PDA

View Full Version : How to use magic to get rich in the modern world?



Yora
2012-12-12, 07:15 PM
While hiding the fact that you use magic. In a medieval world it's quite easy, you just create some gold or diamonds and sell them for money. Done, you're rich now.
But in the modern world, that would be a lot more difficult. If you could make perfect counterfeit bank notes, you might get away with it, but if you create too much of them, people will notice your sudden wealth and the government will start asking questions where all the money is comming from. Even when you're in a place the bank doesn't care how you deposite tens of thousands of cash on your account every week and no official agencies monitor these suspicious transactions, your sudden inrcease of wealth might still tip people of. If you sell diamonds you will have to prove where you got them from and it probably isn't easy to sell large amount of gold without questions asked.

Basically, you would need a way to wash your "fake" magical creation into clean money. Looking into the future to predict lottery numbers could work, but that's too easy and in most works outside the power of a regular mage.

Becomming a professional poker player and using telepathy to beat the opposition? Could work, but you would have to start and build up slowly to not be suspected of cheating. That makes it a bit of a chore.

Vaz
2012-12-12, 08:03 PM
Does plant growth refer to fungus? If so; you could encourage the growth of Truffles; they are meant to be more expensive than gold, I guess.

Use Mind Affecting Abilities to open a bar; use said abilities to get people to purchase outrageous up-priced drinks, alongside dehydration, as well as getting ridiculous low prices from the suppliers. Rinse and repeat.

Although it is likely to be very odd, you could possibly make immense salt pans.

Bardic Music Gangnam Style.

Although not exactly megabucks, and likely to crash the economy quicker than a Bank Trader on a champagne hangover, you could flood fake notes into circulation. Alternatively, just use fake notes to purchase your stuff; while just saving

Suggestion (Marry Self) to a Multibillionaire Heir/heiress.

Eagles Splendour or other Charisma boosting ability to put you in films/movies/catwalks (possibly helps to have beauty scores and other modifications like Alter Self to such scores from certain books). Or, use Eagles Splendour to make yourself a politician, rule the country and nearly destroy it in an orgy of self importance and stupid decision making that only benefits yourself before becoming ambassador to the middle east while selling books. Be Tony Blair.

Falsify CV with the ability to make it actually possible, become head honcho of a company through that CV, asset strip.

Create Military Tech and sell to government/third world child soldiers. I'm fairly sure the USA would have loved a Scroll of Scrying for UBL, or equipping Soldiers with Wands of Fireball. Or Missile with Implosion/disintegrate. Or less destructive tech; BDU's of Invisibility/Endure Elements, NVG's of True Seeing, Boots of Endurance/jumping/featherfall/longstrider. "Take 2 minutes off your Mile and a Half Time with these boots; guaranteed!"

Work for a mining company, strike "lucky" and hit a seam of the most priceless element in its purest form.

Up Intellect into the stratosphere; discover renewable energy/work out solution to world peace.

Invisibility and Time Stop to get into a Swiss Banks security box rooms, wait until boxes are about to be returned to the shelf, then get into the box, steal whatever has been put back in, then return to owners hand before time stop finishes. Throw in Clairvoyance and Teleport to be able to get involved in Trade Wars and espionage.

Use Divine Magic to determine presence of a god and proove it (or, you know, not). Get showered in money. Alternatively; actually be able to speak to the dead and make money off that.

Simply; divine the future for next weeks Euromillions lottery draw.

Or; Endure Elements shawl, Begging hat which is actually a disguised bag of holding, and use mass suggestions to have people emptying their wallets into said "hat".

A lot of money comes with positions of power these days; so the magic should be about getting yourself into that position of power while keeping yourself there.

Yora
2012-12-12, 08:12 PM
I particularly like the truffles idea. You would first have to set yourself up as a truffles hunter so the traders get to know you, but then you could hit some big finds you grew yourself with magic and attribute it to your dogs, who turn out to be amazing naturally talented truffles dogs.
Do that for a season and you could have enough cash to set up a real gold or diamond prospecting company that just happens to make the find of the century after just a few weeks of opperation. Using magic to detect natural deposits would make the story bulletproof, as every geological investigation would conclude that the diamonds are actually from your mine and it's not just a hole in the dirt used to launder blood diamonds.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-12, 08:27 PM
Evil: Use Simulacrum to replace the rich and important. eBay should get you the required material components.
Less Evil: Sell DNA Resequencing Rejuvenation Treatment* to the rich and famous.
*Reincarnation.
Not Evil but Sneaky: Use Greater Teleport to go to the Moon and Mars to get samples to sell.

Anxe
2012-12-12, 09:53 PM
You could just use divination spells for lottery numbers too.

Jetpacks that function. You make up some hocuspocus about they work and then use actual hocuspocus to make them work.

A washer/dryer combo that uses presdigitation. No one looks inside their washer/dryer to see how it works, so you can lie about it just like with the jetpacks. EDIT: Upon reconsideration this one wouldn't work. Each machine would cost 200GP to produce (1 use of a 0th level spell per day) which is far too expensive.

dojango
2012-12-12, 09:57 PM
I reckon using golems as labor would be even cheaper than sweatshop/prison labor. How could a non-magic using manufacturer compete? Just don't let anyone inspect the shops!

