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View Full Version : [3.P]Creature Tokens-A New Crafting Method (PEACH)



Der_DWSage
2014-05-10, 09:19 PM
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;

Many of us have come to dislike Magic Mart, but we also see its place-after all, most adventurers won't spend their hard-earned lucre elsewhere, or worse, they'll call on Djinnis and shapeshifted Zodaks and whatever else they can in order to just wish their equipment up if they don't get what they need. But at the same time, Magic Mart robs a lot of the mystical aspect from our magic games. So, here's the system I propose to counteract that, and bring a little bit of magic back while still having everything fully explained.

When a creature is killed, some parts of its body-the blood, the eyes, the brain, the tongue, something-is worth CR squared * 10 GP (And for 3.5, 1/25th that amount in XP) in value when used as a crafting component. At GM discretion, the creature does not need to be killed, but somehow bested in another fashion. (A blade that makes a thousand orcs flee is as potent as a blade that bathed in the blood of a thousand orcs, or a pair of gloves wagered against a dozen thieves guilds can become as legendary as a pair worn while killing the same amount.) It is expected that you lower acquired wealth by an equivalent amount.

These bits only count towards certain types of enchantments, determined by what type of creature that was slain. At GM discretion, gold and XP can cover the remainder of the crafting needs. Also at GM discretion, crafting feats and appropriate spells are not needed, so long as the character has enough tokens of the appropriate types to cover their work.


Definitions

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
Donald Rumsfeld


Token:The thing taken from a creature after it is defeated. The eye of a newt, the toe of a frog, the blood of an Orcish Warleader, the heart of a Dragon. It does not have to be physical-so long as the challenge was overcome somehow, it can be as nebulous as the blessing of a scholar, or the respect of a rogue. (AKA, one does not have to be a complete murderhobo to acquire tokens.)

Enchantment:Any magical effect applied to an item. If I mean the Enchantment school of magic, I will specify the Enchantment school of magic.

'...that [x] embodies':For example, 'Alignment that the Outsider embodies.' This means that if they have the subtype of that alignment or element, or if they are particularly well known for the alignment or element (Such as a Red Dragon being known for Fire, Chaos, and Evil) then this is what that means. On rare occasion, this will be used for other things than alignment and elements.

Spellcaster:Any creature with spellcasting capability, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities to the point where they may as well be spellcasting. (Such as a Druid's ability to Wildshape.)

Score:Ability scores. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. You know the drill.


Mechanics

Go to the highest mountain and slay the mightiest dragon in the kingdom, in order to craft his scales into fire-resistant armor before we go to Hell? No, I'm good. I bought a Ring of Fire Immunity last week for that instead.
-Arnold Swordshielderson, Adventurer
When a creature is beaten, killed, conquered, or otherwise vanquished, a token can be acquired from it. This token's value is equal to the creatures CR squared * 10, (And for 3.5, 1/25th that amount in XP) and the creature's Type counts towards certain types of bonuses, as outlined in the next post. These are towards the crafting price, not the base price. Simple, no? (These bonus goods can either be traded to a crafter for that exact amount off the price of their item, or made into items themselves. Whichever way it goes, a similar amount of treasure should be reduced from the party's future treasure finds, to keep WBL from bloating.)CR^2*10 wasn't quite picked from a hat, but it was a semi-random choice. While I feel that allowing difficult opponents to count for multiple tokens counteracts the low value, feel free to raise the GP value in your own games. Just be wary of the WBL beast.


Optional Mechanics
If more than five of the same creature are used in creating a single effect on the item, then the item will always have a randomly determined curse. Only rarely will they be benign or small things. (If a curse such as 'Change Name' or other small effect is rolled once, roll again.)
This is to prevent the players from clearing out, say, a Kobold encampment for a +6 Dexterity item with minimal threat to themselves. Also, curses are so rarely used in games that I play that I feel they need some love.

Creatures that are domesticated, harmless, or otherwise unlikely to intentionally harm the PCs do not count for tokens. Additionally, Tokens only count if the CR of the creature being slain is equal to the PC's level-2.
Similar to above, this is to keep PCs from simply buying a herd of cattle and slaughtering them all to gain a +6 Constitution belt.

