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In the "Fixing the Wizard" thread, Hagen mentioned that he intends to re-price many of the magic items from the DMG.
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/community/gaming/dnd/fixingTheWizard&a mp;page=2
This is something I've considered doing as well, particularly since the Magic Item Compendium came out. If Hagen or anyone else who has also been working on this would be willing to post some of their work (or e-mail copies of it), I for one would find that incredibly useful.
Personally, I've re-priced the Ring of Wizardry, because we determined that it is way too costly as written for the benefit received. In addition, it currently gives more benefit to sorcerers (because they have more spells per day) than it does to the wizards for whom it is named. Here's my version:
Wizardry: This special ring comes in assorted stages according to spell level (ring of wizardry I, ring of wizardry II, ring of wizardry III, ring of wizardry IV, etc.), all of them useful only to arcane spellcasters. The wearer’s arcane spells per day are doubled, up to a maximum of 4 extra spells per day, for one specific spell level. A ring of wizardry I increases the number of 1st-level spells, a ring of wizardry II increases the number of 2nd-level spells, and so forth. Bonus spells from high ability scores or school specialization are not doubled. For example, a Ring of Wizardry IX would grant a 17th level wizard only 1 extra spell per day, because he gains only one base spell slot of that level from his class; by the time he reaches 20th level, it will give him 4 bonus spells of 9th level per day.
Multiple levels of a ring of wizardry can be combined into a single ring, occupying the one ring slot, with no increase in the cost of each level. There is no price break for dividing the different levels of ring of wizardry among different rings in separate item slots. For example, it would cost the same to purchase a Ring of Wizardry III-V as it would to buy a Ring of Wizardry III, a Ring of Wizardry IV, and a Ring of Wizardry V.
Rings of Wizardry of the same spell level do not stack. The same wearer cannot gain a benefit from wearing multiple rings of wizardry of the same spell level.
Faint (wizardry I ), Moderate (wizardry II) or strong (wizardry III+, or any combination) (no school); CL 10 + spell level (e.g. I = 11th, V = 15th, IX = 19th); Forge Ring, limited wish; Price 4,000 gp (I), 16,000 gp (II), 36,000 gp (III), 64,000 gp (IV), 100,000 gp (V), 144,000 gp (VI), 196,000 gp (VII), 256,000 gp (VIII), 324,000 gp (IX).
Designer Notes: These new costs bring the benefits in line with the Pearls of Power (1,000gp times spell level squared, times 4 because of the cap of 4 bonus spells). The cap of 4 also means that a Sorcerer no longer gains far greater benefit from the ring than a Wizard. The cost not increasing for putting multiple levels into the same ring is based on similar decisions for the "big six" items as described in the Magic Item Compendium; also, since the costs are based on Pearl of Power costs, which are slotless, it seemed appropriate.
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I had repriced the metamagic rods loosely based on the information found in Complete Arcane. You can see the thread --> here.
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I only recently saw this thread, so sorry about the late reply. Basically I had the following in mind when I modified items from the DMG:
- Screw the wealth per level guidelines! If I want to give cool items to a 16th-level barbarian king, so be it. And there's nothing wrong with a 3rd-level PC cleric walking around with a +2 holy mace.
- The DMG is meant for DM's, it's not the Sears catalog.
- Casters, especially wizards, need something to do when they run out of spells. And it has to be something useful.
- Consumable items such as potions, scrolls, and wands are an expensive habit for PC's. I found too many cases of PC's either hoarding their potions all the way to level 20 because they were too expensive, or using them too frequently and always being short on gold.
- PC's don't bother using scrolls or wands that require a saving throw because they're pathetically easy to succeed against. Wand of sleep (DC 11)? Scroll of hold person (DC 13)? Only commoners fear these items.
- Raising the caster level of items of consumable items is insanely expensive. Why should a wand of cure light wounds (CL 2) cost twice the price than its CL 1 equivalent? It only heals 1 extra point! I think a wand of cure light wounds (CL 5) is a cool item and should probably cost less than the suggested 3500 GP.
