-03-02, 05:41 AM
What will you do? Choose wisely
My character assumes the worst -- the first person to die when he opens the box will be his best friend, his wife, or his mother. He accepts that, and opens it anyway. OK, someone wonderful may be dead, and the character's alignment has probably instantly shifted to evil. Fine. Now make a wish:

"The next time I open this box, I wish for the god Fharlanghn to be the one that suffers the death effect of this box."

Close the box. Open it again. Fharlanghn is dead. Continue:

"The next time I open this box, I wish for the god Tiamat to be the one that suffers the death effect of this box."

Close the box. Continue until all gods are named and dead. Next start naming powerful enemies and those guarding the enemy's loot. Grab loot. Properly buffed, head to those in political power and explain that you have killed the gods, killed your enemies, and will kill them unless they pay tribute. Name those who resist and open the box. Subjugate all the rest.

The end.

BooNL
2010-03-02, 05:49 AM
Someone's been watching The Twilight Zone...

CheshireCatAW
2010-03-02, 06:13 AM
I would open it. My first artifact/wish whatever is to somehow make the artifact (by way of a wish or an artifact add-on) only target Demons/Devils/Aboleths/Mind Flayers/etc. Basically any race that's about to destroy the universe. Then I start getting wonderful items and winning the fight for the good guys. Yes, we lose one "innocent" life, but suddenly the good guys have an ace up their sleeve.

Depending on how good my adventurer is, he would ask that the first life taken would be his and trust his friends to use it to win everything forever.

The Dark Fiddler
2010-03-02, 06:50 AM
I open the box every day.

My first wish? I wish these boxes would no longer kill anybody when I open them.

Kurald Galain
2010-03-02, 07:15 AM
This is from the Twilight Zone, isn't it?

tcrudisi
2010-03-02, 07:42 AM
My first wish? I wish these boxes would no longer kill anybody when I open them.

I actually considered this and realized that it either 1) won't work due to the constraints likely placed on it, or 2) would just not be fun. I mean, there has to be some drawback to infinite wishes, and the thought of random people dieing would stop me from opening it willy-nilly.

I'd open the box a few times. I can definitely think of a few wishes that I would make, but not all of them are appropriate for this forum. Suffice it to say that I would make myself very rich, happy, and powerful.

I'm also a bit of a jerk. Friends died? I'd miss them, but I can make new friends. Family died? No biggy -- I'm not particularly close to anyone in my family. Wife died? Well, I'd mourn for a little while, but really, I've got wishes so I've got any woman I want (I'm looking at you, Natalie Portman). Or, I'd wish to protect myself and my wife from the death-effects of the box first thing.

I imagine I would open the box about the first 30-50 times it arrives, just to get all the basic stuff taken care of. Then I would probably open it a few times a year when I think of random stuff that would be nice to have.

One thing I have going for me is that I think long-term first, so in this case I would definitely set up my defenses before I started getting too greedy. After all, what good does having all this power do me if I die to an assassin or something?

kakiseirei
2010-03-02, 07:46 AM
Assuming that most of the wishes are limited to the extent that they cannot alter the boxes power, my first task would be to cast (or find a cleric who can) divination in order to find out who will die when I open the box.

The neutral PC in me at that point would open the box provided that I did not know the person. He would reason that the good that he can do from the wishes outweighs the possible shift in evil from causing death, thus maintaining a neutral alignment. :smallsmile:

ZeroNumerous
2010-03-02, 07:48 AM
Presented with the box is a card that bears the following inscription;
"Each time you open the box, you will be gifted with an artifact (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/artifacts.htm) of your devising or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#alterReality) of your choice. However, every time you do open the box, someone within the multiverse dies, without hope of resurrection or reincarnation; their souls are obliterated. What will you do? Choose wisely"

I open it. I wish to become the God of Opened Boxes. I then resurrect everyone killed by any such boxes. Being a deity who does not use mortal magic: I succeed.

I then find whomever is perpetrating this stunt and rub it in his face just because he dared to try and enforce arbitrary rules on me.

I did mention I'd be CN as a deity, right?

Aharon
2010-03-02, 08:01 AM
I think the box should only be able to grant wishes, not gift you an artifact of your own devising.

