Your DM would be right on the "no slot" being figured in after the item being figured out and secondary ability prices as far as I can figure. As for the abilities being similar... I'm always "iffy" on that subject, I believe that it is in there for the magical staff and probably shouldn't be used in creation of wonderous items or other types of magical items. "Similar" is very very subjective and could be 'reasonable' but way underpriced depending on what abilities are added for continuous effect. I don't believe the belt of physical perfection (adds stats to all physical stats) uses it either.
Regardless custom item territory is pretty much DM domain and you should be thankful you have a DM willing to allow you to do so. If the price is too hefty to work with maybe toss on a limit per day, get the use of the item when you want/need it.
I had a homebrew feat in 3.5 called Craft Tattoo. Craft wondrous was a prerequisite. Essentially double the price of a wondrous item and call it non-slotted. Everything else is just fluff.
Check out Inner Sea Magic for more info on magical tattoos. Here's the relevant feat: Inscribe Magical Tattoo
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As an exercise I am trying to price up a tattoo that will grant fire, acid, cold, and lightning resist 10. Here's how I see it:
Cost to buy a ring of elemental resist:__12000
double to make it a slotless item:______24000
add second element (+24000 * .75):___18000
add third element (+24000 * .50):_____12000
add fourth element (+24000 * .50):____12000Total cost to purchase:______________66000
Total cost to craft:__________________33000Since the item is slotless and the abilities are similar, I figure it falls under the rules presented at the bottom of the estimating magic item value table.
My GM disagrees. He feels it should go like this:
Cost to buy a ring of elemental resist:__12000
add second element (+12000 * 1.5):___18000
add third element (+12000 * 1.5):_____18000
add fourth element (+12000 * 1.5):____18000Total cost to purchase:______________66000
Double to make it a slotless item:_____132000
Total cost to craft:__________________66000He feels the doubling for the slotless item doesn't come until the very end, so the tattoo is not subject to the discount given to slotless items with similar abilities as it isn't a slotless item until the very end of the process.
We're both ignoring the *1.5 modifier based on the duration of the endure elements spell because it was ignored when determining the price of a ring of resist elements.
Anyway, thoughts?
I don`t really agrre with 1.5 on the other abilites. Since it its slotless it should not be relevant. That or just make 4 tattoos.
Hi, I'm the DM/GM in question. I allow custom magic item creation (within reason) but this is the first time this has really come up. The question isn't whether or not it can be done but rather how much it will cost in the long run.
I don`t really agrre with 1.5 on the other abilites.
The 1.5 modifier comes from the Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values. It reads: Multiple different abilities Multiply lower item cost by 1.5
A sidebar also contradicts it regarding "slotless" items which is where the confusion is coming in, thus why I directed Zed to post here.
Since it its slotless it should not be relevant. That or just make 4 tattoos.
A tattoo technically takes up a slot but the feat requires them to be priced as slotless.
Magic tattoos must be placed on a part of the body normally able to hold a magic item slot, but they do not count against or interfere with magic items worn on those slots. A single slot can only hold one magical tattoo (nonmagical tattoos and tattoos acquired from the tattooed sorcerer archetype do not count against this limit). Tattoos may be inscribed on the following slots: belt, body, chest, feet, hands, head, neck, shoulder, ring (up to two), or wrist. They cannot be inscribed on armor, eye, headband, or shield slots.
Magical tattoos follow the rules for magic item creation as though they were wondrous items, except that they can use the Craft (calligraphy, paintings, tattoos) skill. New magical tattoos can be researched and designed using the guidelines for pricing new magic items. Magical tattoos are treated as slotless magical items for pricing purposes.
It should be 132,000 gp. Slotless applies after everything else, and the similar abilities cost only ever seems to be used for staffs (and presumably other items that use a shared pool of resources).
I would say leave off the *1.5, but since you can only wear a limited number of tattoos, it seems appropriate to keep it. It's not really slotless in the technical sense.