Gavinfoxx
2012-12-12, 10:10 PM
My D&D 3.5e-specific handbook on breaking the economy should be pretty suitable for modern settings, too.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aG4P3dU6WP3pq8mW9l1qztFeNfqQHyI22oJe09i8KWw/edit

Remember that magic breaks conservation of energy and can get you perpetual motion machines. ;) ;)

Arbane
2012-12-12, 10:18 PM
Blackmail the rich and powerful via divination spells.

The "Fake mine full of real gold/uranium/whatever" idea has already been mentioned.

Treasure hunting for old shipwrecks/ruins/etc. Just like adventuring back home, but with less monsters!

Become a linguist. Translate now-lost languages. Maybe not too lucrative, but fun.

Start your own cult.

Start preaching your religion. If you're a cleric you can work ACTUAL MIRACLES. If you can cure diseases, you'll quickly be rich. If you can bring the dead back to life, you will very quickly have ALL the money.
ALL OF IT.

Planar Binding. Start a succubus-staffed call-girl service.

Buy broken stuff at flea markets, use Make Whole on it. Resell.

Smuggling via Teleportation.

Bank Robbery via teleportation/passwall.

Pick Third-World Hellhole of your choice. Nuke local government, take over. Use magic to bring about prosperity and/or nuke troublemakers.

Go supervillain. Animate some corpses, and threaten to start the Zombie Apocalypse unless you are paid... ONE MILLION BILLION DOLLARS! (Yeah, it's a bluff, but THEY won't know that.)

(Do not mix the above two suggestions.)

Oh, yeah! Make perpetual motion machines, sell them, or sell electricity from them. Or threaten to sell them unless the oil companies pay you tribute.

Become a 'management consultant'. Use Suggestion indiscriminately.

LordHavelock
2012-12-12, 10:29 PM
Rather than lottery numbers, I suggest using divination across a spectrum of different sports making incremental and diverse bets among a wide field so as not to attract notice. Vegas would be the best place to do it. Go to different casinos, bet on point spreads in various sports, horses to finish and place (not win) and whatever random happenings are in the news (in Vegas it's possible to bet on anything). Keep your bets relatively small and proportionate to your living arrangements, pay your taxes, and you will always have more disposable income and financial security (without however, achieving super wealth).

Erik Vale
2012-12-12, 10:31 PM
Use divining spells to determine what numbers will win the lottery/win gambling/stocks grow best the stockmarket.

You just get considered lucky, and there is nothing illegal/evil about it.

Dr.Epic
2012-12-12, 10:33 PM
Or you could use your magic to cure people. You know how useful a real D&D cleric would be in this world? Cure Wounds? Remove Disease? Regeneration? Serious medical procedures could be done in moments with no chance for error.

And the best part is you don't have to hide it. You think anyone's going to be upset you have magical powers and are healing people?

Drakeburn
2012-12-12, 10:41 PM
Or you can use magic to put on a traveling magic show.

The wizard from the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series did it, and Raistlin from the Dragonlance Chronicles did it as well.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-12, 10:48 PM
Personally, I would keep that secret, Dr. Epic. Say become a (medical) doctor and try to use my powers covertly.
Even the most favourable reaction if people knew you could treat any injury, remove any disease, any poison, and perhaps even raise the dead, is profoundly scary.

Lord Torath
2012-12-12, 11:34 PM
Continual Light on pebbles/rocks to replace LED's.

Gust of Wind spells at wind turbines.

Teleport Object for even faster than overnight! Or sell your services as a warhead-delivery service to the government of your choice.

Metamorphose Liquids to create rare liquid elements (mercury, whatever they're paying the most for just now-protection from poison might be a good idea before casting) out of dirty water. You can also create molten liquids (gold, platinum? What rare-metals is China currently cornering the market on? Protection from heat beforehand is a must, unless you want a burnt tongue!) A cubic foot of platinum per level per first level spell slot per day adds up to a lot in a hurry. Again, or whatever metals are trending higher than gold. Are there any perfumes that are worth their weight in gold?

Grimsage Matt
2012-12-12, 11:38 PM
Enslave the World (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/enslave.htm).

Or, just go on TV, use mass sugesstion and Mind Rape and build yourself a cult, then infect and repeat intill everyone is your mind controled meat puppet doing what you want them to do.

Nepenthe
2012-12-12, 11:42 PM
You think anyone's going to be upset you have magical powers and are healing people?

The insurance companies would see you dead within the week. Same with vegas. If someone always wins dangerous people will notice. The way to this is day-trading -- lose more often than you win, but make sure you're up at the end of the month (or some other less obvious increment of time. Amass your fortune over the span of a few years. And always, always report your income.

Morithias
2012-12-12, 11:45 PM
And the best part is you don't have to hide it. You think anyone's going to be upset you have magical powers and are healing people?

Yes. Yes a thousand times yes. No matter how good you are, and how cheap your services are. There is going to be some religious nutjob claiming you are a "false lord" and coming for your head.

You want to get rich in the modern world using magic but not get caught? Lower your standards.

The fact is once you pass a certain amount, more money doesn't make you happier. Just give you apartment lord a gold bar every month or so, use create food and water to feed yourself, and buy a videogame or two a month.

