[Shadekeep]

One thing in the rules I didn't notice until recently was that Gates can fail every so often (statistically, once every 216 uses). Unless quickly restored with a Create/Control Gate spell, it will collapse. If this gate connects two remote parts of the world, it can be a real pain to rebuild it. So how do you game cities that rely on Gates?

It seems like a logical course is that there is a wizard on call who is available any time the Gate is used in case it needs to be restabilised. This presumes that the city controls the access and scheduling of Gate usage, so that the wizard is guaranteed to be available. And this would likely be a high-paying job, since the wizard needs to be pretty skilled and the work schedule would interrupt usual wizardly tasks like adventuring or item creation.

One alternate approach I thought of is a magic item called, unsurprisingly, a "Gate Stabiliser". This is a ST 50 Powerstone with an additional enchantment that functions like an automatic casting of Control Gate with no changes to the Gate rules. It is embedded into the framework that demarcates the Gate (archway, door jamb, etc), and is synchronised with the Gate so that any changes to its rules are picked up by the stabiliser. Lastly, it is self-powered, so that it doesn't need external maintenance.

Obviously a Gate Stabiliser would be a very expensive item to create, and only be practical for cities who rely on their Gate connections to maintain their livelyhood. And it may not be a legitimate item, since there isn't a current item enchantment listed for the Gate spell. But I figured I'd put it out there.