If Planar Binding is used to force an outsider to give power to an item, they remain bound to the item, and are vengeful about the ordeal. It has a cumulative 1% chance every day to destroy the item of imprisonment, and seek vengeance on the creator to the best of their abilities. (Elementals will go for murder, devils will drag them to the hells, angels will inform religions about the blasphemer, and djinni will...well. If you can't think of something for wish-granting djinnis to use to screw over people, I can't help you.) The broken item is completely mundane afterwards, and even enchantments that came from sources beside the Outsider will be dispersed to the winds, or absorbed by the Outsider.

Even if the Outsider willingly gives help, they will often request goods or services equal to whatever they bestow. An Angel is unlikely to give his feathers to create a +1 Holy Longsword for less than goods near the value of 18,000 GP, even if the petitioner is a follower of his own deity and going on a quest that aligns with his own interests.
The third of the 'prevent abuse' series of optional rules, this one is to keep tricksy wizards from going crazy with binding elementals and churning out items with speed.

If Wish or Miracle is used to create a magic item, it does not create the item directly. Instead, it summons a number of creatures that one can use as components to create the item. If one defeats them all, their bodies will run together to create the item requested. For example, a request to create a +5 Vorpal Sword (A 200,000 GP item, but only 100,000 to craft) will summon a Balor, (CR 20, 4,000 GP value) and an accompaniment of six Mariliths (CR 17, 17340 GP total) and a small horde of 40 Nalfeshnee (CR 14 each, 78,400 total) to defeat for the base materials.

Alternatively, they may need to face something less physical. If one requests a Miracle for a +6 Headband of Intellect, they may be transported to face Boccob in his own realm, and explain to him something that he does not yet know. Or if one Wishes for a Staff of the Magi, they may find themselves with a puzzle box that requires a bit of each of the planes before it must open.
I've...always found it cheesy that an SU Wish can just create anything, no strings attached. But at the same time, I don't want to take that option away from people. So instead, challenges. Quests. Things to bring a bit of magic back.

Particularly difficult monsters may be worth more than the typical token. The Orcish Warchief who trampled over the civilized lands may be worth more than his general, despite them being within a level of each other. Dragons in particular are noted for being magical and dangerous opponents. At GM discretion, an opponent may be worth up to ten tokens, rather than just the single one.
And now we get to abuse again. Boss Monsters have to be worth something, and this lets you have special opponents that are particularly valuable for crafting. It's nice to go 'We have killed the Ice Wolf of Risia, and have made equipment from his body. His teeth were made into the Rogue's Adamantine +2 Wounding Daggers, his pelt grants the Barbarian new vigor as a +4 Belt of Constitution, his eyes now serve the Ranger and grant him a +10 bonus to survival checks, and his blood has coated my axe, granting it the Vicious property on top of its existing enchantments.' Or, y'know. Whatever.)

Instead of simply granting CR^2*10 GP with each creature killed, make it a skill check. Allow a Survival, Knowledge(Arcana) or other relevant check (Such as Knowledge(Religion) with Undead, or Knowledge(Architecture) with Golems, Craft(Taxidermy) with Animals and Magical Beasts, or Knowledge(Nature) with plants) to determine how much of the value you get.

Check exceeds CR+20:Add (1d6*10)% to the value of the acquired tokens.
Check is between CR+16 and CR+20:110% the value of the acquired tokens
Check is between CR+10 to CR+15:The tokens are worth full value.
Check is between CR+5 and CR+10:The tokens are worth 90% of the full value.
Check is lower than CR+5:The tokens are worth 50% value or less.
:Be sure to adjust those skill checks to match the skill investment of your players. This one is done for bare bones-the players are unlikely to acquire more than a +5 bonus over what is likely to be acquired. Of all the optional rules, this is the one I would be most wary about adding. That said, it does allow a measure of randomness that can be nice to have.

Tokens are nice-but they don't always encompass the feel you're going for. Rather than force players to save their bits of Ogre and blood of Wolf for ages on end and allow it to spoil, simply keep track of tokens for them. When they reach a pre-determined number (5 for small changes worth less than 15% of WBL, 10 for changes between 15% and 25%, 20 for anything above that) of tokens, upgrade the party's items. With the killing blow of the Troll Chieftain, the Fighter's Sword gains the Holy property, the Wizard's Staff is recharged and captures the Troll's spirit, adding 'Command Undead' to its list of spells, the Rogue's gloves become Gloves of Dexterity+6, and the Monk gets a rock.

