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View Full Version : "My God, it's Full of Salt": Thoughts on a Magic Item



NowhereMan583
2013-12-31, 12:00 AM
I'm putting together a magic item to be given to the players as loot in an upcoming (3.5) campaign, and I feel I could use the feedback/assistance of the Playground. I want it to be something that affords them plenty of role-playing opportunities, and that grows & changes with the party.

The magic item in question appears to be a palm-sized glass sphere filled with salt, with the word "Nackleshire" engraved on it. It is actually a link to a tiny demiplane, primarily inhabited by a small band of salt mephits (about twenty). I'm planning to have the party find it early in their adventuring career, and gradually discover different things they can do with it as time goes on.

At first, however, it has exactly one function. Once per day, if the person holding it speaks the word "Nackleshire," one of the salt mephits who lives within the demiplane is summoned to the outside for one hour and bound to obey the summoner's orders. So it's basically a 1/day Summon Monster IV, except it lasts longer and you always get salt mephits.

The twist on that is, since they're always drawing from the same group of twenty, not only are they liable to occasionally get one they summoned before (I'll roll a d20 on a list of names), but they'll have to deal with their reputation within the tiny salt mephit community. So if they're rude or send them into dangerous situations, the mephits will gradually become more surly and uncooperative; if they're polite and treat them well, they'll go out of their way to be helpful when summoned. (And they can start getting better-equipped mephits if they send money and/or equipment back with the ones they summon.)

Eventually, when the party is higher level, I want to give the item a second function. Once a day, it can act as a Daern's Instant Fortress -- though the walls are made out of magically-hardened salt and it comes with a handful of salt-mephit servants (from the same group of twenty).

At a higher level still, the party should discover that the fortress they've been using actually exists within the demiplane full-time; for extra security, they can planeshift into the fortress without summoning it onto the Material Plane.

The part I'm stuck on is this: I want a reason (that makes sense within the game universe) for these extra functions to not appear until later. You know, I don't want to just write, "In the hands of a tenth-level character, the item can also..." because that kind of seems like a cop-out. At the same time, I want to hold the extra functions back until they fit with the party's power level. What do y'all think?

I'd also welcome any other suggestions and feedback, including thoughts on what level the party should be before I give them this thing at all.

Thank you.

Gnome Alone
2013-12-31, 12:09 AM
Hi-freaking-larious. So these poor salt nephits are like some mercenary, planar version of Gilligan's Island, stuck in their tiny weird-ass demiplane? I think I love this idea. I would make sure to describe them distinctly if I were you - the reoccurrence of Crusty Eyepatch Mephit and Can't Stop Farting Mephit and Only Speaks in Limericks Mephit will make it easier to realize that these guys are drawn from the same group every time.

Side note, in a game I've been in for years I have a salt mephit familiar named Pancho for my duskblade named Lefty, and damned if it doesn't warm the cockles of that thing I call a heart to see such a flavorful take on salt mephits like this. Yee-ha.

EDIT: To, uh, actually answer your question, how about the fancier functions are activated by command words that simply have to be given to the PCs by the mephits? Once they're trusted enough? Saying "Nackleshire" because it's written on the snowglobe is one thing, actually learning the rest of the functions is another. Btw, Nackleshire... is that a stealth pun of NaCl town? Sodium town?

Joe the Rat
2013-12-31, 12:28 AM
Only Speaks in Limericks Mephit Only slightly less annoying that the Phat Rime Mephit. Yo yo!



EDIT: To, uh, actually answer your question, how about the fancier functions are activated by command words that simply have to be given to the PCs by the mephits? Once they're trusted enough? That's probably the least gimmicky way to do it - if the Mephits like you, they'll drop hints or suggestions.

You could also use some sort of an arcane research puzzle/task. As you're running 3.5, setting a high enough DC to reveal additional functions. Alternatively, you could offer up a constructive puzzle kind of thing.

The added functions may need to be unlocked through specific action - casting Leomund's Tiny Hut (or other insta-shelter spell) on the sphere itself reveals the command word for the fortress mode.

You could have the mephits give them a quest to reveal a new feature as well.

The one danger here is that I could see that once the PCs get a new function, they will dump a lot of resources (in game) and time (at the table) to finding more functions.

Mastikator
2013-12-31, 12:38 AM
Have the Mephits explain how to use the added functions at an appropriate time that their continued use of the Nackleshire has "loosened" it up to the point where they can summon the castle. Then even later when the Mephits trust them (when they're higher level still) it tells them about how the gizmo works.

