In one of my current campaigns I was looking to introduce the injuries mechanic, which can permanently debuff I character with relative ease. This injuries are reversible with the regeneration spell. Regeneration is a spell really hard to get, it's quite exclusive and it requieres a really high level from the spellcaster. My intention was to allow them to contract an spellcaster on each city to cast them any spell, making money a needed resource (instead of a nice to have one) and encouraging city replenishment after some adventuring period.
The only problem I have is with prices. Tha players handbook proposes prices for 1st and 2nd level (10 and 50 gp) but it suggest creating quests for higher level spells. I really don't like this solution, as they will probably need the regeneration spell often, so making them take a side quest every time they loose an eye can probably suck, plus they probably lost an eye due to a quest so taking a secondary quest could leave them in even worst shape. Also consider even realistic that, if there is a posibility in any world for some people to regenerate limbs, those people would be more like a private/public health service in cities than a misterious wizard with desires for weird artifacts.
I would like if you could recommend me a standarized price for spells that is fair to the players with the vanilla rules of treasure (to consider how much money they would probably have). I have some ideas, but they vary so much is hard to decide.
My main idea is to use this progression (taken from the salable items list). 1st level: 10gp, 2nd level 50gp, 3rd level 100gp, 4th level 500, 5th level 1000, 6th level 5000, 7th level 10000, 8th level 50000, 9th level 100000. Other idea I have is: 1st level: 50gp, 2nd level 100gp, 3rd level 150gp, 4th level 200, 5th level 250, 6th level 300, 7th level 350, 8th level 400, 9th level 450.
However, I am also going to be the guy who says "Don't allow spells that have major game changing effects to be purchased at all," e.g. spells of 4th level or higher.
The moment that players have access to these spells, they start changing the world in even more ways that you normally anticipate. My players have just gained access to Raise Dead as they hit level 9. Immediately, they want to start using it to resurrect NPCs that have fallen in battle. They have only ever found a single diamond worth 500gp in the game, so they have one shot at this, and there are only a handful more available in the entire kingdom. Bringing back NPCs in this way can start getting problematic if spells are for purchase: when someone wealthy dies, they should always be brought back straight away by their family, messing up a lot of potential plots. The PCs will start wanting to resurrect every friendly NPC that dies. Other spells, like teleport are even worse for the DM to manage in this way: travelling anywhere becomes a case of staying in town and raising enough money to pay for teleport (just 300gp in your second idea!). Character death also becomes almost meaningless outside of a TPK - the PCs can simply take a finger from the body and have it resurrected for a price.
This also brings up the idea of 'gold control.' When you allow players to make world changing purchases, as DM you become arbiter of when and where they can buy them. If 2 characters lose an arm in a fight, are you going to up the treasure found to make up for it? If not, does a player have to have one arm and then try to raise the money?
You also have to include sufficient high level NPCs that the PCs will begin saying "Let's take Archmagus Bob with us. He can teleport us in with High Cleric Jane, help us kill the dragon, and teleport home - job done." If the fate of the world rests on the PCs actions, then Bob and Jane are unlikely to just say no. My PCs befriended a level 13 wizard when they were level 7. It's hard to justify why he hasn't joined up with the party, given the dangers they face but luckily I'd given him 2 children that he won't leave. But since they can use sending to ask him to come aid them, they now have these plans to contact him when near a teleportation circle to come get them. It takes him 20 minutes to go there and back, which potentially makes him a taxi service.
I wouldn't go with regenerate as the way to recover injuries. Doing so is basically a tax on the characters, and you'll need to include a lot of gold for them to find in order to keep buying it. Lesser Restoration should cover most things without breaking the game. Alternatively, you could introduce regeneration pools that the player can sit in for a full day for a gold cost, regenerating their limbs. Players are going to find the game a lot less fun if they continually have to regrow arms and legs and spend all their money doing it.
Yes, I agree that requiring the regenerate spell, is just completly brutal. Still, I don't like either the spell, as it's just to easy to access for some classes and impossible for others, at level three you don't have to worry about permanent injuries (almost). The regeneration pools are clearly the best idea, but I really don't know how to implement them. That would also eliminate the need to include spellcasting services for levels superior to 2. The only I don't know how to implement is the price, but I think I will just use the relaxation activity from xanathar, as I have to include a price affordable at lower levels, the price would be trivial anyways at higher ones. In the case of the world I created for the campaign the "interactable" nations are in an eternal war with fiends so it makes sense for them to develop a public healthcare system.
Greetings. The two pharagraphs are just context.