If you are not killed the first time you open the box, you don't have to ever open it again - just let your first artifact be the awesome box of guilt- and death-free artifacts and wishes. There are no limits to what abilities artifacts can have, while there are at least a few feeble attempts to limit the power of wishes.

Kobold-Bard
2010-03-02, 08:17 AM
Each morning, you awaken to find an unassuming, nondescript box placed at the front door of your place of residence; be it a tavern, a stronghold you liberated from monsters, a wizard's tower et al.

Presented with the box is a card that bears the following inscription;
"Each time you open the box, you will be gifted with an artifact (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/artifacts.htm) of your devising or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#alterReality) of your choice. However, every time you do open the box, someone within the multiverse dies, without hope of resurrection or reincarnation; their souls are obliterated. What will you do? Choose wisely"

I will paraphrase for you the same thing I said when I saw the trailer for this film.

"I would take the box. I would take it with my bare hands without a moments hesitation."

And I stand by this, even thought I know the eventual outcome. I have an extremely specific Wish in mind.

Satyr
2010-03-02, 08:18 AM
How many individuals are living in the multiverse? Infinite. There is an endless number or worlds, most with several millions, if not more of inhabitants. Meaning it is highly unlikely that any of the victims of the box will be in any way known to me or even exist in the same reailty as I do. Which means that the victim is so abstract, that I don't need to care about it or that any impact will ever come close to me.

So, I use the box freely, but with the one guideline, that I will use it to destroy any similar device (because it's okay for me to be a careless, calous villain, but I don't think that other careless, callous villains should have this kind of power) and use the box as often for purely altruistic means for the greater good for every wish I use for my own. Thus, the multiverse overall happyness should increase through this, despite the few deads. And since the wellbeing of the majority outweighs the terminal fate of a few unfortunate souls, it's a pretty good action all around, and more than just balanced.

TheCountAlucard
2010-03-02, 08:28 AM
...use it to win everything forever....you made me do this, you know...

What if everything you ever wanted... came in a BOX?

BOX: CONUNDRUM EDITION! Now with all-new benefits like ARTIFACTS, WISHES, and GUN! You've had the worst, now try the first... BOX!

BOX: side effects include RANDOM DEATHS. Use your RANDOM DEATHS to throw SWEET RAVE PARTIES! BOX: anything is possible!

HEAD OF VECNA, the artifact you'll invent because you'll be too insane for normal artifacts! You'll feel like an ARCH-MAGE made of ARTIFACTS!

"What about me and my levels in Commoner?" Wish for Barbarian levels! Turn that everyman into a Bear Warrior! The "Bear" stands for "Barbearian!"

We interrupt this advertisement to BLOW YOUR MIND! ARTIFACTS now come in THE BOX. Now with absurd amounts of MORAL QUANDARIES. ABSURANDARIES!

Think fast, MONKS, THE BOX now arrives at your DOORSTOP! ROD OF SEVEN PARTS! Similar to HEAD OF VECNA!

"Oh, Pelor, why have you forsaken me?"

CAN IT. When Pelor gives you lemons, you WISH YOURSELF A DEITY. Box Conundrum: give yourself divine ranks!

UNACCEPTABLE. Use the Box and you'll WIN AT EVERYTHING FOREVER. You'll win at RUNNING, FOOTBALL, ARSON, WEDDINGS, and ART! You'll even WIN AT IRONY! Top score!

Still unconvinced? Then check out these TESTIMONIALS from REAL USERS:

(boop!)

"I wished for 400 babies!"

(boop!)

"..."

(boop!)

"The Box is really-" (ARRGH, AAAARGH!)

(boop!)

ALL RIGHT!

The Box: it's like killing people's souls! It's killing people's souls! The Box is killing people's souls!

Warning, may contain stirges.

Tyndmyr
2010-03-02, 08:39 AM
The movie was stupid. It had almost nothing to do with the commercial. Or logic.

In real life, I'd probably ignore it, on the basis that if I can tell it does nothing, I'd presume it's some kind of scam I don't want to be involved in.

In D&D world, I'd happily take it, on the basis that it's only a danger to those who aren't under a constant Death Ward. Guess what my first artifact/wished item would be.

