D&D 5E Worldbuilding: NPC spellcasting services

[CapnZapp]

Let's say you arrive in a new settlement, where you eventually get a quest to place a holy gemstone in a desecrated temple. The Hallow gem inside will envelop and cleanse...

"Excuse me, did you say Hallow?"

Yes?

"That mean's somebody in town must be a 9th level spellcaster!"

No, wait... why?

"Furthermore, that someone must be a Cleric, since that spell is on no other class' spell list! We have a 9th level caster in town, boys and girls. Let's find him and have him cast Greater Restoration on our cursed allies and Raise Dead on our fallen allies!"

No wait, it doesn't say you have free access to those spells. Not even if you pay for any consumed components.

"But why? There's no risk in casting spells in D&D. As long as you have the level, casting is essentially free."

Perhaps the spell wasn't Hallow after all. The gem contain's the Essence of Pelor, that will cleanse the temple of evil...

---

If something like this has ever happened to you, you might be interested in the discussion I'm about to have...

That is, do any of you know of any good rules subsystem (for any edition) that discusses the area of NPC spellcasting. Specifically to formalize how there can be spellcasting services that doesn't require high-level NPCs, and why NPC spellcasting services cost money that player characters never seem to pay for their own spells.

5E-friendly proposals, that is: nothing too complex; are especially welcome

 

[CapnZapp]

The Adventurer's League (and its previous-edition predecessors) takes a step in the right direction:

There you have costs and limits assigned to NPC spellcasting services.

A low-level spell might cost the party 25 gold pieces, and there can only be three castings per day.

By the way; do any of you know the formula behind the AL costs?

Cure wounds (1st level) 10 gp
Identify 20 gp
Lesser restoration 40 gp
Prayer of healing (2nd level) 40 gp
Remove curse 90 gp
Speak with dead 90 gp
Divination 210 gp
Greater restoration 450 gp
Raise dead 1,250 gp

 

[CapnZapp]

To give you an inkling of what I'm looking for, here's a shooting-from-the-hip rough outline of a workable proposal.

NPCs can cast "suitable" spells as rituals. They can make up for lacking caster levels by spending other things:
* time, casting the spell as an ritual takes 1 hour
* grouping, casting the spell together with your acolytes: each adding half his or her own caster level to yours (rounding down).
* effort, costing them 1d8 damage per missing caster level in effort and drained "devotion"
* expensive components that are consumed, priced at (spell level squared) x20 gp.
* place, casting the spell at a sacred and holy place

The costs are deliberately vague, because story comes first.

While the general idea is to explain why PCs must pay for spellcasting services, and why they can't use the mechanism themselves when out adventuring, any good set of guidelines must allow for important exceptions.

Yes, you must normally pay (the component cost), and the NPCs aren't willing to spend their entire day on your business (time cost) and even if they wanted they can't (damage component), and no you can't cast spells above your own level (since the casting time is impractical and you aren't carrying around a sanctified temple).

But when you gain the assistance of the unicorns of the valley, they do not demand any payment. But the rules doesn't say you must pay a component cost, only that you normally do.

Or you have a time-sensitive adventure, and the High Priest offers a desperate prayer to heal your fallen comrade. In this case the time and place cost might be waived, but the priest still suffers the effort cost.

Anyway, something along these lines...

 

[Sunseeker]

NPCs cast what I need to them to cast, be it a spell from the book or whatever sort of plot-forwarding spell they can. Some local casters will cast for a price, and typically it is 2-3x (material price+50gp X spell level). It's pricey.

 

[Fanaelialae]

As an aside, just because a Hallow Gem exists doesn't mean that there has to be a cleric capable of casting the spell. The gem could have been empowered long ago by a priest who is now dead, or perhaps was blessed by a holy man on pilgrimage who was just passing through.

Just because an NPC spellcaster can cast a spell doesn't mean that they'll be willing to cast it for you. Presumably, a 9th level caster is none too common, the equivalent of a leader in their field.

If I walk up to one of the leading physicists in the world with a Giant Bag of Money, he might nonetheless decline my offer to do research for me. Maybe he already has a better offer elsewhere, or is engaged in his own research that he hopes will immortalize him for all time. If my research proposal doesn't interest him, there might not be any amount of money that will convince him. After all, as a leader in his field he will always be in demand.

