Unlimited Gold

[Ortesk]

So heres what im wondering: What are all the ways to break the game of dnd by means of gold? How do you accrue the gold, spend it, use it Ect.


Please share your methods, from the simple yet brilliant to the complex but awe inspiring. Remember, if its RAW it goes :)

[eggynack]

Wall of salt is pretty sweet. When I ran the numbers once, it came out to at least 25,250 GP for a single casting. I don't know if those numbers match with everyone else's, but they should be pretty close to accurate, and it's a good chunk of change no matter how you split it.

[Lonely Tylenol]

So heres what im wondering: What are all the ways to break the game of dnd by means of gold? How do you accrue the gold, spend it, use it Ect.


Please share your methods, from the simple yet brilliant to the complex but awe inspiring. Remember, if its RAW it goes :)

Well, since multiple item abilities can be crafted into the same item at 1.5*cost (for each ability except the most expensive one), I imagine that, with unlimited gold, I would simply put all the item abilities for each slot onto the same mega-item, and would thus ostensibly have every item-related ability ever created simultaneously available to me.

That sets a pretty high ceiling, as far as I'm concerned.

[Erik Vale]

Ability to craft, Merchantile Background, Wall of Salt Spell, Pearls of power, means to persist 2 timestop effects a day.
With that, you have all the time you need to craft a jar of unlimited crafting XP [you all know what I'm talking about].
And then you can craft everything. For Free.

I think I just waved Level 5000WBL in the distant at level 13.
And should I wish, I can sell it at a profit.


As far as I'm concerned, a Wizard 5/UM 8/Chameleon 2 crafted all the magic items in the world, out of boredom. Simply because what else do you do at that opp.
Said wizard was also a old dragon and had DVR0, so thats how epic items and artifacts came about.

[asnys]

Gold from mundane crafting scales quadratically with your modifier. Hire a ton of unskilled laborers and have them all use Aid Another on you.

Now, per the SRD, it's up to the DM how many people can be using Aid Another to assist you simultaneously. But even if you limit yourselves to just your followers from the Leadership feat (finally! a use for them!), you can net quite a lot of gold. The setup I'm currently planning gets about 6,000 gp a day at level 20, at the cost of only the Leadership and Extra Followers feats, and some gold for tools etc. That's not too great compared to your WBL, but I'm not done tinkering yet. If you can talk your DM into deciding that mindless creatures can make Aid Another checks for Craft skills - and it's not entirely clear to me if they can or not, although it makes sense fluff-wise - than build a nanite swarm of effigy spiders and really go to town. Or just hire unskilled laborers that aren't followers, that works too. There's no theoretical upper limit except your GM deciding "okay, that's enough."

This won't net you nearly as much as wall of salt or wall of iron or other stuff, but it has the advantage that I think a GM is more likely to allow you to make a lot of money if you go to the trouble of actually setting up a factory, hiring workers, buying supplies, etc., then if you just throw some spells around and dump a few tons of salt onto the market.

[Psyren]

Buy 10-foot ladder, break in half, sell as 2 10-foot poles, repeat. (Min. level = 1)

Pazuzu Pazuzu -> LE Candle of Invocation -> Wish for any 2 items, then third wish, get another LE Candle of Invocation. (Min. level = 1)

[unseenmage]

Spell Turrets from DMG2.
Put in
Elation (BoED) (makes target happy)
Distill Joy (BoED) (turns happiness into Ambrosia, needs to be put in as a SLA)
Heroism (cuz it needs 4 spells)
and Suggestion ("come back tomorrow")

Then mount it in the ceiling of a church you own, make it invisible, and enjoy your unlimited source of Ambrosia (BoED), it is Craft xp, happiness, CL boost all in one.

[1stEd.Thief]

Re: Ladder into 10 foot poles.

If I want a 10 foot pole I want a nice, round, 10 foot long piece of wood. I do NOT want a 10 foot plank with holes in it.

Also, merchants unions and other trade federations frown upon wizards that bork the salt and iron markets that severely.... If I was DM I'd let one or 2 slide before the wizard started to have problems.

[ryu]

Fabricate. All the wall conjugations. Economy over.

[Kioras]

Fabricate. All the wall conjugations. Economy over.

Fabricate + wall of iron does not get you something useful.

It gets pure, iron of the item's shape, of worked, but unmodified 100% pure iron. It would have 0 carbon content and no other elements. Technically you would need to get a variety of trace elements, and carbon to mix into the area of the fabricate spell.