Siegel
2010-03-02, 09:02 AM
How many individuals are living in the multiverse? Infinite. There is an endless number or worlds, most with several millions, if not more of inhabitants. Meaning it is highly unlikely that any of the victims of the box will be in any way known to me or even exist in the same reailty as I do. Which means that the victim is so abstract, that I don't need to care about it or that any impact will ever come close to me.


Eldritch horrors do not work this way !

Lysander
2010-03-02, 09:15 AM
What's my character's alignment? That's a big question here. Assuming I'm good or neutral, I'd lock it in an adamantium chest and bury it very deep on an uninhabited plane.

Heliomance
2010-03-02, 09:28 AM
1) Open the box. Wish for the power to choose who dies henceforth.
2) Open the box and choose the BBEG to die. Obtain an artifact which is identical in every way to the box except that it doesn't kill anyone when used.
3) Use the new box as much as you like.

Person_Man
2010-03-02, 09:53 AM
This webcomic (http://hijinksensue.com/2009/10/21/little-boxes-all-the-same/) summarizes what my actions would be.

Greenish
2010-03-02, 11:51 AM
How many individuals are living in the multiverse? Infinite. There is an endless number or worlds, most with several millions, if not more of inhabitants. Meaning it is highly unlikely that any of the victims of the box will be in any way known to me or even exist in the same reailty as I do. Which means that the victim is so abstract, that I don't need to care about it or that any impact will ever come close to me.The box doesn't say the victim is chosen at random. You'll want to be careful with the exact wording on these things.

2xMachina
2010-03-02, 01:30 PM
Depends on how limited the wish is...

1. I wish box does not kill when opened.
2. I wish the 1st killed by the box was never dead.
3. Continue wishing for free, and no effect (except for someone to 'die' temporarily.)

Only problem would be if the box kills the opener before even granting the wish.

Kosjsjach
2010-03-02, 01:53 PM
"... However, every time you do open the box, someone within the multiverse dies, without hope of resurrection or reincarnation; their souls are obliterated."

This is something that seems to be going overlooked. The default real-world assumption is that there is no afterlife, and therefore it doesn't matter 'cuz we'll all die eventually anyway.

In the D&D-verse, every mortal is essentially immortal, in the sense that their soul will exist for eternity (barring being devoured by some extraplanar monstrosity or whatever). Take a moment to realize how much worse it is now. You're not only depriving someone of a physical life: you're denying them a potential eternity.

That said, I probably would open the box at least once, but weigh whatever I'd gain against the possibility that whoever I'm obliterating is not better off ceasing to exist. It'd take me awhile to decide what's worth that risk.

Ravens_cry
2010-03-02, 02:05 PM
I would destroy the box. Oh, it's a infinitesimally small chance it would actually kill someone I care about. But I would still be stopping the death of however many would be killed by the box. Someone would know them, someone would care.

ScionoftheVoid
2010-03-02, 02:08 PM
If it had said a person chosen at random I'd definitely open it plenty, though it wouldn't be my first resort to everything. Since it doesn't, I would open it once to check who died, and proceed to attempt to destroy everything in all the universe/multiverse if it was someone I cared about or continue to open it very cautiously on occasion if it was not.

Glimbur
2010-03-02, 02:36 PM
I wouldn't open it. It's categorically immoral to kill people without careful forethought. I won't do immoral acts, even for moral ends. This means, in theory, I won't open the box even if it's the only way to prevent an eldritch abomination from beyond time from destroying the cosmos, because then I am given the choice of acting immorally or not acting. The eldritch abomination is responsible for its own actions, I may try to stop it via moral means but not immoral ones. Whether this would be my actual course of action... I think so, but it's impossible to say without giving me a box and an eldritch abomination.

tl;dr Deontology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontology).

Beowulf DW
2010-03-02, 02:44 PM
In the words of my former economics professor, "Nothing is free." In real life, you never get anything for free. Even if something comes at no monetary cost to you, time, effort and resources were spent.

In the world of D&D, we have supernatural forces and beings from higher (or lower) planes of existence to factor into this equation. Eventually, you will pay a price for what you get.