Quite frankly if you would abuse mage's power to rule the world or ruin the economy so you can live like the guy from Highlander 2, you're not worthy of magic. And quite frankly I'm quite glad that due to the HUGE lack of magical research going on in real life, that magic development is so far behind that real magic is useless.

I'm not even joking. In the time and money it would take me to cast a spell capable of making a single unappetizing meal. I could walk down to the grocery store, spend the same amount of money, and come back with 5 DAYS worth of food, instead of 1 meal.

Grendus
2012-12-12, 11:46 PM
Go to an antiques roadshow style exhibit and use Identify to figure out which pieces of art are truly valuable.

Use divination to predict stocks. Less noticeable than the lottery or other forms of gambling.

Invest heavily in one company, then use magic to cause... misfortune on their competitors. How much havoc could you cause with one fireball?

Arbane
2012-12-13, 02:37 AM
Invest heavily in one company, then use magic to cause... misfortune on their competitors. How much havoc could you cause with one fireball?

Enough to get Homeland Security on your butt, if you're not REALLY careful.
Stick to insider Outsider trading.

VonDoom
2012-12-13, 03:47 AM
And quite frankly I'm quite glad that due to the HUGE lack of magical research going on in real life, that magic development is so far behind that real magic is useless.

I'm not even joking. In the time and money it would take me to cast a spell capable of making a single unappetizing meal. I could walk down to the grocery store, spend the same amount of money, and come back with 5 DAYS worth of food, instead of 1 meal.

Wait, what? :smallconfused:

Andreaz
2012-12-13, 06:04 AM
Fireball's really so damn tame... It's not worth giving to soldiers or using yourself. Grenades do that job better for you.
Tippy up your house, cheat a good gamble or three when you need extra cash(use disguises), mind trick inspectors. Keep it simple!

nedz
2012-12-13, 06:30 AM
Divine location of King Cnut's lost royal horde.
Buy Metal Detector for Cover.
???
Profit.

Analytica
2012-12-13, 07:07 AM
Use divination to predict stocks. Less noticeable than the lottery or other forms of gambling.

This. It is really the very easiest and less morally iffy option. It also scales, so that with each successive step, you leverage what you already gained. Even better, do currency trading using Divination, Augury or some spell that gives you +20 to a knowledge check, such as Knowledge: Foreign Exchange Market.

Sidmen
2012-12-13, 07:59 AM
Much easier:

Step 1: tell everyone you're going diving.
Step 2: Go diving in some random place in the Gulf.
Step 3: Magic up some "lost treasure" gold coins with Spanish markings.
Step 4: Report your claim and accept the millions in salvage rights.
Step 5: Then you can just use those millions to invest, using divinations to look into the future some 10-20 years to find the best companies to invest in.

Keep a million or so liquid to live on, and just lounge about doing whatever you want.

Asheram
2012-12-13, 08:20 AM
1: Find rich guy in hospital
2: Cure Disease.
3: Get paid
4: Repeat as needed.

As simple as that.

Morithias
2012-12-13, 08:22 AM
Cure Disease.

As simple as that.

Again what happens when some nutjob tries to assassinate you for being a "false idol"?

Ravens_cry
2012-12-13, 08:23 AM
Again what happens when some nutjob tries to assassinate you for being a "false idol"?
Or people killing you because you didn't use your ability to cure them or their loved ones.
Or kidnapping you so you do.

Asheram
2012-12-13, 08:24 AM
Again what happens when some nutjob tries to assassinate you for being a "false idol"?

Please. If you don't have the common sense to be discrete about it then you're begging for it.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-13, 08:27 AM
Please. If you don't have the common sense to be discrete about it then you're begging for it.
That's not entirely in your hands. You also need other people to be discrete about it.

snoopy13a
2012-12-13, 08:29 AM
How about mage hand and the Roulette Wheel?

Probably would want a confederate to bet while you sit at a slot machine or something though.

Incom
2012-12-13, 08:31 AM
^Moreover, Protection from Arrows.

blackspeeker
2012-12-13, 08:57 AM
Again what happens when some nutjob tries to assassinate you for being a "false idol"?

Then you'd get killed or learn to be careful.

Personally I liked plant growth for Truffles, but if we aren't counting fungi as plants then I guess I would cut into that spice market, saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, or use it on trees specifically black walnuts, that lumber can get pricey.

Also I considered using scrying to get into some clandestine information brokering.

willpell
2012-12-13, 10:05 AM
I reckon using golems as labor would be even cheaper than sweatshop/prison labor. How could a non-magic using manufacturer compete? Just don't let anyone inspect the shops!

Golems are very expensive to create; sure they have great long-term payoff, but so does actual robotics. It's coming up with the billions to build one in the first place that's hard. And robots don't cost you XP.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-13, 10:12 AM
Sell tickets to NASA for trips to Mars. I mean, they could spend hundreds of billions developing a rocket, or they could pay me a billion dollars, we could put on some spacesuits and we could be there by . . . whenever.
Then I'm kidnapping Bart Sibrel and taking him to the moon. If I am feeling nice, I'll give him a spacesuit as we wander around Tranquillity Base.