Similar to the above-but not to the point of spontaneous conversion. Allow people to turn their tokens into magical items without having crafting feats. Crafting feats are required to spend XP and gold to cover gaps left, but no one is truly required to have them, nor have the appropriate spells, so long as they have the right tokens and a will to use them.


5/13/2014, 12:56 AM:Progressed from 'WIP' to 'Oh god, the critiques are coming.'

Der_DWSage
2014-05-10, 09:20 PM
Types of tokens and example effects
Notes:These are meant to encompass existing effects. If I have missed one, please let me know in the comments below.

A note from the Author:Do not take this to be an exhaustive list. If you feel that your players deserve a token towards bonuses to Hide and Move Silent (Or Stealth, for Pathfinder) for sneaking past a bunch of Giants, who normally only grant strength bonuses...go for it. Or if you feel that a weapon that has slain a hundred Goblins needs the Mighty Cleaving ability, it's your story. These are guidelines, a point in the right direction. Something players can point at and go 'There's precedent here, can we do this?' without the GM having to dig into the creature types.

General

All tokens can be used for Bane effects against the type of token used.
Any creature that has a racial bonus to a skill can be used for a competence bonus to that skill.
Any creature with metallic DR can be used to enchant an item with defensive effects, or be used as base material in a new weapon which overcomes the same type of DR.
Any creature with regeneration or fast healing can be used to create healing items, such as Rings of Regeneration or Potions of Cure X Wounds.
At GM discretion, an enchantment may be switched for the opposite effect. For example, gloves used to catch a dozen thieves may grant a bonus to Spot checks rather than a bonus to Hide and Move Silently, or a blade used to kill a Gold Dragon may be Unholy rather than the Holy property they embody. Such tokens should be used to enhance existing equipment, rather than creating new ones.
If the creature had Spell Resistance, it may be used to create an item that also has Spell Resistance.
Any token may instead be used to embody the event that created them, rather than the creature they were taken from. For example, a weapon used to slay Angels on a regular basis could become an Unholy weapon, rather than a Holy one. This overrides the usual restrictions on token types, but may only be used at GM discretion.
A GM may ignore the restriction on Resistance bonuses, and say that any token that grants a resistance bonus to saves can grant bonuses to all saves, rather than force a character to hunt for many different types of creatures to make their Cloaks of Resistance.

The general notes apply to everything, of course. I felt that the guidelines above were a much better idea than breaking down every single monster ever. If people come up with something to add to the general guidelines above, I'll give them a cookie.

Aberration

Can be used to grant additional vision effects. (Darkvision, True Seeing, Scent, competence bonus to spot or search)
Can be used for fortification bonuses.
Can be used for Resistance bonuses on Will saves.
Can be used for other protections against mental effects. (Mind Blank, Nondetection, etc.)

Aberrations are known for having strange, alien anatomies and mindsets. They also have Darkvision as a racial trait, and many of them have other vision modes. This list is sparse, but many of them also have spellcasting abilities-and those grant extra capabilities.

Animal

Can be used for physical enhancement bonuses.
Can be used for competence bonuses to strength, dexterity, or wisdom-based skills.
Can be used to grant additional vision effects. (Darkvision, True Seeing, Scent, competence bonus to spot or search)
Can be used for movement-based enchantments. (Horseshoes of Speed, Ring of Evasion, etc.)
Natural Armor bonuses
Enhancement bonuses to natural attacks / Granting natural attacks.
Resistance bonuses to Reflex and/or Fortitude Saves.
At GM discretion, bonuses against environmental, poison, or disease effects. (Mongoose blood provides a bonus against poison, a swan provides bonuses against disease, etc.)
Any bonuses that rely on the Rage class feature, anger, or feral mindset. (The Vicious property for weapons, a Wondrous item that requires the spell Rage, any weapon with Knockback, etc.)
All types of potions.
Can cover 1/4th the cost for wands, but no more. (A wand of Owl's Wisdom might have the tailfeathers of an owl on it, but it still needs to be made from wood. Or it might be made of bone, but it needs some other reagents as well.)

Animals tend to be the first thing people go for when describing physical capabilities. Strength of an ox, eyes of an eagle, etc. Strength and dexterity skills were obvious. Wisdom-based skills encompass Perception-based skills and Sense Motive, and since many people believe animals to understand things that people can't...I felt like it wasn't much of a stretch. Having actual mental score increases from 'dumb beasts,' even wisdom based ones, seemed a little too far out.