Although you could then fabricate it into iron stock to be sold or provided to an iron works who would then work it in their mill to turn it into steel alloys you want, and then fabricate that.

All in all, up to the DM's discresion and understanding.

[Slipperychicken]

Well, since multiple item abilities can be crafted into the same item at 1.5*cost (for each ability except the most expensive one), I imagine that, with unlimited gold, I would simply put all the item abilities for each slot onto the same mega-item, and would thus ostensibly have every item-related ability ever created simultaneously available to me.

That sets a pretty high ceiling, as far as I'm concerned.

Don't forget to make all those abilities continuous/unlimited use. And make it out of either Riverine or Aurorum so it won't get destroyed.

Then make it a slotless Warforged Component so people can't take it from you as easily.

[Coidzor]

IIRC, one of the lowest level ways was to go is to be a 1st level wizard and sell one's starting spellbook (contains all 0th level spells & 6-8 1st level spells before feats) and acquire scroll(s) of flesh to salt and a cow (10 gp) or ox (15 gp).

Turn the heavy animals into many pounds of salt, sell salt as a trade good for 5 gp per pound. Recoup your losses and then some.

Salt as a trade good keeps forever, but is also constantly getting used to some extent.

Then someone pointed out that Wall of Salt gets more salt per casting and is a 4th level spell so a cheaper scroll at 700 gp price, IIRC.
Minimum CL of 7 as a 4th level spell, IIRC.

7 5' squares that are 7 inches thick.

5' * 12 inches = 60" a side

60" * 60" * 7" = 25200 cubic inches of salt.

2.16 g/cm³ = density of salt

25200 cubic inches = 412,954.013 cubic centimeters

412,954.013 cubic cm * 2.16 grams per cubic cm = 891980.66808 grams of salt.

google converts to 1966.48 pounds

1966.48 * 5 gp = 9832 gp 4 sp

Apparently Power of Faerun expands upon the DMG2 business rules and lets you increase your leadership score based upon your profits, which is exploitable. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=f0pi2khpt0ajpff3k6n4j0mlr2&topic=4218.0;msg=58102)

[Psyren]

If I want a 10 foot pole I want a nice, round, 10 foot long piece of wood. I do NOT want a 10 foot plank with holes in it.

Depends what you're doing with it. Most of them are used to poke for traps or hidden monsters, and holes don't interfere with that function.



Also, merchants unions and other trade federations frown upon wizards that bork the salt and iron markets that severely.... If I was DM I'd let one or 2 slide before the wizard started to have problems.

lol, implying that the economy means anything in D&D

[Darrin]

Minimum CL of 7 as a 4th level spell, IIRC.

7 5' squares that are 7 inches thick.

5' * 12 inches = 60" a side

60" * 60" * 7" = 25200 cubic inches of salt.

2.16 g/cm³ = density of salt

25200 cubic inches = 412,954.013 cubic centimeters

412,954.013 cubic cm * 2.16 grams per cubic cm = 891980.66808 grams of salt.

google converts to 1966.48 pounds

1966.48 * 5 gp = 9832 gp 4 sp

By my calculations it should produce around 36720 GP:

"Wall of $alt"

A 7th level cleric/druid/wizard can cast wall of salt to create 175 square feet of wall that's 7 inches thick. Assuming each square foot is 7/12ths of a cubic foot, that's about 102 cubic feet of salt. Per ASTM salt weighs 80 lbs per cubic foot, but that can vary anywhere between 72 to 80 lbs depending on moisture content and the size of the crystals. Call it 72 to be safe, 102 x 72 = 7344 lbs. Per the PHB p. 112, one pound of salt is worth 5 GP as a trade good, so 7344 x 5 = 36720 GP. This is actually more efficient than casting wall of iron, which produces about 113437 lbs of iron (assuming 450 lbs per cubic foot), or 11343 GP per casting.

[Edit]We're somewhat on the same page. 25200 cubic inches of salt = 14.8533 cubic feet, 14.8533 x 7 squares = 102 cubic feet. Not quite sure where it goes wrong from there... but your volume is off by at least 7 because you only calculated a single 5' square. By my calculations, you should be getting 68K per casting, which is almost double what I got.

The Black Lotus Djinn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10040483&postcount=5) method is much more profitable. For a 1010 GP investment, you can create 86 million GPs worth of Black Lotus Extract. Assuming you can get 50% market value for that, 43 million GP should be more than enough to collapse the local economy.

[Magesmiley]

Well...