Actana
2012-12-13, 10:25 AM
Sell tickets to NASA for trips to Mars. I mean, they could spend hundreds of billions developing a rocket, or they could pay me a billion dollars, we could put on some spacesuits and we could be there by . . . whenever.
Then I'm kidnapping Bart Sibrel and taking him to the moon. If I am feeling nice, I'll give him a spacesuit as we wander around Tranquillity Base.

The only problem here... Do you know what the ASF is on those space suits? Just look how clunky they are! Seriously, you're not casting anything with one of those on. :smalltongue:

Andreaz
2012-12-13, 10:28 AM
Golems are very expensive to create; sure they have great long-term payoff, but so does actual robotics. It's coming up with the billions to build one in the first place that's hard. And robots don't cost you XP.Pathfinder rules! No xp on crafting!

And price is why you use undead instead of golems.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-13, 10:38 AM
The only problem here... Do you know what the ASF is on those space suits? Just look how clunky they are! Seriously, you're not casting anything with one of those on. :smalltongue:

Good point. A little mini inflatable space dome (about the size of a camping tent) with a spacesuit inside, cause dang it I want to go out too, should provide sufficient moving around room for effective spell casting.

Andreaz
2012-12-13, 10:52 AM
Good point. A little mini inflatable space dome (about the size of a camping tent) with a spacesuit inside, cause dang it I want to go out too, should provide sufficient moving around room for effective spell casting.That's why you go psionic.

Asheram
2012-12-13, 11:51 AM
Sell tickets to NASA for trips to Mars. I mean, they could spend hundreds of billions developing a rocket, or they could pay me a billion dollars, we could put on some spacesuits and we could be there by . . . whenever.
Then I'm kidnapping Bart Sibrel and taking him to the moon. If I am feeling nice, I'll give him a spacesuit as we wander around Tranquillity Base.

Teleportation? I'd like to point out that every known goverment and every shady organisation on the planet would very much like to either get hold of you or kill you for that power.

Didn't you ever see Jumper?

Morithias
2012-12-13, 12:01 PM
Teleportation? I'd like to point out that every known goverment and every shady organisation on the planet would very much like to either get hold of you or kill you for that power.

Didn't you ever see Jumper?

This is pretty much the whole problem. Having magic that can change the world sounds nice until certain things pops up.

Either your magic is too weak to defend yourself and you becoming a target of organizations that want to use you for their own purposes, kidnapping you to force you to use fabricate to make them weapons or die.

Or your magic is completely game breaking at which point the governments see you as a legit threat and want you dead. Sure you think you can take them on, until your family, friends and so on are targets and they make you choose to die, serve them, or they die.

The only possible I can see to live with that kind of power is to never use it period. At least not in anyway that would make you monopoly level rich.

awa
2012-12-13, 12:04 PM
In regards to nut jobs assinating you powerful pepole exsist in the real world ever defense and protection they have you can have as well not to mention you can read pepoles minds, shapeshift, and see the future.

If no one else has magic and you are running around with the abbility to bring pepole back to life even an entire army would have to work to put you down no crazed gun men is going to be a threat unless he has a few thousand buddies backing him up.

Morithias
2012-12-13, 12:05 PM
In regards to nut jobs assinating you powerful pepole exsist in the real world ever defense and protection they have you can have as well not to mention you can read pepoles minds, shapeshift, and see the future.

If no one else has magic and you are running around with the abbility to bring pepole back to life even an entire army would have to work to put you down no crazed gun men is going to be a threat unless he has a few thousand buddies backing him up.

Or they could just drop a nuclear bomb on the city you live in.

Eldan
2012-12-13, 12:15 PM
I know feel like I should set up an overly elaborate scheme where I make fake aliens that come down from the sky to give me and only me their fantastic future technology that was just in fact magic.

But honestly, divination is so much easier. You don't even have to make your own resource fields. Just find a few genuine ones. Or become a treasure hunter. Find the Amber Room. Find a few real galleons.

Morithias
2012-12-13, 12:17 PM
But honestly, divination is so much easier. You don't even have to make your own resource fields. Just find a few genuine ones. Or become a treasure hunter. Find the Amber Room. Find a few real galleons.

Sacred magic of Abramelin the mage. Chapter Six.

Knock yourself out, tell me how it works out.

Golden rule of magic, if it's extremely simple to do. It won't work.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-13, 12:23 PM
Teleportation? I'd like to point out that every known goverment and every shady organisation on the planet would very much like to either get hold of you or kill you for that power.

Didn't you ever see Jumper?
Well, since I am using greater teleport, I can only go to locations I know well. All the photographs and other information from Curiosity and Apollo 11 would be enough to allow me to go to those locations. I can't go to the inside of some bank vault or some terrorist's lair because I don't know how to get there.

Telonius
2012-12-13, 12:30 PM
IMO, if you can't get rich with some castings of Charm Person, you're not really trying.

Bard (at least 3rd) would be the best class to use with it. Schmooze up to a businessman, within minutes he'll have your resume and give you a start at middle management. Charm your boss to let you try out a few "motivational tapes" (actually Bardic Music) to Inspire Competence among your division. Suddenly your productivity goes up, and you get promoted. Do this enough times, and a book tour will be in the offing. You'll soon be on the speech circuit, in the company of CEOs, ripe for Charm-ing.