In one of my current campaigns I was looking to introduce the injuries mechanic, which can permanently debuff I character with relative ease. This injuries are reversible with the regeneration spell. Regeneration is a spell really hard to get, it's quite exclusive and it requieres a really high level from the spellcaster. My intention was to allow them to contract an spellcaster on each city to cast them any spell, making money a needed resource (instead of a nice to have one) and encouraging city replenishment after some adventuring period.
The only problem I have is with prices. Tha players handbook proposes prices for 1st and 2nd level (10 and 50 gp) but it suggest creating quests for higher level spells. I really don't like this solution, as they will probably need the regeneration spell often, so making them take a side quest every time they loose an eye can probably suck, plus they probably lost an eye due to a quest so taking a secondary quest could leave them in even worst shape. Also consider even realistic that, if there is a posibility in any world for some people to regenerate limbs, those people would be more like a private/public health service in cities than a misterious wizard with desires for weird artifacts.
I would like if you could recommend me a standarized price for spells that is fair to the players with the vanilla rules of treasure (to consider how much money they would probably have).
I have some ideas, but they vary so much is hard to decide.
My main idea is to use this progression (taken from the salable items list). 1st level: 10gp, 2nd level 50gp, 3rd level 100gp, 4th level 500, 5th level 1000, 6th level 5000, 7th level 10000, 8th level 50000, 9th level 100000.
Other idea I have is: 1st level: 50gp, 2nd level 100gp, 3rd level 150gp, 4th level 200, 5th level 250, 6th level 300, 7th level 350, 8th level 400, 9th level 450.
I would charge 50g per level of the spell multiplied by the level a pure caster needs to be to cast it.
Level 1: 50gp
Level 2: 300gp
Level 3: 750gp
Level 4: 1400gp
Level 5: 2250gp
Level 6: 3300gp
Level 7: 4550gp
Level 8: 6000gp
Level 9: Never allow level 9 spells for purchase.
However, I am also going to be the guy who says "Don't allow spells that have major game changing effects to be purchased at all," e.g. spells of 4th level or higher.
The moment that players have access to these spells, they start changing the world in even more ways that you normally anticipate. My players have just gained access to Raise Dead as they hit level 9. Immediately, they want to start using it to resurrect NPCs that have fallen in battle. They have only ever found a single diamond worth 500gp in the game, so they have one shot at this, and there are only a handful more available in the entire kingdom. Bringing back NPCs in this way can start getting problematic if spells are for purchase: when someone wealthy dies, they should always be brought back straight away by their family, messing up a lot of potential plots. The PCs will start wanting to resurrect every friendly NPC that dies. Other spells, like teleport are even worse for the DM to manage in this way: travelling anywhere becomes a case of staying in town and raising enough money to pay for teleport (just 300gp in your second idea!). Character death also becomes almost meaningless outside of a TPK - the PCs can simply take a finger from the body and have it resurrected for a price.
This also brings up the idea of 'gold control.' When you allow players to make world changing purchases, as DM you become arbiter of when and where they can buy them. If 2 characters lose an arm in a fight, are you going to up the treasure found to make up for it? If not, does a player have to have one arm and then try to raise the money?
You also have to include sufficient high level NPCs that the PCs will begin saying "Let's take Archmagus Bob with us. He can teleport us in with High Cleric Jane, help us kill the dragon, and teleport home - job done." If the fate of the world rests on the PCs actions, then Bob and Jane are unlikely to just say no. My PCs befriended a level 13 wizard when they were level 7. It's hard to justify why he hasn't joined up with the party, given the dangers they face but luckily I'd given him 2 children that he won't leave. But since they can use sending to ask him to come aid them, they now have these plans to contact him when near a teleportation circle to come get them. It takes him 20 minutes to go there and back, which potentially makes him a taxi service.
I wouldn't go with regenerate as the way to recover injuries. Doing so is basically a tax on the characters, and you'll need to include a lot of gold for them to find in order to keep buying it. Lesser Restoration should cover most things without breaking the game. Alternatively, you could introduce regeneration pools that the player can sit in for a full day for a gold cost, regenerating their limbs. Players are going to find the game a lot less fun if they continually have to regrow arms and legs and spend all their money doing it.
Yes, I agree that requiring the regenerate spell, is just completly brutal. Still, I don't like either the spell, as it's just to easy to access for some classes and impossible for others, at level three you don't have to worry about permanent injuries (almost). The regeneration pools are clearly the best idea, but I really don't know how to implement them. That would also eliminate the need to include spellcasting services for levels superior to 2. The only I don't know how to implement is the price, but I think I will just use the relaxation activity from xanathar, as I have to include a price affordable at lower levels, the price would be trivial anyways at higher ones. In the case of the world I created for the campaign the "interactable" nations are in an eternal war with fiends so it makes sense for them to develop a public healthcare system.