Resolving scrolls in the Wish-Based Economy

[Zaranthan]

So, I've been wanting to implement the Wish Based Economy (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Dungeonomicon_%28DnD_Other%29/Economicon) in my game, but resolving the issue that 9th level scrolls are Gold Economy level items is a bit difficult. The premise that players can have all the +2 swords in the world is absolutely correct, you can only wield two of them at once, who who cares? Wands are fine, people who can cast polymorph don't care how many fireballs you can throw; all listed staffs are beyond the WBE's reach, and weapons/armor/wondrous items are all covered by "how many rings of invisibility do you want again?" Only scrolls are an issue, making a DC 20 Caster Level check at level 10 is not an obstacle.

Here's my fix: scrolls need to be deciphered (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/scrolls.htm#deciphertheWriting) on the spot, no solving scrolls in advance. You can decipher a scroll in your own time for the purpose of identifying it, of course, and this makes no change to scribing scrolls into your spellbook (million-page spellbooks are their own animal which I have no intention of tangling with, you want all the spells, you've got em, just tell me what you prepared TODAY). However, if you want to pull out a scroll and fling mojo without spending a spell slot, you've got some terribad action economy coming your way:

1. Pull out the scroll: move action at best if it's in a Heward's Handy Haversack.
2. Decipher the scroll: full-round action. If I'm feeling generous, that's your standard action after pulling the scroll and a move action in your next turn. Best case: 1.5 turns just to get the scroll ready IF YOU MAKE THE SPELLCRAFT CHECK. Hope you don't get hit with an arrow.
3. Cast the daggum spell already: usually a standard action, but if it was a scroll of Summon Monster XCVII... hoo boy.

So, best case scenario, you've spent two turns to cast one spell that you didn't have prepared today. "But two turns to cast meteor swarm at level 9 is still absurd!" The infinite wish loop I see is using a Lawful Evil Candle of Invocation to Call an Efreet to grant you three Wishes, one of which you use to get another Candle. I see nothing wrong with an Evil creature who abhors servitude in all forms giving you a cursed scroll, and by coincidence, only doing so for scrolls above your current spellcasting level. You want a hundred scrolls of teleport? Here you go. You want a scroll of chain lightning? Have fun shocking the bejeezus out of yourself and one close friend per caster level.

[Coidzor]

You don't get the majority of magic items using wish from candle of invocation efreeti though, so really, whether the scrolls are cursed is only pertinent for the first iteration.

You use that candle of invocation and original efreet to get simulacrums that are ordered to serve you who then give you the mojo to get your own simulacrums using their wishes and then you've made your own simulacrum(s) without loyalty ties to the originator Efreet or Pazuzu(and that only if the wish can't work in such a way as to have the first simulacrum treat you as its creator. Then you have the simulacrum make more simulacrums for you either up to however many one wants or continually geometrically increasing number of them in fast-time demiplanes that they're continually expanding with scrolls of genesis. At least, IIRC, their growth is geometric.

If one is 9th level, one could also just use lesser planar binding to get a mirror mephit(Expedition to the Demonweb Pits), get it to make a simulacrum of an Efreet and go from there and skip the candle in the first place, except for maybe getting the sample of the efreet if one wants to wish for a scroll of simulacrum(IIRC, though, material components are part of the creation of the scroll, so...).

I might be glossing over some tidbits and misremembering others, due to this being something that doesn't really see the light of day all that often.

[Zaranthan]

Ah, it seems a bit of information was missing from my post. Wish-Based Economy means no dodging XP costs. (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Tome_of_Fiends_%283.5e_Sourcebook%29/Optional_Rules#No_Wishing_for_More_Wishes.21)

The basic things you can wish for don't cost XP (items, inherent bonuses, spell copying, and super-teleport). If you have a SLA with an XP component, you still have to pay it. Called creatures won't pay XP costs, not for all the rice in China.

TL;DR: You can call an Efreet and wish for a Candle, but you can't wish for a simulacrum.

[Coidzor]

Then you get a scroll of simulacrum. The minimum XP cost is included as part of the scroll and efreet are covered by it.

So they eat one lightning blast to the face and then they have a simulacrum that's not out to actively screw them over for playing the spirit of the game you've put forth.

[Tyndmyr]

Is there not a scroll case that allows you to draw scrolls as a free action? Additionally, can you not start with scroll in hand/minion handing it to you?