[4e] Help Me Make a Ritual

[mrmaxmrmax]

I am going to propose a new ritual for my D&D group because we are playing a module to the letter and about half of the treasure seems to be useless to us. Could you please help me fill in the random numbers?

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Trade Enchantment
Level: 5 Component Cost: Special
Category: Creation Market Price: 99 GP
Time: 1 Hour Key Skill: Arcana (no check)
Duration: Permanent

You transform one magic item of your level or lower into another magic item of the same level. The component cost is equal to 1/5 of the item's price. You may not use this for consumable items.

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I am looking to turn a +2 suit of magic chain into a +2 weapon or something like that. Since the DM seems set on giving us the treasure in the module instead of allowing wish lists, does it see fair to offer this or to offer an edited version of this?

Maxwell.

[NecroRebel]

There's something similar in the Adventurer's Vault (see page 199), but it doesn't quite do what you're looking for as it requires both items to occupy the same slot.

Were I DMing a game, I think that I'd allow something like what you're looking for, but not at the price you want. The rules right now allow you to break an item down to 1/5 the price in residuum, so ultimately your method saves roughly 3/5 the item's price, which is somewhat too powerful for getting exactly what magic items you want. Increase it to 1/2 enchantment price and you'd only be saving 3/10 the money, which is still worth it if an item is completely useless but also discourages simply rebuilding most items that you might come across strongly enough.

[RTGoodman]

I haven't paid much attention to rituals, but can't you already do what you're looking for via the enchant item and disenchant item rituals (or whatever it is they're called)? You drain the residuum from one, and then you can use what you get to enchant another?

[Gralamin]

I haven't paid much attention to rituals, but can't you already do what you're looking for via the enchant item and disenchant item rituals (or whatever it is they're called)? You drain the residuum from one, and then you can use what you get to enchant another?

You'd need 5 level 1 items to construct a single level 1 item that way.

[Mando Knight]

I haven't paid much attention to rituals, but can't you already do what you're looking for via the enchant item and disenchant item rituals (or whatever it is they're called)? You drain the residuum from one, and then you can use what you get to enchant another?

That is one of the suggestions in the DMG, decreasing the cost of the disenchant magic item ritual and/or making it more efficient in the case of a lack of a magic item economy. The 1/5 thing is there presumably to prevent you from burning 5 items for building a single one five levels higher, and to make you think twice about disenchanting that +6 Holy Avenger to get your Warlock a +5 Pact Blade...

[Aron Times]

Disenchanting a magic item gives you enough gold to enchant an item one enhancement bonus lower (five levels lower). For example, disenchanting a flaming longsword +3 (level 15) gives you enough residuum to craft a flaming dagger +2 (level 10) or a lightning longbow +2 (level 10) or whatever.

When you think of it this way, getting 1/5 value isn't really that bad. If you don't have a paladin in your party, you can convert that holy avenger +6 into a staff of storms +5 for the party wizard. It's just a -1 to the enhancement bonus.

[Mando Knight]

For example, disenchanting a flaming longsword +3 (level 15) gives you enough residuum to craft a flaming dagger +2 (level 10)

But if you're doing that, you're better off using the Transfer Enchantment ritual from the Adventurer's Vault, which gives a different item that enchantment for the fraction of the cost to enchant it anew.