Gaze attacks are wonderful. Even a relatively low DC can be dangerous since they are a passive ability that require no actions to use on whoever you're fighting with. Enemies can try to avoid looking at you, but even that carries serious debuff's. It's the iconic attack of basilisks, medusas, and a number of other famous monsters. Meanwhile, almost no PC classes grant gaze attacks as class abilities. So what do you do when you have some gold lying around, want power, but can't get it through leveling up?
You make a magic item of course!
Pathfinder (1e, haven't looked that much at 2e) has great rules for crafting a number of spell effects into magic items, but isn't very concrete about how to price things that are not based on spells, and with good reason; the rules are already pretty long, and with less concrete abilities it wouldn't be very hard to game the system to get OP magic items for low cost. So it's left to GM fiat.
So I'm looking for advice on the fiat for gaze attacks and how to price them in crafting a magic item. For example, this magic item:
Void Eyes
Aura: Moderate Necromancy
Slot: Eyes
These dark lenses are fitted beneath the eyelids of the wearer and seem to suck in all light, so that in place of eyes the wearer seems to only to have two dark entrances to the void. The lenses to not impede eyesight in any way and can resize and reshape themselves to more comfortably fit the wearer. When the wearer of the void eyes desires, he gains a gaze attack that on a failed DC 14 fortitude save causes the eyes of the one who sees him to immediately darken to to complete blackness like the wearer's eyes. This causes the target to be immediately and permanently blinded, as per the spell blindness-deafness, with the additional memento of his eyes appearing as the void.
Construction Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, Blindness-Deafness, Creator must have at least 5 ranks in Knowledge Planes.
Any suggestions on how to price stuff like this?
We price it based on what it does. In this case, the basics are:
It's an eye slot item that has no downsides, flaws, or drawbacks (which might mitigate costs). As an eye slot, there is almost no other item that is necessary or better to have than this one, other than in situational moments (like the bonus from goggle of minute seeing or eyes of the eagle), and even so, you could just swap them out with no trouble as need be.
It has no apparent range listed (which might mean you want to default to Bestiary range of 30 feet, but this should really be listed, otherwise it could be just line of sight from anywhere.
Potentially renders everyone (including ethereal creatures) that sees the wearer blind... permanently (and does this every single round)... unless they avert their eyes or cover them and... basically treat themselves as being... blind.
As a gaze attack, the wearer can also actively attempt to use the gaze, in addition to its passive effects, thus causing double saves on any creature that isn't otherwise treated as blinded.
It is activated when the wearer 'desires' which might be a swift action but sounds like a free action.
Can potentially affect allies (who typically count as automatically averting at least) or bystanders, but the ability to use it as 'desired' indicates that it turns on and off when the wearer wants (presumably a free action to turn it off as well), which is something most gaze creatures cannot do without actively covering their eyes. So it doesn't hinder the wearer when in town or just walking around, and if they're caught off-guard, it's a free action (as written) to use it.
Makes eyes look weird. No telling if this is forever or just as long as they're blinded ('momento' makes it seem like it's forever).
First off, while this may not be being submitted for publication, it's good to know and have written out the mechanics as cleanly as possible, so we all know where you stand on how you want it to work.
Next, we look for an item that exists and does something similar in power level and check that pricing. We want something that effects an entire area and works every round (not granting immunity on saves) and is as potent as rendering a creature blind (you don't just price based on spell and caster level, but on effect), which is basically save-or-die, game over.
There's drums of panic. Those are 30,000 gp and inflict fear on creatures within 120 feet. That's a bigger range, but there is a 20 foot radius safe zone included. Plus, fear is not anywhere as bad as being blinded forever, and the drums are only usable once per day. That's before considering how many creatures are resistant or immune to fear and the number of ways to get bonuses or remove fear (Blindness... not so many resistances and not so many ways to remove it; heal and remove blindness most likely). Your eyes are also more mobile and easy to cart around than two kettle drums on stands. So your eyes are going to be, way more costly.
I'd say the closest thing is a mirror of life trapping. That can get creatures within 30 feet. It's basically a gaze style set up. It's a higher save, but at 50 pounds it's basically immobile and easily destroyed. It can only work on up to 15 creatures. It's effect is more powerful technically and game wise, but ultimately... the eyes are far more effective in combat. I would say you're looking at about 200,000 gp. without adding a serious mitigator and limitations to the item, in the form of uses per day, danger of reflective objects, effect and its duration (though one minute of blindness is still likely the end of any creature in a fight.) Maybe 150,000—175,000 because it's a slotted item, but again, it's not that competitive a slot when it comes to choices of what to put there.
The truth is, this probably wouldn't be allowed in most games as written (or as a close cousin of what's written), so the cost at that point is almost moot, since if a GM really wants it in, it is gonna be because of fiat. That's all my opinion, though.
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