Enchanting Question: Always On

[vierasmarius]

Something you could do to keep costs down would be to enchant it with only Power 2. This is sufficient to cover the maintenance for Air Vision and Hold Breath, but the wearer would just need to spend some fatigue to activate it when he first puts it on. It could be marketed as an "economy" version of the more Power-ful mask.

[jacobmuller]

How much do enchanted items sell for in your world?
Would the character get in trouble with any "guilds" for underselling?
If the going rate is $25 per point of power, a 1-5 thousand point mask is going to be a rich man's toy. And it can take up to 14 mage-years to make just one. Or 2 months work for a team of 100 enchanters (gives them about $600 per month income). Dang but don't that make magic items depressingly drudge labor:(

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Something you could do to keep costs down would be to enchant it with only Power 2. This is sufficient to cover the maintenance for Air Vision and Hold Breath, but the wearer would just need to spend some fatigue to activate it when he first puts it on. It could be marketed as an "economy" version of the more Power-ful mask.

Such cost-cutting measures are often a good idea when enchanting or commissioning an item for your own use.

[Snaps]

While the breathing item might be expensive, the Air Vision can be done for almost nothing.

In fact, you don't even need an item. If you enchant a staff with 1 point of the Power Enchantment and the Air Vision spell (for a total energy cost of 700) you can then cast Air Vision on someone that would allow them to see clearly for 1 Mile and lasts until dispelled.

Probably better than enchanting a single magic item to sell. Just sell putting the spell on people permanently!

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Snaps

In fact, you don't even need an item. If you enchant a staff with 1 point of the Power Enchantment and the Air Vision spell (for a total energy cost of 700) you can then cast Air Vision on someone that would allow them to see clearly for 1 Mile and lasts until dispelled.

I assume that always on doesn't apply to enchantments that affect someone other than the user of the item, as it doesn't make a lot of sense that way.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Snaps

While the breathing item might be expensive, the Air Vision can be done for almost nothing.

In fact, you don't even need an item. If you enchant a staff with 1 point of the Power Enchantment and the Air Vision spell (for a total energy cost of 700) you can then cast Air Vision on someone that would allow them to see clearly for 1 Mile and lasts until dispelled.

Probably better than enchanting a single magic item to sell. Just sell putting the spell on people permanently!

except it keeps stacking the 'spell on' at least on the staff if not on the item.

[Snaps]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I assume that always on doesn't apply to enchantments that affect someone other than the user of the item, as it doesn't make a lot of sense that way.

Pretty sure it does.

You have to have Power equal to the cost of the spell, not its maintain cost. (Otherwise it ends when you sleep, etc).

There is a staff in Magic Items 1 I once got in a game that let me Missile Shield and cast Invisibility on an entire army. (One by one).

I once played in a game where some evil necromancer was having people sacrificed in order to keep putting Power enchantments on him. (Which I think they had rules for in the 3e Religion book). He got pretty powerful before we could kill him, able to cast 100 point spells at will.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Snaps

Pretty sure it does.

Always on implies something that is always on, not something that you turn on, though it's unclearly enough stated that a GM could rule in several ways. I generally rule in the way that creates the least broken game.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I assume that always on doesn't apply to enchantments that affect someone other than the user of the item, as it doesn't make a lot of sense that way.

I always figured that just was the way it should be. That seems to be supported by the text in Magic p19, where it says "These items don't let the wearer cast the spell - they automatically cast the spell on the wearer..."

[Bruno]

I think there are two different "always on" concepts at cross purposes in this conversation.

The type discussed on p19 of Magic are a spell enchantment that does not require a skill roll or energy expenditure or a substitute source of energy (Power enchantment, powerstone, power item, whatever).

The other type is an item with all of its energy needs supplied by a Power enchantment, but otherwise works as a normal spell, but there are various footnotes around about it being able to act as always on in this circumstance.

Obnoxiously inconsistent and at cross purposes. Are we surprised? I'm not :D

I see no reason for the second type to not be applicable to someone else without the other person wearing the item, in the rules. But since there's a -1 per spell on I'd want to track that and keep an eye on how it relates to item Power for when the item cuts-out and stops working.