I'd probably leave the box closed and then go questing to find the sadistic S.O.B. who made the box and sent it to me.

vanyell
2010-03-02, 02:44 PM
well, if it said that it'd kill a completely random entity somewhere in the multiverse, I've just got to remember. there's an literal infinite number of demons, and a finite number of... well, pretty much everything else. the odds of getting something that's not a demon is essentially infinity/1 so sure. go ahead. multiple times even.

Zen Master
2010-03-02, 02:48 PM
So there you stand, on your doorstep, box in hand. Pondering the questions posed by it's cryptic message. You weigh pro and con. you decide 'oh what the heck - I'll open it.'

Just before you do, you glance down the street. On every doorstep, a box. A few early risers, like you, are already opening their boxes. And you are in that exact moment in time where your mind has ordered your hand to open the box, and it is too late to stop it from doing so.

Ravens_cry
2010-03-02, 02:52 PM
So there you stand, on your doorstep, box in hand. Pondering the questions posed by it's cryptic message. You weigh pro and con. you decide 'oh what the heck - I'll open it.'

Just before you do, you glance down the street. On every doorstep, a box. A few early risers, like you, are already opening their boxes. And you are in that exact moment in time where your mind has ordered your hand to open the box, and it is too late to stop it from doing so.
. . . in The Twilight Zone.
Seriously, I don't care if there's one box or a bazillion. I am not a murderer.

2xMachina
2010-03-02, 02:58 PM
So there you stand, on your doorstep, box in hand. Pondering the questions posed by it's cryptic message. You weigh pro and con. you decide 'oh what the heck - I'll open it.'

Just before you do, you glance down the street. On every doorstep, a box. A few early risers, like you, are already opening their boxes. And you are in that exact moment in time where your mind has ordered your hand to open the box, and it is too late to stop it from doing so.

Better hope you open if faster then them... Cause 1 of them dead = 1 less open box = less death chance.

Tyndmyr
2010-03-02, 03:02 PM
Use all the wishes for copies of the box. Distribute them without the warning.

PirateMonk
2010-03-02, 03:05 PM
In the words of my former economics professor, "Nothing is free." In real life, you never get anything for free. Even if something comes at no monetary cost to you, time, effort and resources were spent.

In the world of D&D, we have supernatural forces and beings from higher (or lower) planes of existence to factor into this equation. Eventually, you will pay a price for what you get.

I'd probably leave the box closed and then go questing to find the sadistic S.O.B. who made the box and sent it to me.

Nothing is free in real life because there's no magic, so there's scarcity. If you still have to worry about scarcity, you haven't made enough wishes yet.


So there you stand, on your doorstep, box in hand. Pondering the questions posed by it's cryptic message. You weigh pro and con. you decide 'oh what the heck - I'll open it.'

Just before you do, you glance down the street. On every doorstep, a box. A few early risers, like you, are already opening their boxes. And you are in that exact moment in time where your mind has ordered your hand to open the box, and it is too late to stop it from doing so.

Well, if you're getting up early, you should have enough time to wish away the death effect before anyone dies.

Ravens_cry
2010-03-02, 03:16 PM
Use all the wishes for copies of the box. Distribute them without the warning.
I am not a murderer. However, I might make an exception if I could know, which I do, if it would stop other murders.
Just thought I would mention this.

Satyr
2010-03-02, 03:26 PM
See it the other way round: You have the chance to save millions of lifes with these wishes, at the price of a few deads. Yes, these are very unfortunate deaths, and could weigh hard on the conscience - but if one got the chance to let's say redirect that hurricane so it never reaches the coast, or stop this orphanage from suddenly collapsing and burying dozens of children on the inside, is it indeed better to not act?

(Actually, I have no idea. Knowing myself, I would probably start using it for the most altruistic motives, and lower the standards to one time ask my box of wonders to locate my keys for me. It's good that I don't have this kind of power)

Yukitsu
2010-03-02, 03:27 PM
I would wish that I could open any box without anyone dying or being injured, then I'd join a bomb squad.

Ravens_cry
2010-03-02, 03:31 PM
See it the other way round: You have the chance to save millions of lifes with these wishes, at the price of a few deads. Yes, these are very unfortunate deaths, and could weigh hard on the conscience - but if one got the chance to let's say redirect that hurricane so it never reaches the coast, or stop this orphanage from suddenly collapsing and burying dozens of children on the inside, is it indeed better to not act?

