"Base cost", retail, wholesale or manufacture cost?

[Gizzard]

After the last session, a bunch of us were trying to figure out how much it would cost to make a certain scroll or potion. (As players most of us do not have unlimited access to the DMG, btw.) After looking at some snippets of the DMG that our DM produced we all became confused about what the "base cost" is and how it relates to how much we actually spend. As a group, we now feel that "base cost" is full retail price and that items can be manufactured for half of the base cost (+XP). (Although we never would have guessed that from the info we found in the PHB alone.) Is this correct?

 

[Crothian]

Yes. Base price is the price listed in the DMG and is the price you get when following the creation guidelines in the DMG.

 

[Gizzard]

> Base price is the price listed in the DMG and is the price
> you get when following the creation guidelines in the DMG.

Augh, clearly my brain is wired wrong for understanding this issue! The sentence above seems to say two opposite things (but strangely similar to all the rules in the DMG & PHB!).

To us it seemed that following the creation guidelines in the DMG (p245), the manufacture cost is *half* of base price. A first level scroll at first caster level would require 12.5GP to manufacture, though its "base cost" according to the PHB is 25GP. "Base cost" is therefore some strange reflection of retail price, an extremely optimistic one unless a Wizard is selling stuff directly out of his lab to the consumer! (With any sort of distributor involved, I'd expect this scroll to retail for 50GP. Just another random thought causing me confusion.)

Anyway, I'll take the "Yes" part of the reply to mean I'm playing this right.

 

[StealthyMark]

*Usually*, base price equals market price.

If expensive base materials (weapons and armor), XP costs (Limited Wish, Wish...) and/or expensive material components (Stoneskin, Raise Dead...) are involved, the above is not true.

Base price...
...for scrolls/wands:
base price (gp) = spell level x caster level x 25/750
...for weapons
base price (gp) = (weapon bonus x weapon bonus x 2,000) + weapon special abilities costs (gp)
...for armor
base price (gp) = (armor bonus x armor bonus x 1,000) + armor special abilities costs (gp)

Calculate the market price using the follwing formula:
market price (gp) = base price (gp) + material costs (gp) + material components* (gp) + (XP components x 5)
*Focus components are not added

Buying price = market price (shop -> PC)
Selling price = market price / 2 (PC -> shop)

Calculate costs to create (Itemcreation Feats) using the following formula:
money costs (gp) = (base price (gp) / 2) + material costs (gp) + material components (gp)
XP costs = (base price (gp) / 25) + XP components
time to create (days) = base price (gp) / 1,000 (round up)

Four examples to illustrate the above formulas:

+2 mithral breastplate
base price = 4,000 gp (4 x 4 x 1,000)
market price = 8,200 gp (4,000 gp + 200 gp [breastplate] + 4,000 gp [mithral medium armor, DMG, pg. 243])
money costs to create = 6,200 gp (4,000/2 gp + 200 gp [breastplate] + 4,000 gp [mithral medium armor, DMG, pg. 243])
XP costs to create = 160 XP (4,000/25 XP)
time to create = 4 days (4,000/1,000)

+2 keen longsword
weapon bonus = 3 (2 [+2] + 1 [keen])
base price = 18,000 gp (3 x 3 x 2,000)
market price = 18,315 gp (18,000 gp + 15 gp [longsword] + 300 gp [masterwork weapon])
money costs to create = 9,315 gp (18,000/2 gp + 15 gp [longsword] + 300 gp [masterwork weapon])
XP costs to create = 720 XP (18,000/25 XP)
time to create = 18 days (18,000/1,000)

Scroll of Stoneskin, caster level 7
base price = 700 gp (4 x 7 x 25)
market price = 950 gp (700 gp + 250 gp [material component])
money costs to create = 600 gp (700/2 gp + 250 gp [material component])
XP costs to create = 28 (700/25 XP)
time to create = 1 day (700/1,000)

Scroll of Wish, caster level 17
base price = 3,825 gp (9 x 17 x 25)
market price = 28,825 gp (3,825 gp + 25,000 gp [5,000 XP x 5 gp])
money costs to create = 1,912.5 gp (3,825/2 gp)
XP costs to create = 5,153 XP (3,825/25 XP + 5,000 XP [XP component])
time to create = 4 days (3,825/1,000)

 

[Crothian]

> Base price is the price listed in the DMG and is the price
> you get when following the creation guidelines in the DMG.

Augh, clearly my brain is wired wrong for understanding this issue! The sentence above seems to say two opposite things (but strangely similar to all the rules in the DMG & PHB!).

To us it seemed that following the creation guidelines in the DMG (p245), the manufacture cost is *half* of base price. A first level scroll at first caster level would require 12.5GP to manufacture, though its "base cost" according to the PHB is 25GP. "Base cost" is therefore some strange reflection of retail price, an extremely optimistic one unless a Wizard is selling stuff directly out of his lab to the consumer! (With any sort of distributor involved, I'd expect this scroll to retail for 50GP. Just another random thought causing me confusion.)

Anyway, I'll take the "Yes" part of the reply to mean I'm playing this right.

You are doing it correctly. In the DMG all prices have a cost, this is the base cost. Using the rules from pg 242 of the DMG will get you the base price of an item. It does not work out perfectly in all cases.

Now, when you are making an item using a the feat, it is based off the base price.

And more then likely the Wizard is selling out of his own little tower. These things aren't being mass produced and shipped to distributors.

 

[dcollins]

In the DMG all prices have a cost, this is the base cost.

Be careful of that terminology!
- All items in the DMG have a listed "Market Price" (p. 178).
- The "base price" is the standard item cost calculation (see ring of wishes example on p. 242, and table headers p. 244-246).

Market Price = Base Price + any component costs (XP, etc.)

Assuming no XP costs and no pricey components, then Market Price = Base Price, and item creators need to spend half that amount to craft the item.

(Note: Base Cost to Craft = 1/2 Base Price)