This is my first try at creating a magic item, as well as my first post. I am 12 and have started creating things for Pathfinder so feedback would be appreciated. In particular I was unsure which spells should be required as well as the spells for it. Thanks!
Helm of the Bodak
Aura moderate necromancy CL 7th
Slot head Price 10,800 (so far)
This menacing helmet is crafted from the head of a bodak. Its eyes continue to smoke, allowing the wearer to use the death gaze ability of the bodak 1/day. It also bestows some of the defensive abilities of the bodak, giving the wearer DR 5/cold iron. This ability can be used However, the helmet makes the wearer suffer some of the bodak’s vulnerability to bright light, giving the wearer light blindness. As the skin of the bodak is quite repulsive, anytime a creature puts on the helmet, they must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, enervation, head of a bodak cost TBD
It looks like a cool item with a lot going on which is cool. I tend to prefer items that have some flavor and use behind them to the boring old +2 to X items. The only drawback is that pricing is going to be challenging with so much going on.
Let's start with the easy part, the spell duplication. The formula for that is: Caster Level x Spell Level x 2,000. Caster level 7 x 4th level enervation spell x 2,000 = 56,000. You chose to add a 1/day restriction so divide that number by 5 which equals 11,200.
The DR has no consistent way to price it, but I would say it is reasonable to compare it to an AC bonus. The "other" qualifier seems most appropriate. The formula for that is: Bonus Squared x 2,500. So 5 x 5 x 2,500 = 62,500. You included a way to bypass it, but if you intend to give this item to a player the DR will rarely if ever by bypassed without a GM directly planning to do so. I think that cutting that number in half is reasonable and I would just round down to 31,000. Right now our total is at 42,200.
Lastly we have the light blindness weakness. To calculate how much this should take off of the item's price let's calculate it as a a regular AC bonus. The formula for that is: Bonus Squared x 2,000. 1 x 1 x 2,000 = 2,000. It only applies in bright light so cut that in half to 1,000. Light blindness also incurs a -1 to perception so lets just knock off that extra 200 hanging on at the end of the price. The price for the item now sits at 41,000.
The bit about being sickened when you put the helmet on is a nice touch of flavor but I would not consider it significant enough to detract from the overall price. Anyone wearing it would likely put it on with the rest of their equipment long before a fight would normally take place. However, if you really think it warrants a price reduction then I say go ahead and knock off 1,000 bringing it down to a nice even 40,000.
The price is significantly higher than what you had it originally listed as and I am sorry if that ruins the item, but DR is a powerful defensive ability. While the enervation spell once per day is cool the real reason to purchase the item is the damage resistance. All things considered 40,000 seems like a steal for DR 5 to me. If I were making this item for one of my games I would use the same numbers and formulas as above.
thanks a lot! the ideas for the pricing are quite helpful