What price would you give to this custom made magic item? Why?
Verdant Heart
PRICE ? GP
AURA faint Transmutation
CL 5th WEIGHT 2 lb.
This fist-sized bright green jewel is vaguely shaped in the form of a heart. Three time per day, while holding the verdant heart, the owner can use a command word to cast barkskin as the spell. In addition, the wearer can similarly cast plant growth, once per day.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST ? GP
Craft Wondrous Item, barkskin, plant growth.
Well, the short answer is ask your GM.
If I were your GM, in my current high-magic game this would go for 23,760 gp (purchase price, not creation cost). That's two command word spell effects priced at caster level * spell level * uses per day * 360, so 2 * 3 * 3 * 360 = 6480 and 3 * 5 * 1 * 360 = 5400. Because it's slotless, add the two together and multiply everything by 2 to get the total. Note that the two effects have different effective caster levels, so you only get barkskin for 30 minutes even though the caster level of the item as a whole is 5.
I am the Gm, so no need to worry about rules exploitation.
I just want to price the item correctly, because it may fall on the hands of the PCs.
My first thought was something of the sorts:
[5*2*1800]/1,67 = 10,800 for barkskin
[5*3*1800]/5 =5,400
total 16,200 gp (market price)
I am unsure if I should apply the x2 modifier of a slot-less item, because as written, you have to have it in hands to use it. Do rod costs always factor this x2 mod?
AFAIK all magic items have only have one caster level. That's why I am using caster level 5th.
I did a little searching and couldn't find any particularly similar items using these spells. So let's try the formula:
Barkskin: 2 * 5 * 750 / (5/3) = 10 800 GP
Plant Growth: 3 * 5 * 750 / (5/1) = 5400 GP
These are the baseline costs assuming CL 5 for both spells.
Multiple different abilities on an item adds a 1.5 cost modifier to the lower priced ability, in this case Plant Growth. This particular price modifier is most likely in place for items that take equipment slots (which this item does not), so you could ignore it or not - it's up to the GM.
If you do decide to apply the 1.5 modifier, it shifts as follows: 5400 * 1,5 = 8100 GP.
I would not apply the slotless cost modifier for an item that casts spells if it still needs to be drawn and activated for the spell to be activated. However if the item in question was similar to an ioun stone (always equipped, doesn't take a slot) I would apply that modifier.
That brings us to 16 200 gp, or 18 900 GP if you apply the multiple different items cost modifier.
I guess it's fair to not use the slotless multiplier. If you don't you might want to use the multiple different abilities pricing Kudaku mentioned.
Now, as for the CL, it's certainly reasonable to force everything to be the same CL but only staves have that as an actual restriction. (They're also the only thing that gets the multiple similar abilities discount that I've seen.) Look at the flame tongue. If you break it's price down, you get:
Masterwork longsword - 315 gp
+1 (CL 3) flaming burst (CL 12) - 18000 gp
1/day scorching ray (CL 3) - 2400 gp
Which gives the total in the book. The listed CL is 12, the highest of any of its effects.
I just noticed I typed the wand formula (*750) in my post, but I actually used 1800 in the math. Disregard that flub.
Yeah 18,900 gp
sounds like a fair price.
Thank you guys!
BTW, if it comes up later that someone wants to upgrade this item, you shouldn't charge more for higher CL of the plant growth spell as there's almost no benefit to casting it at a higher level unlike barkskin. (I mention it because barkskin gets a nice boost at just one level higher.)
I would go a different route than the others here, for the Barkskin pricing. I would base the cost on an amulet of natural armor +2, doubled for slotless (total of 8000 for that component), then add the 5400 for a 1/day Plant Growth CL 5. Due to the limited power of Plant Growth, I would not add any modifiers to that. Total cost of 13400.
In no way would I ever consider making Barkskin more expensive than an equivalent amulet of natural armor made slotless.
EDIT: Disregard this, I forgot how to read magic item entries.
Wouldn't a +2 slotless natural armor bonus be worth 16k?
Wouldn't a +2 slotless natural armor bonus be worth 16k?
Yes. Yes it would. I make the mistake of reading the wrong line for magic item costs far too much.
I've edited in a line to disregard my previous post.
Ahh, no worries - I make the same mistake. It's very easy to get craft and purchase prices mixed up when you're working with custom crafted items :)
I try to always work in purchase price for anything and only worry about the crafting price when it comes time to craft it.
First Part = Barkskin 3 time per day, with a 10 minute/level duration so at Caster Level 5 this would be 50 minutes per use.
Natural Armor Bonus = bonus squared x 2000 = ( 2 x 2 x 2000 )= 8,000
Natural armor bonus does not take up a slot = x 2 = ( 8,000 x 2 )= 16,000
This is still based off a spell Barkskin = Caster level x spell level x 1,800 = ( 3 x 2 x 1,800 ) = 10,800 = This is used, for spell reference on what the bonus does, any special effect, and used to regulate the CL vs Duration effect.
10,800 + 16,000 = 26,800
Charges per day, Divide by (5 divided by charge per day) = 5/3 = 1.666 modifier. ( 26,800 divided by 1.666 ) = 16,086
Note 2; If duration is 10 minute/level, multiply the cost by 1.5. Which is done for permanent spell effects with continues effects. Since this spell has a duration, and the Natural armor bonus is based off a continues effect, we need to reverse this notation..... In this case we need to reverse note 2, so we divide by 1.5. ( 16,086 divided by 1.5 ) = 10,724 gp
10,724 gp = for the +2 natural armor bonus, for 50 minutes per use, 3/day
................................
Plant growth is Caster level x spell level x 1800 = ( 3 x 5 x 1800 ) = 27,000 gp
Assuming, you need to pull out and hold the item, to cast spell, so am not applying the slotless modifier. Still 27,000 gp
Charges per day, Divide by ( 5 divided by charge per day ) = 5/1 = 5 modifier. ( 27,000 divided by 5 ) = 5,400 gp
5,400 gp = 5th level Plant Growth spell, cast once per Day.
.................................
1st Item = 10,724 gp
2nd Item = 5,400 x 1.5 multiple different ability = 8,100 gp
10,724 + 8,100 = 18,824 gp Market Price ( 9,412 gp Creation Cost )
Wealth by Level =
1/2 Wealth on Magic item = Can buy at 9th level, or create at 7th level.
1/4 Wealth on Magic item = Can buy at 11th level, or create at 9th level.
................................
Late note: I would not compare it against an Amulet of Natural Armor price. This is due to the fact that such am amulet 1) Is always on, and does not need to be activated. 2) Does not have a time duration, which when over, will then deactivate, which then requires reactivation. 3) Does not have a set number of time, that it can be activated.
This is why i would charge less for the Barkskin version of the armor bonus. 1) Has to be activated to be used. 2) Once activated, has fixed duration. 3) Once you use of the 3 charges, you no longer have access to the +2 Natural Armor bonus, until the next day.
(*) = At some point tho, if you keep uping the Caster Level, to get longer duration, The Item will end up costing more, for the duration effect vs continues effect, that you would be better off, forgetting the duration, and making the item a continues magic item, like said amulet.
Anyway, this is how i would figure it up.
Adding the spell price and the +AC price together seems really odd. After all, you could just make a similar item without referencing barkskin and get a discount. (Or similarly make an item that gives a sacred bonus instead of a natural armor bonus and reference no specific spell.)
Also, I don't think the duration modifiers aren't applicable to a uses per day item as they're already implicitly taking the duration in to account.
In this case, the two happen to just about cancel each other out, so your price ends up about the same anyway, but it still seems like an odd way to use the guidelines.