Adding an additional effect of magic item

[Trellian]

What are the rules for adding an additional effect on a magic item. The second effect's prize is multiplied by 50%? So a Belt of Constitution +4 and Strength +4 would cost 16000+(16000x1,5) = 40 000 ? Or 20 000 for someone making it himself

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

That's pretty much it.

Note that you increase the other abilities by 50% only when it's an item that takes up a slot. So, if you had a slotless item, there's no additional charge over and above the slotless charge (in other words, a "Pearl of Opening Locks and Disabling Devices (+5 competence to OL and DD when carried)" is equal in price to two pearls, one of OL and one of DD).

 

[Trellian]

Coming back to RPGs after almost a year without it causes you to forget so many things... and as the DMG has always been hard for me to find things, it's almost always easier to ask here at ENWorld..

Another thing... is it possible to create Bracers of Deflection? Or must Deflection items be rings?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Another thing... is it possible to create Bracers of Deflection? Or must Deflection items be rings?

Yes and no, respectively.

Wondrous Items - like Bracers - have what's called "affinities." That is to say, putting mental-improving effects is easiest in the headband / helmet slot. Mental effects in other, non-affinity slots have a 50% surcharge.

Bracers carry an affinity for "Combat" items. One could reasonably assume that an AC bonus counts as "Combat affinity."

Therefore, there wouldn't really be any difference in price between Bracers of Deflection and Rings of Deflection. The rings, however, are more flexible (you have two ring slots, but only one Bracers slot).

EDIT:

Also, the Cloak slot carries an affinity for "Transformation, protection," which makes Cloaks of Protection equally as likely as rings.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

In order to be a reasonable voice, I'd like to point out there actually are no rules for adding additional effects to already existing magic items. The rules say that only the magic items listed in the DMG and other books exist at all and that you can make up some new magic items if you want, but that it's completely up to the DM what the price of those items would be.

The DMG then gives some suggestions for starting points for the DM to determine prices on new items. However, the last step in creating any new magic item is to compare it with existing magic items and figure out if the price should be higher or lower than the charts would tell you.

So, essentially, my answer is: It depends what magic property you wanted to add to what other magic item.

In my opinion allowing items to have slots switched without increasing their costs only causes powergaming. There's nothing explicitly stated in the DMG that allows bracers of defection. There are some good guidelines in the DMG for using slots other than the ones that the bonuses have affinity for. However, I generally assume any slot other than the ones in the book already use are not affinity for that effect. That's why those are the most common items.

If a ring was a ring of protection +5, armor +8, and resistance +5, I would certainly make it cost a LOT more than the individual items put together, and likely a lot more than just the additional fee for having two properties on an item, and even a lot more than all of that plus the non-affinity cost.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

In order to be a reasonable voice, I'd like to point out there actually are no rules for adding additional effects to already existing magic items.

I'd like to point out that you're wrong.

ADDING NEW ABILITIES
A creator can add new magical abilities to a magic item with no restrictions. The cost to do this is the same as if the item was not magical. Thus, a +1 longsword can be made into a +2 vorpal longsword, with the cost to create it being equal to that of a +2 vorpal sword minus the cost of a +1 sword.

If the item is one that occupies a specific place on a character’s body the cost of adding any additional ability to that item increases by 50%. For example, if a character adds the power to confer invisibility to her ring of protection +2, the cost of adding this ability is the same as for creating a ring of invisibility multiplied by 1.5.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I'd like to point out that you're wrong.

It looks like some of the descriptive text from the DMG is missing in the SRD. I don't have the DMG at the moment, but the way I remmeber it the order and way it is written in the DMG, this entire paragraph is in the section for creating new magic items. That section states that all of the "rules" for creating new magic items are optional and up to the DM and are guidelines.

The last step in the creation of ANY new magic item is to compare its price to existing magic items and modify the resulting price based entirely on how powerful you think it is compared to those.

I know Andy Collins, Sean K Reynolds, and Monte Cook have all posted at various times that one of their big beefs about that section of the DMG is that everyone assumes the table on creating new magic items is actual D&D rules and that they have to continually answer questions like "According to the table at the back of the DMG, an item can be made that seems WAY too powerful. How do you explain that?" And they always answer the same, that the section is meant to be guidelines and following it exactly will create many overpowered items.

 

[moritheil]

I know Andy Collins, Sean K Reynolds, and Monte Cook have all posted at various times that one of their big beefs about that section of the DMG is that everyone assumes the table on creating new magic items is actual D&D rules and that they have to continually answer questions like "According to the table at the back of the DMG, an item can be made that seems WAY too powerful. How do you explain that?" And they always answer the same, that the section is meant to be guidelines and following it exactly will create many overpowered items.

Bracers of True Strike being the classic example that Collins talked about.

 

[dcollins]

Admittedly the "Adding New Abilities" section of the DMG doesn't exactly share the same status as the "Inventing New Items" guideline section. Per the description and examples, my reading is that it does directly allow adding abilities that are already defined for that type of item onto an item of the same type. (Examples are +2 vorpal sword and ring of invisibility & protection.) I wouldn't allow a belt of strength/constitution under those specific rules, because there is no pre-defined "belt of constitution" in the DMG; that would count as a house-ruled "new item".

Previous thread this was asked in is below, consider responses there:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=125464