How to increase spell DC with items?

[Max Caysey]

Happy New Years everybody!

... as on the tin, how do I increase the spell DC with items? Since it’s very possible to increase saves with both resistance, insight, luck, competence, sacred, profane, etc.. bonuses, I assume something similar is possible the other way i.e. save dc on spells. However, I have been unable to find any items or item enchantments that does so... so how do I gun up the save DC of spells with items?

Cheers!

[sleepyphoenixx]

There simply aren't that many and most of them only affect certain schools and descriptors.
There's the Veil of Allure (MIC) for enchantment spells (and any ability based on Cha, not including sorcerer or bard casting),
a whole variety of special holy symbols in CC for the various schools (usable by any caster, not just divine) and iirc a ring in Expedition to Castle Ravenloft that has limited uses per day.

If you include online content there's the Icemail Armor from the Far Corners of the World articles that boosts cold spell DCs by 2 and Dragon Magazine has the Cape of the White Witch which does the same, which is useful if you pick up Snowcasting (and combos well with Draconic Aura: Energy on a dragontouched familiar).

I'm sure there's a few more scattered around that i'm forgetting but as i said they're rare and general DC boosts to all spells are pretty much nonexistent on items.

[Biggus]

Since it’s very possible to increase saves with both resistance, insight, luck, competence, sacred, profane, etc.. bonuses, I assume something similar is possible the other way i.e. save dc on spells.

While there are spells which give save bonuses of most of those types, there are few if any items which do, although there are item creation guidelines for them.

If custom items are in play, you can get items which grant feats (Spell Focus and Greater, obviously, but I think there are a few others) for 10,000GP plus 5.000GP per prerequisite IIRC.

Also, custom items to give several different bonus types to your casting stat may be possible.

It's generally easier to increase saving throws than save DCs though, especially at higher levels.

[Mike Miller]

Don't forget the casting-stat increasing items...

[Thurbane]

From the MIC:


Greater Crystal of Arcane Steel: +1 DC to all spells delivered through the weapon
Veil of Allure: +2 DC to Enchantment spells (already mentioned)
Vest of the Master Evoker: +2 DC to Evocation spells 3/day


If you want to go into custom item territory, A&EG suggests pricing for items that grant feats, so you could have items of Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus etc.

[Max Caysey]

Thanks for your replies...

So it wasn’t just me, that couldn’t find any. I do really want to go into custom items... and we’ll I kind of feel it should be doable to add like +x competence bonus or something to the spell dc... Priced like saves... bonus x bonus x 2500. I mean you can add +25 to saves for about 200k (resistance, luck, insight, competence, sacred) so why shouldn’t something similar be possible for spell DC?

[Biggus]

Thanks for your replies...

So it wasn’t just me, that couldn’t find any. I do really want to go into custom items... and we’ll I kind of feel it should be doable to add like +x competence bonus or something to the spell dc... Priced like saves... bonus x bonus x 2500. I mean you can add +25 to saves for about 200k (resistance, luck, insight, competence, sacred) so why shouldn’t something similar be possible for spell DC?

I think it's intentionally more difficult to increase save DCs than saves at high levels. At high nonepic levels, you can cast two save or die/suck spells per round with Quicken Spell, and at epic levels a potentially unlimited number per round with Multispell, and a creature only has to fail a single save to be defeated. This means that anything not immune to the death/suck effect would be lucky to survive even a single round if save DCs kept pace with saves, whereas if you have to spam spells at them and hope they roll low, they at least have a fighting chance.

So if an item which increases save DCs directly rather than granting feats or increasing the casting stat were allowed (which there's no precedent for as far as I know, and I wouldn't allow personally, but YMMV) it should probably cost quite a lot more than an item which increases saves by the same amount, to prevent casters from utterly dominating at high levels even more than they do already.

[Ruethgar]

Enhance Item can increase the DC for your wands and can be taken multiple times but not sure if it stacks or not. Extraordinary/Exceptional/Legendary/Magical Artisan with Enhance Item applied to each would get pretty potent. And Item creation feats are ones you can get for “free-ish” from a magic location(count against WBL but don’t actually cost anything).

Not exactly what you’re looking for but it is spells with higher DCs.