The economic system is so broken I don't even know where to begin. To provide a few examples:
Cloth Armor (i.e., "clothing" to most folks) provides a +0 armor bonus to AC and has a purchase price of 1 gp.
+6 Magical Cloth Armor provides a +6 armor bonus to AC and has a purchase price of 1,125,000 gp.
Plate Armor provides a +8 armor bonus to AC and has a purchase price of 50 gp.
+6 Magical Godplate Armor provides a +20 armor bonus to AC and has a purchase price of... yes, 1,125,000 gp.
The cost to enchant either item? 1,125,000 gp. The time required to enchant either item? 1 hour.
One. Hour.
Purchase price of a +1 Magical Longsword is 360 gp. Purchase price of a Silvered Longsword is 500 gp. Purchase price of a +1 Magical Silvered Longsword... 360 gp ("any" weapon).
Purchase price of a bag of holding (20 cubic feet, up to 200# weighs 1#) is 1,000 gp. Purchase price of a handy haversack (100 cubic feet, up to 1,000# weighs 1#) is 5,000 gp. Purchase price of a portable hole (5 ft. x 5 ft. x 5 ft. cube, i.e., 125 cubic feet, no weight limit mentioned) is 105,000 gp. An extra 25 cubic feet for 100,000 gp?
Potion of healing... 10 hp... 50 gp
Potion of vitality... 25 hp... 1,000 gp
Potion of recovery... 50 hp... 25,000 gp
Sure, each spends a healing surge, but still...
These are just some glaring things I've noticed without going in-depth into the issue. And don't get me started on the costs of some rituals!
Raise Dead. Level 8. Cost to learn? 680 gp. Cost to use? 500 gp (1st to 10th level), 5,000 gp (11th to 20th level), or 50,000 gp (21st to 30th level). Time to cast? 8 hours. No roll needed to succeed.
Observe Creature (i.e. scrye). Level 24. Cost to learn? 105,000 gp. Cost to use? 21,000 gp plus a focus worth 10,000 gp. Time to cast? 1 hour. Arcana roll to succeed, with maximum duration of five round. FIVE. ROUNDS.
So it is infinitely easier to rip someone's soul from across the most distant planes, recreate his body, and merge that with the soul to give him life, than it is to spy on someone...
Oy.
Monday, June 9, 2008
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4 comments:
I agree that economics is a problem with 4E but mine is more along the macro rather than micro. Although that assumes that these examples are the worst. I won't have my books until later today. Hopefully...
Going by category.
Magical armor. My major gripes are with cost of the mundane armor and the time required to enchant. I shocked that clothing costs so much while Plate Armor is ridiculously cheap. That explains why 1st level Paladins have plate mail cause that confused me. The cost of enchantment is the same because the "strength of the dweomer" is equal. The armor types are not. The time it takes to perform the ritual bothers me; and I hope its errata fodder.
If the time to enchant an item should be among the errata, the purchase price of a +1 Magical Silvered Longsword has to be. Guess I'll have to read my copy (when I get it) to see if its poorly worded or written unclearly. Poor editing there...
My guess for why the portable hole costs significantly more is because its a result of pure magical disruption of reality. In Mage the Ascension terms it would coincidental opposed to vulgar magic. Coincidental magic is significantly easier to do.
Healing Potions.
If I thought your complaint was related the price discrepancies I could see your point. However, it seems that your concerned more about the fixed amount of hit points cured despite spendig a healing surge. The healing surge and cost are the limitations. If the PC doesn't have healing surges left, then the potion doesn't work. My guess is the fixed number is to speed up play as its one less die roll. I have other concerns...
Raise Dead vs Observe Creature.
Raise Dead. The W&M preview book implied the reverse as far as costs of tiers are concerned. Personally, I think that the heroic tier should cost more; but I'm ignorant of what other factors exist. As for why it doesn't require a roll, it didn't before in previous editions.
Observe Creature. I'm more perturbed by it being such a high level ritual. If epic level characters are going to have 1 million plus magical items, 10,000 gp for an arcane focus is a paltry sum in comparison. Based on the rituals cost, skill roll, and duration, I assume that information is priceless in 4E. Not sure how I feel about that though.
The anonymous post is mine. Had to log in through blogger directly.
Technically, that +6 Cloth Armor would be made of Starweave for a total of +8. It also doesn't weigh you down like Plate, and can be used by anyone regardless of training. Plate, on the other hand, requires either that you be in a class trained in its use, or that you spend up to six feats on it. And reduces your speed, skill checks, and keeps you from getting stat bonuses to your AC.
The silvered weapon? I think that's a case of literalism over common sense.
A handy haversack only holds 1,000 pounds, which is a reasonably large amount of weight. You could, for example, hold 16 cubic feet of water, 50,000 coins, or three unconscious party members who need emergency healing. The portable hole, however, has an infinite weight limit, which means you can fill the entire thing with whatever you want. Might be worth the extra gold.
Please. A portable hole is an instant tunnel, not a bag of holding. RTFM.
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