Cloak of Mage Armor

[jaelis]

16000 Gold Pieces for Bracers of Armor +4 is ridiculous!!!

Then you should simply house rule otherwise, and perhaps move the discussion to the house rule form.

 

[Folly]

Monks are HEAVILY Multiple Attribute Dependent. Would my proposed change make Monks too powerful?

Yes

 

[Slaved]

Then you should simply house rule otherwise, and perhaps move the discussion to the house rule form.

But it is on topic in a Thread talking about making an item which will be giving a +4 Armor Bonus using Mage Armor.

Comparing prices to existing Items is how the System works but it does not work with Bracers of Armor because they are overpriced to begin with!

 

[Slaved]

Yes

You say Yes and I say No but my No carries with it good examples from earlier in the Thread.

 

[darthkilmor]

Just buy some robes +4 and be done with it. You get a +4 armor bonus with no armor check/spell failure.

Regardless of whatever item you end up wanting to create, your DM is going to have to approve it and tell you what you actually make. Trying to create an equivalent to bracers of armor +4 for only 2000 gp isnt going to fly. If I was the DM I'd probably give you a cursed cloak though for trying.

edited for snark.

 

[KarinsDad]

Hi All,
I'm Arnon's friend who originally asked the question.
I feel that the discussion drifted from the original question, and I would like to clarify my point.



In my opinion that for the creation of a cloak of mage armor the second rule should apply for the following reasons:
1. Mage Armor gives an armor bonus and it doesn't stack with other armor bonuses.
2. The "Armor bonus (enhancement)" is for adding enhancement bonus to already existing armor bonus, so it stacks.
3. Mage Armor gives a +4 bonus and if we look at an equivalent in the armor table :


so for 40 time the Scale Mail price you get the same AC without the penalties.
4. My intention is to make the "cloak of mage armor" with caster level 1 so it will only cost 2000gp whereas bracers of armor are caster level 7 which is more difficult to dispell. Making the cloak with caster level 7 will cost 14000gp according to the table.

You appear to be missing a lot of points here:

1) The disadvantages you are talking about are expensive to get rid of, not cheap. You are trying to do it cheaply.

For example, a +4 Robe (which takes away all of the disadvantages that you want to take away for 2000 GP) costs 16,000 GP, not 2000 GP.

2) Mage Armor gives an additional advantage against incorporeal creatures. This counters the fact that force armor does not stack with shield armor. Pros and Cons (not just the con you mention in your #1 above).

3) A Cloak of Mage Armor is the wrong slot. Why? Because gaining armor in the cloak slot frees the glove slot up for Gloves of Dexterity.

4) The dispel issue is totally irrelevant. Dispelling worn magic items in the game almost never happens (dispelling carried items happens once in a blue moon, but less rarely).

5) Magic item armor bonuses in the game are expensive:

Armor bonus (enhancement) Bonus squared x 1,000 gp +1 chainmail
AC bonus (deflection) Bonus squared x 2,000 gp Ring of protection +3
AC bonus (other)1 Bonus squared x 2,500 gp Ioun stone, dusty rose prism
Natural armor bonus (enhancement) Bonus squared x 2,000 gp Amulet of natural armor +1

An equivalent item with these other types of AC bonuses would cost anywhere from 16,000 GP to 40,000 GP.

So, why should Force Armor cost 2000 GP just because you found a way in the rules to craft items based off spells? That's not balanced with respect to magical AC costs in the rest of the game system.


All in all, this should be priced at 24,000 GP.

16,000 GP for the bonus squared * 1000 GP rule times 1.5 for not in the right slot.

 

[moritheil]

I agree with this.

Touch attacks (which are not "incorporeal") ignore armor bonuses, period. It was a mistake on the designer's part to call "incorporeal" attacks "incorporeal touch", since the rules for "touch" are different. :\

Cheers, -- N

Uh, not quite. There are ways to get armor bonuses to apply to touch AC without only applying to incorporeal touch AC. They are pretty obscure, though. If memory serves, one of them was in Frostburn . . .

 

[moritheil]

To me it seems strange that it possible to create something that will grant a continuous +4 to AC for only 2000 gp... I'm sure I'm missing something.

Remember that the magic item creation rules are suggested guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules. They fully expect the DM to say "Wait a minute, if that's only 2000 gp who will ever buy bracers of armor?" and adjust the price to match.

For another item that doesn't fit well within the rules, think about bracers of true strike. If true strike wasn't a 1st-level spell those bracers would clearly be priced by the epic rules (+20). Most DMs I know therefore price them as epic items if they allow them at all.

 

[Nifft]

Uh, not quite. There are ways to get armor bonuses to apply to touch AC without only applying to incorporeal touch AC. They are pretty obscure, though. If memory serves, one of them was in Frostburn . . .

Uh, not so obscure, but those are exceptions which are called out explicitly.

2nd level of Wilder is the easiest.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Nifft]

3) A Cloak of Mage Armor is the wrong slot. Why? Because gaining armor in the cloak slot frees the glove slot up for Gloves of Dexterity.

As a total side note, I've always played that bracer = bracelet slot, while gloves are a slot of their own. (Gauntlets occupy both of these slots.)

Cheers, -- N