Tools of the Trade

Simple Magical Devices for Spellcasters

The pounding on the door woke Alamard from a deep sleep. He pulled a heavy robe on over his nightshirt, and shuffled towards the door, jerking it open in the face of the captain of the guard.

"What is it, Captain?"

"They've started the attack. The Baron wants you on the battlements with him. He says that they have a Wizard backing them."

"Give me a moment to gather my things." Alamard cinched the robe tight around his waist, and went to his working cupboard. He traced a sigil on the door, whispered a word, and opened the cupboard. Swiftly, the mage began gathering his tools.

The Working of Magic

The practice of magic, both arcane and divine, is centuries old. During that time, one of the driving motivations of spellcasters has been the acquisition of power, whether for selfish or altruistic purposes. This drive has led to the development of the powerful and useful magical items that are the ultimate prizes for adventurers everywhere, but these aren't the only fruits of tree of magical knowledge.

Not every wizard or cleric achieves the level of mastery necessary to create the more powerful items of magic. They concentrate instead on simple, useful tools to help them in their day-to-day efforts, or to make a little money in the small communities where they dwell. These little workaday items make life easier and more profitable for the hedge wizards and village priests, and add a little flexibility and subtle advantage to the more powerful members of their fellowship.

Here, then, are a few of the magical aids that the mystic researchers have produced over the years.

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Perfected Materials

From the pegs at the back of the cabinet, Alamard took his spell component pouch, filled with the materials that he had spent so long producing in the lab. The purified sulfur and saltpeter balls, the vials of triple-distilled oils and enchanted flint, the clarified butter mixed with mystic herbs, the piece of leather cured in True Mercury and scented oils with the glyphs carved into it. These would give his spells the increased power needed to help hold off the ravening horde outside the castle gates.

Most magicians make do with whatever material components they can get their hands on. Bat guano scraped from the floor of a nearby cave, hair plucked from a passing cat, a triangular quartz crystal found in a streambed, a firefly captured in a jar on a summer evening in a nearby meadow, anything quick and easy. Some spellcasters, however, look for a way to squeeze the last little bit of power out of their spells, and these are the ones that take up the study of perfecting materials.

Perfecting materials requires a knowledge of alchemy and the underlying principles of magic. With the understanding gleaned from such study, the spellcaster is able to distill the active essential aspects of the material components into a purified, energized form that is more useful for casting spells. The process usually involves passing the raw material through several alchemical processes and mystical infusions, rendering the substance down to its ideal form. This is both an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.

Using perfected materials in spellcasting increases the power of the spell in minor ways. The high quality of the perfected materials allow the flow of magic to move into the world with less impediment than the less-pure standard materials that are normally used. Perfected materials increase the save DC, damage, and duration of the affected spells.

New Feat: Perfect Material [Item Creation]

You can purify material components and foci to enhance the effects of your spells.

Prerequisites: Spellcaster level 1st+, Alchemy skill, Spellcraft skill, Knowledge (Arcana) skill.

Benefit: Perfected materials are the material components and foci for spells that have been treated with an arcane alchemical process to remove any impurities and irregularities. Using perfected materials in casting a spell gives the spell an enhancement bonus of +1 to the save DC for the spell, if any, and grants an enhancement bonus of +1 to each die of damage, and extends the duration of the spell by one time unit.

For example, a fireball spell cast with perfected materials would do 1d6+1 of damage for each level of the spellcaster and have a Reflex save DC one higher than normal. A fear spell cast with perfected materials would have a Will save DC one higher than normal, and last one round longer than normal.

Each full day of work by a spellcaster can produce up to 1,000 gp worth of perfected materials. The cost to produce enough perfected material to cast a given spell once is equal to the spell level squared times 5 gp, with a minimum cost of five times the normal cost of the material components, or 5 gp, whichever is greater. The cost to perfect a focus for a spell is equal to the spell level squared times 20 gp, with a minimum cost of 10 times the normal cost of the focus, or 20 gp, whichever is greater. Perfecting expensively crafted material, such as valuable gems, requires the participation of someone with the appropriate Craft skills. Divine foci may not be perfected.

Perfected materials may be purchased at twice the cost of manufacture from alchemists, temples, and other spellcasters.

Example Perfected Materials

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Talismans

Next, Alamard lifted the lid of a small, carved box, taking out a long, silk ribbon festooned with small medals. On each was etched a different symbol: a hand, a wand, a book, a beaker, and several others. He wrapped the ribbon around his waist, tying it in front with a complex knot. These talismans would sharpen his wits, steady his hands, and calm his heart, letting him focus properly on the tasks before him.

Spells and magic are only the most obvious tools of the spellcaster. Their knowledge and skills provide an important foundation for their more flashy talents, giving them the information and ability to apply their magics to best effect. To help bolster these skills, some spellcasters learn to create tokens that enhance these abilities. These tokens are called talismans.

Talismans are specially for specific individuals and specific skills. Each talisman functions only for the person for whom it is made, and has no effect for another. Each talisman provides a single bonus to a given skill for the person for whom it is created, and gives no benefit to any other skill. The talisman must be on the person of the user for it to grant any bonus at all.

The common form of a talisman is a small medallion of wood or metal, etched with a symbol representing the skill gaining the bonus. Most people wear their talismans on ribbons next to their skin, often out of sight of casual observers.

Aside from the obvious advantage that skill bonuses provide to the spellcaster, talismans are also a good way for them to make a little money. Talismans are usually cheap enough that the middle class can afford to purchase one or two for themselves, and this provides a ready income for the maker. Making a talisman requires someone with the skill receiving the bonus assist with the creation, whether that is the spellcaster or another helping out by providing the requisite token. It also requires a token, usually a drop of blood or a lock of hair, from the person for whom it is made.

