Bracers of Striking (Magic of Faerun)

[Andion Isurand]

When enhancing Bracers of Striking (Magic of Faerun pg 155)... do the two bracers count as seperate heads of a double weapon with abilities that count once for each end... or is it treated like a single weapon that simply costs twice the normal price, with abilities that only count once for the whole pair?

 

[radmod]

Wow, I see the problem. None of the experts have chimed in, so I'll give you my opinion (and maybe the bump will get someone's attention).

though they count as a double weapon, so double the cost of any ability

While a double weapon can have different abilities on each head, the bracers cannot. Instead, they are not a double weapon but count as a double weapon for the purposed of determining cost.
The key word is 'any' ability; it means 'one' or 'ones'. By RAW, IF you could put +2 on one bracer and +3 on the other, then you would have to double the cost of both abilities. I'm sure you would not want to do that.

 

[Andion Isurand]

Looking at a nearby Kensai thread, it got me to thinking that the bracers of striking could be modeled after that instead... so the bracers would count as a single weapon, but all abilities would cost 120% of the normal value instead of double.

If you were a DM, what would you say to that?

 

[radmod]

Looking at a nearby Kensai thread, it got me to thinking that the bracers of striking could be modeled after that instead... so the bracers would count as a single weapon, but all abilities would cost 120% of the normal value instead of double.

If you were a DM, what would you say to that?

What thread?
Well, to tell the truth, I, personally, don't like the cost doubling so I could easily be talked out of it. The double cost is because you are essentially creating two magic items. Really, the bracers effectively give you a feat (IUS) and not a particularly great one at that. Otherwise, it's just like a regular magic weapon.
The answer would be dependent on what you want to do and what kind of world we were playing. Otherwise, I would normally consider the price as the base price listed in MoF + single weapon ability. Yet, that base price is low, IMO.
So, in the end, yes, I would agree BUT I would want to know what kind of sneakiness you were planning

 

[Persiflage]

That item description is bad: as written, applying enhancements to Bracers of Striking has no effect whatsoever, and I hope whoever wrote it feels small in the pants. I'm not at all sure what they intended by saying that the bracers count as a double weapon, other than to maybe just confuse matters when you declare you want to kick someone in the nuts or headbutt a demon to death.

I'd advise you to throw the description away and try something more like this:

***

Bracers of Striking: These bracers confer the Improved Unarmed Strike feat upon the wearer. Furthermore, the bracers can be enhanced as though they were a magical blunt weapon, albeit at double the usual cost of enchanting a weapon. The benefits of any such enhancements then apply to the unarmed strikes of the wearer.

***

It'd probably be a good idea to put a line in about whether or not this applies to natural weapons too (whichever you prefer); and to be explicit about the fact that the enhancement bonuses to attack and damage won't stack with Magic Fang and similar spells.

I guess I understand wanting to double the cost: after all, you're giving a character - with the humanoid standard-issue number of limbs, that is - five magical weapons for the price of one. Two-Weapon Fighting applies to unarmed strikes, so someone going this route is getting a bargain if they get the enhancements at the usual price.

Personally, I'd say that somewhere between the two is fair: the armed two-weapon fighter might have to spend more money but they can be more versatile with their choice of weapons (not to mention being able to use two different weapon crystals) than the unarmed fighter with these bracers. On the other hand, don't forget the Snap Kick feat

 

[radmod]

Aha, I KNEW I was missing something and Parsiflage's post helped me figure it out.

I was thinking, "hey, It's not too bad, why double the cost?" After all, it doesn't increase the number of attacks you get. A 1st level Ftr would get a single attack. An 11th level with +2 bracers would get 3 +2 attacks, but that's the same as wielding a +2 weapon.

Then it hit me. If I were a monk I would consider buying this item. It would apply to ALL my unarmed strikes. So for twice the cost of a single weapon, I could apply the benefits to multiple unarmed strikes.

I think that's why it's double cost. There used to be an unwritten rule, way back when, that if some magic item applied to all your attacks (with multiple appendages) then it cost double. I believe it was due to an item that worked for monk strikes.
A two-weapon fighter might have the same number of attacks as a monk, but he's going to have to pay for two weapons (double cost).

Now that I realized that, I would have to say "double", not 120%.

 

[Andion Isurand]

Well, the sneakiness was in having another Defending or Spellstrike weapon effectively in play, along with more weapon abilities requiring the weapon be held in order for them to offer benefit.