A lot players leave gold just laying around dungeons without even thinking about it. Everything in the dungeon that you encounter should be considered.

Some easily overlooked ones:

Weapons and armor. Most intelligent creatures have them. How often do the PCs just leave the non-magical ones just sitting there? Pick the buggers up and figure out how to get them home to sell. Bows are worth more than gold, when measured by the pound. And it adds up fast.

Traps. You just disarmed a trap and bypassed it. Most PCs just move on at that point. Did you stop to consider how much that trap is worth? Can you pack it home and sell it?

Other dungeon features.
A pool of acid is my favorite example here. Obviously it is a hazard to avoid. But is there any way to bottle it up and take it home? I don't have my books with me, but I seem to recall a flask being listed as holding a pint of fluid (it might be a quart, if so, cut my numbers in half).
10' diameter pool that is 6' deep...
Volume of a cylinder = Pi * r * r * h
1 Cubic Foot = 7.48051948 Gallons
1 Gallon = 8 pints

3.14159 * 5 * 5 * 6 * 7.48051948 * 8 = 28,200

So 28,200 flasks of acid. Valued at 10 gp a flask. And you were just going to walk by it.

[asnys]

The Black Lotus Djinn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10040483&postcount=5) method is much more profitable. For a 1010 GP investment, you can create 86 million GPs worth of Black Lotus Extract. Assuming you can get 50% market value for that, 43 million GP should be more than enough to collapse the local economy.

Edit: Never mind, I was missing something.

Edit again: No, I wasn't.

According to the explanation of the Conjuration (Summoning) descriptor, spells cast by summoned monsters expire when the Summon Monster spell expires. The duration of the djinn's major creation spell-like ability is permanent, not instantaneous. So won't the black lotus disappear when the djinn does?

[unseenmage]

Well...

A lot players leave gold just laying around dungeons without even thinking about it. Everything in the dungeon that you encounter should be considered.

Some easily overlooked ones:

Weapons and armor. Most intelligent creatures have them. How often do the PCs just leave the non-magical ones just sitting there? Pick the buggers up and figure out how to get them home to sell. Bows are worth more than gold, when measured by the pound. And it adds up fast.

Traps. You just disarmed a trap and bypassed it. Most PCs just move on at that point. Did you stop to consider how much that trap is worth? Can you pack it home and sell it?

Other dungeon features.
A pool of acid is my favorite example here. Obviously it is a hazard to avoid. But is there any way to bottle it up and take it home? I don't have my books with me, but I seem to recall a flask being listed as holding a pint of fluid (it might be a quart, if so, cut my numbers in half).
10' diameter pool that is 6' deep...
Volume of a cylinder = Pi * r * r * h
1 Cubic Foot = 7.48051948 Gallons
1 Gallon = 8 pints

3.14159 * 5 * 5 * 6 * 7.48051948 * 8 = 28,200

So 28,200 flasks of acid. Valued at 10 gp a flask. And you were just going to walk by it.

I always enjoyed the challenge of tearign the dungeon apart as I explore it but I've had more DMs let free gp creation slide than those who get rankled by Dungeons&Dragons becoming Archeology&Excavating.

[Darrin]

According to the explanation of the Conjuration (Summoning) descriptor, spells cast by summoned monsters expire when the Summon Monster spell expires. The duration of the djinn's major creation spell-like ability is permanent, not instantaneous. So won't the black lotus disappear when the djinn does?

Hmmm. I'm not sure. PHB p. 176 discusses duration, and says this about Permanent:

"Permanent: The energy remains as long as the effect does. This means the spell is vulnerable to dispel magic. Example: secret page."

"Expire" is only mentioned two other times in the PHB, once under air walk and once under fly. Both of those spells would be classified as a "Timed Duration". "Permanent" is a different type of duration, and nowhere does it mention that a permanent spell can "expire". As far as the PHB is concerned, it looks like a permanent duration continues to persist until it's dispelled. Thus, if a summoned creature casts a spell with a timed duration, the duration expires when it disappears, but if it casts something with a permanent duration, it stays permanent.

The other issue is the djinn's major creation is not a spell, it's a spell-like-ability. I am aware it's hair-splitting pedantry to say "spells expire, SLAs don't"... that may be more of a DM Call, but if you want to go by pure RAW... you can't say we haven't gone there before.

[asnys]

Hmmm. I'm not sure. PHB p. 176 discusses duration, and says this about Permanent:

"Permanent: The energy remains as long as the effect does. This means the spell is vulnerable to dispel magic. Example: secret page."