(Actually, I have no idea. Knowing myself, I would probably start using it for the most altruistic motives, and lower the standards to one time ask my box of wonders to locate my keys for me. It's good that I don't have this kind of power)
I am sure if the disaster that big you could all cough up the dough to pay a spell caster to cast control weather. You might not even have to pay him if they live in the area.
Don't live in a universe with magic?
Then the box is just a box.

Mongoose87
2010-03-02, 03:36 PM
I hire an Artificer. He drains each box of its power, and uses it to craft non-killing wish-givers. I lol.

Starbuck_II
2010-03-02, 03:38 PM
First, Wish Matrix sequel Movies were not done horrible.
Second, that the box targets evil creatures only.

Ravens_cry
2010-03-02, 04:12 PM
I hire an Artificer. He drains each box of its power, and uses it to craft non-killing wish-givers. I lol.
Can an artificer drain artefacts? Because if thi box can create artefacts, I would think it would be more likely covered under those rules then magic items.

Ormur
2010-03-02, 04:30 PM
If it's too good to be true it usually is, doubly so when it comes with a price that just screams of some evil higher power messing with you.

It's like a Nigerian scam and a Faustian pact all packed into one box.

ZeroNumerous
2010-03-02, 05:31 PM
See it the other way round: You have the chance to save millions of lifes with these wishes, at the price of a few deads. Yes, these are very unfortunate deaths, and could weigh hard on the conscience - but if one got the chance to let's say redirect that hurricane so it never reaches the coast, or stop this orphanage from suddenly collapsing and burying dozens of children on the inside, is it indeed better to not act?

Or, instead of half-assing it, you could just wish to be able to grant your own wishes. One dead, you have infinite wishes.

This is why genies hate me.

Satyr
2010-03-02, 05:39 PM
Wasn't Wish the spell which would kick you around for wishing things without good thought and preparation? NOw think about what happens to you when every single notion of you get answered immediately, not matter how trivial, and all the time without you possibly stopping it. Ever thought something like "Shut up" or "I'd really like to know what happends when a winged hippopotamus fight a flamebreathing rhinoceros"? That screams "interesting times at you from every direction.

Kobold-Bard
2010-03-02, 05:41 PM
..."I'd really like to know what happends when a winged hippopotamus fight a flamebreathing rhinoceros"?...

It's like you're a mind reader or something :smalltongue:

Satyr
2010-03-02, 05:53 PM
That's not mind-reading. Everybody subconsciously wants to know who would win this battle.

Analytica
2010-03-02, 05:56 PM
I will answer this on the assumption that this is actually me as a PC in a reasonable, simulationist D&D game, where wishes cannot do much more than the "safe list" - it isn't an epic spell, so it should never be able to do more than any other ninth level spell could. Your mileage might vary.

Given this, and that I am in a D&D world, and have lots of hubris, I would reason that I probably can get eventually to the kind of power the box grants, without recourse to it. Obliterating souls I personally wouldn't do (though some of my characters would). Because of this, I would hide the box in a secure place, and resolve never to open it unless I somehow change my mind. If the end of my life approaches and I have no way to prolong it, or similarly, I might change my mind. Perhaps.

Kallisti
2010-03-02, 05:57 PM
I open the box. I'm not going to make any excuses or claim I'll do good with the wishes--I probably will use some of them altruistically, yes, but I'm still murdering people for personal gain.

But any artifact of my own design, or any one wish? That's...immense temptation. More than I could ever hope to resist.

That said, my first artifact is a lamp that grants me infinite wishes without killing anyone. I'd have to live with having murdered a random stranger for personal gain, but nothing alleviates guilt like being nigh-omnipotent.

...maybe this is why the gods in fantasy stories tend to be such immoral hypocrites? I'm sure godlike power does funny things to a person.

Siosilvar
2010-03-02, 05:59 PM
Does the wish occur before or after someone is snuffed from existence?

If before, "I wish that this box could not kill anyone or erase their souls from existence."

Though whatever DM gave me this... box probably wouldn't grant said wish.

