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I was reading HPMOR and on chapter 3 it mentions some infinite wish combo in "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" using 3 items. The action being set in 1991 it can either be AD&D or AD&D 2nd edition

What is the combo?

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1  
I think it has to do with using a candle of invocation to gate in efreeti. – Colin D Feb 14 at 16:36
I went ahead and e-mailed the author of HPMOR with this question. If he gets back to me I'll post the response. (Unless he feels like posting it here directly!) However, I think he's a pretty busy guy, so perhaps this question will go forever unanswered. – starwed Feb 22 at 18:13

2 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

From this archived forum post.

It using the 3.5 D&D rules.

The Infinite Wish Loop!

  1. Buy a Candle of Invocation for 8,400 gold.
  2. Summon an Efreeti using the Candle of Invocation, you get three Wishes.*
  3. Use the two first Wishes for whatever you like
  4. Use the last of the three to ask for a Candle of Invocation

Per Gate spell you going to have to have be caster level 5 or above to control the efreet

For AD&D 1st Edition the candle is 5,000 gp. However this sequence has a problem. Unlike the 3.5 Gate spell the AD&D gate spell does not place the summoned being under any type of compulsion.

Update I found a combination that would work with AD&D 1st edition that involves two items

  1. Use a Candle of Invocation to summon a efreet
  2. Use a charge from the Rod of Beguiling to make him your friend (no saving throw)
  3. Use your first wish
  4. Use your second wish to recharge the Rod
  5. Use your third wish to create a Candle of Invocation.
  6. Repeat

As long as you stay within the conditions of the Rod of Beguiling you should be able to gain infinite wishes.

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Since this (a) doesn't work in AD&D and (b) does not require 3 items, it's presumably not what was referenced. (Assuming that it is a real reference.) – starwed Feb 14 at 19:26
I will do some more research, I am pretty sure that an Iron Flask for Efreeti is the second item as the trapped creature must perform a service for one turn. The third items needs to be something that will cause a summoned efreeti to automatically fail their saving throw and overcome their magic resistance. – RS Conley Feb 14 at 21:05
Upvoted but not accepted yet because it only uses 2 items. – João Portela Feb 15 at 13:27
@starwed I'm also assuming that it is a real reference. – João Portela Feb 15 at 13:28
I doubt it is real reference considering it was written in the 2000s. Stuff like that has a habit of getting different eras mixed up. The method I outlined has the virtue of using only the items in the original DMG. – RS Conley Feb 15 at 14:41
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up vote 6 down vote

I emailed Eliezer Yudkowsky, the author of HPMOR -- this was his response:

I didn't have three exact items in mind. The well-knownness of the Candle of Invocation hack using only one item dates to after Harry's time.

So I think that's going to be as good as we can get. Now let us give thanks to Eliezer for taking the time to respond to such a question! :)

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So it was a sort-of reference, but the details ("3") are just artistic license. – SevenSidedDie Feb 23 at 0:32
+1. Now I'm not sure if I should accept this answer or the other. I think I'll keep the other since it seems more on par with the subject of rpg.se – João Portela Feb 25 at 20:40

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