Figuring out costs for magic item creation

[Sergeek The Mad]

This article is pretty straightforward, formulas in pricing table are simple enough. BUT when I try to compare calculated prices with already existing items - it gets confusing.
Looking at example in this exact table - Cloak of Resistance +5 - grants +5 for every save.
Why is it only 25,000? I mean, cloak of +5 to fortitude will cost as much, according to the table (5 bonus squared multiplied by 1000).
What am I missing?

[Casual Viking]

Because the Save Bonus is for items that provide a bonus to all three saves, just like the item they use to exemplify it.

To pre-empt your next question, an item that provides a bonus to a single save should be priced like a Cloak of Resistance with a discount for only affecting one save; that discount should not be 66%, but more like 50 % or 33 %.

[Sergeek The Mad]

Ah! That makes sense, thank you.

[Sergeek The Mad]

One quick question though

Casual Viking wrote:

an item that provides a bonus to a single save should be priced like a Cloak of Resistance with a discount for only affecting one save; that discount should not be 66%, but more like 50 % or 33 %.

Why not 66 %?

[Skylancer4]

Sergeek The Mad wrote:

One quick question though

Casual Viking wrote:

an item that provides a bonus to a single save should be priced like a Cloak of Resistance with a discount for only affecting one save; that discount should not be 66%, but more like 50 % or 33 %.

Why not 66 %?

First, what would be the purpose of making such an item?

Magic item creation guidelines are there to make items, not min max.

[Sergeek The Mad]

Skylancer4 wrote:

Sergeek The Mad wrote:

One quick question though

Casual Viking wrote:

an item that provides a bonus to a single save should be priced like a Cloak of Resistance with a discount for only affecting one save; that discount should not be 66%, but more like 50 % or 33 %.

Why not 66 %?

First, what would be the purpose of making such an item?

Magic item creation guidelines are there to make items, not min max.

Eh? Why do you consider having item that grants bonuses for single save minmaxing? I want to craft a neckslot charm shaped like boar - figured it shouldn't be too expensive.

[Bob Bob Bob]

Well, short answer, magic items exist where they do and how they do for a reason. You'll notice that all the mental stat uppers are headbands and all the physical stat uppers are belts. You can't buy +2 Dex gloves normally because they don't want you bypassing the slot limitations. If you want +2 Dex and already have a +2 Str belt, you need to buy the +2/+2 belt. Not make a brand new item for a slot you're not using to get that +2 Dex cheaper. Ditto for things that normally affect more than one thing (save bonuses, skill bonuses). The table doesn't provide a way to split out partial versions of them, because there is no good way to judge the value of those. Some of them exist (+5 survival for tracking off the top of my head) but it's not a standard listed bonus on the table.

It all comes down to the last line of the creation rules:

Magic Item Creation wrote:

Not all items adhere to these formulas. First and foremost, these few formulas aren't enough to truly gauge the exact differences between items. The price of a magic item may be modified based on its actual worth. The formulas only provide a starting point. The pricing of scrolls assumes that, whenever possible, a wizard or cleric created it. Potions and wands follow the formulas exactly. Staves follow the formulas closely, and other items require at least some judgment calls.

Bolding mine.

An item that gives a bonus to a single save is, by definition, built for a very specific purpose. The min-max comment is probably because that poster assumed you're trying to get a cheaper bonus to shore up your weakest save. No idea if they're correct, and correct me if I misrepresented you Skylancer4.

Look, magic item creation, especially if you're not duplicating or combining existing items, is much more art than science. In the case of the bonus to a single save, it has a wildly different value depending on who's using it. A Fighter gains way more from a +5 Will item than a Cleric. A Rogue gains way more from +5 Fort than a Barbarian. Which means that a bonus to a single save isn't worth a third the price of a bonus to all saves. Usually classes have one or two saves they don't care about getting a bonus to. So a bonus to the save they do care about is worth most of the value of the cloak of resistance. So a discount of 50% sounds about right for a single-save booster.

That being said, you're going to have to run this all by a GM anyway (unless it's PFS, then the answer is no). So it's up to you to convince them about a fair value.

[Weirdo]

A character interested in an item boosting only one save rather than all saves is probably trying to shore up a particular weakness. For example, a Brawler's Will save is likely much worse than their Fort or Ref saves. A bonus to the Will save is therefore much more valuable to the Brawler than a bonus to the Fort or Ref saves, and if the Brawler can get a bonus just to Will for 1/3 the cost of a bonus to all three, it's a very good deal for the Brawler.

50% sounds fair and is easier to calculate.