Lord Raziere
2012-12-13, 12:33 PM
how to use magic to get rich in modern world:

1. learn how to hack things with magic.
2. adjust numbers in bank account so that you have lots of money, millions of it
3. Done.

most of our money is now numbers on the screen anyways.

of course, if you don't want to be an illegal magical hacker type….probably not a good idea.

Karoht
2012-12-13, 01:09 PM
What I would do.
Claim to be using 'old school' techniques to extract a precious element from otherwise useless dirt, or a difficult to reach deposit of said element.
In reality, I'm making it out of thin air.
Molybdenum and lithium are both really good candidates.

Growing truffles and other 'wild' mushrooms using Plant Growth would be a fairly successful front. Oyster mushrooms sell very well, and the wild varients which do not grow well in captivity mean that if you can do so, you've got quite a market at your fingertips.

Multiple identities would help. Easily established with some magical trickery, easily maintained with multiple residences. Why hide all your wealth under one identity when you can spread it over 10 or 20 or 30 fake identities, all with individual 'businesses' and empires. Just avoid obvious patterns to indicate that this is in fact one large cartel, keep them all in different legal jurisdictions, odds are no one who investigates one will investigate the others, therefore they won't connect the dots.

Inventing stuff is my prefered method. Apply all the wealth from various income streames (supported by magic) into the research and development of my choice.


Remember, money is an imaginary construct. Time is far more valuable than money. Don't forget to take time to be awesome. No amount of money can give you back wasted time.

Eldan
2012-12-13, 01:30 PM
how to use magic to get rich in modern world:

1. learn how to hack things with magic.
2. adjust numbers in bank account so that you have lots of money, millions of it
3. Done.

most of our money is now numbers on the screen anyways.

of course, if you don't want to be an illegal magical hacker type….probably not a good idea.

The problem with that: the back noting it, and immediately coming round to ask you how you got that money. Probably with some government agencies along.

Grimsage Matt
2012-12-13, 02:19 PM
Become a Lich, and have long term investments. In addtion, hide the plactry somewhere like..... the inside of the sun? Hard, but doable with Prismatic Sphere and Etheralness/Planeshift. Heck, just creat a demi-plane where the entrance is the core.

Anyweay, charm, trick and wait out the other shmucks, make them commit scandals, and buy their ruined compines for peanuts.

Daer
2012-12-13, 02:30 PM
i would presume in world with magic someone able to protect from spells like charms and so on would be paid pretty well.

then of course trying to become hero and try get hollywood make movie about those adventures might make nice coin while at it.

Starting school of wizardry for rich (though requires some start up money for sure. )

of course thievery and so on could always work fast but risky. i would presume people would take some preparations against magical means too.

Arbane
2012-12-13, 02:42 PM
Sacred magic of Abramelin the mage. Chapter Six.

Knock yourself out, tell me how it works out.

Golden rule of magic, if it's extremely simple to do. It won't work.

I think you are getting your reality levels confused, here.


Teleportation? I'd like to point out that every known goverment and every shady organisation on the planet would very much like to either get hold of you or kill you for that power.

Didn't you ever see Jumper?

Pretty much ANY reasonably powerful, flashy magic has that problem, really.
Cynic that I am, I suspect most intelligence agencies and/or criminal syndicates would cheerfully sacrifice a busload of kindergarteners to Moloch if they thought they could get Scrying 1/week, let alone something like Dominate Person...

Hm, there's another potential scam: Magic Protection for the rich and paranoid. Demonstrate to them that magic is real, point out that you MIGHT NOT be the only person with powers like that, then hit them up for a retainer to keep them safe from OTHER mages.

Giegue
2012-12-13, 03:05 PM
One word. Mind Rape. Mind Rape any ridicilously rich person into being your servant. You won't be OPENLY rich, but you can start becoming the shadow leader of every major corporation on earth this way and eventually will just outright control the global economy without anybody knowing it since Mindrape, as far as we know, doesn't leave any traces of magic on the person. It just outright changes their mind....forever. If you don't like being a shadowy puppetmaster and just want money simply use mind rape to force some rich person to marry you instead.

This could also be achieved with dominate person, but would take FAR more work, both to conceal the fact your dominating somebody and to keep your domination in place since unlike Mind Rape Dominate Person only lasts so long.

Another fun idea is some kind of remote viewing spell/divination to constantly spy on big time politicians and find out about all their scandalous doings. Blackmail said politicians. Profit.

This would take a long time to do and you'd probably need multiple casters to pull it off but you could easily create a snack food company with prestidigitation and create food and drink or some similar spell. Since you just create the food and flavor it with magic you don't have to worry about the costs of ingredients and heck most processing. All you'd need to shell out for is packaging the stuff. cheap Workers could easily be provided by crafting constructs or animating undead. Transportation would still be an issue, however, and if you do use undead for labor you'd need to be able to hide your factories since most people would not be comfortable with the idea of undead. Seeing the amount you'd save doing this you could potentially turn a high profit with your magi-snack food operation.

If you happen to be of a druidic or spirit shamanic bent control weather has a lot of uses. You could rake in a fortune by charging people for doing stuff like ending droughts via forced rainfall to assure crop growth, preventing hurricanes and other storms ect... I imagine people would shell out a ton of money to stop disasters and such. Likewise, if you are of a more evil bent people would also pay handsomely for you to send storms at their enemies.