Construct

Can be used for physical or magical protections. (SR enchantments, Deflection bonuses, Enhancement bonuses to AC, Natural Armor bonuses, Magic Immunities, Spellblades, Defending property on weapons, etc.)
Resistance bonuses to fortitude saves.
Immunities or resistances to poison, death effects, mind-affecting spells, disease, paralysis, stunning, and sleep.
Enhancement bonuses to strength or constitution.
Enhancement bonuses to weapons.

Golems are known for being big and nearly impossible to kill. Also, they hurt when they hit you. The above mostly uses Iron Golems and such as a template. If you incorporate ones like Shadesteel, Alchemical, or Prismatic, be sure to add their special capabilities to your list.

Dragon
Can be used for any type of enchantment, save for elemental or aligned effects that they do not embody. (EG, a Red Dragon would not be used for a Cold effect, nor would a Gold Dragon be used to create an Unholy Weapon)I needed a catch-all, and let's face it-Dragons are it. They're known for being THE biggest, toughest, smartest, most powerful things in the world. Also, the most magical.

Fey

Luck bonuses of all kinds.
Morale bonuses of all kinds.
Enhancement bonuses to mental scores.
Competence bonuses to charisma or dexterity based skills.
Caster level and spellcasting DC bonuses.
Immunity or resistance to mind-affecting spells.
Enhancement bonuses to will saves.
Competence bonuses to Escape Artist, as well as other suitable enchantments for dextrous combatants, such as Freedom of Movement, or Evasion.

Fey are magical. Fey are neat. Fey will also mess you up in your sleep. (Wait, that didn't quite rhyme. Ah well.) They tend to be agile tricksters with illusory magic, and their bonus list reflects that.

Humanoid

Enhancement bonuses that the race has a racial bonus to. (Constitution for Dwarves, Dexterity for Halflings, Any for Humans.) At GM discretion, this can include any stat that the humanoid embodies. (For example, a headband blessed by seventy Dwarven scholars could have an Intelligence bonus.)
Halflings qualify for Luck bonuses, due to Halfling's Luck.
Competence bonuses to any skill.
Resistance bonus to all saves.
Enhancement bonuses to weapons.
At GM discretion, aligned bonuses that the Humanoid embodied. (Lawful or Holy weapons from a Paladin's sacrificed eye, for example.)
'Killing' properties for weapons. (Vorpal, Keen, Wounding, Vicious, anything that implies a weapon is meant for painful, quick murder and nothing else.)

Humanoid encompasses a lot, so it needs to be fairly broad without going too far. Bonuses to all skills reflects the fact that Humanoids tend to be the only 'civilized' races, bonuses to all saves to reflect the broad walks of life. Do be careful with this list-the players might eventually realize that THEY are Humanoids, and that you don't have to kill someone to get a token, so they set up small challenges against each other. A Paladin of Odin that sacrifices his eye to become wiser is alright. A Rogue that steals from the Elven Wizard to get a token towards Gloves of Dexterity is a lot more questionable.

Giant

Special Note for Pathfinder players:Giants should not count as Humanoids for determining bonuses.
Enhancement Bonuses to Strength or Constitution scores.
Elemental or aligned properties the Giant embodied.
Enhancement bonuses to stability checks.
Size-related enchantments. (Muleback cords, anything that grants Powerful Frame, items that require Enlarge Person or Righteous Might, etc.)
Competence bonuses to Strength and Constitution-related skills.
Enhancement bonuses to armor and weapons.
'Killing' properties for weapons. (Vorpal, Keen, Wounding, Vicious, anything that implies a weapon is meant for painful, quick murder and nothing else.)
Resistance bonuses to Fortitude saves.Giants aren't exactly complicated. And if they are, they fall under Spellcasters. Makes my life easy.

Magical Beast
See Animal
If the animal had an affinity for an element, enchantments that rely on that element may be created.Magical Beasts just...didn't seem to have much to offer over Animals. They're a little smarter, but otherwise they encompass the same types of bonuses.

Monstrous Humanoid
See Humanoid....Yeah, same deal. Maybe a little more special stuff, but honestly? Most of them fall under racial bonuses, which is general-or Spellcaster, which is later. Maybe I missed something special, and I'm sure someone will point it out.

