RAI on Unguent of Timelessness

[Afgncaap5]

So, I've seen a few discussions on the Unguent of Timelessness, and it seems weird to me. The stuff seems to vacillate wildly between "almost useless" with one reading, and "most underpriced buff-applier in the game" with just a minor variation on reading.

I've seen a lot of player discussion on it, and the general agreement seems to be that by RAW it's the "most underpriced" variant. Having said that, though, do we know if there's ever been any developer commentary on it, or cite-able examples from other editions of the game for comparison that might suggest an intended use for it?

Because conceptually, I love the stuff... but by the same token, I wouldn't want to shell out 150 gp for stuff to make it easy to revive my friends if the die and/or stuff to make my truffle stay fresh while buried under an archway north of the river Phee.

[Darrin]

Hmm. Well, "almost useless" probably applies to most of the alchemical items, which are mostly not that useful to begin with.

As far as underpriced buffs go... I'm guessing you'd be using it with greater magic weapon or greater mighty wallop on a weapon, or magic vestments on a robe. Add DMM Persist to that, and you essentially buff up your party once per year, and then you have 364 days a year to devote those spell slots to even more ludicrous spellwankery.

Adding the unguent to a Candle of Invocation will kick up your effective caster level by +2 for 60 days, but on the gripping hand, that's one of the *least* problematic uses for a Candle of Invocation.

[Crake]

Hmm. Well, "almost useless" probably applies to most of the alchemical items, which are mostly not that useful to begin with.

As far as underpriced buffs go... I'm guessing you'd be using it with greater magic weapon or greater mighty wallop on a weapon, or magic vestments on a robe. Add DMM Persist to that, and you essentially buff up your party once per year, and then you have 364 days a year to devote those spell slots to even more ludicrous spellwankery.

Adding the unguent to a Candle of Invocation will kick up your effective caster level by +2 for 60 days, but on the gripping hand, that's one of the *least* problematic uses for a Candle of Invocation.

I can't see anywhere where the unguent says that it extends the effects of magic on the item. The object resists the passage of time, not any magic applied to it, that would be like saying gentle repose also extends the duration of any magic cast on a corpse, when it clearly doesn't.

The burning candle is a bit iffy, but I would argue that the flame on a candle is different from "the passage of time" unless you could also somehow coat the emphemeral flame in the unguent (which you can't).

The joke at my table is to use the unguent on undead to give them +1 to saves for a cheap 150gp