Cloak of Mage Armor

[Will]

Because you end up with an item that is much cheaper than an existing item that does the same thing, with fewer drawbacks. Which makes no sense.

It also violates the guideline of using the best pre-existing fit for a particular item.

Bracers of armor are a core item. They are priced correctly because they are part of the canonical list of starting equipment.

 

[Folly]

So the Argument I used for Armor that already exists in the Game is not to your liking? Why?

The Mage Armor Spell is a Long Duration Low Level Balanced Spell. Using a Cheaper Guideline than the one which is given for Bracers of Armor makes sense with that in mind.

An Item that Granted Constant Protection from Evil would be Very Expensive. This is a Good Indicator that the Spell should be placed at a different Level.

I am not throwing away the Item Creation Guidelines. Instead I am doing what they say to do and Comparing to what is already in the Game!! It would be Impossible to determine whether or not the Bracers of Armor are Priced Correctly by only looking at Bracers of Armor!!

Yes, but cherry picking produces no better results. I compared them against the cost of other magic items that increase armor class. In that comparison bracers of armor is on par with the cheapest other armor class increasing magic items. Considering they are already one of the cheapest armor class increasing items, I do not see any reason to reduce their cost further.

 

[Slaved]

Because you end up with an item that is much cheaper than an existing item that does the same thing, with fewer drawbacks. Which makes no sense.

It also violates the guideline of using the best pre-existing fit for a particular item.

Bracers of armor are a core item. They are priced correctly because they are part of the canonical list of starting equipment.

So no Items in the Dungeon Masters Guide are Overpriced? The Magic Item Compendium disagrees with you.

 

[Slaved]

Yes, but cherry picking produces no better results. I compared them against the cost of other magic items that increase armor class. In that comparison bracers of armor is on par with the cheapest other armor class increasing magic items. Considering they are already one of the cheapest armor class increasing items, I do not see any reason to reduce their cost further.

Bracers of Armor are Cheaper than Magical Armor???

 

[Folly]

Bracers of Armor are Cheaper than Magical Armor???

"on par with the cheapest"
"one of the cheapest"

I did not spell it out since I spelled it out in my earlier post. Bracers of armor are the same cost as magical armor per increase.

 

[Slaved]

"on par with the cheapest"
"one of the cheapest"

I did not spell it out since I spelled it out in my earlier post. Bracers of armor are the same cost as magical armor per increase.

Bracers of Armor +1 Cost 1000 Gold Pieces.
Padded Armor Costs 5 Gold Pieces.

Bracers of Armor +2 Cost 4000 Gold Pieces.
Padded Armor +1 Costs 1155 Gold Pieces.
Leather Armor Costs 10 Gold Pieces.

Bracers of Armor +3 Cost 9000 Gold Pieces.
Padded Armor +2 Costs 4155 Gold Pieces.
Leather Armor +1 Costs 1160 Gold Pieces.
Studded Leather Armor Costs 25 Gold Pieces.

Your Argument only holds true if we ignore the Armor Bonus that the Armor itself gives. That is a Very Poor Assumption to make.

 

[Folly]

Bracers of Armor +1 Cost 1000 Gold Pieces.
Padded Armor Costs 5 Gold Pieces.

Bracers of Armor +2 Cost 4000 Gold Pieces.
Padded Armor +1 Costs 1155 Gold Pieces.
Leather Armor Costs 10 Gold Pieces.

Bracers of Armor +3 Cost 9000 Gold Pieces.
Padded Armor +2 Costs 4155 Gold Pieces.
Leather Armor +1 Costs 1160 Gold Pieces.
Studded Leather Armor Costs 25 Gold Pieces.

Your Argument only holds true if we ignore the Armor Bonus that the Armor itself gives. That is a Very Poor Assumption to make.

No as I have stated before, I consider mundane armor a feature of a class.

Certain classes cannot use armor, certain classes can. Thus by making enhancement bonuses for the classes that cannot use mundane armor cheaper, you skew the balance between the classes. In your original suggestion, (+4 for the cost of +1) the rogue in light armor would only have 1 additonal armor over a monk/wizard/sorc were before your suggestion he had 4. This messes with the balance of the classes.

 

[billd91]

Your Argument only holds true if we ignore the Armor Bonus that the Armor itself gives. That is a Very Poor Assumption to make.

But that is exactly what we do. Think of non-magical bracers (or cloak) as having an armor bonus of +0 (which it effectively does).

 

[VanRichten]

Bracers of Armor +1 Cost 1000 Gold Pieces
Virtually Weightless
No Armor Check Penalty
No Arcane Spell Failure
Works Against Incorporeal Attacks
Can be worn/used by all classes without proficiency

Padded Armor Costs 5 Gold Pieces.
Has a specific weight of note
Little to No Armor Check Penalty
Arcane Spell Failure
Does not Work Against Incorporeal Attacks
Can only be worn by classes with proficiency or by spending a feat to use gain
proficiency

Bracers of Armor +2 Cost 4000 Gold Pieces
Virtually Weightless
No Armor Check Penalty
No Arcane Spell Failure
Works Against Incorporeal Attacks
Can be worn/used by all classes without proficiency

Padded Armor +1 Costs 1155 Gold Pieces.
Leather Armor Costs 10 Gold Pieces.
Has a specific weight of note
Little to No Armor Check Penalty
Arcane Spell Failure
Does not Work Against Incorporeal Attacks
Can only be worn by classes with proficiency or by spending a feat to use gain
proficiency

Bracers of Armor +3 Cost 9000 Gold Pieces.
Virtually Weightless
No Armor Check Penalty
No Arcane Spell Failure
Works Against Incorporeal Attacks
Can be worn/used by all classes without proficiency

Padded Armor +2 Costs 4155 Gold Pieces
Leather Armor +1 Costs 1160 Gold Pieces
Studded Leather Armor Costs 25 Gold Pieces
Has a specific weight of note
Little to No Armor Check Penalty
Arcane Spell Failure
Does not Work Against Incorporeal Attacks
Can only be worn by classes with proficiency or by spending a feat to use gain
proficiency


Do you still wish to argue the price Slaved? I mean look at the pros and cons here.

 

[Slaved]

No as I have stated before, I consider mundane armor a feature of a class.

Certain classes cannot use armor, certain classes can. Thus by making enhancement bonuses for the classes that cannot use mundane armor cheaper, you skew the balance between the classes. In your original suggestion, (+4 for the cost of +1) the rogue in light armor would only have 1 additonal armor over a monk/wizard/sorc were before your suggestion he had 4. This messes with the balance of the classes.

Any Class can use Armor. A Character does not even need Proficiency to use Armor!