Crafting Magic Armor...

[Matafuego]

Hi everybody!

I don't seem to understand the Magic Arms and Armor crafting rules...

Suppose I have a 17th level Cleric working on a White Dragon's Hide Armor.
He decides to make it +5 (he has to be level 15 to do that) and add it a +4 enhancement (which requires Clr lvl 13 according to its entry).
Can he do that?
I know it costs as a +9 Suit of Armor as I am reading the rules he can but I can also guess that he needs to be level 27 to do that (3*9 = 27). But since the DMG and the PHB are for level 20 or less that doesn't seem to be logical...
Am I missing something?

And suppose he has the armor already and he decides to add it Cold Resistance 30 which has a monetary value of 66.000 but no "+?"
Can he do that?
Can he add Acid/Cold/Fire etc. resistance if he pays the 66.000 for each one of them (I think he has to pay only 33k since it's half price for crafiting)?

Thanks a lot for your attention =)

 

[andargor]

Suppose I have a 17th level Cleric working on a White Dragon's Hide Armor.
He decides to make it +5 (he has to be level 15 to do that) and add it a +4 enhancement (which requires Clr lvl 13 according to its entry).
Can he do that?

Yes.

Caster Level for Armor and Shields: The caster level of a magic shield or magic armor with a special ability is given in the item description. For an item with only an enhancement bonus, the caster level is three times the enhancement bonus. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met.

I know it costs as a +9 Suit of Armor as I am reading the rules he can but I can also guess that he needs to be level 27 to do that (3*9 = 27). But since the DMG and the PHB are for level 20 or less that doesn't seem to be logical...
Am I missing something?

The previous SRD quote indicates that the caster level is only tied to the enhancement bonus, not special abilities. So, caster level 15.

Also, the armor is considered Epic:

In general, an item with even one of these characteristics is an epic magic item.

Grants a bonus on attacks or damage greater than +5.
Grants an enhancement bonus to armor higher than +5.
Has a special ability with a market price modifier greater than +5.
Grants an armor bonus of greater than +10 (not including magic armor's enhancement bonus).
Grants a natural armor, deflection, or resistance bonus greater than +5.
Grants an enhancement bonus to an ability score greater than +6.
Grants an enhancement bonus on a skill check greater than +30.
Mimics a spell of an effective level higher than 9th.
Has a caster level above 20th.
Has a market price above 200,000 gp, not including material costs for armor or weapons, material component- or experience point-based costs, or additional value for intelligent items.

Hence, your cleric would require Craft Epic Arms and Armor (and be Epic). It would cost 810,000 gp to produce at a +9 total bonus.

The cost of the armor goes up with the total bonus of the armor. The cleric pays the difference. Don't forget that it's exponential. To go from +1 to +2 costs 3,000 gp, but to go from +2 to +3 costs 5,000 gp.

And yes, the crafting cost is half the market cost (but the XP cost is calculated as 1/25 of the market cost)

And before dcollins comes in here ( ), I will add that the crafting rules are up to the DM's discretion. He can very well refuse anything other than the stock items, or charge extra from modifications.

Andargor

 

[Nail]

Hence, your cleric would require Craft Epic Arms and Armor (and be Epic). It would cost 810,000 gp to produce at a +9 total bonus.

Nope.

a +9 "total bonus" armor costs 9^2 * 1000 = 81,000 gp

No need to be Epic, mate!

 

[Nail]

And suppose he has the armor already and he decides to add it Cold Resistance 30 which has a monetary value of 66.000 but no "+?"
Can he do that?
Can he add Acid/Cold/Fire etc. resistance if he pays the 66.000 for each one of them (I think he has to pay only 33k since it's half price for crafiting)?

Yes, yes, yes.

Now, be honest: there's NO decernable benefit from making armor out of dragon hide, given the DMG. So why bother?

 

[Matafuego]

Thanks a lot!!!
You're right, by the RAW there's no benefit (other than RP ones) but since it's made from the scales of a White Grand Wyrm killed by a Paladin Dragonslayer (and crafted by the paladin itself) the DM ruled it a Full Plate with better Max Dex and one category less, I hope I made myself clear with that =\
And thanks for the clarifying, that EPIC thing nearly made me lost all hope.

 

[hong]

Yes, yes, yes.

Now, be honest: there's NO decernable benefit from making armor out of dragon hide, given the DMG. So why bother?

Style points. IIRC there's no extra cost involved from making dragon hide armour either (once you've killed and skinned the dragon). So if you've got the hide handy, why not use it?

 

[Antoine]

About armor :

If your armor has a +9 armor enhancement bonus = epic (enhancement >+5) and 810 000 gp market value

If your armor has a +5 armor enhancement bonus and a +4 equivalent power (such as soulfire from BoED) = no need to be epic (enhancement <+6, total bonus equivalent <+11), meet highest level requirement and pay 40 500 gp (81 000 gp market value).

For armors made of dragon scales/hide, you might take an interest in checking the Draconomicon's dragoncraft chapter.

Hope this helps.

 

[andargor]

Nope.

a +9 "total bonus" armor costs 9^2 * 1000 = 81,000 gp

No need to be Epic, mate!

If your armor has a +9 armor enhancement bonus = epic (enhancement >+5) and 810 000 gp market value

If your armor has a +5 armor enhancement bonus and a +4 equivalent power (such as soulfire from BoED) = no need to be epic (enhancement <+6, total bonus equialent <+11), meet highest level requirement and pay 40 500 gp (81 000 gp market value).

Gotcha. That'll teach me to post 2 minutes before a meeting.

Andargor

 

[Nail]

Style points.

Sure, sure....I'm just miffed there's nothing written up in the DMG about "goodies" you can get from dragon hide armor. ....'Cause you *know* every DM worth his salt will add some benefits.

So if you've got the hide handy, why not use it?

Don't wanna attract too much attention?

 

[buzzard]

Don't wanna attract too much attention?

Yes, the suit of "CALLING ALL DRAGONS, KILL THIS MAN!" can be a touch ostentacious.

buzzard