Then there are the moral implications. Any good-aligned cleric should be suspicious if a band of murder-hobos approaches him with a GBoM. They could be bandits, with their loot having been attained by illicit means. A cleric should hesitate before casting raise dead on someone who might simply run off to murder innocents. Of course, if the adventurers have attained a reputation as heroes this may be less of an issue, but unless the cleric has worked with them before how can he know that they are who they say they are?

I would say that the reason PCs typically pay such a high cost for spellcasting services is because you're not just buying the spell. You're paying for the services of someone who can cast that spell. It's a rare and valuable commodity, so casters can charge whatever they want. If a cleric wants to charge you 10,000 gp for Raise Dead, you either pay him or try to find someone who will cut you a better deal. Unless 9th level casters are a dime-a-dozen, good luck doing so within Raise Dead's 10 day limitation.

IIRC, Eberron allowed for spellcasting services without high level casters. Several noble houses have innate magical bloodlines which allow them to cast certain spells without being mages or priests.

 

[CapnZapp]

Just because an NPC spellcaster can cast a spell doesn't mean that they'll be willing to cast it for you. Presumably, a 9th level caster is none too common, the equivalent of a leader in their field.

But this connection is precisely what I want to break.

I want a loose rules framework I can introduce to my players, so they have reason to consider other possibilities than "a caster is in town".

Reasons that doesn't involve special snowflake reasons, that is. Your aside is perfectly valid, only I don't want every time to be an exception. A long-stored Hallow gem would work,but it would also sidestep rather than solve the issue.

I'm looking for a general world rule, that can explain NPC casting services in general.

Thanks for your Eberron reply, even though that particular solution is a bit too involved (and Eberron-centric). Yes, Keith Baker has seen the same problem. And it is precisely the kind of general solution I'm asking about.

More?

 

[CapnZapp]

NPCs cast what I need to them to cast, be it a spell from the book or whatever sort of plot-forwarding spell they can. Some local casters will cast for a price, and typically it is 2-3x (material price+50gp X spell level). It's pricey.

Thank you.

While very "5th editional", I'm looking for something a little bit more crunchy...

 

[Fanaelialae]

But this connection is precisely what I want to break.

I want a loose rules framework I can introduce to my players, so they have reason to consider other possibilities than "a caster is in town".

Reasons that doesn't involve special snowflake reasons, that is. Your aside is perfectly valid, only I don't want every time to be an exception. A long-stored Hallow gem would work,but it would also sidestep rather than solve the issue.

I'm looking for a general world rule, that can explain NPC casting services in general.

Thanks for your Eberron reply, even though that particular solution is a bit too involved (and Eberron-centric). Yes, Keith Baker has seen the same problem. And it is precisely the kind of general solution I'm asking about.

More?

Okay, to expand upon your example, you might create an NPC class (Ritualist / Hedge Mage?) based around the ritual caster feat. If you want them to be able to cast certain spells, such as Raise Dead, you'll need to grant them ritual versions of those spells. Which isn't a bad thing, since it gives you control over which spells those NPCs have access to. You might even rule that those rituals are rare or have special additional requirements (such as the sacred grove from your example).

 

[Sunseeker]

Thank you.

While very "5th editional", I'm looking for something a little bit more crunchy...

I'd like to add: in another thread we were discussing a similar issue of how players can avoid casting materials and honestly I think there's no reason you can't apply your time/money/substitution rules to the players as well. Just make them sufficiently long enough as to make the players think twice about it.

A ouiji board and 5 stoned teenagers lets you cast Speak with the Dead.

 

[Shiroiken]

I'm looking for a general world rule, that can explain NPC casting services in general.

Because people work for a living. I don't do my job for free, and NPCs shouldn't either. If the players don't agree with this logic, have NPCs approach them every day, several times a day, to help with minor problems (cat in a tree, clearing rubble, etc.) for free. Have this happen so much that they don't have time to adventure, and they'll realize how idiotic that is.

I play in Greyhawk, where the the motto is "something for something, and nothing for nothing." NOBODY does anything for purely altruistic reasons. Even temples of your patron deity require donations for spellcasting services (non-followers either can't get it or pay much more).