NowhereMan583
2013-12-31, 12:44 AM
I would make sure to describe them distinctly if I were you - the reoccurrence of Crusty Eyepatch Mephit and Can't Stop Farting Mephit and Only Speaks in Limericks Mephit will make it easier to realize that these guys are drawn from the same group every time.

This is actually the entire reason I decided the summon would last a full hour rather than a few rounds; this way, the mephits get some time to talk to them... and say stuff like, "Hey, you're those bastards who used Tuqu to check for traps! Do you have any idea how much mental trauma comes with being killed in a spiked pit trap? He's been a wreck ever since he re-formed!" (No, you can't dismiss them before the hour's up. Because it's more fun for me that way.)

Oh, and they're distinctly different not only in personality, but in stats. I'm in the process of rolling up twenty unique sets of ability scores and skill lists for them. This way, if I roll a 1 on the "which mephit do you get" d20, they get the poor bastard with a 4 Int, and if I roll a 20, they get the guy with a couple druid levels.


Btw, Nackleshire... is that a stealth pun of NaCl town? Sodium town?

Yeah, it is. Virtually every proper noun in my game is either a stealth pun or means something in a different language, because I just can't bring myself to throw together nonsense syllables... it always looks wrong to me.

The Oni
2013-12-31, 01:11 AM
This. Is. Awesome.

Might I suggest two of your mephits be:

Sodi: Prone to emotional outbursts and strongly dislikes water of any kind. Might actually have a barbarian level.

Clor: Insufferably polite and seemingly benign, he secretly tells the guys at Nackleshire that the whole party's terrible slavedrivers, even if you're nice to him.

Naturally they hate eachother.

NowhereMan583
2013-12-31, 01:18 AM
See, this is why I come here -- y'all have great ideas. Having the mephits actually tell the PCs the command words whenever they decide to do so makes perfect sense and completely fits. I think that's going to be how I do it.


This. Is. Awesome.

Might I suggest two of your mephits be:

Sodi: Prone to emotional outbursts and strongly dislikes water of any kind. Might actually have a barbarian level.

Clor: Insufferably polite and seemingly benign, he secretly tells the guys at Nackleshire that the whole party's terrible slavedrivers, even if you're nice to him.

Naturally they hate eachother.

Thank you. I might do this too.

NichG
2013-12-31, 01:28 AM
If you have a specific group, you could have the mephits each gain 1HD every time they're summoned in a meaningful way - have it happen silently, but maybe someone attentive could notice that over time some of the mephits are getting more competent.

I'd probably use a band of 8 mephits for that, just so that the level gain is actually meaningful, even if its slower than the PC's gain. Or even as few as 4 mephits for a very fast-paced campaign.

Jack of Spades
2013-12-31, 04:23 AM
This. Is. Awesome.

Might I suggest two of your mephits be:

Sodi: Prone to emotional outbursts and strongly dislikes water of any kind. Might actually have a barbarian level.

Clor: Insufferably polite and seemingly benign, he secretly tells the guys at Nackleshire that the whole party's terrible slavedrivers, even if you're nice to him.

Naturally they hate eachother.

For extra fun, they hate each other because as the stereotype of the old married couple. Because, y'know, chemical bonds and whatnot.

Brookshw
2013-12-31, 09:00 AM
Cool concept, make sure they can upend the sphere and twist it to salt things. Salt shaker form activate!

LibraryOgre
2013-12-31, 10:17 AM
This is a very neat idea.

As for why the additional functions appear, how about make it because the mephits level up? Every time they summon a mephit, the mephits gain a bit of experience (whim-of-the-DM), meaning that they can slowly keep pace with the party (not quite a follower, but not "we have quickly become useless because of your growing power"). However, the Mephits will invest some of their power in improving Nackleshire for themselves, which will have ancillary benefits for the party (i.e. increased power to the device).

pasko77
2013-12-31, 11:02 AM
this can actually be a sidequest. You can power up the shire via quests, and the reward for said quests be the additional functions.
In this way you bypass the "mephit tell only if they like you".

TheStranger
2013-12-31, 11:35 AM
This is a pretty awesome idea. You definitely need one of the first couple mephits to comment on the "new masters" and clue the players in on what's going on. Otherwise, they'll probably use the mephits as normal summons for a long time before they figure it out.