- Wow, that +1 blinding shield sure was neat when my player got it at level 3. But now he's level 12 and he hasn't used the blinding ability since level 4 because it's a DC 14.
- Items which provide spell resistance are a farce. You're better off tying a drow to your shield. Spell resistance (19) is considered a +5 bonus for a shield? But a 9th-level wizard gets through it half the time! By the time a PC can afford the 91,000 GP for a mantle of spell resistance (21), the item will be useful only against casters that are 5 levels less than him.
- I've always thought that a +1 greatsword should be more expensive that a +1 dagger. The same logic applies to armour: Shouldn't magical full plate be more expensive to enhance than leather armour? If a player is going to play a character that only uses simple weapons, well perhaps having to spend less gold on said weapons would encourage such a character to actually do so. When was the last time you saw a sorcerer purchase a +4 dagger?
- 2301 GP for 50 +1 arrows? Ummm, why wouldn't you just buy a +1 bow and save yourself a lot of grief. I have never seen players buy magical ammo.
- Twice the price to enhance each end of a double weapon? Ouch, that's one expensive quarterstaff. Not only is the character sacrificing a shield and taking extra feats, but he has to shell out twice the gold too. I can't even send double-axe wielding opponents against my PC's because they'll make too much gold.
- Got a suit of +5 spiked full plate and you want to jump down 30 ft. on top of your opponent? It's not going to do much, unless you're willing on spending a small fortune to enhance the spikes as weapons.
- Adamantine isn't very useful unless you enjoy sundering weapons, and it's WAY overpriced when compared to mithral.
- Dragonhide is far from impressive. If the PC's are going to slay a dragon and wait an eternity for that suit of armour, it better be worth it. Druids shouldn't be the only ones to want dragonhide.
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So this is what I came up with:
Weapons
Weapon prices have been changed as per the following table:
Bonus---Simple----------Martial---------Exotic
Mwk-----+100 gp---------+200 gp---------+300 gp
+1------+1000 gp--------+1500 gp--------+2000 gp
+2------+4000 gp--------+6000 gp--------+8000 gp
+3------+9000 gp--------+13,500 gp------+18,000 gp
+4------+16,000 gp------+24,000 gp------+32,000 gp
+5------+25,000 gp------+37,500 gp------+50,000 gp
+6------+36,000 gp------+54,000 gp------+72,000 gp
+7------+49,000 gp------+73,500 gp------+98,000 gp
+8------+64,000 gp------+96,000 gp------+128,000 gp
+9------+81,000 gp------+121,500 gp-----+162,000 gp
+10-----+100,000 gp-----+150,000 gp-----+200,000 gp
Double Weapon: +50%
Ammunition: Prices are for 200 arrows, bolts, or sling bullets.
Armour & Shields
Bonus---Shields/Light---Medium----------Heavy
Mwk-----+50 gp----------+100 gp---------+150 gp
+1------+500 gp---------+750 gp---------+1000 gp
+2------+2000 gp--------+3000 gp--------+4000 gp
+3------+4500 gp--------+6750 gp--------+9000 gp
+4------+8000 gp--------+12,000 gp------+16,000 gp
+5------+12,500 gp------+18,750 gp------+25,000 gp
+6------+18,000 gp------+27,000 gp------+36,000 gp
+7------+24,500 gp------+36,750 gp------+49,000 gp
+8------+32,000 gp------+48,000 gp------+64,000 gp
+9------+40,500 gp------+60,750 gp------+81,000 gp
+10-----+50,000 gp------+75,000 gp-----+100,000 gp
Shield Attack & Damage Enhancements: +100%
Spiked Armour Attack & Damage Enhancements: +50%
Adamantine
Adamantine weapons no longer ignore hardness. Instead, the hardness of the struck item is reduced by 10, to a minimum of 0.
Adamantine weapons gain a +1 enhancement bonus which stacks with magical enhancement bonuses.
