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So I’m going through the item creation rules as a GM trying to design some fun but not overpowered items for Pathfinder. Looking at the back of the book, an item that casts a spell for a number of times a day costs (spell lvl x caster level x 1,800gp)/(5/(number of charges per day)). Has anyone done any reverse engineering of items to find out what the formula is for an item that can be cast even less often? I’m thinking of doing a rug that does treasure stitching 1/week just so the PCs don’t have to leave behind particularly pricy but bulky items.
Number of charges per day would be 1/7th.
A normal spell/caster level 1 would be 360g. A once per week would be ~50g (51.4g)
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A normal spell/caster level 1 would be 360g. A once per week would be ~50g (51.4g)
Strongly disagree. That's roughly on par with the pricing of potions, which are single-use items. Something usable more than once should cost more than this.
Especially for utility effects that won't be needed every day, or for campaigns with generous downtime between adventuring days, 1/week isn't that much worse than 1/day. You don't even need to have a week worth of downtime for them to be worthwhile; just get multiple 1/week items and stagger their uses. I wouldn't go any lower than half the price of a 1/day item.
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A normal spell/caster level 1 would be 360g. A once per week would be ~50g (51.4g)Strongly disagree. That's roughly on par with the pricing of potions, which are single-use items. Something usable more than once should cost more than this.
Especially for utility effects that won't be needed every day, or for campaigns with generous downtime between adventuring days, 1/week isn't that much worse than 1/day. You don't even need to have a week worth of downtime for them to be worthwhile; just get multiple 1/week items and stagger their uses. I wouldn't go any lower than half the price of a 1/day item.
I agree with your reasoning but man, that makes the treasure stitching item pretty expensive.
Spell lvl 4(bard 4)xCL10(bards get lvl 4 spells at 10)x1800=72000 (+100 for material component cost)72,100 x 2(doesn’t take up an item slot)=144,200
144,200/10 (1/2 cost of a 1/day item)=14,420 GP
Slots don't mean much for items used this rarely, it could occupy the hands during use, and so what? I often ignore the slotless premium for this type of thing, since it will be used out of combat.
I do agree with not decreasing the 1/day cost by much, half sounds right.
And the golden rule for magic item pricing is to compare to existing items first, so how does the utility of this stack up to a bag of holding?
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This'll end up in relatively cheap one-wish-per-week territory quickly if you let yourself be a slave to math. Remember that the formulae are the last thing you're supposed to consult, not the first.
I'd price it like once per day, as you may well not need it more than once a week so it's effectively the same thing. Otherwise it can get very silly. Once per year is 1/365 of 1/day? Once per millenium is 1/365000?
People get way too wrapped up in the math, fearful lest they upset the delicate balance.
All the prices, all the equations--they're only there to prevent you from abusing the system. So ask yourself: does your item abuse the system? If not, then you're fine. If yes, increase the price until it doesn't.
I make all the magical devices found in my games, and they're all substantially better than stuff you'd find in the books. But they're not tailor-made to showcase a given character's strengths, so it never matters.
A +1 returning vicious throwing axe that gives you Improved Initiative and Quick Draw may seem like a crazy expensive bit of treasure for a level 5 character, but I promise, it has disrupted game play and proven to be "broken" or "overpowered" exactly zero times.
My ultimate suggestion? Price the item however you need to in order to offer them enough more obviously useful items and items that feel strange, mystical and unique. As if, you know, they were adventurers slowly accumulating a treasure hoard of enchanted artifacts.
It's effectively a once use item that regenerates uses.
Double the price of a robe of useful items is 14,000 gps.
When they get a portable hole they will probably sell the rug.
As a dungeon accoutrement, it's a rug that radiates magic. It's a big clicktile.