Magic item cost

[cormanthor]

I am just getting back into DMing after a several year hiatus. I was looking to understand the pricing on a pair of related magic items I have found. I've found two separate versions of Vampire Hide Armor.

Version 1
Acts as +1 studded leather, grants DR 5 silver or magic. Cost: 21,175 gp. Source: Magic Item Compendium

Version 2
Acts as +3 studded leather, grants DR 5 silver and magic. Cost 63,375 gp. Source: Libris Mortis

Both are listed as 3.5 source material. Any idea why there is such a huge discrepancy?

 

[billd91]

I am just getting back into DMing after a several year hiatus. I was looking to understand the pricing on a pair of related magic items I have found. I've found two separate versions of Vampire Hide Armor.

Version 1
Acts as +1 studded leather, grants DR 5 silver or magic. Cost: 21,175 gp. Source: Magic Item Compendium

Version 2
Acts as +3 studded leather, grants DR 5 silver and magic. Cost 63,375 gp. Source: Libris Mortis

Both are listed as 3.5 source material. Any idea why there is such a huge discrepancy?

Check out the sidebar on page 233 of the Magic Item Compendium. It explains that some items were revisited to revise the price based on comparisons with other popular items. So version 1 listed above (which is actually later than the Libris Mortis version), is the revised one - weaker but a whole heck of a lot cheaper as well.

 

[delericho]

Yep, that's it - a lot of items were revised for inclusion in the "Magic Item Compendium". In general, that's probably the version you should use, as they genuinely did give some careful thought as to how these things would fit into the game as a whole.

 

[cormanthor]

So, where might I go for guidance on making magic armor with damage resistance? Especially with more than one type at a time. I couldn't find anything in the DMG.

 

[Deset Gled]

In general, that's probably the version you should use, as they genuinely did give some careful thought as to how these things would fit into the game as a whole.

Of course, looking at it another way, the MIC was kinda saying "Power creep? Who needs to worry about power creep when power can leap!"

Not to say that it's badwrongfun. Just know that characters outfitted with items from the MIC will be exponentially better equipped than those that purchase items from the core books. Make sure all the players have a level field to work from.

 

[cormanthor]

Just for background info, I am running a 3.5 update to the Labyrinth of Madness. The players have a large selection of books to build characters with. I'm limiting them to 10 magic items of no more than 60k gp each (allowing a two for one trade up for 90k gp max). It is a fun, although long, campaign...

 

[Greenfield]

I'm going to second that warning about power creep.

I have a player in my game who was thinking of adding Ghost Touch to his bow and sword. It's a +3 enhancement, so it bumps a +1 weapon (nominal cost 2000 plus Masterwork costs) to a +4 total enhancement (32000 plus Masterwork costs), a bump of 30k per weapon, minimum.

The Weapon Augment Crystal of Truedeath (Lesser) costs 5000 gp, and not only gives Ghost Touch, it also adds a D6 of damage against non-corporeal undead. Plus it can be moved from bow to blade, so you only need to buy it once for two weapons.

So be aware that, as noted, the book isn't power creep, it's power-leap. We don't generally allow most of the items from it in our game because of the imbalance it creates.

A DM might award such an item as loot, but PCs can't go and buy them anyplace.

 

[billd91]

I'm going to second that warning about power creep.

I have a player in my game who was thinking of adding Ghost Touch to his bow and sword. It's a +3 enhancement, so it bumps a +1 weapon (nominal cost 2000 plus Masterwork costs) to a +4 total enhancement (32000 plus Masterwork costs), a bump of 30k per weapon, minimum.

Ghost touch is +3 for armor. It's only +1 for weapons.

 

[Greenfield]

I stand corrected.

So adding it to a +1 weapon takes the cost from 2,000 gp to 8,000 gp, a 6,000 gp difference.

The weapon augment crystal is still a bargain, and becomes more of a bargain if the weapon has any other enhancements or pluses. And it does more.

Note: There's nothing wrong with using the Magic Item Compendium, or any other power-up source book in your games. It's just a different, higher magic game. Just be aware of this when you and they start out. Make sure that's the game you want to ply and run.

 

[delericho]

Of course, looking at it another way, the MIC was kinda saying "Power creep? Who needs to worry about power creep when power can leap!"

Compared with the DMG, that's certainly true. But, compared to the same items in the supplements, the MIC does seem to tend towards getting things closer to right - virtually none of those items got a look in before, largely because of the Big Six.

Not to say that it's badwrongfun. Just know that characters outfitted with items from the MIC will be exponentially better equipped than those that purchase items from the core books.

The worst thing about the MIC was that it didn't update the costs from the DMG, thus guaranteeing that imbalance. (Oh, and any item that uses a Swift action to activate is potentially problematic, and any item that grants additional actions is probably overpowered.)

That said, I've become increasingly convinced that pretty much all of the magic item creation (and even purchase) rules didn't really got the playtesting they needed. They "kinda, sorta" work, but there's also a lot of really rough edges there.