Adamantine armour and shields gain damage reduction as per the DMG as well as a +1 enhancement bonus which stacks with magical enhancement bonuses.
Dragonhide
Dragonhide armour gains energy resistance or immunity of the same type as the dragon’s breath weapon, depending on the size of the dragon:
Dragon Size-----Energy Resistance-------Price
Small-----------5-----------------------+3,000 gp
Medium----------10----------------------+9,000 gp
Large-----------15----------------------+15,000 gp
Huge------------20----------------------+21,000 gp
Gargantuan------30----------------------+33,000 gp
Colossal--------Immunity----------------+45,000 gp
Potions
Spell Level-----Price (gp)------Base CL
1---------------40--------------1
2---------------200-------------3
3---------------500-------------5
Caster Level increase: 20 gp x Spell Level x CL increase
The caster level cannot be raised higher than the crafter’s caster level.
Scrolls
Spell Level-----Price (gp)------Base CL
0---------------10--------------1
1---------------20--------------1
2---------------100-------------3
3---------------250-------------5
4---------------450-------------7
5---------------750-------------9
6---------------1100------------11
7---------------1500------------13
8---------------2000------------15
9---------------2600------------17
Saving throw DC’s: 10 + Spell Level + ability modifier of caster
Caster Level increase: 10 gp x Spell Level x CL increase
The caster level cannot be raised higher than the crafter’s caster level.
Wands
Spell Level-----Price (gp)------Base CL-Base DC
0---------------250-------------1-------10
1---------------500-------------1-------11
2---------------3000------------3-------13
3---------------7500------------5-------14
4---------------14000-----------7-------16
DC increase: 100 gp x Spell Level x DC bonus
Maximum saving throw DC’s: 10 + Spell Level + ability modifier of crafter
Caster Level increase: 100 gp x Spell Level x CL increase
The caster level cannot be raised higher than the crafter’s caster level.
Item DC’s
The special abilities of most items now have a DC equal to 10 + ½ the wielder’s HD + the wielder’s relevant ability modifier. Use the rules from the Monstrous Manual (page 300) to determine which ability is relevant.
Ring of Protection
Bonus---Price (gp)
+1------1500
+2------6000
+3------13500
+4------24000
+5------37500
Amulet of Natural Armour
Bonus---Price (gp)
+1------1000
+2------4000
+3------9000
+4------16000
+5------25000
Spell Resistance
Items with spell resistance now provide spell resistance as shown in the following table:
Original SR-----New SR
13--------------5 + HD
15--------------7 + HD
17--------------9 + HD
18--------------10 + HD
19--------------11 + HD
21--------------13 + HD
23--------------15 + HD
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For everything else, I establish an ad-hoc value by comparing the usefulness of the item to the standard items: weapons, armour, ring of protection, amulet of natural armour, cloak of resistance, and the ability enhancers such as gloves of dexterity. 57,000 GP for a helm of underwater action? Ummm, no. I'm thinking 12,000 GP is more appropriate, and even that's a bit expensive for an item a PC will only use once in a while.
I'm also quite happy with the Magic Item Compendium, which did a much better job of pricing items.
Keep in mind that I came up with these prices mostly for PC's who take crafting feats. I nearly told my players that items simply couldn't be purchased or sold anymore, just like back in 2nd Edition. I miss the days of 2nd Ed. when finding magic items was cool and there was no such thing as wealth per level guidelines. Nowadays, if I send a dozen 6th-level halfling barbarians wielding +1 flails against my players, it becomes a game of Dungeons & Merchants.
Awesome thread. I agree very much with most of it. I would like to add one of my own: I sell all potions to my players at half-price. This seems to be the right amount that they will actually buy and use potions but not spend all of their gold on them.
Well I don't agree with all of your ideas, but repricing is interesting nevertheless. One of my own projects is to simplify and tweak the items chapter of the DMG with epic levels in mind.
For example, what is the purpose of having a bunch of random "special" items? Is a Holy Avenger all that different than a holy sword +X? Oh right, it grants SR that's a joke to any caster worth their salt.
