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[GiglameshDespair]

Alternatively, you might want lighting so you can see further than 60ft, or to help keep out underground creatures than dislike light.

[Mathel]

You know, in a world filled with magic, I would expect someone to make a business out of making magical items (like rods) of Light, and selling them to adventurers.
The adventurers would just have to buy 1 and not need to expend money on torches. They would also not end up suffocating when exploring a poorly ventilated cave.

[scriver]

Expendable torches are better for throwing down dark pits to measure depth and disturb forgotten beasts of the deep.

[Harry Baldman]

You know, in a world filled with magic, I would expect someone to make a business out of making magical items (like rods) of Light, and selling them to adventurers.
The adventurers would just have to buy 1 and not need to expend money on torches. They would also not end up suffocating when exploring a poorly ventilated cave.

Even better, there's a spell for that. Darkness is so easy to fix in D&D that in my experience most DMs just don't bother with it.

[Mathel]

Well, I meant the Light spell. But on a magical item, so even non-mages could use it.

Edit: Though I submit that having permanent duration, the Continual Flame would be better for this, because it does not go out. The wizard could just get a lantern case and light the inside with the Continual Flame and sell it that way.

Thinking back at it, that is probably what you meant.

[Reelya]

You know, in a world filled with magic, I would expect someone to make a business out of making magical items (like rods) of Light, and selling them to adventurers.
The adventurers would just have to buy 1 and not need to expend money on torches. They would also not end up suffocating when exploring a poorly ventilated cave.

The problem there is what's the cost of torches vs the cost of making the magical item? I think that's covered in the rules.

Both 5e and Pathfinder say a torch is 1 cp, whereas e.g. the spell continual flame needs 50 gp worth of ruby dust to be cast on the item. I doubt you could come up with another way to make a continual light that's cheaper than that.

So if you use torches, you get 5000 hours worth of illumination before you break even with the cost of a single casting of Continual Flame, and that Flame spell could be dispelled.

[Lord Shonus]

A Continual Flame spell costs a level 2 spell slot (level 3 for Clerics) and 50GP worth of material components. Torches cost .01 GP. As an Everburning Torch is nothing more than a normal torch with a Continual Flame spell cast in it, that means that making one costs 50.01 GP. Everburning Torches sell for 110 GP, for a profit of 59.99 GP at list price.

If you are selling as an adventurer (at 50% price) you would be able to sell them at 55 GP, for a profit of 4.99 GP each.

[Reelya]

Sure, but the low costs of normal torches affects both the seller and the buyer. You can get thousands of torches for the cost of one continual one, and the individual torches can't be ruined by a single "dispel magic" spell.

[Mathel]

Yeah.
Going of of the wiki:
Torch burns for 1 hour and costs 1copper piece, pint of lamp oil burns for 6 hours and costs 1silver piece. To use the oil, you also have to have a lantern, which costs(based on type) 1sp, 7gp, or 12gp. The Continuous Flame costs at least 50gold pieces in ruby dust.

On the other hand, a torch weighs a pound. So does a pint of lamp oil. Lamp wighs between 1 and 3 pounds. If you expect to be underground for a week, you have to have either 168 torches, costing 1,68 gp and weighing 168 pounds, or a lantern with 28 pints of oil, the oil costing 2,8 gold and weighing 28 pounds then you have to add the lamp. Also, a pint is 0,47 liter, meaning that if you have oil, you carry 13,16 liters on oil on you. That is bulky and heavy.
I do not know how large torches are, but 168 of them would probably not fit in a backpack either.

[Reelya]

If you are selling as an adventurer (at 50% price) you would be able to sell them at 55 GP, for a profit of 4.99 GP each.

This is a good point, however you'd also need to take opportunity cost into account. e.g. is there any spell at the equivalent level of difficulty that would make 5 GP+ in profit per day? Or any other activity that takes the same amount of time as memorizing/praying and casting that spell that can make 5 GP+ per day?

If there is, then basically no adventurer would be mass-producing Everlasting Torches. It would be like taking time off a well-paying job to go collect aluminium cans. Sure, you'll make more than zero profit, however you're not being optimal.

[Egan_BW]

Also you, you know, have to find both a bulk supplier of ruby dust and a sizeable population of people rich enough to buy a 110 GP magical item who don't already have one, or are able to just cast the spell themselves.

[Reelya]

Yeah, the unlikely combination of a party of adventurers who are going to spend significant time away from civilization exploring a deep dungeon, yet didn't bring a cleric capable of just buying the ruby dust and pre-casting the needed spell themselves.

[Mathel]

Lv3 cleric or Lv2 wizard/sorcerer. Since a Lv1 party probably is not going to have the money, it would either be a really rich Lv2 party without a wizard/sorcerer able to cast it, or a higher level party without cleric or wizard/sorcerer able to cast it.

As a cleric would be able to just prepare any spell from the cleric spell list on his lever, assume that it has to be a party without a cleric. But hiring a cleric to go with them could cost them more than 55gp.

[scriver]

I would cast eternal flame on a lantern instead of a torch. Much more classy.

...Speaking of classy. Can I cast Continual Flame on my dick?

[Mathel]

You can cast it on any object. That being said, I would cast it on pebbles, as they can be smaller and lighter than torches (also cheaper).

As for your dick, no, you can not, as it is not a separate object from you. But you could cast it on yourself as a whole.