Homebrew Artifact: Boots that raise effective caster level by a factor of 10 billion.

[Zhentarim]

I was thinking of what it would take for some caster to create a lake eerie using create water, and saw that it would take a 20th level inquisitor 606 thousand years to create a lake that size if they casted continuously. I thought, “what would it take to make this on my lunch break”. It just so happens 30 minutes is one 10-billionth of 606 thousand years, so I made this pair of boots that, if worn, multiply your effective caster level by 10 billion AND shifts your alignment to Lawful Evil. This artifact is 1 of a kind, and cannot be destroyed. I’ve called them the Overlord Boots.

I was thinking, what kind of havoc could a big bad wreak if he got a hold of this artifact? Is there a way a party could get this artifact back if the villain got a hold of the Overlord Boots? How could these boots be hidden once the party gets them back? What backstory should I give these boots?

[noob]

The villain could probably use that to cast firestorm to destroy entire towns without needing metamagics anymore.
Or the villain could use maw of chaos to deal billions of damage to a target.
that villain could use dimensional door instead of teleport.
Or use magic missile from far away since magic missile never miss as long as the villain knows "there is a valid target over here" it can shoot that magic missile.

[Jack_Simth]

All spells with non-fixed durations are now effectively permanent. DMM (persist) has nothing on those boots. Dispelling and sr are ineffective. Any uncapped spell that deals damage based on caster level (including those affected by Reserves of Strength) be become very binary (evade or die).

[noob]

I think one of the most important part is that any range based on level becomes gigantic.
But I think that with a cl that high you could start selling retributive immunity castings to kingdoms.
"hey there is a way to instantly kill casters which use damage spells with huge area of effect on your kingdom and I can sell it to you"

[ExLibrisMortis]

Erupt (Serpent Kingdoms) deals 10 fire damage per caster level in a 100'/level radius burst. Structures and unattended objects automatically take full damage.

With a range of one trillion feet (300 billion metres, about 2 astronomical units), you could hit both the Sun and Mercury in one casting, assuming you were standing on Earth, and Mercury was on the other side of the Sun, but just peeking out (because a burst needs line of effect). You can hit Mercury through the Earth, though, because... One hundred billion points of fire damage would be enough to ablate about 167 million metres of rock (treating rock as a succession of unworked stone walls, at 900 hp per 5' thickness), more than enough to destroy Mercury and the Earth. It is unclear how many hit points the Sun would have, but it would take a beating. If it would have an average of 72 hit points per metre of thickness (i.e. about 12% of stone), it would be destroyed entirely.

[Zhentarim]

Wow. This is a scary artifact.

I should place a few more downsides to balance it a little and to limit just how bad things can get. For one, I may say that it multiplies effective DIVINE caster level for spells that DO NOT CAUSE HITPOINT DAMAGE and that it causes a -6 untyped penalty to every stat while worn. In addition, any creature wearing the boots are sickened while wearing the boots even if they would normally be immune to this condition. The first time a creature wears the boots, their alignment shifts to lawful evil and they become the opposite sex. The alignment and sex change persist even after removing the boots. That may still be a terrifying superweapon, but maybe the PCs would still stand a chance?

On the other hand, with these additional resrictions, would the boots still be insanely overpowered?

[JMS]

I would just make a item to fill lakes quickly, or anything else you need, and not quantify the caster level, other than hand waving, else. 3.PF gets really crazy with massive caster level

[Afgncaap5]

Seems like a lot of potential for it to go off the rails. Boots that just say "These can create massive lakes or tiny seas at the whim of the wearer after crushing the ground to make it able to hold the water" might be simpler. If it's just for a thought experiment, though, no worries.

As for how the players could get the item back... not sure. A CL that high can lead to a lot of defensive options for the wearer. One limiting factor might actually be the practical "skill" of the boot wearer. If this is just an apprentice who happened upon a crazy-powerful artifact, then he might only have level 1 or 2 spell slots; at that point players would have to face a wizard or cleric or what-have-you that has supreme mastery of magic, but only at the lowest levels. Those Magic Missiles are always going to hit from almost any distance, but at least there's only five of them at a time.

