Creating Magic Items and pricing

[Chava Romero]

Hi there! I have the next problem figuring the price of a magic item:

Lets say I am a ranger wanting to craft a pair of magic boots with the continous effect of the Surefoot spell from Spell Compendium (pag. 216). The spell entry says:

Abjuration
Level: ranger 1
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Standard Action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min/ level

Your steps are sure and true, even on the narrowest ledges. You gain +10 competence bonus on Balance, Climb, Jump, and Tumble checks. In addition, you do not lose your Dexterity bonus to AC while balancing or climbing.

So how I calculate the final value of the item?

1.- Should I use the formula for pricing a continous spell based item
(spell level x caster level x 2000) x 1.5 (for the duration being 10min/lvl) giving it a final price of 3000gp. Me, like you, feel that something is wrong but it is somehow done by the rules (1st lvl spell x 1 x 2000... all times 1.5) or

2.- calculate the value by the competence bonus formula, this way is more complex. Considarate that right now Balance, Jump and Tumble are under the same skill (Acrobatics), Climb is on his own, so if I am gaining +10 competence bonus on each it should go in this way: Bonus squared x 100 gp (100 x 100) for each bonus, totalling 20,000 gp plus.

Done in this manner is just the price of the bonuses, how I considerate the price of letting a magic item granting me the rest of the spell's benefit (dex bonus while climbinb and balancing)...

so what option would you pick? Do yo have another idea? WWJD?

[Melissa Litwin]

You should start with the competence bonus formula, but you're actually effectively making two magic items in one slot (one for Acrobatics, one for Climb). So it's: (bonus^2)*100 + ((bonus^2)*100)*1.5, which is 25,000gp base price.

The not losing Dex is what I'd consider a fairly minor additional benefit, worth 2500-5000 gp. For Surefooted Boots (I mean, you practically have to call them that), a good price is probably ~27,500gp using the formula. To back that up, look at the Ring of Chameleon Power, which is a +10 competence bonus to stealth and also disguise self at will. The disguise self aspect only costs 2700gp.

Quote:

Ring of Chameleon Power

Slot ring; Price 12,700 gp; Weight —
Description

As a free action, the wearer of this ring can gain the ability to magically blend in with the surroundings. This provides a +10 competence bonus on her Stealth checks. As a standard action, she can also use the spell disguise self as often as she wants.

I'd also think 25,000gp as the price was fair. All the bonuses effectively come from one spell, so that might cut the cost a bit.

[kyrt-ryder]

So a typeless +10 to a skill costs 2700gp, but a Competence bonus costs 10,000 gp.................................................

[ZomB]

kyrt-ryder wrote:

So a typeless +10 to a skill costs 2700gp, but a Competence bonus costs 10,000 gp.................................................

Because the disguise self part is standard action activated and conditional (will disbelief). Though it still seems cheap. The Chameleon ring may be underpriced.

Your proposed competence bonuses are always on. And multiple powered items carry a 1.5 multiplier on the additional powers.

You always look at the highest priced option first. For instance an always on Mage Armor item uses the armor bonus formula, not the spell formula.

Though you probably wont be using both powers at once and neither of them often so there is a case to reduce the cost with a limitation to that effect. Perhaps take the higher cost power of 15K as the main item price.

You could also look at them being command word activated for so many uses/hours a day rather than continuous to bring down the price.

For the not losing dex bonus you could add in the spider climb spell or cats grace spell or possibly a dexterity+2 item. And then take a heavy discount for very limited use. Say once per day usage pricing (in effect the one use is spread throughout the day)? Somewhere between 1200 and 3600 extra cost.