Unlimited Use Magic Item

[Bao Hadir]

I want to create a magic item that basically casts Bless Water each time I dipped it into a flask of water. The issue I'm having is the formula for figuring out the cost is confusing. Can anyone simplify?

[blahpers]

The general guidelines for pricing magic items are as follows:

1. Look for an item that already does what you want and use it as a model.
2. If no such item exists, look for a similar item and extrapolate, keeping in mind how much impact the differences have on the item's narrative agency.
3. If not even a similar item exists, the last resort is consulting the "Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece" tables along with the general pricing guidelines for crafting magic items.

The closest existing item I can find is the everflowing aspergillium, but its holy water is temporary and the weapon includes a special means of dispensing the holy water at range, so it's difficult to use it as a benchmark. There's also the symbol of sanguine protection, but that also has an additional anti-vampire ability that makes the item difficult to price.

Going straight-up by the tables, this would be a use-activated item:

(Spell level * caster level * 2,000 gp) + (100 * material component cost)

Filling in the blanks, we get

(1 * 1 * 2,000 gp) + (100 * 25 gp) = 4,500 gp.

As a GM, I could live with that--its narrative impact probably isn't enough to really break anything. Just to be on the safe side, as a slight mitigating factor, I'd probably either have the holy water wear off after a week or associate the item with the crafter's deity, making it so that said deity could refuse to bless the water if it chooses.

[Bao Hadir]

Thanks a lot!

[Meirril]

I'd actually have the blessing fade after a minute. That is more than long enough to use it in combat, not long enough to make it into a source of income. Since it takes a standard action to make a flask into holy water it shouldn't be a problem. I'd probably give a maximum volume of 2 gallons for 1 activation so you could bless a bucket full of water, but not a pool or a well.

[Java Man]

Considering that a 50x wand would cost 2K gp, Blahper's price sounds okay to me.

[Bao Hadir]

My intention isn't to sell holy water but rather to use them for spells, like Holy Ice Weapon. Thinking I might downgrade to uses per day though. I don't really need to carry 50 vials of holy water at once...

[Lazlo.Arcadia]

Yeah...how much do those vials each weight when filled? Seems like quite an investment in inventory space.

[Talonhawke]

Maybe price and item that fills itself with 1 dose of holy water with a command word activation. Blahpers formula while not perfect with the added create water issue would still be useful and the actions involved to use it over and over again would balance it some. Might even have the water only stay blessed for so long after leaving the container.

[Tacticslion]

Holy water costs 25 gold.

Typically speaking, once you've spent enough cash to make 100 uses of a thing, that's about at the price point you'd want to have an "at will" version instead.

That's 2500 gold.

I'd price an "at will" holy water effect (lob a holy water effect at will) at about 2500. Basically, you have an item that blows a semisolid bubble and fills it with holy water you can fling as an attack action - just like if you had holy water on you. Probably weighs as much as four to five of them.

Otherwise, others have thoroughly explained the situation, and the 4.5k is a totally acceptable number based off the tables.