For some backstory... um... how about this?

"These boots bear the crest of Fathmel the Titan, master of wave and wind. Fathmel's domain and power existed wherever the sea did, and his power grew with the tides. Not content with the large portion of the world that already had water, Fathmel donned his war boots... likely ones much larger than these, surely... and would walk from his domain into the other lands of the world. Every step crushed the land, and the sea flowed into the new craters left by the titan, filling it with water and wave unending, and boosting his power even more, power which he allowed to flow between himself and the boots to improve their capacity. The elves chose to stop him from walking through their forests, but the existence of aquatic elves speaks to their sargasso-choked failure. The dwarves stood in his way, but their mountains became mere islands far from any other land, and their power left with the stone. The dragons themselves hated Fathmel, who drowned the world at a whim, but chose to fly to the skies rather than dealing with his casual stroll, and many believe unimaginable riches were left behind and are still under the oceans. Fathmel's walk would be long some days, short on others, but he was never stopped by any terrain. One day, though, he came to the final creature not in his domain, a fisherman.

The fisherman chose not to fight or even resist against Fathmel, which the titan took to speak to his own greatness, though truly the fisherman just cared for his craft. Fathmel brought in more waters, but the man paid them no heed. First, Fathmel walked around the fisherman, and the boat was pulled from the docks that were no longer there. Then, Fathmel jumped, and the waters rose, but the fisherman just cast out his reel. Then Fathmel laughed and splashed.

Then the fisherman's line caught something. He pulled hard and the laughing Fathmel, unaware of the threat, suddenly felt his boot, along with all the power he had placed within it, yanked off of his foot. Suddenly the titan was no longer in waters he ruled, he was in a strange, hostile ocean, an ocean that stretched across the world and hated him. The waves themselves latched onto him and pulled him beneath the surface, though the fisherman, ever buoyant in the boat, barely noted. Instead the fisherman just stared at the boot his line had caught. As the waters around the world began to recede, the fisherman shook his head, tossed the boot back into the sea, and cast his line out again. The world was in a new form now, but his hometown was nearly unchanged after its short time beneath the waves, and the fish were plentiful for many years thereafter.

These boots speak of great power, of power gathered from the entire world and more. The power within would be a boon to any mage, provided that they could contain the forces that surely swell from within. Be they Fathmel's boots or not, your powers would increase ten billion fold, adventurer. Be wary of great power, for it is often brought to heel."

[Zhentarim]

Seems like a lot of potential for it to go off the rails. Boots that just say "These can create massive lakes or tiny seas at the whim of the wearer after crushing the ground to make it able to hold the water" might be simpler. If it's just for a thought experiment, though, no worries.

As for how the players could get the item back... not sure. A CL that high can lead to a lot of defensive options for the wearer. One limiting factor might actually be the practical "skill" of the boot wearer. If this is just an apprentice who happened upon a crazy-powerful artifact, then he might only have level 1 or 2 spell slots; at that point players would have to face a wizard or cleric or what-have-you that has supreme mastery of magic, but only at the lowest levels. Those Magic Missiles are always going to hit from almost any distance, but at least there's only five of them at a time.

For some backstory... um... how about this?

"These boots bear the crest of Fathmel the Titan, master of wave and wind. Fathmel's domain and power existed wherever the sea did, and his power grew with the tides. Not content with the large portion of the world that already had water, Fathmel donned his war boots... likely ones much larger than these, surely... and would walk from his domain into the other lands of the world. Every step crushed the land, and the sea flowed into the new craters left by the titan, filling it with water and wave unending, and boosting his power even more, power which he allowed to flow between himself and the boots to improve their capacity. The elves chose to stop him from walking through their forests, but the existence of aquatic elves speaks to their sargasso-choked failure. The dwarves stood in his way, but their mountains became mere islands far from any other land, and their power left with the stone. The dragons themselves hated Fathmel, who drowned the world at a whim, but chose to fly to the skies rather than dealing with his casual stroll, and many believe unimaginable riches were left behind and are still under the oceans. Fathmel's walk would be long some days, short on others, but he was never stopped by any terrain. One day, though, he came to the final creature not in his domain, a fisherman.