"Expire" is only mentioned two other times in the PHB, once under air walk and once under fly. Both of those spells would be classified as a "Timed Duration". "Permanent" is a different type of duration, and nowhere does it mention that a permanent spell can "expire". As far as the PHB is concerned, it looks like a permanent duration continues to persist until it's dispelled. Thus, if a summoned creature casts a spell with a timed duration, the duration expires when it disappears, but if it casts something with a permanent duration, it stays permanent.

The other issue is the djinn's major creation is not a spell, it's a spell-like-ability. I am aware it's hair-splitting pedantry to say "spells expire, SLAs don't"... that may be more of a DM Call, but if you want to go by pure RAW... you can't say we haven't gone there before.

I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. Permanent effects don't ordinarily expire, but they explicitly expire when the effect ends because that's what the Conjuration (Summoning) descriptor says they do. And if the spell effect is no longer operative - which is the only way I can think of to interpret "expire" - then the material produced by it ceases to exist. If your summoned monster created something with an instantaneous duration, I'd buy it, but not permanent.

[Elricaltovilla]

Slightly related:

My DM ruled that the wall of stone spell is made of the same material that is used to cast it. I.e. if the stone is granite, you get a wall of granite. He also told us that any crystalline structure can be used as the source for the spell ("rocks are just lots of really small crystals smooshed together"). This doesn't sound that impressive until you combine it with what our party summoner accidentally made via some very strange rolls for craft (alchemy).

While trying to make a potion or something to help our party resist a persistent lethargy effect, he rolled a natural 1 followed by a 1/day reroll for a nat 20. He ended up making crystal meth. And because it was a crystal, he decided to use it to cast wall of stone, so we ended up with roughly $1.34 billion worth of the drug.

Our game has since devolved into Breaking Bad :smallamused:

[ryu]

I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. Permanent effects don't ordinarily expire, but they explicitly expire when the effect ends because that's what the Conjuration (Summoning) descriptor says they do. And if the spell effect is no longer operative - which is the only way I can think of to interpret "expire" - then the material produced by it ceases to exist. If your summoned monster created something with an instantaneous duration, I'd buy it, but not permanent.

Again it specifically states that SPELLS expire. Spell like abilities aren't spells. They're just capable of bringing about the effects of spells carrying the same name. Isn't RAW fun?:smallamused:

Elric: I believe you mean your game EVOLVED into breaking bad?

[asnys]

Again it specifically states that SPELLS expire. Spell like abilities aren't spells. They're just capable of bringing about the effects of spells carrying the same name. Isn't RAW fun?:smallamused:

Yes, it is:



Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A few spell-like abilities are unique; these are explained in the text where they are described.

A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus or have an XP cost. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability’s use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.

A spell-like ability takes the same amount of time to complete as the spell that it mimics (usually 1 standard action) unless otherwise stated. Spell-like abilities cannot be used to counterspell, nor can they be counterspelled. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell

It's not like there's any shortage of ways to break WBL into a million (gold) pieces, I just don't think this one works.

[ryu]

Yes, it is:



It's not like there's any shortage of ways to break WBL into a million (gold) pieces, I just don't think this one works.

Ah, but this isn't a matter of functioning like a spell. This is a matter of ceasing to function like a spell. Language is hilarious.

[Darrin]

Yes, it is:


I did say it was pedantic. And I agree with you, SLAs should be treated as spells.

However, the *only* examples we have in the PHB where it says spells "expire" is when they have a timed duration. Permanent durations aren't timed, and PHB p. 176 says they persist until dispelled. As far as system mechanics go, "expire" is not a clearly defined game term, but there's no indication in the rules that it applies to anything with a permanent duration.

[asnys]

Ah, but this isn't a matter of functioning like a spell. This is a matter of ceasing to function like a spell. Language is hilarious.

If you can talk your DM into that, good for you. But I don't buy it.

[Kioras]

At least the Wall of Salt creation has the advantage of creating a valuable, heavily used commodity that can then be sold in most any part of the world.

And it is used in large quanities and has been since ancient times. Just have to rent a warehouse to cast and store the stuff, hire some laborurs to mine it, then go and sell it.

[JaronK]

Wall of Stone + Stone Metamorphosis gives you all sorts of special materials to work with, such as Elukian Clay and Sickstone. Fabricate that stuff for wealth.

Now buy Candles of Invocation. Actually, you only need one for endless wealth.

