How do you handle Fluff Magic

[Stryyke]

So a character attains Level 20. They are a renowned sorcerer, complete with their own magic tower, dozens of magic items, and probably a few servants. Their power is probably unparalleled in whatever world they reside on. But they can only use mage hand, mending, open/close, and read magic 8 times a day . . . combined?

What are some solutions to allowing powerful sorcerers and wizards use utility spells for fluff actions?

[ColorBlindNinja]

Wands are nice for that sort of thing.

[Kelb_Panthera]

ColorBlindNinja has the right of it. Some of those dozens of items should be quality of life stuff. The 900gp for an at-will prestidigitation device is pocket change at 20. A ring of wizardry is also quite nice.

[johnbragg]

Options.

Wands.
Christmas-tree-effect permanent items.
Apprentices.

If it's a Sorcerer, then they have the option of burning a higher-level spell slot if they're out of cantrips.

Unlimited cantrips (houserule).

[liquidformat]

ya stuff like hand of the mage, artificer's monocle and so forth are quite cheap around 900gp and give you at will 0 level spells. Heck quite a few such items could easily be incorporated into objects the mage tower...

[Stryyke]

Ooooo Binding utility spells to the Mage Tower itself! That's a really cool idea! Incorporate a mage hand into the construction of the Tower, and anyone within can use Mage hand at will.

[Rynjin]

Isn't this what Magnificent Mansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magesMagnificentMansion.htm) is for?

[ColorBlindNinja]

Isn't this what Magnificent Mansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magesMagnificentMansion.htm) is for?

You get a house to live in, unseen servants and food.

Not a whole lot of utility spells beyond Unseen Servant, though.

[Stryyke]

Isn't this what Magnificent Mansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magesMagnificentMansion.htm) is for?

Except a permanent physical structure, of course. But that would be a great spell to solve another problem I'm having with my tower . . . fresh air.

[ezekielraiden]

In games where this sort of thing isn't at-will already? I'd either work with the player to create an item that achieves their desired effects, or a boon/quest reward that does so. Incidental fluff magic is fun, so as long as there's no exploitative intent behind it, I'm for it.

[Stryyke]

Great ideas guys and gals! Thanks!

[zlefin]

first note: they could use those spells a lot more times than that combined. at the least, you're allowed to prepare lower level spells in higher level slots.

i'd probably just go with pathfinder;s rule of allowing unlimited cantrips (more or less at least)

[Ruethgar]

Of course a Wizard can do neigh infinite cantrips with Sanctum Spell and Mnemonic Enhancer. You could also grant a custom prestige race to cover a slew of minor magics. If they are a dragon they can make deals with apprentices for more spell slots. The Cantrips feat from Spheres of Power works but if you’re doing that may as well just copy PFs infinite cantrips. There are some templates and PrCs as I recall that grant detect/read magic at will IIRC.

[liquidformat]

Except a permanent physical structure, of course. But that would be a great spell to solve another problem I'm having with my tower . . . fresh air.

bottle of air or something similar. Also take a look at stronghold builder it has a lot of interesting stuff like trash cans that eat anything thrown into them and just general goofy useful stuff.

[rel]

Limited cantrips are designed with the assumption that permanency and more powerful spells will eventually replace them.
detect magic / read magic can be permanencied.
light / dancing lights can be replaced by spells like continual flame.
mage hand and open close can be replaced by unseen servant.
attack cantrips are worthless even at level 1.

A high level sorcerer should have all these tricks and more. Their daily cantrips are used to cast prestidigitation a bunch of times, arcane mark once or twice and maybe ghost sound or dancing lights to look cool.

If you are expending a cantrip to cast light or detect magic at level 20 you are doing it wrong.

[Doctor Awkward]

1. You think of the effect you want to create.
2. You tell the DM you are researching a spell to create that effect. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#addingSpellstoaWizardsSpellbook)


Independent Research
A wizard also can research a spell independently, duplicating an existing spell or creating an entirely new one.

[Feantar]

For a 20th level wizard (and for lower levels too) I'd allow a custom command word unlimited pearl of power for cantrips. Pricing wise, I'd follow this logic:

Mage's Lucubration allows recalling a spell 1 level lower than itself. So a level 1 custom least version of it would allow one to recall a 0th level spell. A command word item of such, would cost 1800 gp.

Fiddling with the formula for bonus spells, a 0th level pearl of power would cost 250 gp. If we assume that's the base price for the spell effect in a scroll (since it only gives you a spell that you already can cast) it means the Spell Level * Caster Level is 10. So an eternal pearl of power 0 would cost 18000.

You can pick the second if you want infinite cantrips to be difficult to access(11th level), you can pick the first if you want them to be easily accessible (by 3rd level), or you can take the mean, 9900 (9th level) which doesn't do much of a difference.

Then, of course, there's slot less items of command word cantrips, which are somewhat overpriced at 1800.

Pick one. Infinite Cantrips definitely don't break the game. Infinite orisons might - create water and cure minor wounds come to mind.

[ericgrau]

You can use higher level spell slots to cast lower level spells when needed. The flexibility is handy.