ZeroNumerous
2010-03-02, 05:59 PM
Wasn't Wish the spell which would kick you around for wishing things without good thought and preparation? NOw think about what happens to you when every single notion of you get answered immediately, not matter how trivial, and all the time without you possibly stopping it. Ever thought something like "Shut up" or "I'd really like to know what happends when a winged hippopotamus fight a flamebreathing rhinoceros"? That screams "interesting times at you from every direction.

See: That doesn't sound like a downside to me. Honestly, if you ever got tired of it just "I wish I could selectively and consciously choose which wishes to grant myself".

Saph
2010-03-02, 06:03 PM
I'd do the exact same thing I do with all the debt consolidation letters I get every day. Ignore them. It's a scam of some sort, and I don't have the time or the energy to work out exactly how. :smallsmile:

I think Fhaolan won this one on post 5. :) Tanstaafl.

AslanCross
2010-03-02, 06:05 PM
I'm of the opinion that this is like gambling--it makes you feel like you're winning, but it's actually calculated to profit whoever sent it. Ultimately, you lose.

Amiel
2010-03-02, 06:12 PM
Ah, herein lies the greatest conundrum. :smallwink:
Limitless power for severe risk; could you really risk the temptation?


About the wishes, you aren't actually receiving wishes. You are altering reality (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#alterReality) to your whim and choosing; a gift bestowed that is much more powerful than wish.

But; would its own powers really work upon itself? Would it really effect its maker? (if it even had one to begin with)
Would you stop another who tried to open the box?

PlzBreakMyCmpAn
2010-03-02, 09:50 PM
Here's what this NG would do: get free stuff without killing people.

Day 1:
Neither. If it were magical, I'd leave it alone (ITS A TRAP!)
If not, I'd teleport it to a random desert, make a small blue mark on it and bury it.

Day 2: If it doesn't come back I'll forget it ever existed
If it comes back to my temporarily changed residence (adventurer's move around each day) I'd see if it had the blue mark
If it were blue, I'd scratch off / fill in the inscription physically and then preceed to DISJUNCTION the thing into becoming inert
If it were not blue I'd assume an outside force undid that or that its a seperate box. Time to test if its the same box; I'd take it with me.

Day 3: If not, I have a free supply of boxes. I'd would not open the new boxes, but rather have the sides cut from their corners without going inside for an endless supply of free boxes.

Now I have 50% free shipping materials when I mix the sides with regular boxes (the gained surfaces are inside out). Yay

If the box teleports ME to my own doorstep every morning its the same one. I'd scribe Pandora's Box of Morning Word Of Recall on it and alter my memory into forgetting the original inscription.

I now get a free teleport every day. Yay!

And don't say that the inscription would change because either its magical (which I stripped) or its not magical and therefore won't change except by a blockable outside force, which does the new box creation/teleporting.

2xMachina
2010-03-03, 04:30 AM
It's got pretty much unlimited power... Artifacts...

1st artifact: Augmented Box, without killing
2nd artifact: Can restore souls + resurrect that were permanently destroyed. Proceed to restore+resurrect 2 killed.

Proceed to make the universe cry as you break the Zeroth Law (not to say magic isn't already breaking it, but this is breaking it further).

Fortuna
2010-03-03, 04:40 AM
I can't see how anyone would ever do anything like this without some way to profit unimaginably from it. No, hell no, I'm not even gonna touch that box.

Kobold-Bard
2010-03-03, 05:02 AM
I can't see how anyone would ever do anything like this without some way to profit unimaginably from it. No, hell no, I'm not even gonna touch that box.

The Gods are bored as hell, so they figure they'll give people boxes and watch the fireworks.

Actually, this is basically the setup for Death Note.

Amiel
2010-04-17, 08:44 AM
Let's up the stakes a bit; whoever gives you the box allows you your choice of afterlife when and once you open the box; essentially, you get your demiplane that you can alter on a whim, only after you do open the box. Your every desire can be expressed through that reality.

What do you do?

HamHam
2010-04-17, 09:09 AM
I think this has already been said, but since there are an infinite number of demons, and infinitely more of them than anything else in the Great Wheel, odds are you would mostly kill demons. Which is really a net plus.

Amiel
2010-04-17, 09:10 AM
Possibly! Or more often than not, it might kill a hapless mortal instead of a demon. Which is really a downer.