New Feat: Craft Talisman [Item Creation]

You can create a magical item that adds a bonus to a single skill for a single person.

Prerequisites: Spellcaster level 3rd+, Knowledge (Arcana) skill

Benefit: Talismans are small items, usually wood or metal medallions, that confer a competency bonus on a single skill for a specific person. Only the person for whom the talisman is made receives the skill bonus, and only the skill for which the talisman is designed is affected. A person may have only one talisman per skill working at any time, and the higher bonus of two or more talismans is received.

Creating a talisman takes one day for each 1,000 gp of the finished talisman's base value, one half the base value of the talisman in raw materials, and 1/25 of the base value in experience points. If the caster does not have the skill being affected, he needs some token from someone who does.

The user of a talisman need not have any skill ranks in the affected skill to receive the bonus as long as the skill can be used unskilled; the user needs to have at least one-half of a skill rank in a skill that is trained only to be able to benefit from a talisman for that skill. Talismans can only be made for skills that can be bought with skill points; they are not effective for increasing Attack Bonus, AC, or other character abilities.

Base value for a talisman is the bonus granted squared, times 50 gp.

Example Talismans

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Charms

From the peg on the inside of the door, Alamard lifted a leather bandolier that clicked and clacked with the clay tablets strapped to the sash. Each tablet represented a last-ditch defense against a single spell, the chance to shrug off and cancel the magic of the enemy wizard. These would stand against the magic of his opponent if he wasn't able to work his own counterspells. The weight of the bandolier on his shoulder was comforting.

The ability to defend against offensive spells is important for all spellcasters. Some, however, aren't willing to trust their own skill and ability to selectively identify and counter incoming spells. These have developed charms to do it for them.

Charms are simple clay tablets inscribed with sigils and runes. Each one stores a single spell that is automatically cast as a counterspell against a similar spell cast at the bearer. Once the spell is cast, the clay tablet shatters. Charms must be worn visibly to be effective: hiding a charm within your clothes prevents it from working.

To activate a charm, the incoming spell must be the same as the spell in the charm, and the bearer of the charm must be the target of the spell or within the area of effect of the spell. It doesn't matter if the bearer is aware of the spell: the charm activates automatically. Only one charm of a given type can be worn by a given person; wearing two charms for the same spell causes them both to release their spells and destroy themselves.

New Feat: Craft Charm [Item Creation]

You can create a special one-use counterspell item.

Prerequisites: Spellcaster level 5th+, Spellcraft skill, Knowledge (Arcana) skill

Benefit: Charms are small clay tablets that store a single spell that is automatically cast as a counterspell when another caster casts the same spell contained in the charm at the holder of the charm. This casting destroys the tablet. Only one charm for any given spell may be carried by a single person; having two identical charms in one's possession causes both to release their counterspells and be destroyed.

Creating a charm takes one day for each thousand pounds of the finished charm's base value, one half the base value of the item in materials, and 1/25 of the base value in experience points. You can only create a charm of a spell that you currently have prepared.

Base value for a charm is equal to the spell level squared times 100 gp.

Example Charms

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Fetishes

Lastly, Alamard picked up the bag of pitch and sawdust, the piece of iron bar wrapped in chainmail, the small orb of crystal, and the twisted oak burl wrapped in copper wire. These he placed into the voluminous pockets of his robe, ready to hand. He needed to be able to grasp them quickly to add the extra power to his spells.

Metamagic feats are powerful and flexible, allowing spellcasters to twist their magic in useful ways. The requirement of preparing spells at higher level, or of using a higher-level spell slot, removes a lot of spontaneity from the casting. Not content to be limited in this way, spellcasters have developed fetishes.

Fetishes are bundles of symbolic items that allow the spellcaster to apply a single metamagic feat to be applied to a single spell. As long as the caster has the item in hand, he can cast the spell as if it had the metamagic feat applied to it, without needing to memorize it at the higher level. Each fetish applies only to a single metamagic feat, and to a single spell.

These are incredibly valuable for all spellcasters, but are not without their drawbacks. The fetish needs to be in hand for it be of any use, and, if the spell requires material components or a focus, these must be in the other hand. If the caster is not able to use his hands for any reason, the fetish cannot be used.

New Feat: Craft Fetish [Item Creation]

You can create a special item that applies a given metamagic feat to a specific spell whenever it is cast using the fetish.

Prerequisites: Spellcaster level 7th+, any one Metamagic feat, Spellcraft skill, Knowledge (Arcana) skill

Benefit: Fetishes are small bundles of special mystical ingredients that will apply a specific metamagic feat to a specific spell whenever that spell is cast and the caster has the fetish in hand. The spell may be memorized at the base level, and the metamagic feat is applied to it automatically. Each spell must have its own fetish, which will apply only one metamagic feat to that spell. If a caster has multiple fetishes with different feats for a given spell at hand when the spell is cast, he or she may determine which one affects the spell, but only one may do so.

Creating a fetish takes one day for each 1,000 gp in the finished fetish's base value, one half of the base value for raw materials, and 1/25 of the base value in experience points. You can only create a fetish for a spell and metamagic feat that you are able to use, but you need not be able to cast a spell of the modified spell level (the level of the spell plus the adjustment for the metamagic feat).

Base value for a fetish is equal to the square of the level the spell would be with the metamagic feat applied, times 1,000 gp.

Example Fetishes

Armed with the tools of his art, Alamard turned to the Captain waiting at the door and took a deep breath.

"I'm ready. Let's go see about these ruffians."

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