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For example, what is the purpose of having a bunch of random "special" items? Is a Holy Avenger all that different than a holy sword +X? Oh right, it grants SR that's a joke to any caster worth their salt.
I'm thinking that the list of specific weapons and armour made it into the DMG since these were the popular weapons and armour of 2nd Edition. There was no such thing as weapon and armour special abilities back then, but the holy avenger was the best sword a paladin could get his hands on.
- Adamantine isn't very useful unless you enjoy sundering weapons, and it's WAY overpriced when compared to mithral.
Mmm... I disagree. In fact I'd say that an adamantine weapon is one of the best purchases a martial player can take. Its not the items usefulness in combat that makes this item so useful - its the fact that it slices through just about anything with ease. One of the really big problems with the martial classes is that they have so few ways of effecting their environment. Adamantite weapon changes all that. You can slice your way through just about any object. No longer can the DM esily lead you by the nose through the dungeon. Now you can make your own passages.
Is the DM trying to kill you by dripping portcullis behind you just before the monsters attack? (a personal favorite tactic of mine), not to fear - the fighter can slice through the bars if the rest of the party can hold the bad guys at bay for two or three rounds.
Rogue can't climb the slippery wall? Make him hand holds!
Door locked and the wizard forgot to choose Knock? No door stands in the way of a fighter with an adamantite sword for long...etc.
I'm not sure where I see why you would make the prices for magic weapons and armor so different based on type. I would probably do something along the line of the same xp cost for construction no matter the weapon or armor type (it is the same spells after all) and maybe some slight variation is material costs at construction (but not a significant amount) and then base the market value more based on supply and demand. I mean how many people want Scale mail? If a mitral breast plate is a very popular armor then it should cost more than full plate. Sur eyou have to tweak Item creation a bit since it is based on market value, but I would almost use the current values in the DMG for creation (or maybe cut them in half) and then the sell values based on populaity of the item of maybe region.
I'm thinking that the list of specific weapons and armour made it into the DMG since these were the popular weapons and armour of 2nd Edition. There was no such thing as weapon and armour special abilities back then, but the holy avenger was the best sword a paladin could get his hands on.
For example, what is the purpose of having a bunch of random "special" items? Is a Holy Avenger all that different than a holy sword +X? Oh right, it grants SR that's a joke to any caster worth their salt.
That's what I figured as well. But this is 3rd edition where just about every new book that comes out has half a dozen new special armor and weapon enhancements. If we're going to standardize magic items, let's standardize them! Especially since upgrading a special item is by RAW impossible, and so requires at least a bit of DM attention and judgment if it is to happen.
Anyway, my point is that I don't have a problem with subjecting the items chapter to some major editing.
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Mmm... I disagree. In fact I'd say that an adamantine weapon is one of the best purchases a martial player can take. Its not the items usefulness in combat that makes this item so useful - its the fact that it slices through just about anything with ease. One of the really big problems with the martial classes is that they have so few ways of effecting their environment. Adamantite weapon changes all that. You can slice your way through just about any object. No longer can the DM esily lead you by the nose through the dungeon. Now you can make your own passages.
Is the DM trying to kill you by dripping portcullis behind you just before the monsters attack? (a personal favorite tactic of mine), not to fear - the fighter can slice through the bars if the rest of the party can hold the bad guys at bay for two or three rounds.
Rogue can't climb the slippery wall? Make him hand holds!
Door locked and the wizard forgot to choose Knock? No door stands in the way of a fighter with an adamantite sword for long...etc.
What you say is very true for weapons, but the same can't be said for adamantine armour. As far as I know, most players prefer paying less money for mithral armour that provides a better dex bonus, a better armour check penalty, and greater speed than paying for armour that only provides DR 1-3.
I must also admit that I've always disliked the way adamantine ignores hardness, ever since someone suggested they dig their way out of a dungeon with an adamantine spoon. Portcullis in the way? Here, use my adamantine shuriken. Come on! That's mainly the reason why I modified adamantine so that instead of ignoring hardness completely, it instead ignores 10 points worth of hardness.