As for upgrading Nackleshire, maybe make it something the mephits request? If the players give them X,Y, and Z, they can build a fortress the players will be able to use. Maybe it's a sidequest, or maybe it's just a matter of investing some GP, but it puts it into the players' hands to decide how important it is to them.

Also, you should look up some real-world salt mines for inspiration on what the fortress should look like. Some of those things are pretty awesome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine).

And the head mephit should talk like Cespenar, especially when requesting upgrades for the fortress.

Jacob.Tyr
2013-12-31, 12:18 PM
Just an odd thought but what if the mephits take salt while they're out, and bring it back to the shire with them? If the players are mean to them, perhaps they discover their salt meat isn't so salty anymore. If they're nice, maybe the mephits will request salt and be given it. Perhaps they can even gain some salt-stealing extra abilities, drawing it from living creatures etc? Useful in combat if the mephits like you, or damned irritating if the little buggers drain your salt without you realizing it every time you summon them.

"Damnit, every time I use this thing I wind up with awful cramps! Someone else call the little bastards this time!"

Phippster
2014-01-01, 06:03 AM
Just an odd thought but what if the mephits take salt while they're out, and bring it back to the shire with them? If the players are mean to them, perhaps they discover their salt meat isn't so salty anymore. If they're nice, maybe the mephits will request salt and be given it. Perhaps they can even gain some salt-stealing extra abilities, drawing it from living creatures etc? Useful in combat if the mephits like you, or damned irritating if the little buggers drain your salt without you realizing it every time you summon them.

"Damnit, every time I use this thing I wind up with awful cramps! Someone else call the little bastards this time!"

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain there's a Blood to Salt spell in one of the books; I want to say it's in Sandstorm, along with a couple other salt themed spells. The mephits could also give the PCs access to some of those spells somehow, either through the mephits themselves when summoned or by granting the abilities to the PCs as they level up.

nedz
2014-01-02, 10:36 AM
Can you use the item as a salt cellar as well ?

You could have one called Peter, whose a little bit explosive.
Why only focus on table salt ?

Necroticplague
2014-01-02, 12:02 PM
I'd go with the "hunt down command words' rout, it seems the easiest. Just for fun, have at least one of the words be something they could presumably say normally, activating it accidentally. That should cue them in. heck, maybe the mephits don't even know what the words are, and would be more than willing to help look for them in case it has some benefit to them.

Fouredged Sword
2014-01-02, 01:16 PM
I think that giving the memphits class levels is a great idea. Couple of ideas.

Let the memphits who want to able to give the party their summoning phrase so they can be summoned deliberately rather than randomly.

The orb should be restricted by arcane locks, so that it's powers cannot be accessed without first providing the key. The keys are salts from the various planes. The party must acquire sea salt from the plane of water, fire salt from the plane of fire, rock salt from the plane of earth, and storm salt from the plane of air.

The orb is sealed such because it was once owned by a dry lich of great power who created it to serve as his private demiplane. The lich is long since re-dead, and asking the memphits about him leads to tirades about how much of a pain he was.

The memphits should talk about being in a union and generally make jokes about such matters, like threatening to strike, or negotiating for a 100% pay raise (100% of nothing is nothing)

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-02, 07:54 PM
Playing off the "let the mephits level up" idea, how about having them level up at full follower speed, but every time they get killed they're reset to the base stats you rolled at the start of the game. So if the party can keep the mephits alive, they get increasingly powerful (and loyal) servants.

Toofey
2014-01-02, 09:48 PM
For one you should also consider when you start giving them control over which of the Mephit's they summon. As far as a reason why the powers are not all revealed at once... that's a tough one.

One idea that springs to mind is that maybe the salt sphere is only active when it's connected to a living person/persons, and the last time It was active the previous salt castle was destroyed and the mephits not having been active need time to rebuild the castle, and they'll need ritual magic (which the PC's can help them with) to be able to bring it into the prime material, and then to create a gateway the PCs can use to access their demiplane)

that's the best idea I got, it also gives you the chance to change it up and if the PC's abuse the Mephits instead of sharing that they're building the castle they do it themselves, and use it to defend themselves from the PCs.

NowhereMan583
2014-01-02, 11:03 PM
Playing off the "let the mephits level up" idea, how about having them level up at full follower speed, but every time they get killed they're reset to the base stats you rolled at the start of the game. So if the party can keep the mephits alive, they get increasingly powerful (and loyal) servants.

This sounds like fun -- I might do it this way.