Incom
2012-12-13, 03:15 PM
Or they could just drop a nuclear bomb on the city you live in.

They'll have fun covering that up afterwards. (Protip: governments are terrible at conspiracies. See Watergate.)

Morithias
2012-12-13, 03:35 PM
They'll have fun covering that up afterwards. (Protip: governments are terrible at conspiracies. See Watergate.)

Given the type of crap you guys are suggesting, especially that whole post on mindrape, I personally could completely understand where they were coming from. I'd rather have one city die then have a mage mindrape me into her personal sex slave.

Mewtarthio
2012-12-13, 03:39 PM
The second best way to get rich with magic is to be subtle about it. Don't become a lich; just make yourself disease-proof and maybe shave off a few hours of sleep. Don't bind someone as your loyal slave; just use low-level emotional manipulation and mind reading to make a good impression. Don't summon wealth out of the air or divine the location of great treasures; just subtly nudge things at work to ensure you've always got a job. Try to pass everything off as you just being lucky or insightful.

The best way is to have so much magic you don't need to be subtle. Conjure priceless diamonds, sell them to pawnbrokers, and if anyone objects, turn into a dragon and eat them.


Hm, there's another potential scam: Magic Protection for the rich and paranoid. Demonstrate to them that magic is real, point out that you MIGHT NOT be the only person with powers like that, then hit them up for a retainer to keep them safe from OTHER mages.

Nice soul you've got there. Be a shame if something happened to it...

Morithias
2012-12-13, 03:43 PM
.

The best way is to have so much magic you don't need[i] to be subtle. Conjure priceless diamonds, sell them to pawnbrokers, and if anyone objects, turn into a dragon and eat them.

Nice soul you've got there. Be a shame if something [i]happened to it...

Here's the thing though. You guys are all imagining it as if YOU were the only mage in existence.

Turn it on it's head. Make it so that ex-girlfriend you dumped for being overweight, or that guy from high school everyone picked on, or some extremist is the Epic level mage.

All of a sudden it's nightmare fuel. Heh.

Grimsage Matt
2012-12-13, 03:46 PM
The second best way to get rich with magic is to be subtle about it. Don't become a lich

They don't become a lich, become a Lich Paragon (http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Lich_Paragon_(3.5e_Racial_Paragon_Class)). Thing is, what other ways are there for immortallity, also called long term investent payoffs? Plus, think about all the ways your normal human body can fail. Offer to replace peoples organs with contructs, will make a killing (Contruct organs, based off artifcial organd and These from d20 modern (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/MSRD:Advanced_Artificial_Organ_(Cybernetics)))

Loth17
2012-12-13, 04:03 PM
Colonize another planet and creat a race of sub humanoids who have so little memory space that they can only learn one thing like cooking or cleaning. Give them no natural weapons and mind rape any that resist your rule and your golden. Also assuming their are other mages in the world you would be away from their world (Earth) so they wouldnt have reason to bother you.

Karoht
2012-12-13, 04:13 PM
Build Golems.
Build a fully automated factory line to make Golems.
Sell Golems for a variety of purposes. Mostly household assistance and basic chores and home-based personal fabricators (IE-Reprap). Ranging all the way to automated production systems via Golems.

Coincidentally, this also dovetails easily into a 'take over the world' plan via destruction of traditional economy AND having a Golem army. But if you get to that point with the plan, odds are you will be rich enough that you won't really care about conquering the planet.
Cheers.

Geostationary
2012-12-13, 05:00 PM
"Your problem, Rufus Malificarus, is that you never understood why magic was superseded by science... I'll tell you why. Convenience. I only practice necromantics because there's no other way of doing it. But when it comes to applied sciences, technologies, any spotty Herbert with a degree and a lab coat can perform greater wonders than Merlin. You've wasted your mind and your life. Do you understand that? Science can do it all so much cheaper, easier, and indeed... faster." *proceeds to shoot the man trying to hex him the entire monologue three times, killing him*

-Johannes Cabal, the Necromancer

This is the problem with many of these schemes, especially the golem one- it's much more economical and better overall to just invest in robotics (or relevant tech), rather than make golems that only another mage can produce (and are MUCH more limited in application). Lots of the other ones can be easily detected by paying attention and doing your research, such as magicking precious metals and gems from nothing. Most of the other things you can do without the magic already, and most of the schmoozing options just make things *maybe* easier, unless your outright mindrape or dominate them, which causes other problems.

You're best off going with small-scale things that don't warrant much attention- divination is probably your best bet, so long as you don't get cocky with the casinos as they will catch you sooner or later. The truffle thing also isn't bad, so long as you don't go overboard with your profits and draw suspicion from the competition. Isolation, anonymity, and plausibility are key here.