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I'm not sure where I see why you would make the prices for magic weapons and armor so different based on type. I would probably do something along the line of the same xp cost for construction no matter the weapon or armor type (it is the same spells after all) and maybe some slight variation is material costs at construction (but not a significant amount) and then base the market value more based on supply and demand. I mean how many people want Scale mail? If a mitral breast plate is a very popular armor then it should cost more than full plate. Sur eyou have to tweak Item creation a bit since it is based on market value, but I would almost use the current values in the DMG for creation (or maybe cut them in half) and then the sell values based on populaity of the item of maybe region.
Mostly I thought that weapons were a bit too expensive and I wanted to encourage non-martial classes to invest in weapons and armour as well. I came out of Shackled City playing a dwarven fighter the whole way through who never had enough gold. I had a decent waraxe at level 9 (+4 total), but it wasn't until level 16 that I was finally able to enhance it to +5. By the final encounter, everyone else in the party had more than enough gold so the group chipped in and I was able to enhance it to +7 at level 20. Mind you, I was quite satisfied with my character and his items throughout 95% of the campaign, but this is when I began thinking that the prices in the DMG could use some tweaking. Now I'm running Age of Worms and the modifications I came up with seem fine so far, but it's a bit early to tell since my PC's are only level 4.
I must also admit that I've always disliked the way adamantine ignores hardness, ever since someone suggested they dig their way out of a dungeon with an adamantine spoon. Portcullis in the way? Here, use my adamantine shuriken. Come on! That's mainly the reason why I modified adamantine so that instead of ignoring hardness completely, it instead ignores 10 points worth of hardness.
I don't really see how this 'solves' the problem you've just described. Wood has a hardness of 4 or 5, Stone has a hardness of 8, and iron/steel has a hardness of 10. It's very rare (I can't even think of any off the top of my head) for any material, save adamantine, to have a hardness higher than 10. Which, I imagine, is why the designers felt comfortable saying it just bypasses hardness less than 20.
Also, a /spoon/ is going to take someone forever (have a few years, bub? Watch the Count of Monte Cristo sometime. They /used/ spoons, and look how long it took them: YEARS). They want to shell out the cash for adamantine picks and spades? Sure, no bigs. They still have to make Profession Miner checks, and they still need lots of time (this latter assumes the dungeon in question is a delving dungeon, and not a jail type dungeon).
Same with a shuriken. Let 'em shave off the bars bit by bit, but it's still going to take time. DMs are allowed to apply logic when players are trying something that's truly a stretch. Situations like this just defy the whole suspension of disbelief thing, and don't have to be allowed even if the rules technically allow it.
Finally, I wanted to question your pricing for weapons. Why are simple, martial, and exotic weapons all priced differently? I don't understand why a really nicely carved club is less costly to enchant than a really nicely fashioned war fan or whip. Furthermore, how do you handle a Bastard Sword? It can be used as a martial weapon if wielded two handed, or one handed as an exotic weapon. I see Big Gaping Holes in that pricing scheme, and can't imagine anything to justify it other than a fickle and arbitrary god of magic.
Edit: I started this before your response to the previous poster. I still question the pricing scheme; by this setup, you're actually penalizing those who want to build their character around an interesting weapon by making it more expensive for them to do so. The whip master, or spiked chain "God of War" finds themselves having to shell out major cash after the already 'steep' buy in of having to spend a feat for the coolness of using the weapon in the first place, while their mage pays a pittance and the barbarian smugly flashes his discount card for that spiffy new two handed sword.
Why not just use a flat discount for all weapons?
If I were inclined to run D&D again, I would copy Hagen's house-ruled mods and decree it as law. I agree with about 90% of the material Hagen has presented.
Nice job.
I see Big Gaping Holes in that pricing scheme, and can't imagine anything to justify it other than a fickle and arbitrary god of magic.