So, another issue: when should I give the players this item / reveal new functions? I want it to be at a level where it's powerful enough for them to want to use it frequently, but not so powerful that it breaks the game.

Draken
2014-01-02, 11:11 PM
A day-long castle made of salt isn't exactly something tht will be used often.

It would probably be fine starting at level 9, I think. Letting them flee into the demiplane is essentially a 9th level spell used as intended and not as possible (... Genesis).

Adrastos42
2014-01-02, 11:29 PM
Wait... so the pattern I'm seeing here is that by repeated use or discovering new command words or whatever is that the sphere is gradually "opening up". At first, only one denizen at a time can escape. They are magically bound and doomed to be dismissed once more after an hour. Then, a single building and several denizens can escape. Again, they are bound to the summoner and will disappear with time. Then, the passage becomes two-way- the mephits can be visited by their masters. This can only end one way- the sphere opens completely, the bounds are broken, and the mephits escape permanently to the material plane.

This begs the question, why were they imprisoned in the first place? How much of this will they tell the PCs? Will they try and persuade their new masters to help them (and thus take a shiny toy away from the PCs. Bad idea.), or attempt to trick them into it? If they succeed in escaping, what do they do next? Of course, many of the answers may depend upon how well your players treat their new toys.

Well, that's what came to my mind, anyway:)

As to how the extra abilities are unlocked, perhaps the first new one is unlocked simply by heavy use of the sphere, which weakens the barriers between the worlds. Have the ability happen spontaneously one time when the PCs activate the sphere normally. Then, through information either volunteered by the mephits or ordered from them (depending on your PCs) the players discover that to unlock more powers will be a far greater, sidequestlike task...

Sith_Happens
2014-01-03, 02:44 AM
If you go the "they just have to find out the other command words" route, you'll need to make the sphere an artifact or else the cats are all out of the bag as soon as they pop an Identify on it. As a bonus, there's nothing like getting an "overwhelming" on Detect Magic to key the PCs in that there's more to their new toy than meets the eye.

veti
2014-01-03, 08:34 AM
The part I'm stuck on is this: I want a reason (that makes sense within the game universe) for these extra functions to not appear until later. You know, I don't want to just write, "In the hands of a tenth-level character, the item can also..." because that kind of seems like a cop-out. At the same time, I want to hold the extra functions back until they fit with the party's power level. What do y'all think?

What are the mephits doing all day long, in this little world of theirs?

My suggestion: research. They are intensely interested in the world outside their little sphere, and how to interact with it. Initially, they've worked out how to be summoned individually; later, they'll work out how to shift part of their plane out of their world completely, or move part of the outside world into their plane. All of these things requiring the co-operation of someone outside, obviously.

nedz
2014-01-03, 08:36 AM
Maybe the salt cellar can only be used as a retreat once the mephits have all left ? (or are dead)
Or maybe it is the mephits who control access to the cellar and will open it up for a fee of some kind ?

TheStranger
2014-01-03, 09:18 AM
Sticking with the concept of the mephits leveling up, why not have one of the mephits be a wizard? Upon reaching an appropriate level, he can research a spell that will enable the fortress function.

As for what level to give things at, the fortress isn't tremendously powerful. I wouldn't worry about your players having it anytime after level 7 or so. And I'd let them plane shift into the demiplane around level 9, since that's when they could prepare plane shift anyway.

Yuki Akuma
2014-01-03, 09:54 AM
This idea is amazing.

I don't really have anything to contribute but god damn it's awesome.

Joe the Rat
2014-01-03, 02:38 PM
Have you got your names yet? Because you totally need a Saleena.

If you get enough bad salt puns, it will serve to limit the player's use of the item. Nothing makes players back away faster than the threat of GM puns.

LibraryOgre
2014-01-03, 04:02 PM
How about the twins, Sal and Tina?

Jlerpy
2014-01-03, 04:07 PM
If the party have someone with a fitting skill (Spellcraft? Knowledge: Arcana?), you could decide on a DC for them to realise, then let them know once they have a bonus equal to the DC-20, on the assumption that they'd get it eventually once they know enough to put the pieces together.

Alternatively, just basing it off how well they treat the mephits seems cool.

nedz
2014-01-03, 07:10 PM
You have to have one called Pepper, because.

Also a Pink one called Rock — whose a Bard obviously.

Joe the Rat
2014-01-03, 08:22 PM
The Berserker Mephitess, Brinehilda?


...I already used my Rime one.