JaronK

[Traab]

The big problem with wall of salt and other spells that mass produce something is that just because you created a thousand pounds of salt, doesnt mean the merchants will buy it all. Honestly, if I were a dm and the players tried to pull that one me, they would get a flat look, then a response of, "The merchant has no need for so much salt. He is willing to buy 5 pounds of it from you though." So you can spend the next month in game going from merchant to merchant selling it off at 5 pounds a shot, or you can go out and do a damn quest, kill a dragon or something, and loot its hoard of treasure.

[Morphie]

The big problem with wall of salt and other spells that mass produce something is that just because you created a thousand pounds of salt, doesnt mean the merchants will buy it all. Honestly, if I were a dm and the players tried to pull that one me, they would get a flat look, then a response of, "The merchant has no need for so much salt. He is willing to buy 5 pounds of it from you though." So you can spend the next month in game going from merchant to merchant selling it off at 5 pounds a shot, or you can go out and do a damn quest, kill a dragon or something, and loot its hoard of treasure.

This. Although it is fun to think outside the box and find a way to see things differently, I think most of the ideas come from a place where people play without a DM. You're adventurers, go and do adventures, don't start a business :smalltongue:

[ryu]

This. Although it is fun to think outside the box and find a way to see things differently, I think most of the ideas come from a place where people play without a DM. You're adventurers, go and do adventures, don't start a business :smalltongue:

Not even a franchise of ambrosia generating happiness brothels? There's a reason my wizards wear purple robes and always have at least one gold tooth.

[Morphie]

Not even a franchise of ambrosia generating happiness brothels? There's a reason my wizards wear purple robes and always have at least one gold tooth.

That (ambrosia - dryad - distilled joy - XP pool) is one of my favourite ideas and I'll use it for sure when I DM, as a way to save time and resources on crafting magic items.

But in a player's perspective, just thinking they can pull these kinds of tricks and get away with unlimited gold is just silly.

[ryu]

That (ambrosia - dryad - distilled joy - XP pool) is one of my favourite ideas and I'll use it for sure when I DM, as a way to save time and resources on crafting magic items.

But in a player's perspective, just thinking they can pull these kinds of tricks and get away with unlimited gold is just silly.

It's all a matter of how high the OP level of the group is. My group is extremely high power. That trick is popular not because it was the only way anyone could think of to achieve the desired result, but because it's funny.

[Morphie]

It's all a matter of how high the OP level of the group is. My group is extremely high power. That trick is popular not because it was the only way anyone could think of to achieve the desired result, but because it's funny.

Yes, I understand that fun is the ultimate purpose of the game, so if everyone is on the same page, those things can and should happen. If, on the other hand, it becomes disruptive to the flow of the adventure and if the PCs end up more concerned about their salt/ambrosia/ladders-to-poles businesses than actually adventuring, the DM should put a stop on it.

[Emperor Tippy]

This. Although it is fun to think outside the box and find a way to see things differently, I think most of the ideas come from a place where people play without a DM. You're adventurers, go and do adventures, don't start a business :smalltongue:

PC's trying to start and run a business is just ready made for plot hooks, quests, and adventures of every type. And the best part is that the PC's tend to become quite invested in doing all of those tasks.

I love it when the PC's start trying to do things like that, it makes my job as DM so much easier.

[Angelalex242]

Well, with infinite money, you can buy things like...

+5 Adamantine Heavy Fortification Full Plate with Greater slick, greater shadowed, greater silent moves, greater acid/cold/elec/fire/sonic resistance, with glamered, etherealness and undead controlling.

+5 Adamantine Spell Resistance 19 Lg Steel Shield with greater acid/cold/elec/fire/sonic resistance, and yet more undead controlling.

So you've got energy resistance 60(!!) to all 5 elements, a +15 bonus to 3 skills (hide, move silently, escape artist), can control 2 sets of 26 HD of undead, and your armor allows you to go ethereal and is glamered to look like an ordinary shirt. This is on top of being +5 armor that makes you crit proof and spell resistant. Not bad.

[137beth]

1. Call Pazuzu
2. Wish for a LE candle of invocation
3. Summon an Efreet
4. Wish for another candle of invocation
5. Gate in a Sarruhk
6. Make the Sarruhk give you manipulate form
7. Give yourself the ability "Has Unlimited Wealth (Ex)"

[Psyren]

PC's trying to start and run a business is just ready made for plot hooks, quests, and adventures of every type. And the best part is that the PC's tend to become quite invested in doing all of those tasks.