With all due respect, weapon pricing in the DMG were arbitrary decisions by Game Designers, whom in retrospect admit that they got many of the prices wrong in a recent Wizard of the Coast podcast.
Mostly I thought that weapons were a bit too expensive and I wanted to encourage non-martial classes to invest in weapons and armour as well. I came out of Shackled City playing a dwarven fighter the whole way through who never had enough gold. I had a decent waraxe at level 9 (+4 total), but it wasn't until level 16 that I was finally able to enhance it to +5. By the final encounter, everyone else in the party had more than enough gold so the group chipped in and I was able to enhance it to +7 at level 20. Mind you, I was quite satisfied with my character and his items throughout 95% of the campaign, but this is when I began thinking that the prices in the DMG could use some tweaking. Now I'm running Age of Worms and the modifications I came up with seem fine so far, but it's a bit early to tell since my PC's are only level 4.
Wow talk about different experiences for the same campaign. I played in the Shackled City and even though we didn't do the last adventure we did everything else. I think my Barbarian/Bear Warrior had two +1 keen weapons at best by the end. We never seemed to havve the time or money to have someone craft us better weapons.
With all due respect, weapon pricing in the DMG were arbitrary decisions by Game Designers, whom in retrospect admit that they got many of the prices wrong in a recent Wizard of the Coast podcast.I see Big Gaping Holes in that pricing scheme, and can't imagine anything to justify it other than a fickle and arbitrary god of magic.
I never said the designers were perfect. :)
Besides, I don't object to the idea of a price reduction in the least. I just feel it should be something across the board, rather than penalize those characters most likely to spend cash on their weapons: Fighters are more likely to add weapon enhancements to his sword than a mage is to his club, and someone who burns a feat on an exotic weapon is even more likely to spend money upgrading because they've already commited strongly to using a weapon they're not terribly likely to 'find' better versions of in a dungeon crawl.
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I don't really see how this 'solves' the problem you've just described. Wood has a hardness of 4 or 5, Stone has a hardness of 8, and iron/steel has a hardness of 10. It's very rare (I can't even think of any off the top of my head) for any material, save adamantine, to have a hardness higher than 10. Which, I imagine, is why the designers felt comfortable saying it just bypasses hardness less than 20.Also, a /spoon/ is going to take someone forever (have a few years, bub? Watch the Count of Monte Cristo sometime. They /used/ spoons, and look how long it took them: YEARS). They want to shell out the cash for adamantine picks and spades? Sure, no bigs. They still have to make Profession Miner checks, and they still need lots of time (this latter assumes the dungeon in question is a delving dungeon, and not a jail type dungeon).
Same with a shuriken. Let 'em shave off the bars bit by bit, but it's still going to take time. DMs are allowed to apply logic when players are trying something that's truly a stretch. Situations like this just defy the whole suspension of disbelief thing, and don't have to be allowed even if the rules technically allow it.
You make a good point, perhaps I should change it so that adamantine ignores 5 points instead. Luckily, no one has yet to ask me if he could use his adamantine gauntlet to chop through a prison cell door. If he did, he could very well argue that he could deal 1d3 damage + strength + power attack and bust that door open after a few blows. But since I'm a fan of Wolverine, I'd probably say that was cool.
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Finally, I wanted to question your pricing for weapons. Why are simple, martial, and exotic weapons all priced differently? I don't understand why a really nicely carved club is less costly to enchant than a really nicely fashioned war fan or whip. Furthermore, how do you handle a Bastard Sword? It can be used as a martial weapon if wielded two handed, or one handed as an exotic weapon. I see Big Gaping Holes in that pricing scheme, and can't imagine anything to justify it other than a fickle and arbitrary god of magic.
Edit: I started this before your response to the previous poster. I still question the pricing scheme; by this setup, you're actually penalizing those who want to build their character around an interesting weapon by making it more expensive for them to do so. The whip master, or spiked chain "God of War" finds themselves having to shell out major cash after the already 'steep' buy in of having to spend a feat for the coolness of using the weapon in the first place, while their mage pays a pittance and the barbarian smugly flashes his discount card for that spiffy new two handed sword.