Ooze

Immunities or resistances to poison, mind-affecting spells, disease, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, and sleep.
Resistance bonuses to Fortitude.
Acid properties.
Competence bonuses to Escape Artist, as well as other suitable enchantments that make one slippery or allow escape, such as Freedom of Movement, or Evasion.
Fortification bonuses.
Competence bonuses to Hide/Move Silent/Stealth skills.
Granting Blindsight, Tremorsense, or other non-vision based vision modes.

Oozes are slimy, hard to catch, hard to hurt in ways besides smashing them to death, and taste like Jell-o. They're also notorious for the fact that they can sneak up on you, so there's a little nod to that.

Outsider

Aligned and/or elemental properties that the Outsider embodies. (EG, Angels would make Lawful and Holy items, Demons would make Chaotic and Unholy items.)
Resistance bonuses to all saves.
Enhancement bonuses to all physical and mental scores.
Enhancement bonuses to armor and weapons.
Protection from sleep and environmental effects.
Protection or immunity from diseases and poisons, if the Outsider had innate protection.

Honestly, Outsiders embody a lot of things-but if they're special enough to merit something besides the list above, they have spellcasting abilities that put them in the category below.

Plant

Immunity or resistance to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, environmental effects, and stunning.
Items that heal, such as a Ring of Regeneration or a Wand of Cure Light Wounds.
Natural Armor bonuses.
Enhancement bonuses to natural attacks / granting natural attacks.
Resistance bonuses to Fortitude saves.
Can be made into any Potions, Wands, or Staves.Plant immunities show up here, as do the growth bias of plants. Being made into potions or wands...well, again, they're plants. You always want a rowan wand, or the bark of an Ent for your staff.

Spellcaster(Any being with spell-like abilities or levels in an Arcane Casting class. At GM discretion, creatures with sufficiently mystical (SU) abilities can be added to this list, such as a Harpy with their captivating song, or a Basilisk with its petrifying gaze.)

Protections from spells the creature could cast. Wizards and other prepared casters do not count for this purpose. (IE, mental protections from a Pixie's Irresistable Dance, or cold resistance from an Ogre Magi due to their innate ability to cast Cone of Cold are fine. It does not need to fit the exact spell they cast, just protect from a general effect.)
Cures against spells the creature could cast. (IE, make an Elixer of Stone to Flesh from a Basilisk's eyes.)
Items that required the spells they could cast. (IE, a creature that could cast Enervation is suitable for creating a Sword of Life-Stealing, or it could be made into a wand of Enervation.)
Enhancement bonuses to armor and weapons.
In the case of divine casters, Aligned properties that they embodied.
At GM discretion, other thematically appropriate choices are allowed.Kill a Fire Sorcerer, get protection from fire and turn his bones into a wand of fireball. This list seems good to my eye, and despite how short it is, it seems to encompass most things that I could possibly come up with.

Undead
Resistance or immunity to poisons, disease, sleep, stunning, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, negative energy, and death effects.
Resistance bonuses to Fortitude saves.
Items that grant lifesense or darkvision.
In the case of incorporeal undead, Ghost Touch and items that grant incorporeality.
In the case of mindless undead, Enhancement bonuses to physical scores. In the case of intelligent undead, Enhancement bonuses to Mental scores.
Resistances against pain-based spells, such as Symbol of Pain.
Evil-aligned items.
Resistance or immunity to Cold.
At GM discretion, Undead opponents can give the same types of bonuses they would have if they were a living creature.So...a bit of personal prejudice on this one. Undead get most of their resistances, but not all. I feel that with Control Undead, Halt Undead, Rebuking Undead, and a slew of other things, Undead should not get immunity to mind-affecting affects. Nor should they get immunity to critical hits. If you disagree, add it to your own personal list.
Otherwise, I feel this shores up some of the missing links so far. Incorporeal items, mental bonuses, and resistances to a slew of effects. Combined with the fact that Undead are the largest category of opponents, and players should be fine with this list.

VerminSee Animal...Why isn't Vermin just a subtype of Animal. Seriously.

You'll notice that mental bonuses are far and away rarer than physical ones. That wasn't a goal at the start of this, but it was a happy accident. Fighters can easily hunt for what they need by taking down the biggest bear in the forest-Wizards need to find the ever-elusive fey or play chess with a Lich if he wants his precious Headband of Intellect +2.

I feel that I've done a decent job of making sure that everything is embodied in this list, but I'm sure I missed some type of bonus that Dragons don't quite embody. or something sillier, like pie-based bonuses for fey.