Fable Wright
2012-12-13, 06:40 PM
They don't become a lich, become a Lich Paragon (http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Lich_Paragon_(3.5e_Racial_Paragon_Class)). Thing is, what other ways are there for immortallity, also called long term investent payoffs? Plus, think about all the ways your normal human body can fail. Offer to replace peoples organs with contructs, will make a killing (Contruct organs, based off artifcial organd and These from d20 modern (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/MSRD:Advanced_Artificial_Organ_(Cybernetics)))

Protip: Do not use D&D Wiki. It is homebrew, same (or in many cases, significantly worse quality) as the kind of stuff made in the Homebrew forum. For the purposes of discussion, such things are ignored, because they are not part of the core game. Aside from being a regular lich, here's a guidebook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5996.0) on how to be immortal in D&D 3.5.

Other than that, if I wanted to get rich fast with magic, I would probably use Divinations. Who could figure out that I could predict the future accurately with magic, and then prove it to the world without being put in an institution?

Alternatively, take Still Spell, Silent Spell, and become the world's greatest Magician. Take Houdini, for example, who performed some tricks that we're still not able to replicate, and made tons of money in doing so. He didn't get shackled with religious fanatics or investigations from intelligence agencies. Of course, it's not as low-key as Divinations, but it's an option if you want to live a celebrity lifestyle.

Grim Portent
2012-12-13, 07:18 PM
I suppose what really matters is how many other spellcasters exist in the world. If there are others then subtlety matters, otherwise you could use the correct spells to rectify any situation that goes awry.

Enemies storming your skyscraper fortress? Teleport to safety.
Captured spies refusing to talk? Mess with their mind.
Angry mob converging on you in public? Fly, then rain death with spells.

As for making money in a world of few casters,

1:Wander the world as a soldier for hire.

2:Improve magical abilities.

3:Increase financial, political and personal power.

4:Learn appropriately evil laugh.

5:Hold world to ransom.

6:Quash most of the resistance to your dominion. (Leave just enough to foster a small rebellion.)

7:Interfere with potential heroes lives to give them a personal vendetta against you.

8:Send waves of weak soldiers to fight heroes.

9:Fight a duel with heroes on the top floor of your penthouse of doom.

10:Die in a suitably dramatic fashion.

(Steps 6 through 10 are optional and may be replaced with step 11: live like a god for the rest of your life.)

In a world with other casters being numerous enough that they pose an obstacle, the whole divination/ manufacture goods seem the sensible options.

Looking over what I've written I can't help but feel a supervillain vibe runs through it.

willpell
2012-12-13, 11:05 PM
Divine the past and be the world's greatest detective. Or divine the future and be one heck of an insurance salesman.

Jerthanis
2012-12-13, 11:35 PM
Yes. Yes a thousand times yes. No matter how good you are, and how cheap your services are. There is going to be some religious nutjob claiming you are a "false lord" and coming for your head.


One path for the Healing path could be offering your services to a Health Insurance company. Tell them that you'll heal people whose diseases or conditions will cost the Insurance company more than they were paid into in exchange for security and anonymity. Rather than being declared a miracle worker, you just go around to hospitals in the middle of the night healing people so the Health Insurance company doesn't have to pay for more expensive surgeries and treatments. It'd be a fair bit of travel, but you could potentially save them millions, and they'd have an interest in protecting you.

Gavinfoxx
2012-12-14, 12:51 AM
Guys? Just solve the energy crisis. Hello, perpetual energy sources abound in D&D. Heal people immensely. End poverty. Provide lift services to get things into space, so that humanity is a multi-planet species...

Seriously, become ruler of the world? Become wealthy? You all are thinking too small...

Jerthanis
2012-12-14, 01:34 AM
Guys? Just solve the energy crisis. Hello, perpetual energy sources abound in D&D. Heal people immensely. End poverty. Provide lift services to get things into space, so that humanity is a multi-planet species...

Seriously, become ruler of the world? Become wealthy? You all are thinking too small...

Well, the thread is about getting rich in a modern setting, not in what you would do to benefit mankind with magic. Providing free energy to all and ending poverty and hunger might be something you could do with magic, but being free means it won't make you rich.

If the thread were titled, "How to make the world a better place with magic", we'd answer that question.

Ravens_cry
2012-12-14, 03:15 AM
Eh, unless you are teaching magic to everyone in the process, you are the only supplier. Sure eventually you will reach saturation, but that will take a while, and, in the mean time, I am sure you can find some other means of making money off of magic when that time comes.

Killer Angel
2012-12-14, 03:42 AM
Alternatively, do you want to earn a lot of money, working honestly, with no one suspecting for it?
Find a job you like that can grant some good money, pump sky high your skill (Guidance of the Avatar, magical objects, and so on). Now, you're the best on the world on that field of competence.

Or the best of the world in some sport. rich and popular.

Or you can be the best actor in the world.

Or the best singer.

Slipperychicken
2012-12-14, 01:27 PM
Or you could use your magic to cure people. You know how useful a real D&D cleric would be in this world? Cure Wounds? Remove Disease? Regeneration? Serious medical procedures could be done in moments with no chance for error.

Grow your hair out and dress up like Jesus. Cure people by touching them. In front of crowds. On live TV.

Congratulations. You now have half the world thinking you're their lord and savior. If you can't milk that for cash, you're not trying.

Don't say you're using magic. Say it's Divine power (and really, it is, so you aren't even lying).

Ravens_cry
2012-12-14, 01:51 PM
I still like my Genetic Resequencing Rejuvenate Therapy idea.:smallbiggrin:

Arbane
2012-12-14, 02:55 PM
I still like my Genetic Resequencing Rejuvenate Therapy idea.:smallbiggrin:

Yeah, but how do you explain 'resequencing' them into a badger?

