Re: Alternative helm creation (major and minor helms)

>From: Dreamer <dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk>
>Reply-To: Discussion list for the Spelljammer campaign setting              
><SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com>
>To: SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com
>Subject: [SPELLJAMMER] Alternative helm creation
>Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:15:01 +0000

Assuming I haven't put you off of the idea with my other posts, here are 
some thoughts on how to actually implement this.

>We are pretty clear, at least in AD&D terms, of how to get a
>working Minor Helm and Major Helm, of the standard varieties, as
>spells exist in the basic SJ rules. And, you just roll these into
>your favourite enchantment system.

This is not as simple as you make it out to be. First lets have a look at 
the item creation rules. I'll use the 3e rules. Lets use the Create 
Wonderous Item Feat as this seems to match the description of a spelljamming 
helm best. Have a look at this URL:

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/featsItc.html

Firstly I refer you to the scarey text: "Some wondrous items incur extra 
costs in material components or XP, as noted in their descriptions." This is 
the line that has been keeping the arcane in business. There is a secret 
ingredient that needs to be added in order to create a permanant version of 
the minor or major helm. I'll come back to this but first lets look at the 
"easy" stuff:

1) "Enchanting a wondrous item takes one day for each 1,000 gp in its 
price."

>From memory the helm prices are 100,000 gp and 250,000 gp for minor and 
major helms, so your wizard/cleric needs to spend 100 or 250 days to make 
this. That is a really long time to be doing something without going off to 
do other work or otherwise being interupted.

2) "To enchant a wondrous item, you must spend 1/25 of the item’s price in 
XP and use up raw materials costing half of this price."

So your wizard/cleric looses 4,000 or 10,000 XP and needs 50,000 or 125,000 
gp of stuff before he starts. Forgetting the XP for a moment, as your 
wizard/cleric can obviously afford to loose the points, that is a lot of 
stuff to buy. Don't forget this isn't just a matter of paying half the cost 
of a helm. Whatever this stuff is, it takes up room, it needs to be 
transported to the place where you are going to make your helm. Some of it 
could have a shelf life. There are logistics to think about.

3) "These costs are in addition to those derived from the item’s base 
price."

Don't forget that you *also* have to buy a chair that the magic is going to 
be put into (because it is listed as a spell component). I would probably 
rule that this chair needs to be of mastercrafted quality in order to 
permanantly accept the magic. Anyone got an idea on the price of a nice 
sturdy handmade chair?

But the real killer is that scarey sentence I mentioned before: "Some 
wondrous items incur extra costs in material components or XP, as noted in 
their descriptions." From memory the Spelljammer Campaign Setting 
*specifically* states that these special components are unknown except to 
the arcane.

So what do you think we can put in there to fill in the blanks? How about 
this:

***********

The missing secret component needed to create a major or minor helm as a 
magic item is...

...phlogiston!

***********

If the would be helm must be continously bathed in phlogiston in order for 
it to become a magic item, then the helm would need to stay in the flow for 
100 or 250 days. Because the flow can not be captured and brought inside a 
sphere, the entire creation process would need to be done outside a crystal 
sphere!

*That* would explain why the arcane have managed to keep the secret *and* 
also make it possible but very difficult for anyone to make their own helms.

A wizard/cleric would need to be on a ship in the flow for 100 or 250 days 
while creating a helm. Because he would be unable to spelljam without 
interupting the process he would need an assistant to fly the ship for him. 
He might also need a crew to defend him from any passing ships or creatures.

Most ships only have 28 days of air, so he is going to have to find a way to 
get over that obsticle. Food and water would also be a problem. I would 
think that he would need a supply ship to ferry air, food and water from a 
nearby sphere.

Maybe the arcane have found some way to exist without needing to breath. 
Perhaps there is an arcane archlich making helms for them and gaining enough 
wealth to buy immortality from the gods.

David "Big Mac" Shepheard
easyInternet internet cafe
London UK