Why not just use a flat discount for all weapons?
If I made it the same for all weapon and armour types, I would probably use the middle column, which is basically 25% less than the prices in the DMG. 1500 GP for a +1 weapon and 750 GP for +1 armour. After reading your comments, I'm thinking that you're right. I didn't realise at first that, in a way, I would be penalising exotic wepon users. I just thought that a +1 greatsword should cost more than a +1 dagger (at least more than the 2% difference in the DMG). Perhaps another solution would be to change the cost of making an item masterwork. Howabout having masterwork weapons cost double the base price, but with a minimum of +10 GP? So a mwk greatsword would cost 100 gp and a mwk dagger would cost 11 gp. Something to think about...
Howabout having masterwork weapons cost double the base price, but with a minimum of +10 GP? So a mwk greatsword would cost 100 gp and a mwk dagger would cost 11 gp. Something to think about...
I'd just make it 10x. Then your dagger vs. greatsword dilemma is neatly scaled in (100 gp is fairly insignificant compared to the 2000 gp enhancement cost, but 500 gp is starting to be noticeable).
You make a good point, perhaps I should change it so that adamantine ignores 5 points instead. Luckily, no one has yet to ask me if he could use his adamantine gauntlet to chop through a prison cell door. If he did, he could very well argue that he could deal 1d3 damage + strength + power attack and bust that door open after a few blows. But since I'm a fan of Wolverine, I'd probably say that was cool.
Fair enough... But, to make a related point, an Adamantine weapon is primarily a /really/ good sundering weapon. It's supposed to hack through other materials like butter.
As for the situation above, if he's busting /out/ of a prison cell, I'd be curious to know how he got to keep the adamantine gauntlet - jailers don't usually let someone keep their stuff while they're rotting in prison.
If they're busting someone out? Hey, y'know... Why not?
Either way, there are a host of options available to you by the rules (PH, p165) without reducing the effectiveness of Adamantine.
If I made it the same for all weapon and armour types, I would probably use the middle column, which is basically 25% less than the prices in the DMG. 1500 GP for a +1 weapon and 750 GP for +1 armour. After reading your comments, I'm thinking that you're right. I didn't realise at first that, in a way, I would be penalising exotic wepon users. I just thought that a +1 greatsword should cost more than a +1 dagger (at least more than the 2% difference in the DMG). Perhaps another solution would be to change the cost of making an item masterwork. Howabout having masterwork weapons cost double the base price, but with a minimum of +10 GP? So a mwk greatsword would cost 100 gp and a mwk dagger would cost 11 gp. Something to think about...
The middle option strikes me as a fair discount. Doubling the price of weapons over armor never really seemed a fair trade to me, considering /all/ that +1 enhancement bonus is worth is 1 extra point of damage beyond countering the armor's +1 bonus to AC. Sure, it adds up over time... but at double the price? Owch.
Masterwork weapons... Meh, I'm inclined to leave them as is. Doubling is probably fair, with a minimum cost.
I wouldn't go too high, though, since the same should be applied to Armor. Nobody's going to pay 15000 gp for masterwork platemail (in the case of the suggested x10) just to get a measely +1 enhancement bonus on it. In fact, even 3000 for masterwork plate is pushing the bounds of what someone would be willing to pay.
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Fair enough... But, to make a related point, an Adamantine weapon is primarily a /really/ good sundering weapon. It's supposed to hack through other materials like butter.
See, but my group isn't so fond of sundering weapons, especially since it destroys potential treasure. Why sunder when you can disarm? But I like the idea of using a weapon that's made from a super-hard metal. Shouldn't the hardness of the blade should prove useful when you're going up against a foe in full plate? Or exchanging blows with another sword-wielder? I thought an extra +1 enhancement bonus would emulate that.
EDIT: I typed something else, but I don't wanna hijack the thread more than it's already been. :)
