Need help pricing a magic item.


Homebrew and House Rules


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Greetings, Pathfinders!

I need some help from the number crunchy contingent out there. I'm more of a pure storyteller,so I have trouble with the numbers side of GMing sometimes.

I need help pricing an item I created for my homegame. Some of my players might be lurking, so I don't want to post much about it, but if I am being too vague, let me know.

It's a simple one-time use item that grants a creature template for one minute. The template is super useful and offers more benefits than most one-time use items such as potions. But, it's a one-time use item. One and done.

I am thinking 500gp, but I don't really know where to start.

Thanks in advance.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

This template.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Unless you're building around it - unlikely for a one-use 1 minute item? - then its main ability is halving hit point damage, second most important it makes your natural attacks bypass all DR and have a ghost touch effect. It's a lot like becoming incorporeal.

If you compare it to a scroll of dust form (the lowest level incorporeal effect I could find) then you get a price of 25*6*11 = 1 650 gp.

If you make it an elixir be warned that alchemists with the alchemical allocation extract love 'one use' items of that particular kind.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

If its going to be a one use item, maybe you'll be fine with not bothering to give it a price. Are the PCs going to buy it, or are they going to get it as treasure? If its is only going to be treasure, then it maybe doesn't need a price. Insert the item whenever the story makes sense.

When I try to make a new or unique effect for magic items, that no existing spell does, I try to imagine what the magic item would be like if it was a spell. Then I try to compare it to spells to determine spell level. After I determine spell level, it becomes easier to figure out a price. Then I determine what kind of magic item it'll be. For instance, A 2nd level spell in potion form is 300 gp because 2 (spell level) * 3 (caster level) * 50 gp (base rate for potions) is 300 gp. If it was in wand form, the base rate would be 750 gp, so the item would cost 4500 gp. If it was a use activated or continuous effect, then the base rate would be 2000 gp, so the item would be 12,000 gp. Because I've determined the spell level, I also know the minimum caster level required, so thats 2 factors covered, then the item type is the 3rd and at that point you are almost finished.

So with this spell, I tried to start with a 2nd level spell because the template raises the CR of the creature by 1. I'm not looking for a big change. Alter Self is a 2nd level spell that turns you into another humanoid, but the perks are limited to what humanoid races could get. It seems weaker than a spell that would turn you into a force creature. Going to 3rd level and you get beast shape 1 and gaseous form. Beast shape 1 is pretty mundane, but gaseous form is not, so it might be within the ball park. At 4th level, you get elemental body 1, which turns your body into a supernatural creature. The fact that small elementals are CR 1 helps as it puts in the range of a CR +1 template. So 4 (spell level) * 7 (caster level) * 50 gp (potions) is 1400 gp.

Of course you could decide I pushed the spell level too far and instead settle with a 3rd level spell. That would change the price to 750 gp, which is close to where you wanted to be at the start. Alternatively, you could opt for a weaker effect, so you could justify pushing the spell down a level.

Something to consider is that many of the spells I mentioned have a duration of 1 minute per caster level, so a 3rd level spell is going to last for at least 5 minutes. Would this be a problem for you? You wanted an effect that would last for 1 minute.

*TL;DR - I hope I didn't lose you with a lot of text


1 person marked this as a favorite.

As an aside, if you divided that 1400 by 3 (for a 1/5 duration factor), you’d hit just below 500g...

I’ll be honest, when I first thought of the idea of providing a template, I thought that the pricing was way too low. However, based off of the other two comments thinking about it a little bit, and just doing some head math, it actually feels about right to have a one-shot item that lasts for only one minute. You i’ll be honest, when I first thought of the idea of providing a template, I thought that the pricing was way too low. However, based off of the other two comments thinking about it a little bit, and just doing some head math, it actually feels about right to have a one-shot item that lasts for only one minute. Seems like a decent sort of guess.

As mentioned, though, ultimately the price is a relevant, unless the heroes have the ability to purchase more. And if they have the ability to purchase more, you will need to determine what the long-term effects of having such an item in your campaign actually are. Also, you’ll need to determine how such items function to craft, and why. Because, it is quite possible that you will have someone with crafting feats.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Thank you for the amazing responses. I went ahead and used the suggestion of 650 gp as I needed to make a loot list before last night's game.

To answer the question as to why it's simply because the treasurer likes to keep a running list of all of the party loot and its approximate value. I doubt that they will ever sell them due to rarity.

I initially considered making it a lesser artifact, but the limited duration and one-time usage made me think that would just not be right.

Spoiler:
I've been sprinkling unique Azlanti items into my Emerald Spire/Thornkeep campaign and decided that I liked the notion of a magic item that gave a creature the Force Creature template for a short time. And so, the idea for Azlanti force beads was born.

Appearing as a simple pearl, this locus of compressed force magic expands around the user when held in hand. The force sphere encases the user and gives them the benefits of the force creature template (see Advanced Bestiary) for one minute. The sphere loses resonance and dissolves after the duration comes to an end.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

That's a good point about crafting. I've started banning crafting and leadership, just so I could include random GM fiat items without worrying about throwing the game balance into complete chaos. :)


Alas, my Leadership-loving crafting self wilts under the weight!

But I’m glad your games are running better!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

With it's strengths and drawbacks I compare it to Elemental Body fire. That's 4th level.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Homebrew and House Rules / Need help pricing a magic item. All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Homebrew and House Rules