Magic Item Errata

[DragonBringerX]

So, I'm making a few new magic items for my next game when I noticed a big price discrepancy in a few magic items. I don't remember all of them, but the one that stuck out the most is Ring of Freedom of Movement. Now, I know a few magic items its cool to tip a few gold here and there to make an item a nice round number, but this is a few thousand gold.

So the equation on p 550 says
CL x Spell lv x 2,000
plus, sense the spell is 10/min a level duration the whole thing x1.5
Sense the item is a 7th level caster level (min needed for wizards to cast 4th level spells), that means the item should be priced like so:

7 (CL) x 4 (spell lv) x 2000 = 56,000 (already over)
then, the whole thing x1.5 = 84,000 gp.

The item is listed as 40,000. By doing some reverse math its easy to see this was originally calculated as a 5th level caster without multiplying x1.5 even. Its not a big deal, its just something I noticed. I figured I throw that out there so maybe the next errata will catch it and fix it.

[Jeraa]

The formulas are guidelines, not rules. Some items had their prices increased if they would of been too powerful, while others had theirs decreased. Others didn't use a formula at all, but had their price set by the designers based on its usefulness. Don't expect all magic items in the book to match with any formula.

The formulas should be the last place to look for prices. You should compare magic items to other items that have a similar function first.

[Maezer]

DragonBringerX wrote:

The item is listed as 40,000. By doing some reverse math its easy to see this was originally calculated as a 5th level caster without multiplying x1.5 even. Its not a big deal, its just something I noticed. I figured I throw that out there so maybe the next errata will catch it and fix it.

This is probably one of the reasons the first rule of magic item creation is to compare it to similar items. Then consult the table. In regards to the Ring of Freedom of Movement, it was 40,000 in 3.0, 40,000 in 3.5, 40,000 in pathfinder. I doubt they are going to alter the price after all this time.

An error might have been made. It probably was. But it isn't/wasn't a significant enough error to justify an errata.

And despite it all while the ring of freedom of movement is good. It isn't on everyone 'must have' magic item list. From my experience its on people's: If we find it, we keep (not sell) it loot list. But not so lows its on the "must have big 7 magic item shopping list". Which in my book means its priced about right. Even if it comes in below chart generation prices.

[IkeDoe]

No error, the magic item creation rules state which items follow the guidelines closely, rings don't.