The Shadowmind
2010-04-17, 09:48 AM
Either:Wish for all the powers of Pun-Pun, and artifact with all the powers of Pun-Pun, or the items/abilities that are set up to get Pun-Pun level power.

Now use your beyond god level power to remove the box and any other of the special boxes from existence, return the first person killed to life,laugh at the gods, make the deserts bloom in produce, *insert good deed here*

It is not be careful what you wish, but be careful who you give wishes to.

Coidzor
2010-04-17, 12:10 PM
I'm of the opinion that this is like gambling--it makes you feel like you're winning, but it's actually calculated to profit whoever sent it. Ultimately, you lose.

Obviously the first wish (if it doesn't just kill you instantly upon opening it) is to kill whoever made it, whoever sent it, whoever directed them, and all of those with any knowledge of how to create more of them.

Try to profit off of my sociology, will you!?

And if that doesn't work I go and do it the old fashioned way.

Kick the DM in the genitalia, gouge out his or her eyes, shave their body, and mail their butchered cuts of meat to their relatives.

Milskidasith
2010-04-17, 12:28 PM
I'd use the power for personal gain, though really, I could just have infinite power opening the box once, so I'd kill one random person, which, by the laws of probability, is probably going to be one of the infinite demons/far more numerous than us insects than somebody who is good.

Then I'd proceed to do whatever the hell I wanted.

Touchy
2010-04-17, 12:41 PM
Possibly! Or more often than not, it might kill a hapless mortal instead of a demon. Which is really a downer.

It's actually it's more often than not, killing a demon, because they are infinite, and mortals are not, however.

Unless this box specifically targets mortals, then you still have any form of mortal outsider to deal with.

randomhero00
2010-04-17, 12:44 PM
"I wish to know exactly how this box works and then go back in time to one millisecond before I made this wish while retaining my memories."

Boom, I now know how it works, and all subsequent wishes will be phrased in such a way as to get around the fine print. The first wish is only some minor knowledge and a few seconds of time travel. Should be doable. And no one dies because I never made the first wish without the knowledge on how to circumvent it.

BloodyAngel
2010-04-17, 07:17 PM
Me? Personally? Yeah, I'd risk it. I'd open the first box, and if it didn't instantly kill me, my wish would be thus...

"I wish that the moment I finish this sentence, and until the end of time, to gain the combined powers, but none of the flaws or failings of, every wizard, bard, priest and druid who currently lives or has ever lived, while retaining my own mind, body, current physical form and state of being."

That should make me some kind of super-gestalt epic-level multi spellcaster of DOOM! After that, I don't need to open another single box really... as epic magic can do most anything. I WILL however, turn my epic prowess towards finding the box-sender and ensuring that I'm not on the kill list. I don't know how many gated solars that will take, but I've got 'em.

Oh, and if the box kills a loved one, I guess I'll just have to get some new loved ones. :smallamused:

Anasazi
2010-04-17, 07:27 PM
Each morning, you awaken to find an unassuming, nondescript box placed at the front door of your place of residence; be it a tavern, a stronghold you liberated from monsters, a wizard's tower et al.

Presented with the box is a card that bears the following inscription;
"Each time you open the box, you will be gifted with an artifact (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/artifacts.htm) of your devising or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#alterReality) of your choice. However, every time you do open the box, someone within the multiverse dies, without hope of resurrection or reincarnation; their souls are obliterated. What will you do? Choose wisely"

wasnt this a movie script (althought it was a button, which killed a person that you didnt know for $1 million)? didnt that movie do horrible?
If I ever had a GM do this to me, I'd laugh, open the box, and make the wish that the box and every vessel like it would be destroyed. Thereby pissing off my GM, and solving the issue.

kemmotar
2010-04-17, 08:10 PM
Or you could wish to gain all the powers and knowledge of whoever made this box, or equal power.
Sombody or something at some point in time made this be it god, dead god, overgod, demiurge, immortal of some sort that either was born so or became through some very well thought out plan. You now have the same powers as that person/thing.

Have fun being able to divide by zero, among other things.

Roland St. Jude
2010-04-17, 09:23 PM
...What do you do?

Sheriff of Moddingham: These days? Mostly lock threads that are thread necromancy.