(Or is that only in older editions?)

Ravens_cry
2012-12-14, 03:08 PM
Yeah, but how do you explain 'resequencing' them into a badger?

(Or is that only in older editions?)
That is indeed only older editions, though theoretically possible on a 00 result. Magic Users had a form of Reincarnate as well that corresponded closer to 3.X's version.

Afool
2012-12-14, 10:46 PM
So with all of these answers, I guess the questions now are how legal you (the OP) want to be about it, how subtle you want to be, and how much power you want over other people.

Oh and what magic system are you using. Yeah that's an important one. If it's D&D then which edition (I think the majority here are assuming 3.X or similar), if it's not then it depends on the limits of that magic system. I can think of a couple that are infinitely more flexible than the D&D system and I also know a few that the most powerful users couldn't do half a 1st level spell.

Long run of it, looks like the consensus is that Divination is the safest bet you'd have for a decent pay off with little actual involvement. It also covers warning spells that would protect against those government agencies and what-nots that would want to know the where's, when's, and when's of whatever's relevant at the moment.

And that's not even considering the practical day-to-day applications of Divination. Who hasn't wanted to spend about six seconds in thought and know the exact location of anything that you've ever lost that you've had contact with. Lost your car keys? *DivineDivineDivine* "Oh look right under the couch." Forgotten your password to insert anything password related. *DivineDivineDivine* "Oh yeah my password is random jumble of letters, (Man why'd I choose that? Must of been drunk of something)." You somehow stumble yourself into a fancy party and can't keep track of anyone's names for the big meeting tomorrow (Or just the rest of the night)? No probs *DivineDivineDivine* "Oh hey Bob how's it hanging? How're the kids?" Have a question and don't feel like googling it? *DivineDivineDivine* "Oh, so that's why they're called insert inane factoid here." Want to fall in love but don't feel like dating? No problem. *DivineDivineDivine* "Oh so the person I'm most compatible in the world is Generic Name of Relevant Country and that's how I can meet up with them and sweep them off their feet (or get them to sweep them off my feet if that's how I roll)."

Really Divination looks like the best option even for the megalomaniac types. Need some quick cash? *DivineDivineDivine* There's the account numbers and passwords to the 100 richest people in the world. Need someone to move the money for you? *DivineDivineDivine* Oh look, here's the name of someone who could do it for you, but how to get them to do it for you? Hmmm, Oh right! *DivineDivineDivine* There's all the dirt you'd ever need on them. Oh and just for the heck of it, *DivineDivineDivine* Here's the names, home addresses, and all other relevant personal and professional information of everyone who will ever attempt to bother you or get in your way to power including when, how, and why they are going to try to stop/kill/inconvenience you.

Information is a key to everything in this global society and Divination is the near perfect way of accessing ALL of it. The only draw back is that you don't generally know everything that you'd every need to know immediately, you have to send that small amount of time finding out the answers, and even then, give a person enough time and the right supportive internet forum for what they don't think of, they CAN find out everything they'd ever need to know and then some.

End Statement: :smallcool: Divination FTW

Grimsage Matt
2012-12-15, 01:26 AM
Hypercognition and Metafaculty Psionic powers. Intant Divination to the n.

Phaedrus2129
2012-12-15, 04:11 AM
In an RP I play in, in a custom system (started as a mod of Dark Heresy, in a world that started as a grim parody of World of Darkness...), a group of Changelings came up with a brilliant plan. In that universe, Changelings have the ability to make an object look like a higher (or lower) quality thing of the same type. You could make a Ford Crown Vic look like a Shelby GT, for instance, or a bottle of rotgut look like a bottle of fine scotch. Doesn't change what it is, mind, just what it looks (and feels and tastes and smells) like, for a little while.

These Changelings bought up "fixer-upper" houses and apartments--with mold, peeling wallpaper, leaking pipes, stained carpet, etc, and told them to look like they were in perfect shape. Presto, you've bought a house for $30k and sold it for $80k. In a week or two the house's appearance decays back to what it really is (a dungheap) and when the new owners try to sue they found out you've flown by night.



Worked fine until they did it to the player characters in this campaign... ;)

Prime32
2012-12-15, 10:10 PM
Cast genesis
Declare your own micronation
???
Profit!


Also see if you can die and become a ghost.

Alabenson
2012-12-16, 10:21 PM
I'd take the advice about using divinations to play the stock market one step further and start your own hedge fund: now you're not only making obscene amounts of money, other people are giving you funds to make them money, of which you take a small percentage. Best of all, as long as you're completely transparent about where you're putting the money and can disprove any accusations of insider trading, no one will want to question how you're doing it.

Vaz
2012-12-17, 06:28 AM
With the typical lifestyle attributed to that, where would you get your 8 hours rest? Typical days end with a booze up at the bar til 3am and up at 6am to start the daily slog once more. If you wouldn't fit in with the lifestyle you'd instantly arouse suspicions. Admittedly, nothing could be proved.

Betting, lottery, and gambling are much "safer" ways of generating cash flow; as well as getting any money cleaned that you've created.