The fisherman chose not to fight or even resist against Fathmel, which the titan took to speak to his own greatness, though truly the fisherman just cared for his craft. Fathmel brought in more waters, but the man paid them no heed. First, Fathmel walked around the fisherman, and the boat was pulled from the docks that were no longer there. Then, Fathmel jumped, and the waters rose, but the fisherman just cast out his reel. Then Fathmel laughed and splashed.

Then the fisherman's line caught something. He pulled hard and the laughing Fathmel, unaware of the threat, suddenly felt his boot, along with all the power he had placed within it, yanked off of his foot. Suddenly the titan was no longer in waters he ruled, he was in a strange, hostile ocean, an ocean that stretched across the world and hated him. The waves themselves latched onto him and pulled him beneath the surface, though the fisherman, ever buoyant in the boat, barely noted. Instead the fisherman just stared at the boot his line had caught. As the waters around the world began to recede, the fisherman shook his head, tossed the boot back into the sea, and cast his line out again. The world was in a new form now, but his hometown was nearly unchanged after its short time beneath the waves, and the fish were plentiful for many years thereafter.

These boots speak of great power, of power gathered from the entire world and more. The power within would be a boon to any mage, provided that they could contain the forces that surely swell from within. Be they Fathmel's boots or not, your powers would increase ten billion fold, adventurer. Be wary of great power, for it is often brought to heel."

I love this backstory. If I could reward you, I would.

[Afgncaap5]

Reward me by putting a sword into your games that has a good enhancement bonus, but requires the user to tell a lie whenever it's drawn, and then the sword's wielder believes that the lie is true going forward. Surely that's the very thing I told the sword, yes? Or was it the opposite? No, that seems true too, that must be the one I told the sword. No, wait... no, it was a third thing.

[Zhentarim]

Reward me by putting a sword into your games that has a good enhancement bonus, but requires the user to tell a lie whenever it's drawn, and then the sword's wielder believes that the lie is true going forward. Surely that's the very thing I told the sword, yes? Or was it the opposite? No, that seems true too, that must be the one I told the sword. No, wait... no, it was a third thing.

Comedy Gold!

[Afgncaap5]

Comedy Gold!

Indeed! Though tragically, many a village idiot has come to be from mighty warriors who felt that the sword of the truthful liar's curse wouldn't be *that* bad for them in the long term.

(The Confusion spell is a nice fall back for players who aren't sure how to represent their gradual loss of reality, though I *do* recommend letting the sword's curse be undone with some holy water and a Break Enchantment spell cast by a fifteenth level wizard during a new moon (the night of least lunacy). Providing, of course, that the players actually do rid themselves of the thing before they're too far gone.)

[noob]

Indeed! Though tragically, many a village idiot has come to be from mighty warriors who felt that the sword of the truthful liar's curse wouldn't be *that* bad for them in the long term.

(The Confusion spell is a nice fall back for players who aren't sure how to represent their gradual loss of reality, though I *do* recommend letting the sword's curse be undone with some holy water and a Break Enchantment spell cast by a fifteenth level wizard during a new moon (the night of least lunacy). Providing, of course, that the players actually do rid themselves of the thing before they're too far gone.)
So if I tell a villain that the activation word for the sword is "I am a hero of good and I will help people pacifically" what would happen?

[Jack_Simth]

So if I tell a villain that the activation word for the sword is "I am a hero of good and I will help people pacifically" what would happen?

The villian ends up fully convinced that sacrificing the children to summon an elder evil really is the right thing to do.

[Zhentarim]

The villian ends up fully convinced that sacrificing the children to summon an elder evil really is the right thing to do.

Such a fun idea.

[noob]

The villian ends up fully convinced that sacrificing the children to summon an elder evil really is the right thing to do.

So he would be also convinced that sacrificing kids is pacific?
I guess this sword turns people mad rather fast.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Another pair of stipulations should be that you can't tell the same lie more than once, nor can you use one lie to undo another, else the wielder could just tell himself two insignificant yet opposing lies.

"I don't believe in fairies." "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do." Of course, if every time someone says the former a fairy dies, well...

And nothing of value was lost.

