Limiting Enchantments and Enchatments
 

Ok, I have somehow gotten myself confused.

Im making an item for the Big Bad Evil Guy. And I start looking at the section for limiting enchantments.

Namely im making some sort of Minion Ring. LOTR style wraith ring or something. I dont know for sure, i was mostly looking for inspiration.

Now most of them i understand. for example HEX. I see why that is an energy intensive thing to cast. same with something like wraith or 'Insert nasty Curse here'. But i dont understand password. or named limitation.

Reading from the book, "Since these spells merely limit the way other spells work, they never add an energy cost for the user."

My question, If they dont add a cost to the user, why do they have a cost to cast? Especially a cost that is UP there.

I think possibly maybe that clause was the cost the user of the magic item pays to use said item. but honestly i don't know.

I would feel something that limits the usefulness of something should reduce the cost of something. Much the way "Bane" reduces the energy cost of Enchantment.

But honestly im very confused.

Anybody know whats going on?

Re: Limiting Enchantments and Enchatments
 

Password, Limit, and Name are basically anti-theft enchantments.
In limiting who can use them they may lower resale value but they protect the one the item is built for by making them less useful to others.

Re: Limiting Enchantments and Enchatments
 

Many magic items allow a user to cast a spell upon payment of the energy for that spell. The user need not be the caster who enchanted the item and could even be an enemy. Keeping enemies from stealing a possession and turning it against oneself is an increase in usefulness, and the enchanter has to pay for that.

Re: Limiting Enchantments and Enchatments
 

The cost to cast is the cost to enchant an item with those spells. For some reason the various enchantments in the Enchantment Spells chapter shift between listing their cost as "Cost", "Energy Cost", and "Energy Cost to Cast", it happens for spells within the same subsection with similar functionality and rules. Unless the description of the spell in question states otherwise, the Enchantment spells all follow the same rules of casting (ie. the Enchantment rules).

It is most likely a result of spells being pulled from multiple sources and an editor doing a rush job to get the book out of the door asap.

Re: Limiting Enchantments and Enchatments
 

Don't use "Cost to Cast" as a technical term with Enchantments. The Enchantment Spell itselof is only "cast" once. When the Item is Enchanted.

However, many Items give the user the ability to "cast" the Spell that's been Enchanted into the Item as if they knew it.

Call them "Cost to Enchant" and "Cost to Use" and things become clearer. Limiting Enchantments add to Cost to Enchant but not Cost to Use.

If you wonder "Why?" these Enchantments go back to the Dawn Age of Magic 30 years ago and ahve not been altered since. They mostly exist so NPCs can make Items difficult or impossible to use by PCs.