Bakkan
2011-04-23, 02:50 PM
I'm currently playing in an all-Kobold game and we have recently gone through a couple of encounters involving monsters that grapple or statch us up. Naturally, with Small size and a -4 Strength penalty, our grapple checks are not the best in the world.
Enter the spell Unfettered Grasp, form Races of the Dragon (p 118). In short, this 2nd-level spell forces a creature to try to escape a grapple, with no save allowed. Use this on the creature grappling you and walk free. This has worked out fairly well for us, but since the spell is a standard action to cast, I (the caster) can free only one of my companions a round and can do little else that round.
I had the idea to make an item similar to the Safewing Emblem (Magic Item Compendium 131) that could be activated for a one-time use of the spell. Here is my current idea of what the item's description and use would be.
Token of Freedom
Price (Item Level): 1000 gp (4th)
Body Slot: Throat
Caster Level: 3rd
Aura: Faint; (DC 16) enchantment
Activation: Immediate (mental)
Weight: -
When you activate this token, one creature grappling you (choose randomly if there is more than one) immediately makes a grapple check against you. If it succeeds, it ends the grapple and (if it was in your square) moves to the nearest open square. This is a mind-affecting enchantment(compulsion) effect subject to spell resistance.
Once the token has been activated, it shatters, its magic expended.
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, unfettered graspRotD
Cost to Create: 500 gp, 40 XP, 1 day
The safewing emblem duplicated a 1st-level spell at caster level 3 and costs 250 gp. This item duplicates a 2nd-level spell at caster level 3, so it should cost twice as much, or 500 gp. However, while feather fall typically has an immediate action casting time (so the safewing emblem doesn't change that), unfettered grasp has a standard action casting time, which the token of freedom changes to an immediate action. For that I have doubled the cost.
My questions at the moment are these:
Is it reasonable to double the cost for the decreased casting time? Is doubling too much or to little?
Should the token have an additional cost compared to the safewing emblem because it is an offensive effect, or is that accuratly accounted for in the higher spell level?
Should the token have a decreased price because it is subject to more restrictions than the safewing emblem (spell resistance, mind-affecting, enchantment)?
Would you as a player purchase such an item? If not, how cheap would it have to be or what other effects would it need for you to consider buying it?
Would you as a DM allow a player to purchase such an item? If not, what changes would you make before your players could buy it?
Would this item be too powerful if it were slotless (with the appropriate increase in price)?
Another way of calcluating the price would be to look at the ring of Freedom of Movement and working down form there. The Ring costs 40,000 gp. A 50-charge item of freedom of movement would cost 20,000 gp by the DMG guidelines, and so a single-charge item would cost 400 gp. However, the ring of freedom of movement provides more benefits than just immunity to grapple, decreasing the price of the token further, perhaps to 200 gp. Already we have a significant difference in price between this calculation and my previous one. Your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Enter the spell Unfettered Grasp, form Races of the Dragon (p 118). In short, this 2nd-level spell forces a creature to try to escape a grapple, with no save allowed. Use this on the creature grappling you and walk free. This has worked out fairly well for us, but since the spell is a standard action to cast, I (the caster) can free only one of my companions a round and can do little else that round.
I had the idea to make an item similar to the Safewing Emblem (Magic Item Compendium 131) that could be activated for a one-time use of the spell. Here is my current idea of what the item's description and use would be.
Token of Freedom
Price (Item Level): 1000 gp (4th)
Body Slot: Throat
Caster Level: 3rd
Aura: Faint; (DC 16) enchantment
Activation: Immediate (mental)
Weight: -
When you activate this token, one creature grappling you (choose randomly if there is more than one) immediately makes a grapple check against you. If it succeeds, it ends the grapple and (if it was in your square) moves to the nearest open square. This is a mind-affecting enchantment(compulsion) effect subject to spell resistance.
Once the token has been activated, it shatters, its magic expended.
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, unfettered graspRotD
Cost to Create: 500 gp, 40 XP, 1 day
The safewing emblem duplicated a 1st-level spell at caster level 3 and costs 250 gp. This item duplicates a 2nd-level spell at caster level 3, so it should cost twice as much, or 500 gp. However, while feather fall typically has an immediate action casting time (so the safewing emblem doesn't change that), unfettered grasp has a standard action casting time, which the token of freedom changes to an immediate action. For that I have doubled the cost.
My questions at the moment are these:
Is it reasonable to double the cost for the decreased casting time? Is doubling too much or to little?
Should the token have an additional cost compared to the safewing emblem because it is an offensive effect, or is that accuratly accounted for in the higher spell level?
Should the token have a decreased price because it is subject to more restrictions than the safewing emblem (spell resistance, mind-affecting, enchantment)?
Would you as a player purchase such an item? If not, how cheap would it have to be or what other effects would it need for you to consider buying it?
Would you as a DM allow a player to purchase such an item? If not, what changes would you make before your players could buy it?
Would this item be too powerful if it were slotless (with the appropriate increase in price)?
Another way of calcluating the price would be to look at the ring of Freedom of Movement and working down form there. The Ring costs 40,000 gp. A 50-charge item of freedom of movement would cost 20,000 gp by the DMG guidelines, and so a single-charge item would cost 400 gp. However, the ring of freedom of movement provides more benefits than just immunity to grapple, decreasing the price of the token further, perhaps to 200 gp. Already we have a significant difference in price between this calculation and my previous one. Your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your advice.