Custom Item Creation confusion

[Tim Hubick]

Say a wizard has craft wondrous item. but instead of wanting to make something from the list of magic items already given, he wants to make something custom made, tailored to the char.
how do you make the custom effect that you wanna do?
Say i have 20,000gp to spend on materials used to make an item, what custom made wondrous item could i make that isnt part of the DMG or Magic item compendium.
(please forgive me i'm trying to put proper words into play here and i hope this Q makes sense to you lol)

EDIT: another thing is what if i wanted to add in a spell from the spell compendium?

 

[the Jester]

There are formulae in the DMG that you can use as a starting point, but ultimately, they are guidelines, not rules. Check with the dm.

 

[Tim Hubick]

omg i just found that formula lol thanx. and i am the DM btw -_-

now i just gotta figure out how i can alter in spells from other books .... hmmmm (strokes chin)

 

[MarkB]

The formulae for 3.xe magic items are notoriously dodgy at producing any consistent result. Use them if they seem helpful, but ultimately your best option is to find an existing magic item that produces a similar effect to the one you're making, consider how your custom item compares to it, and price it accordingly.

 

[Greenfield]

Or, find an item of similar power and/or usefulness, and use that as a guide.

The most popular example of how *NOT TO* use the formula would be Gloves of True Strike. 1st level spell, 1st level caster, Use activated, unlimited uses per day but not "continuous". By the formula, 2,000 gp even.

And obviously far too powerful to allow in a game. That's near-Artifact power, when you start comparing. And that means ignore the formula and apply good sense. (i.e. disallow the item entirely.)

The formula was never intended as a license to Munchkin, but all too often it's used that way. Please don't fall into that trap.