My sorc characters also tend to carry a bajillion different utility scrolls for random purposes. At higher level I get wands and eventually staffs too, so at level 20 I'd have a bunch of those. Likewise lots of cheap wondrous items for low level utility effects like hand of the mage as others have said. Rod-extending lower level hour/levels is pretty standard tactics, and included in that is unseen servant. You can do a lot with 24 hour unseen servants holding various mundane objects. They can also handle basic mending, cleaning, door opening, etc. If one isn't strong enough to do a task, maybe 4 can.

Between using higher level spell slots in place of lower, cheap permanent utility items and expendable utility items, you shouldn't ever run out of spells even on a flashy day. You have money to blow on a few purely fluff items. But even if you never spend a copper piece on them, you're still unlikely to ever run out of style points. Simply re-purposie the more practical utility you already have like unseen servant. Or marvelous pigments (SRD/DMG) is one of my favorite items for both. Etc.

[Darth Ultron]

Magic Items.

The Hand of the Mage is a super cheap magic item that allows the use of mage hand at will.

It costs only 900 gp. And using that as a base, a character can have a couple items that do all cantrips at will. Maybe even combine a couple into one item.

Rings and wands are good choices, and don't forget a staff. A cantrip staff would be cheep.

[Crake]

For a 20th level wizard (and for lower levels too) I'd allow a custom command word unlimited pearl of power for cantrips. Pricing wise, I'd follow this logic:

Mage's Lucubration allows recalling a spell 1 level lower than itself. So a level 1 custom least version of it would allow one to recall a 0th level spell. A command word item of such, would cost 1800 gp.

Fiddling with the formula for bonus spells, a 0th level pearl of power would cost 250 gp. If we assume that's the base price for the spell effect in a scroll (since it only gives you a spell that you already can cast) it means the Spell Level * Caster Level is 10. So an eternal pearl of power 0 would cost 18000.

You can pick the second if you want infinite cantrips to be difficult to access(11th level), you can pick the first if you want them to be easily accessible (by 3rd level), or you can take the mean, 9900 (9th level) which doesn't do much of a difference.

Then, of course, there's slot less items of command word cantrips, which are somewhat overpriced at 1800.

Pick one. Infinite Cantrips definitely don't break the game. Infinite orisons might - create water and cure minor wounds come to mind.

There's actually an easier method to find the value of an at will item. It's literally just 5* the value of a 1/day item. So an at-will cantrip pearl of power is 5* (spell level squared (0.25) * 1000) (250g) so 1250gp for an at will cantrip pearl of power, or 405,000gp for an at-will 9th level pearl of power :smalltongue:

[Buufreak]

PF rules for cantrips/orisons. Quick, easy, dirty solution.

[Remuko]

or 405,000gp for an at-will 9th level pearl of power :smalltongue:

405,000gp for infinite 9th level spells? what a steal.

[Troacctid]

"Arcane Lore Abilities," Dragon Magazine #359. It's an article that has a bunch of feats for exactly this purpose.


Countenance of the Mage: Lets you alter your appearance at will by removing dust, dirt, sweat, and grime; drying yourself; styling or coloring your hair; shaving, trimming, or coloring your facial/body hair; or swapping your clothing or accessories with similar items stored in a specially prepared crate. You can also gain one "cosmetic affectation, such as curiously shaped or colored eyes, hair that waves in an otherwise unfelt breeze, a strangely-shaped shadow, and so forth," which is permanent and cannot be changed. Requires Int 13, Cha 11, and arcane CL 9.
Ears of the Mage: Choose a specific proper name. You automatically hear when anyone speaks that name within a 10 mile/level radius and learn the speaker's direction and distance from you. Requires Int 13 and arcane CL 14.
Eyes of the Mage: You gain darkvision and low-light vision and +1 to Search checks and ranged attack rolls. Requires Int 13 and arcane CL 12.
Footsteps of the Mage: You can glide along the ground without moving your feet. Requires Int 13 and arcane CL 12.
Hands of the Mage: You can choose a specific object and gain the ability to telekinetically manipulate that object at will and summon it to your hand from any distance once per week. Requires Int 13 and arcane CL 14.
Name of the Mage: Anyone other than you who speaks your name becomes shaken (if they have the same HD as you or higher) or frightened (if they have fewer HD than you), no save. Any creature hearing your name spoken must make a Will save, becoming frightened on a failure or shaken on a success. This applies to the entire universe; you don't need to be anywhere near the speaker or even on the same plane of existence. Requires arcane CL 20.
Presence of the Mage: Your very presence causes allies to hearten (+1 morale bonus to saving throws and attack rolls) and enemies to quail (-1 penalty to saving throws and attack rolls) while within 25 feet of you. Requires Int 11, Cha 17, and arcane CL 18.
Voice of the Mage: You can alter and modulate your voice in strange ways. You can also cause all creatures within 1 mile of you to hear your voice when you speak in a normal tone or even a whisper, or you can direct the sound to a single creature within that range. Requires Int 13 and arcane CL 16.