Der_DWSage
2014-05-10, 09:21 PM
Intended effects upon roleplaying and adventure

At the end of the day, I don't intend for people to go monster-hunting just for more XP. (Fill this in as soon as I make sure the post is indeed reserved.)

Der_DWSage
2014-05-10, 09:22 PM
This post reserved for possible future additions.

GorinichSerpant
2014-05-11, 11:40 AM
Great idea, from the untrained eye it looks like it's fair. What if the adventures are fighting another group of adventurers, surely those adventurers will also have their own tokens. So would the PCs get all their magic items? Would stealing a magic sword from someone count as gaining a token?

Domriso
2014-05-11, 11:14 PM
in This is brilliant. I can't wait to see more.

A couple of minor things:

You state early on that the reverse effect can be had for certain magic items, such as the unholy quality coming from killing a gold dragon. Then, in the dragon entry, you specifically state that you cannot use a dragon token to provide an effect which is antithetical to its essence, and specifically note using a gold dragon token to provide the unholy quality. Probably want to change the wording somewhere in there.

I would throw shapeshifting abilities into the Fey subgroup, since so many of them have alternate forms.

However, in general, I love the ideas here. I had been toying with the idea of making a system of magic item creation that would involve rituals, and this provides a similar benefit without the complications I was imagining.

Just... bravo.

Der_DWSage
2014-05-13, 12:00 AM
Great idea, from the untrained eye it looks like it's fair. What if the adventures are fighting another group of adventurers, surely those adventurers will also have their own tokens. So would the PCs get all their magic items? Would stealing a magic sword from someone count as gaining a token?

I thought I'd clarified that, but I suppose not. The posts have been edited since, but the intent is to keep within the boundaries of WBL. You get both their items and tokens from them, but it's expected that the GM will lower future loot gains to counteract the sudden surge of cash.


You state early on that the reverse effect can be had for certain magic items, such as the unholy quality coming from killing a gold dragon. Then, in the dragon entry, you specifically state that you cannot use a dragon token to provide an effect which is antithetical to its essence, and specifically note using a gold dragon token to provide the unholy quality. Probably want to change the wording somewhere in there.

I would throw shapeshifting abilities into the Fey subgroup, since so many of them have alternate forms.

Noted and changed. Shapeshifting, on the other hand, falls into (SU) stuff, which should be the purview of Spellcasters. (Besides, it'd be a bit awkward to go 'I killed a bunch of Grigs, Pixies, Naiads, and Sprites-now I want a belt that turns me into a bear.')

But thanks for the high praise, both of you! I'm a bit surprised that this has met nothing but love so far.

Amechra
2014-05-13, 05:29 AM
I would say that, for the Summoned Monsters "exploit", it might be better if they demanded a service aligned to their interests, rather than material goods.

Sure, an Angel will give you a pinion... if you open up an orphanage in the area.
Sure, that Succubus will give you a lock of her hair, but she wants someone dead first.
Sure, that Fire Elemental is willing to share some of its flames, but not until you burn down the local market.

TuggyNE
2014-05-13, 08:05 PM
A few relatively minor comments.

First, the example on using the event's characteristics rather than the defeated creature's is odd, since it's almost completely redundant with the opposing embodiment guideline before it.

Second, wish-powered magic item creation went from relatively balanced with XP costs or insane without to nearly useless in either case; casting a high-level spell with a large XP cost in order to face an overpowering EL 26 encounter is rather strongly dubious, especially since you can't reasonably prepare for the encounter ahead of time, since you have little or no idea what you'll face. Creatures of the right sort to defeat are not so thin on the ground that one must heavily invest merely in finding or challenging them. Similarly, explaining something new to Boccob is decidedly non-trivial, and probably much harder a challenge than a +6 enhancement item really warrants, especially since that item is level-appropriate well before epic.

I'm not sure exactly how to fix this, but perhaps it would be more useful to fix the ability of players to get XP-free wishes, which are abusive in themselves. Or just stagger the encounters or otherwise make them easier so it's no longer "pay 5000 xp and 9th-level slot to die horribly".

Third, a better term for item enchantments might be "properties", which as far as I know is actually used in the core rules.

Fourth, very few undead have lifesense (dread wraiths, in core, and no others), and undead are not actually immune or even resistant to symbol of pain, strictly speaking. So those properties seem perhaps unfitting.