[Jack_Simth]

So he would be also convinced that sacrificing kids is pacific?
I guess this sword turns people mad rather fast.

He "helps" people on the coast that way.

[Afgncaap5]

Another pair of stipulations should be that you can't tell the same lie more than once, nor can you use one lie to undo another, else the wielder could just tell himself two insignificant yet opposing lies.

"I don't believe in fairies." "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do." Of course, if every time someone says the former a fairy dies, well...

And nothing of value was lost.

Oh, certainly. I think a fairer wording would be "tell something that you believe to be a lie."

For once the truth of the lie is lost to you and you think it true, how can the lie be told again?

As such, the evil person told the activation phrase would find the activation phrase wouldn't work a second time. Funny thing that. Wait, did I tell the sword I was a hero of good or the opposite? Better try both again... wait neither worked? Hang on...

[noob]

Oh, certainly. I think a fairer wording would be "tell something that you believe to be a lie."

For once the truth of the lie is lost to you and you think it true, how can the lie be told again?

As such, the evil person told the activation phrase would find the activation phrase wouldn't work a second time. Funny thing that. Wait, did I tell the sword I was a hero of good or the opposite? Better try both again... wait neither worked? Hang on...

the whole thing is that getting the villain to tell that lie even a single time is rather fun.

[Jack_Simth]

Oh, certainly. I think a fairer wording would be "tell something that you believe to be a lie."

What color is the door of your father's house? If it is yellow, then I can bounce back and forth between the lies that it's red and that it is green.

[Zhentarim]

What color is the door of your father's house? If it is yellow, then I can bounce back and forth between the lies that it's red and that it is green.

Yep. That’s the exploit.

[Cruiser1]

I was thinking of what it would take for some caster to create a lake eerie using create water, and saw that it would take a 20th level inquisitor 606 thousand years to create a lake that size if they casted continuously. I thought, “what would it take to make this on my lunch break”.Casting a cantrip like Create Water (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/createWater.htm) is a poor way to create large lake. Much easier is to open a Gate or create a portal to the elemental plane of water or the bottom of the ocean. The pressure difference would create a massive flood through the portal into your location from the source of the water, and would fill the lake quickly.

Unless you actually want to deal with a homebrew artifact that raises caster level by billions, a simpler artifact would be one that opens a Gate between locations you specify. Give it a downside like ability burn (that requires natural healing to remove) or sacrifice of loot for each use. That prevents it from being used too often, so you can quickly create your lake, but can't say flood the entire planet with water.

[Grim Reader]

Erupt (Serpent Kingdoms) deals 10 fire damage per caster level in a 100'/level radius burst. Structures and unattended objects automatically take full damage.

It is unclear how many hit points the Sun would have, but it would take a beating. If it would have an average of 72 hit points per metre of thickness (i.e. about 12% of stone), it would be destroyed entirely.

Shouldn't suns have fire immunity?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Shouldn't suns have fire immunity?Shouldn't oozes have acid immunity?

[ExLibrisMortis]

Shouldn't suns have fire immunity?
Well, that's up to your DM, and it's technically not in the rules... :smalltongue:.

Jokes aside, yes, stars should be immune to fire, and I was thinking of Energy Substitution. As in: if the Sun can be harmed by 100 billion points of damage, you can use Energy Substitution to destroy the Sun, or not use Energy Substitution and only destroy the planets.

If anyone handy with planetary mechanics calculates the next interval during which one casting can hit Mercury, Venus, and Mars all at once, they win one internet and one cookie.

[ben-zayb]

The scale would be seriously messed up. As a thought experiment, I built an NPC that only had CL137, but even that already gave:

Legend Lore or Hindsight to get more information about a certain place, person, or thing, of the past months/years/decades/century/millenia
Resurrection on corpses of legendary warriors who lived within the last millenia
Animate Dead repeatedly to control 548HD of skeleton/zombie minions
Body Outside Body to create 27 clones
13-minute, quarter-mile long, eighth-mile high Wind Wall
22-hr, half-mile radius, Tornado-strength Control Winds

That's just a low hundreds, so having a billion CL would further break the scale of most spells.