What happens if the beads from a necklace of fireballs are used as ammunition for a firearm? Would loading count as throwing so that when the bead stops in the firearm's barrel, the bead explodes? If not, should the bead make a Reflex saving throw (DC I don't know) to avoid detonation? If a bead were fired, should the bead detonate on impact without dealing normal firearm damage, or should the bead deal normal damage, stop in the struck target's body, and detonate there, eliminating the target's Reflex saving throw?
[RPG] Can a necklace of fireballs be used as ammunition
magic-itemspathfinder-1eranged-attack
Related Solutions
Yes.
However, the table and rules to create magical items are guidelines for gamemasters, not players. Players should be able to create anything they want as long as they have GM permission. The GM will decide if the pricing is right, if the item is unbalanced, or if the item does something that another item does and has a different price.
Many factors must be considered when determining the price of new magic items. The easiest way to come up with a price is to compare the new item to an item that is already priced, using that price as a guide.
Some GM's frown upon the idea of custom magic items made by players, and will strictly forbid it. While others will let them create anything they want and simply say yes or no to the result.
Quoting the core rulebook:
The correct way to price an item is by comparing its abilities to similar items (see Magic Item Gold Piece Values), and only if there are no similar items should you use the pricing formulas to determine an approximate price for the item.
Creating new magic items is an art
With that said, we need to know if there is anything that is similar to our infinite blasting wand that looks like a crossbow.
Most continuous effects have a limited per day use, with very few exceptions, such as:
- Lantern of Revealing (permanent invisibility purge, 30,000 gp)
- Goggles of Night (permanent darkvision, 12,000 gp)
Those items duplicate the effects of spells with a duration (not single use) and use the exact formula for continuous magic item effects:
- Spell level x caster level x 2,000 gp
If a continuous item has an effect based on a spell with a duration measured in rounds, multiply the cost by 4. If the duration of the spell is 1 minute/level, multiply the cost by 2, and if the duration is 10 minutes/level, multiply the cost by 1.5. If the spell has a 24-hour duration or greater, divide the cost in half.
While others are command-activated and basically works as if the user were casting a spell himself, but have a limit of uses per day. The example given by the table is calculated as once per day use:
- Cape of the Mountebank (once per day dimension door, 10,800 gp)
- Boots of Teleportation (three times per day teleport, 49,000 gp)
However, there are examples of items that are command-word, but no limit of uses per day, such as:
- Ring of Blinking (at-will blink, 27,000 gp)
You will notice that the ring uses the exact formula given by the table:
- Spell level x caster level x 1,800 gp
- 4 * 9 * 1800 = 27,000 gp (the exact value of the ring)
So you can use that formula to price your blasting crossbow. Just keep in mind that first level spells are usually unbalanced for what they do and will often make unbalanced magic items due to their spell level ( 1 * 1 = 1 * effect cost), and are better used for limited uses or single use effects, or even better, wands.
So, if you want your crossbow to shoot Acid Arrows, simply check the spell level (2), the minimum caster level to cast the spell (3), and multiply by 1,800. The cost of that magic effect should be 10,800 gp.
The crossbow will use a Standard Action to "cast" the effect, cause 2d4 damage on a ranged touch attack, and last for 2 rounds after the initial hit (caster level 3).
And it can also shoot bolts.
No, this would not work; conjure volley isn't an attack
Hail of thorns specifies that its effects apply
The next time you hit a creature with a ranged weapon attack
However, conjure volley does not involve a ranged weapon attack. As part of the spell, you do "fire a piece of nonmagical ammunition from a ranged weapon", but that is simply part of what triggers the spell; you are not making a ranged weapon attack against any target. Instead, conjure volley is a spell that forces those in the cylindrical area of effect to make a Dexterity saving throw.
Ensnaring strike wouldn't work with conjure volley for the same reason: conjure volley isn't a weapon attack (or an attack at all).
For a definition of what constitutes an "attack" (and why a spell that only involves the targets making saving throws isn't one), see the "Making an Attack" section of the basic rules:
If there's ever any question whether something you're doing counts as an attack, the rule is simple: if you're making an attack roll, you're making an attack.
Best Answer
EDIT: Answer completely re-worked on June 5; some comments may no longer apply.
This comes down to two issues.
Issue One
What actually causes the detonation? The magic item says the beads detonate when exposed to magical fire or "when thrown". What is it about being thrown that allows them to detonate? Most likely the impact is the trigger that causes detonation once the beads are armed. The question is, what arms the beads?
Do they have to be primed somehow (like pulling the pin from a grenade), and if so how is that done (is simply detaching it from the necklace enough)? Do the beads somehow telepathically read the carrier's intent, so that they can distinguish being deliberately thrown from being accidentally dropped? Are they activated by reaching a certain velocity? Or are they always armed, and any impact above a certain threshold causes them to detonate?
If it's always armed or has to be primed before it's rammed down the barrel, then the blast from the black powder will almost certainly set it off (thanks Pulsehead for pointing out that it could be carefully rammed down the barrel without setting it off). If it's activated by the user's intent, then it can't be used with a firearm at all, since it won't detect that it's being thrown.
If, however, it's armed by reaching a certain velocity then triggered by impact, then you can probably use it in a firearm without any real risk of it detonating before it reaches a target after being fired.
As for once it's fired, if it strikes a target it should probably detonate immediately; the beads are intended to explode just from being thrown, so the impact of striking a target at firearm velocities should set it off instantly, rather than giving it time to penetrate. If it explodes from colliding with the target, there's not much the target can do to avoid the blast, so the target shouldn't receive a reflex save. Since the bead is being fired from a weapon, however, the attacker should have to make a typical attack with the firearm to actually strike the target.
Issue Two
Does the DM want magic and technology to be combined like this? While it can allow a lot of interesting creativity (such as firing fireball beads from a musket), it also probably opens the door to a lot of potentially game-breaking combos. Magic and technology together are likely to be a "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" kind of thing. You might even take the route used in the Amethyst setting and say that proximity to magic actually prevents technology from working.