Need help creating a magic item.

[speed66]

I have an idea for a magic item that contains several pieces and each piece has an effect different than the one before. Some are divine spells and some are arcane spells. Is it possible to have two creators to make the different components? Also I was thinking about letting the players buy one piece at a time and each time they but a new one it opens up new abilities. Would this be considered one item or five different items?

[Movin]

Well depending on which books you own what you are talking about sounds rather similar to the 3.5 Magic Item Compendium's magic item sets.
Arcane and divine spells work so long as someone or something casts them, admittedly my Rules Lawyer Fu is not the strongest on that part of the core book but a cursory scan says nothing about hiring a mage or a cleric to assist in making an item.

The option of it being one or five items is entirely up to how the items react to each other. if for example it was a golden puzzlebox that gained more powerful spells each time you found a piece it would be one item of power or five items that makes your party into the Planeteers when they combine it.
Just without that lame heart ring hopefully.

[Pinky's Brain]

speed66 wrote:

Is it possible to have two creators to make the different components?

Multiple creators can cooperate on a single item, contributing different prerequisites.

Quote:

Also I was thinking about letting the players buy one piece at a time and each time they but a new one it opens up new abilities. Would this be considered one item or five different items?

For the DM everything is possible.

For crafting purposes I would make it a single item, which when taken to pieces still allows each piece to be used in some way ... with the individual pieces being worth less than 1/5th the total when sold separately (since only the complete item shows the full power).

[Oliver McShade]

Kind of hard to say without knowing more about the item in question. Some item might cost more as a single item, some might cost more if made apart.

.....

If i had to guess. Make each item separately, for each magic ability they have.

If the item as a whole has different magic ability when put together, then work up those magic abilities by itself and then multiply 1.5 to is base cost for multi ability's. Then divide that cost amount the number of pieces, and tak that cost onto each item.

..

That way, if one part lets you fly. It cost more than a normal flying item. But when all the parts are put together, the cost equals all items magical ability's put together.

[mdt]

I'd go with what Oliver McShade said, but, I would not add the price of the composite power to each item.

Not completely.

I'd treat the final power as a heavily limited power (such as making an item that only works for a Paladin) and apply that discount to the final power that activates when you own all the components. Then divide that discounted price amongst all the pieces.

[GoldenOpal]

I would treat it as 5 items, but also as 31 items as that will be the total number of effects it will have when all of the pieces are acquired. (5 pieces + 10 combos of 2 pieces + 10 combos of 3 + 5 combos of 4 + 1 combo of 5 ; please correct my math if wrong) I’d spread the cost of all the effects across all the pieces. Depending on the party’s wealth situation I’d work the cost and item effects in one of two ways.

[1] If the party is pretty flush, I’d have the effects produced by the 2, 3, and 4 piece combinations scale up in power.

[2] If the party is stretched, I’d make the effects produced by the 2, 3, and 4 piece combinations minor and the price of each effect discounted, where the discount percentage = # of pieces required x 10%.

Of course the 5 piece combo’s effect must be awesome with either costing system. I’d probably distribute the cost of its effect unevenly amongst the pieces to ensure that the party will be able to afford to buy 2 or 3 pieces relatively soon, but has to save up for the last couple.