So, I was building a monk and, for fun, wanted to give him magic gauntlets that grant reach. (He may or may not be inspired by a certain Samurai Warriors ninja, Koei can't prove anything and parody is protected speech.)
Now, I know that there's a level 1 spell (Long Arm) that does exactly what I want, extending the caster's reach by five feet, and I can suppose that a level 1 spell is cheaper than a level 2 spell. (Brilliant, I know.)
But when I try to read the chart to figure out exactly how expensive it would be to give the item a number of charges per day, it almost looks as though it would be *cheaper* than a plain item, which can't be right. And making the effect continuous looks like it would cost more money than I'd like to spend on what basically amounts to a novelty.
Any help? And post your math, if you don't mind: I admit to being dumb enough to want some equations to go with it.
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Creating magic items is more an art than a science.
You have to compare the price of your desired effect to something else that already exists in print.
Take a look at Longarm Bracers. Three times per day as a swift action they can extend the wearer's reach by 5 feet, and they're priced at 7,200gp.
And yet you could price an unlimited at-will item using just the Long Arm spell for something less than 2000gp (though it would require a standard action to activate).
Moral of the story: go by what the math presents, and then compare that result to something similar in print. Sometimes you'll come out cheaper, about the same, or way overpriced. Consult your GM if you're a player, and adjust the price if you're the GM.
Gotcha. Also, whoa! That's... pretty pricey for the limitations on it. I wonder why?
I guess the moral of the story is "Ask the GM?" Gotcha. Thanks.
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Long Arm Bracers/Gauntlets would be:
1 (spell level) x 1 (caster level) x 2000 (Continuous/Use-Activated) x 2 (duration of spell for permanent effect) = 4000gp for a permanent Long Arms effect
OR
1 (spell level) x 1 (caster level) x 1800 (Command) x .6 (3 uses per day) x .5 (cost reduction because of daily limitations) = 540gp
OR
1 (spell level) x 1 (caster level) x 1800 (Command) x 1 (unlimited uses) = 1800gp
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Basically, it's broken down like this:
(Spell Level) x (Caster Level) x (Method*) x (Uses/day**) x (Duration***) x (Appropriateness of Slot****) x AND/OR - (Limitations*****)
* Choose ONE:
Single Use, Spell Completion = 25gp
Single Use, Use Activated = 50gp
Depleting Use (default 50 Charges), Spell Trigger = 750gp
Non-Depleting, Command Activated = 1800
Non-Depleting, Use-Activated = 2000
Non-Depleting, Continuous = 2000
** Only used if Non-Depleting is chosen. Choose One:
1/day = .2
2/day = .4
3/day = .6
4/day = .8
5/day OR Unlimited OR Continuous = 1
6/day = 1.2... at 6/day+, unless it's for flavor reasons, you're better off just making it Unlimited.
*** Only used if Continuous is chosen. Based on duration of spell, choose one:
Instantaneous - Invalid choice; Cannot be selected
Rounds/level = 4
Minute/level = 2
10 Minutes/level = 1.5
Hour/level = 1
Days/level = .5
**** Choose One:
Item takes up a thematically appropriate Slot (i.e. Belt of Strength, Long-Arm Bracers) = 1
Item takes up a thematically inappropriate Slot (Headband of Long Arms) = 2
Item takes up no Slots at all (Ioun Stone of Long Arms) = 2
***** If the item has a limiting factor:
Is Depleting Use, with 2-50 Charges = x.5
Is Non-Depleting, Command/Use-Activation, with a limited number of Uses Per Day = x.5
Has a moderately-restrictive requirement (i.e. K. Religion 5 Ranks)= -10% Total cost
Has a heavily-restrictive requirement (i.e. Lawful Good Cleric) = -30% Total Cost
(An item may have multiple limiting factors, and all factors are cumulative.)
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HOW TO CALCULATE PRICES OF MULTIPLE-ABILITY ITEMS:
Calculate each effect using the above equation separately, as though they were individual items, then:
1) Determine which abilities are thematically similar to one another
2) Divide these abilities into separate Groups
3) Arrange each ability in each group from Most-Expensive Effect to least
4) Determine which single Effect among all Groups is the most expensive single effect. The group to which that effect belongs becomes Group A. All other Groups become Group B through whatever.
5) Use the following equation:
[GROUP A: ((Most-Expensive Effect) + ((Second-Most-Expensive Effect) x .75) + ((<n>*) x .5))] + [GROUP B: (((Most-Expensive Effect) + ((Second-Most-Expensive Effect) x .75) + ((<n>*) x .5)) x 1.5)] + [GROUP C: (((Most-Expensive Effect) + ((Second-Most-Expensive Effect) x .75) + ((<n>*) x .5)) x 1.5)]...
*<n> = Sum of Third-Most-Expensive and all lower like-effects in this group added together)
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Note that the "Is Non-Depleting... Uses Per day = x.5" is honestly probably best ignored unless the spell is of minimal power (remember that not all spells are made equal, and one lv1 spell may not be as useful as another)
That clause has a habit of vastly underpricing items if the spell being attached has a very powerful effect. This is where discretion plays the biggest role.
When creating my own magic items, this is the calculation I leave out most-often, and only include for items which give effects like "Cure Light Wounds 1/day"
For Long-Arm Gauntlets, I would do:
Long Arms 3/day, command (CL1) = 1 x 1 x 1800 x .6 = 1080gp
God bless you, chbgraphicarts, that post is a thing of beauty. Thanks.
Longarm Bracers are more expensive than the formulas calculate because reach is a powerful advantage. A lot of magic items that provide certain advantages are priced up because making the item as cheap as it "should" be means everybody buys it because it's that good of an item and it might be too unbalancing if widely available at lower levels, etc. letting a wizard or whomever cast it once a day is one thing; letting the fighter benefit from it three times a day with little negative impact might be another.
Long Arm Bracers/Gauntlets would be:
And yet, that is nowhere near the pricing for longarm bracers. Few, if any, GMs would allow your pricing schema given the precedent in the book.
OP: just use longarm bracers
I guess I'm having a hard time seeing why such a comparatively limited magic item is so pricey.
Long Arm Bracers/Gauntlets would be:
And yet, that is nowhere near the pricing for longarm bracers. Few, if any, GMs would allow your pricing schema given the precedent in the book.
OP: just use longarm bracers
Longarm Bracers are more expensive than the formulas calculate because reach is a powerful advantage.
TRUE Longarm bracers are a weird fiat item, though - they have a total effect that isn't duplicated by any spell.
However, the original Longarm Bracers are made with the Alter Self spell, which is a 2nd level spell, and was created long before the spell Long Arm (which was just printed in the ACG, meaning 2 years after Longarm Bracers were first printed).
Using Alter Self as the base spell, Longarm Bracers are:
2 (Spell level) x 3 (CL) x 2000 x .6 = 7200gp.
Which is EXACTLY what the original item costs. The effect is a fiat, but the calculation is sound.
Sometimes, if you want an effect and there aren't any spells to duplicate it, you just have to find something that thematically does something similar (like Alter Self... altering yourself... yeah), and use that spell as the basis for calculation.