TheStranger
2014-01-03, 08:49 PM
At a stealthier pun level, you have Ed, the vegan hippie druid, and Ari, who wants to be paid for everything he does.

MasterFu
2014-01-21, 01:14 AM
How about a ranged/siege artillerist/gunslinger named Vho (sal-vo)?

Gnome Alone
2014-01-21, 03:13 AM
At a stealthier pun level, you have Ed, the vegan hippie druid, and Ari, who wants to be paid for everything he does.

I have the feeling that this thing here that I don't get at all is probably very funny.

TheStranger
2014-01-21, 10:30 AM
I have the feeling that this thing here that I don't get at all is probably very funny.

Probably not funny at all. Just plays on salad and salary.

SassyQuatch
2014-01-23, 03:31 AM
I like the idea of payment in salt (up to how much they can carry) which they can use as currency, building materials for the fort, crafting their equipment, etc.

As for levelling up, that's a good idea but a full reset after "death" is a bit harsh. A negative level (class levels only) would probably work fine without severely limiting your new friends.

I would think that they would also have a weakness to fresh water. And possibly to the word "solution".

Gnome Alone
2014-01-23, 03:38 AM
Probably not funny at all. Just plays on salad and salary.

Wow. Well, I did laugh about how awful that is. Well done.

Fortuna
2014-01-23, 03:44 AM
Probably not funny at all. Just plays on salad and salary.

See, I got salary, and I thought it was quite clever. Salad I did not get, so thanks for teaching me a new etymology!

turbo164
2014-01-23, 11:30 AM
"Epson" could be another name, mayhaps introduced as the "son of Ep" (...do Mephits procreate or spring from the elements themselves?) for more subtlety.

LibraryOgre
2014-01-23, 11:52 AM
"Epson" could be another name, mayhaps introduced as the "son of Ep" (...do Mephits procreate or spring from the elements themselves?) for more subtlety.

The salts are Epsom.

Kiren
2014-01-23, 02:03 PM
How about Baath, the limited-intelligence barbarian Salt Mephit who has been known to go insane when raging to sometimes try and eat the other Salt Mephits. Which doesn't work because they are made out of salt.

GungHo
2014-01-23, 02:41 PM
The salts are Epsom.

Yes, but he does inspire a D20 Modern idea where there are mimics posing as multifunction devices.

turbo164
2014-01-23, 11:40 PM
The salts are Epsom.

Oh. Then I guess he could be the SUM of E and P...or...

:smallsigh:

Another_Poet
2014-01-24, 03:00 AM
Probably not funny at all. Just plays on salad and salary.

Thank goodness. I thought the second one was... probably better not to say.


I like the idea of payment in salt (up to how much they can carry) which they can use as currency, building materials for the fort, crafting their equipment, etc.

Wouldn't salt be the one thing they don't need? Their whole world is made of it.

I would have two factions among them, that slowly form as the PCs summon them more and more: those that just want to be left alone, and wish they wouldn't be summoned, and those who are highly intrigued by the outside world (maybe they didn't know about it before?) and can be bribed with news, stories and new items... which may be something as simple as ordinary everyday objects the mephits haven't seen before.


"Epso[m]" could be another name, mayhaps introduced as the "son of Ep" (...do Mephits procreate or spring from the elements themselves?) for more subtlety.

This would be great for the mephits' cleric.

To the OP: As several others have said, I think the powers you've described should be something the mephits can bestow as they trust the party more.

Additionally, I'd suggest that maybe they can be summoned individually by knowing their names. Thus, at the beginning none of them would want to share their name, though they might all share the name of the one mephit who is not very popular (and ends up being disobedient and/or having low stats) so the PCs summon him over and over. But when that one comes back with loot or otherwise spoiled, they all start wanting to give their names out, and maybe jealously refuse to share each other's names.

To make sure the players "get" that there is a set list of inhabitants, don't just give them unique descriptions - around the 3rd or 4th time they use the item, go ahead and arbitrarily repeat an earlier mephit (random table be darned) so that there is a repeat early on. This should get them wondering.

Jlerpy
2014-01-24, 03:06 AM
Wouldn't salt be the one thing they don't need? Their whole world is made of it.

But if they can get more of it, their world can grow, right? They use it for everything. It would be like if we got paid in food/clay/gold/cloth/wood/cider.

SassyQuatch
2014-01-24, 07:19 PM
Wouldn't salt be the one thing they don't need? Their whole world is made of it.
Why says that every plane is infinite? A wizard can create his own and different items also have their own, but they are not all the same size.