I love it when the PC's start trying to do things like that, it makes my job as DM so much easier.

If I were running a campaign where the PCs were managing a business, I'd want them to actually manage a business though, not simply conjure up wall of X out of the ether and grind it down into profit. I'd want there to be elements like supply chains and distribution, safeguarding assets, customer service, scarcity, competition, environmental disasters, political upheaval etc.

There would be a fantastic twist on many of those elements of course (for instance, instead of your supply chain going from one city to another, it might cross the astral plane or even cross time, and instead of worrying about things like bandits attacking your shipment or inclement weather, you'd have to worry about things like raiding githyanki or wild magic manifest zones) but the core principles would be the same - the game would be about more than "cast X, until wizard is tired, break down Walls, port to Sigil/other marketplace."

[Sir Chuckles]

If you're particularly low level, a simple franchise of Create Water-> Bless Water or Water to Acid works very well.

A wand of Water to Acid, lowest level, would cost 11,250gp.
1 cu. ft./CL=5 cu. ft.
There are 7.48 gallons of water in one cubic foot. 37.4 gallons of acid per cast, 1870 gallons of acid total. The average size of a hip flask is about 6 ounces. That's about 39,896 flasks of acid. So sale value (Assuming full price at sale) is 398,960gp.

Now that's profit, assuming you can fork over the initial cost. You could probably buy a wand with fewer charges.

[Pickford]

Darrin:

The Black Lotus Djinn method is much more profitable. For a 1010 GP investment, you can create 86 million GPs worth of Black Lotus Extract. Assuming you can get 50% market value for that, 43 million GP should be more than enough to collapse the local economy.

Correction, for that much you make Black Lotus Extract utterly valueless. Given that it's a niche need, that doesn't really impact the greater economy at all. Really it's just a question of: How much Black Lotus Extract is there, vs how much demand? Presumably the high price of black lotus extract is simply a function of how rare it is...if it's not rare, the price crashes, rendering this method pointless.

Presumably the prices of items are those in standard economies where magi aren't attempting to subvert said economy. Once you have someone doing that however...rapid devaluation of the product used commences. (Which it should be noted will have no impact on the greater economy, unless it is used as the basis of money (i.e. gold, silver, platinum, copper)).

unseenmage:

Then mount it in the ceiling of a church you own, make it invisible, and enjoy your unlimited source of Ambrosia (BoED), it is Craft xp, happiness, CL boost all in one.

Until your victims die because they were incapable of doing the daily tasks necessary for their basic survival as a community. Then some meddling adventurers swing by and wreck the place to remove the terrible enchantments. :)

[Endarire]

With unlimited gold (unlimited wealth), you could get anything. Yes, anything. Buy it, make it, research it; whatever. The power is yours!

[Lord Torath]

Slightly related:

My DM ruled that the wall of stone spell is made of the same material that is used to cast it. I.e. if the stone is granite, you get a wall of granite. He also told us that any crystalline structure can be used as the source for the spell ("rocks are just lots of really small crystals smooshed together"). This doesn't sound that impressive until you combine it with what our party summoner accidentally made via some very strange rolls for craft (alchemy).

While trying to make a potion or something to help our party resist a persistent lethargy effect, he rolled a natural 1 followed by a 1/day reroll for a nat 20. He ended up making crystal meth. And because it was a crystal, he decided to use it to cast wall of stone, so we ended up with roughly $1.34 billion worth of the drug.

Our game has since devolved into Breaking Bad :smallamused:You know what else is a crystal? A Diamond. Also emeralds, rubies, sapphires, star sapphires, and possibly bejurils and rogue stones.

My prefered method of gold creation involves the (2E AD&D) 1st level spell Metamorphose Liquids. You also need some form of heat protection and a way of melting gold. But after depositing one drop of liquid gold on your tongue, you can convert 1 cubic foot/per level of water (or any other liquid) into molten gold. With a density of 19.3 g/mL, that's 1204.8 lbs of gold per level. But gold's liquid density at its melting point is only 17.31 g/mL (at least according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold)), which makes "only" 1080.6 lbs of molten gold per level.

Platinum has a liquid density at melting point of 19.77 g/mL, which makes 1234.2 lbs of molten platinum per level. In 2E AD&D, that was 50 coins per pound, and 1 pp = 5 gp. So your cubic foot of molten platinum has a value of 308,550 gp. Per level. Per casting. Of a 1st Level spell. All you need is a drop of molten platinum and something to protect your tongue from it.