Prices of custom magic items.

[jefgorbach]

Agree with Whizbang. Make your life easier and just use Craft Wondrous Item because the rest of the magical crafting feats are a poorly conceived attempt to delay PC creativity.

Your "staff" is broom with the bristles removed then enchanted to "recall knowing" Entangle 1/day, using the item as a spell-trigger.
"recall Entangle": 1st level bonus spell, squared x 1,000gp
effect is a spel-trigger effect +750
Effect usable once per day /5
Requires knowning Entangle -10%
subtotal: 315

Second feature: +2 compentence bonus on all Entangle effects
+2 skill bonus squared x 100gp = 400
subtotal +400

Cost of highest effect: 400
cost of next effect, x 1.5: 472.50
Item does not require a body slot: x2

final cost: 1,745 subject to GM adjustment



If thats too expensive, make it a two-step process:
+2 Acorn of Entangle Compentance per above: $400
Spell-trap this object: +$500
Total: $900; savings: $850

Entangle, like burning hands, is a 1st level effect so would be priced the same which uses Alarm as a proximity trigger and an automatic reset which could be defined as 1/day and has a bypass-code known by the creator. More importantly, there's no cost difference between having it reset 1/day or 1/round!!

Burning Hands Trap
CR 2; magic device; proximity trigger (alarm); automatic reset; spell effect (burning hands, 1st-level wizard, 1d4 fire, DC 11 Reflex save half damage); Search DC 26; Disable Device DC 26. Cost: 500 gp, 40 XP. -- Traps :: d20srd.org

 

[Greenfield]

Small note: There are things I've seen referred to as "universal wands", essentially x uses per day of a given spell, as wondrous items. I don't recall off hand if they were from PHB2 or MIC.

When pricing spells in a staff, they always have a minimum caster level of 8, as per both the SRD and DMG.

Skill bump items aren't quite the same as the DC bump he's looking for, but are probably a good guideline for price purposes. Normally, the way you'd bump the DC would either be by effectively bumping Wisdom for the caster, for purposes of that casting only, or by Heightening the spell by 2 levels.

Neither of those is a very good fit to the normal structure for Staff powers. Closer to something you'd find in a limited Rod.

As a general caution, however: The books suggest that pricing custom items be done based on the resultant power, not necessarily by strict application of the formula. Otherwise, an always-active Glove of True Strike that affected any weapon held would be a mere 2,000 gp, and everybody worth mentioning would have one.

 

[Magesmiley]

I'd actually say that this item is more appropriate as a rod than a staff. Constant and uses per day effects are more typical to rods.

TBH, the effects cited are pretty minor overall, its probably less than a 2000 gp item.

 

[Greenfield]

Oddly enough, the rules never actually say how large or small a wand, rod or staff has to be.

I'm planning for my character to take Craft Staff when he hits 9th level, then Staff Mastery at 12th. The goal is to make staves with the help of other spell casters, and then use them (one in particular) to broaden his own spell repertoire. (He's a Bard with a good UMD skill).

The first staff I have in mind for him will be a cane with a carved dragon's head as the grip. Spells are aimed by directing the dragon's mouth.

So perhaps this "staff" really is a rod?

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

So perhaps this "staff" really is a rod?

I tend to think of the definitions of "wand" or "staff" have more to do with the mechanical functionality than what it looks like. That is, a "staff" is really anything that is charged trigger item; shoots spells as standard action using the the wielder's CL; and which must be held in order to function. By that definition, a "staff" could conceivably be reskinned as an orb, a holy symbol, a ceremonial weapon, a sock puppet, or a hefty rune-covered turnip.

Thus, imc, your cane is a "staff" so long as its mechanics are those of a staff-- which they would be if you're using Craft Staff. If it operates by wand rules, call it a wand. If it operates by some other rules call it a wondrous item or rod. Ie, if it walks, quacks, and acts like a duck, it's a duck. Even if it looks like a rhino.

This really depends on the DM, though. Some people find this sort of added flexibility in interpreting the item creation rules can clutter the magic in the game ("Aargh, is this staff really a staff, a wand, or a wondrous item???"), especially if it's a higher magic campaign where the rules of magic are expected in-world to be highly codified. I'm sure creative players could find all sorts of ways to attempt to abuse the system... but that sort of problem, at least, is typically easily remedied with judicious use of the DM's +5 vorpal wiffle bat of Stfu.

 

[Tharkon]

I think my DM has created a real freak of nature item then.

It has the minimum caster level of a wand.
It has the maximum caster level of a staff.
But it's powers are otherwise more similar to a rod I think yes, I always overlook the rods' existence, are there rods that grant feats, cause basically this is Greater Spell Focus (Transmutation) that only works for Entangle.
I am not sure if the item functions as a weapon, which is usually the case with rods.

I should really get my hands on the MIC.

Perhaps the best is just to trust the current DM knows how much treasure people should have at which level and not create these weird kind of items when I am in charge. At least he gave me one item that was easy to calculate. An earring of Handle Animal +1. (100 GP I believe)

 

[the Jester]

There is no reliable formula for pricing custom items, only guidelines.

That said, pricing a +2 bonus to the save DC as a "skill bonus" is ridiculously underpricing it. YMMV.

 

[jefgorbach]

Jester ... correct, the dmg/srd are merely offer a suggested guideline regarding how to calculate the value of magic items.

In the same vein, a spell's saving throw difficulty represents the caster's skill at casting that particular spell; with a base skill of 10+spell level +(int, wis, chr) modifier. RAW suggests an item bestowing a competency bonus should be worth (100gp * the bonus * the bonus).

While I agree the $400gp result seems a bit low at first, it seems more reasonable after considering RAW states a +2 Pearl of Wisdom raises the user's skill modifier for -ALL- spells for a mere $4,000gp ... so accepting/granting a 90% discount for limiting the effect to a single spell becomes more reasonable and definitely less effort than pricing it at (4,000gp divided by the total possible spells castable each day at the class's highest level)

 

[Tharkon]

This is the best I've found while using the formulas provided...
It's somewhere between a wand and staff in function.
Wand price: 375*1*1=375
Staff price: 375*8*1=3000
Average of those two: (300+375)/2=1662.5
Multiply by 2 for being infinitely usable: 1662.5*2=3325
Divide by 5 for being limited to 1/day: 3325/5=665

I'll go with the skillbonus for DC bonus on a single spell.
2*2*100=400
Wielding it is probably an unusual slot:400*1.5=600

Multiple different abilities: 665*2+600=1930

I estimate the collar my wolf has counts as a 1/day level 0 spell added to a collar of cleverness, although the latter is a 3.0 item so don't know it that applies.

Altogether I probably got more than enough wealth for my level, and got some great insight in how to adjust the formulas for unusual items.