1000 Paper Cranes

[FirebirdFlying]

He was the one in the village whom everyone liked - the one who managed to be friends with the tavern owner and the uptight priest at the same time. It was, of course, he who came down with the seemingly incurable disease, and he who each citizen gave a few coppers for to pay for the cleric's spell. It didn't work.

It was the tavern owner who had heard the story from a bard, once - that a thousand paper cranes would grant one wish to the folder. It was the barmaid who had learned how to fold them. It was the merchant who acquired the paper at a lower cost, and it was every person folding a crane, putting a little bit of themselves in it. It was the priest who gathered each crane around the dying man's bedside and prayed; it was the man who made the wish.

He died as the cranes dissolved into dust around him - and yet, at that moment, Joel's old mare lost her limp, and the wheat grew fatter and taller than ever before; Mimi's sickly grandmother could walk to the church without breaking out in coughs, and the well in the center of the town that had always had a bitter taste grew sweet.

Well, it's silly, sentimental, cliché, and likely has terrible balance issues. I apologize if this skirts too close to RL religion, as I'm a bit fuzzy on the specifics of those rules. Also if this is the wrong place to post this.

Anyway, I bring you…

A Thousand Paper Cranes

One thousand paper cranes may be used to cast miracle as a 17th level cleric, with the miracle provided by the wisher's deity. If the wisher is non-religious, the miracle will be granted by the nearest or most appropriate good or neutral aligned deity. Neither the wisher nor the folders are required to have any spellcasting ability.

Each crane is a minor wondrous item requiring 1 sp worth of paper (1/4 sheet), 10 xp, and a DC 10 Craft (sculpture) check to create. They are no more durable than any other paper, and can easily be destroyed unless protected with further magic. Every set of one thousand must be made with the same (and a specific) recipient in mind for the miracle property to function, but if one thousand cranes, related or not, are strung together, they provide a +1 luck bonus to all skill checks made within a 50' radius.

As it would be ridiculous to carry around 1000 cranes for that bonus without any encumbrance penalty, I almost want to include a weight. But when has being ridiculous stopped D&D?

[Dragon Elite]

Exposure to pure awesomeness! OWW!
Awesome I like it. There should be more of these, and Craft(Origami)
Idea! You could make these impossible to make, and put them in a maze! Or ten!

[Strawman]

If there were only one set of cranes that could actually use the miracle, it could make for a great campaign of collecting all 1000 cranes.

[The Neoclassic]

I'd suggest Craft (Origami) instead, if your setting uses it. Nifty idea!

[PId6]

Heh, a group of friends and I just randomly decided to make these once. Over a year or two, we managed to get around 700-800 cranes. Ah, memories.

Anyway, balance-wise this shouldn't be bad. You'll have to spend 10,000 XP to do it. Maybe change that to 5 XP per crane so it adds to Miracle's normal 5,000 XP? Also, you should specify how long it takes to make a crane. Maybe 10 minutes or an hour for simplicity per crane. By Crafting rules, it'd take at least a day to make a crane, which doesn't make sense.

[The Tygre]

*sniff**sniff* That's the first mechanic to make me cry happy tears.

[HamsterOfTheGod]

A Thousand Paper Cranes...

Very nice work!

[Debihuman]

Very nice.

FYI: A standard ream of paper like copy paper (500 sheets) weighs about 5 lbs. So 1000 sheets of paper weighs 10 lbs. Since the cranes are made from a quarter sheet, the total weight of the cranes is 2½ lbs.

Debby

[DracoDei]

I would keep the XP cost the same. The fact that multiple people can chip in, and that all of them can be 1st level Commoners (those without a wisdom penalty can take 10) as opposed to a single 17th level cleric balances out the increased total XP cost, the comparatively minor GP cost, and the VASTLY increased "casting time".

Very nice.

FYI: A standard ream of paper like copy paper (500 sheets) weighs about 5 lbs. So 1000 sheets of paper weighs 10 lbs. Since the cranes are made from a quarter sheet, the total weight of the cranes is 2½ lbs.

Debby

Except I believe medieval era paper was generally MUCH thicker and heavier, except for rice-paper. Also tended to be larger sheets. In and case the greater problem would probably be the bulk and delicacy, not the weight.

[mikej]

This is very nice. I remember there was story about a sick girl that tried to make a 1000 origami cranes.

[AstralFire]

This is very nice. I remember there was story about a sick girl that tried to make a 1000 origami cranes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_...d_Paper_Cranes

[mikej]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_...d_Paper_Cranes

thank you. good old wikipedia, how you made my life easier.