You could very well have a plane of salt that is the size of a bachelor's suite and all twenty mephits have to share a single room. More salt brought in means the room can be expanded to a few separate rooms, then a small house, then enough space for a nice workshop, eventually leading to a full mansion, fortress, etc.

It becomes more interesting if the mephits hand out the password at an earlier level and/or when there hasn't been much salt brought in. Suddenly the smallish room is even more cramped, housing mephits and the party together for a while.

ellindsey
2014-01-24, 07:40 PM
I am going to use this in my campaign, if the OP doesn't mind.

It does make me wonder (since I know my players will ask) what do mephits do all day when they aren't being summoned? As far as I can tell they don't need to eat or sleep, and it wouldn't seem to me that there's much for them to do in their tiny salt demiplane other than sit around waiting to be summoned. I'll have to give them all hobbies.

SassyQuatch
2014-01-24, 08:00 PM
I am going to use this in my campaign, if the OP doesn't mind.

It does make me wonder (since I know my players will ask) what do mephits do all day when they aren't being summoned? As far as I can tell they don't need to eat or sleep, and it wouldn't seem to me that there's much for them to do in their tiny salt demiplane other than sit around waiting to be summoned. I'll have to give them all hobbies.
Well, there's the quiet one who tries to keep to herself in the corner and read books on her salt tablet....

NowhereMan583
2014-01-25, 12:17 AM
I am going to use this in my campaign, if the OP doesn't mind.

It does make me wonder (since I know my players will ask) what do mephits do all day when they aren't being summoned? As far as I can tell they don't need to eat or sleep, and it wouldn't seem to me that there's much for them to do in their tiny salt demiplane other than sit around waiting to be summoned. I'll have to give them all hobbies.

I absolutely don't mind -- though I also totally want to hear about how it works.

Also, in my mind, they've got a whole little village going in there; other than the one or two mephits whose job it to keep the tower clean and ready for whoever they give the password to in the future, the interior of the demiplane is basically a weirdly skewed version of a standard-issue D&D small town.

ellindsey
2014-01-26, 02:22 PM
Also, in my mind, they've got a whole little village going in there; other than the one or two mephits whose job it to keep the tower clean and ready for whoever they give the password to in the future, the interior of the demiplane is basically a weirdly skewed version of a standard-issue D&D small town.

Then I suspect that part of what the mephits might ask for in repayment would be construction tools. Picks, chisels, rope and pulleys, scaffolding materials, all the things you need to build a fortress out of blocks of salt. This could also help explain why the tower function wasn't available earlier - they needed to build it first, and it's hard to build something like that with your bare hands.

WhiteLycan
2014-01-26, 02:52 PM
I like to imagine the salt mephits going about their daily lives while in the sphere, performing daily tasks, so that whenever one gets summoned it is almost always in the middle of doing something. Sometimes it'll be holding a broom and sweeping as it's being summoned to help in the fight against the basilisk, sometimes it'll be washing an empty glass with a rag. Or in the middle of a poker game in which it had the winning hand and was about to play it, but the players screwed it all up and now the mephit is pissed at the players for the duration of the summons. Just makes me giggle to think of all the things they could be in the middle of while being summoned. Taking a shower. In the middle of an argument. In the middle of a bar brawl so that when summoned, one of the characters takes an errant blow to the face and the mephit apologizes profusely for the next hour.

Also, my favorite method of gaining the rest of the powers available is gaining the trust of the mephits. Once the mephits start trusting the players with their lives because the players treat them fairly and try to keep them alive during their summoned periods, they allow the players more power over themselves and their plane. First they make (not give, since if the activation word already exists, an identify spell would give it away) a magic word that will allow the players into their plane to make use of the salt castle, which runs the risk of the players just killing all the mephits and having an incredibly convenient access-from-anywhere fortress. Then, if the players don't abuse that privilege by damaging the castle or, god forbid, bringing excessive water into the plane, they craft another word that will allow the players to bring the castle into the prime material.

Sorry that I changed up the order, but the 2nd power (the daern's-like one where the salt cast is summoned to the prime material) doesn't make much sense to me in terms of (sorry for using this word) realism.
Power 1: Summon mephit.
Power 2: Summon an entire castle.
Power 3: Teleport to castle.
Just seems to me that the ability to teleport to the castle would take a whole lot less energy than transporting an entire castle from one plane to another temporarily.