Cloak of Mage Armor

[Hyperfist]

Creating that Cloak of Mage Armor should be a little cheaper than bracers of Armor. It is not a continuous effect. Plus it will be something that requires a standard action to activate. In addition, I think Slaved was talking about a limited number of activations. 5X a day?
Plus the Mage Armor can be dispelled along with any buffs usually carried without requiring a targeted dispel. Should be cheaper than Mage Armor..but no way should it be 2,000gp. That is too cheap for an item that produces a spell effect repeatedly without requiring a recharge forever. Wands do run out of a charge after a bit of time.

As for Bracers of Armor, costing the same as regular magic armor (sounds odd) that shouldn't be the case. As stated by everyone else, it can be used by characters without armor proficiencies. This is the major benefit. That is why people want the items. Can be worn beneath clothing, allows special abilities to work in the case of monks, rogues, wizards, and sorcerors.

Thank you for the clarification on the Bracers of Armor being effective against incorporeal attacks.

 

[Folly]

KarinsDad- The 50% bonus cost is based of the table in the magic item creation section that details which slots are for what effects. Given that the table lists cloaks as a protection slot, I do not see the need to attach the 50% extra charge.

Bracer/Glove slot- The MIC has clarified that these are two separate slots. You can rule it differently, but keep that in mind if you end up incorporating items from that source.

Armor bonus to Touch- Gnomish Twistcloth comes to mind. Exotic armor from Race of Stone that if you have the feat for the armor you apply its armor (including enhancement) to your touch AC) I agree that these are exceptions.

Slaved- Bracers being overpriced is your opinion, and the examples you speak of are not ironclad. Since the examples are not above question, they are not a solid base to work off of.

Hyperfist- When an item has 5 charges, it costs the same amount as an item with unlimited charges. I personally believe this is the weakest area of the magic item creation equations, since different spell effects would be used at different frequency. For example, 5 charges of teleport is close to being unlimited(how often do you need more than 5 teleports in one day) while 5 charges of Gravestrike/Golemstrike/Plantstrike will last 1 or 2 combats of a typical 3 combat day.

Dispel- If the item is use activated it can be dispel as a buff on the individual (with the character having to use a standard action to activate) but since this is a continuous effect the dispeller would need to target the item instead.

 

[jaelis]

Another approach you could consider:

Eternal wands let you cast a spell 3 times per day, and cost like a regular wand. To have mage armor up 24 hours a day, you would need an eternal wand of at CL 8, which would cost 6000 gp. But only characters with mage armor on their spell list (or a good UMD check) could use it. Based on potions vs wands, it might cost twice as much to make it usable by anyone, giving 12000 gp, which is indeed a bit less than the bracers. It wouldn't take up a body slot either.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

KarinsDad- The 50% bonus cost is based of the table in the magic item creation section that details which slots are for what effects. Given that the table lists cloaks as a protection slot, I do not see the need to attach the 50% extra charge.

Also, I've seen at least 2 or 3 cloaks that provide armor or natural armor bonuses. So, it's not without precedent.

Bracer/Glove slot- The MIC has clarified that these are two separate slots. You can rule it differently, but keep that in mind if you end up incorporating items from that source.

Huh, shows how much attention I've paid to this thread, those two were always separate slots so far as I remember.

Brad

 

[Folly]

Another approach you could consider:

Eternal wands let you cast a spell 3 times per day, and cost like a regular wand. To have mage armor up 24 hours a day, you would need an eternal wand of at CL 8, which would cost 6000 gp. But only characters with mage armor on their spell list (or a good UMD check) could use it. Based on potions vs wands, it might cost twice as much to make it usable by anyone, giving 12000 gp, which is indeed a bit less than the bracers. It wouldn't take up a body slot either.

While it is 4000 cheaper than equivalent bracers, this price is acceptable. The 4000 gold difference is the cost of being vulnerable to dispel magic.

 

[Folly]

Huh, shows how much attention I've paid to this thread, those two were always separate slots so far as I remember.

I agree. I have always thought that these were two different slots.

 

[Hyperfist]

Hyperfist- When an item has 5 charges, it costs the same amount as an item with unlimited charges. I personally believe this is the weakest area of the magic item creation equations, since different spell effects would be used at different frequency. For example, 5 charges of teleport is close to being unlimited(how often do you need more than 5 teleports in one day) while 5 charges of Gravestrike/Golemstrike/Plantstrike will last 1 or 2 combats of a typical 3 combat day.
.

I agree. I was just saying it is a use activated item requiring a standard action to do so. Whereas the Bracers of Armor are always in effect. That is all.

So when surprise occurs...it takes time to get that mage armor up. As opposed to the bracers. So that is how come I could see the cloak costing less than the Bracers of Armor.

 

[Folly]

I agree. I was just saying it is a use activated item requiring a standard action to do so. Whereas the Bracers of Armor are always in effect. That is all.

So when surprise occurs...it takes time to get that mage armor up. As opposed to the bracers. So that is how come I could see the cloak costing less than the Bracers of Armor.

Well, here is what I think might be part of the confusion of this thread. The op did not specify those details, but used the equation for a continuous magic item. This is why so many have found it to be unreasonable. An item that casts Mage Armor, is not nearly as powerful as one that provides it as a continuous affect.

 

[darthkilmor]

I agree. I was just saying it is a use activated item requiring a standard action to do so. Whereas the Bracers of Armor are always in effect. That is all.

So when surprise occurs...it takes time to get that mage armor up. As opposed to the bracers. So that is how come I could see the cloak costing less than the Bracers of Armor.

except with the longer duration of mage armor, you set your CL high enough and you're only casting in a few times a day, which combat-wise the same as having it always on, what are the odds your 8 hour duration spell expires in the 1 minute of combat that you have ?

 

[Slaved]

Slaved- Bracers being overpriced is your opinion, and the examples you speak of are not ironclad. Since the examples are not above question, they are not a solid base to work off of.

It is my opinion based on facts that are actually relevant instead of the crazy Armor listed earlier which is too different to be a good comparison!

Bracers of Armor are too expensive for a number of reasons. Take your pick for which to discuss.