DotF magic item questions

[Thanee]

Regardless of officialdom, I really like the sage-advised suggestion, much better than bumping it to +7.

Bye
Thanee

 

[shilsen]

Regardless of officialdom, I really like the sage-advised suggestion, much better than bumping it to +7.

Bye
Thanee

Me too. It allows the armor to be usable (without making it epic like Monte suggests), but not overpowered.

 

[Arnix]

Actually, making it a +3 enhancement that emulates boots of speed (8k gp) is far over priced, even if its the first 3 enhancements on the armor (beyond the required +1 of course). I agree that it is too powerful as a permanent effect, but limiting it to 10 rounds per day for a +3 is rather over the top.

Do some math:
Haste Boots 8k
Add Haste Effect to current boots/other item 16k
Cost of +3 enhancement (from +1 to +4) 15k
Cost of +3 enhancement(from +7 to +10) 51k

Even on the low end, it is over priced for effect.

Remember the Sage advice is just that, Advice. Unless it is in the Errata or FAQ and published, the change is only a suggestion. He is great (though sometimes obviously wrong, but he is human after all) for interpretting what was meant in ambiguous or even slightly confusing areas, but sage advice != rules errata.


Arnix (tm)

 

[kreynolds]

You're correct, that it's pointless.

If you really believed that, your post would have ended right there.

But if you think that an email to one person by the Sage ever made it "official", I'm surprised at you.

I never said that.

And I'd have to disagree about the Speed Armor enchantment being "ambiguous". It's quite clear from the text in DotF how it's published to be played.

And it's overpowered as written.

And it's up to the DM.... still... to say NO to the players.

So then, you're solution is to simply ban it, as opposed to coming up with a perfectly acceptable fix, yes? OK. I get you now.

But please, let's be adults and leave the "THE SAGE SUCKS AND HE'S A JERK AND HE'S AN IDIOT" crap behind, shall we? Thanks.

 

[Xarlen]

To be honest, I didn't get it. Although, it could be due to the fact that it's my bedtime.

I was trying to be funny and add to your sig and stuff.

 

[Taren Seeker]

Back to the original thread...

If you want other problem creations from this book, try these:

Speed's been covered. Moving on...

Command enhancement: A slotless +4 competence bonus to Cha? Look at all those great PrC's that use Cha for cool abilities, not to mention classes like the Paladin and Sorceror. Stacks with a Cloak of Charisma. Joy. At +2 it's a bargain and a half. Oh yeah, and the usually-stackable +2 morale bonus to Will saves for all allies within 30'. Can't forget about that one.

Energy Drain: No limit to how many times a day the Enervation effect can be used, no save. Let's see, 16th level fighter using Shield bashing, that's 4 attacks per round, 4d4 negative levels assuming all hit...or a dual wielder with Shield Expert and Improved or Greater 2 weapon fighting so you can use the Shield bashes in addition to your other weapon attacks. If you want to be boring (and more sick) have it on armor and just do touch attacks all day long. Multiple touch attacks if your BAB is high enough. Hmmm, can you use off hand attacks to do this too? Only a +2 cost.

Ethereal: No limit on how often you can Ethereal Jaunt for +2, or take the whole party ethereal for the +4 version. How much would you pay for an item that allowed you to cast an awesome 6th or 7th level spell at will?

Fearsome and Charming may not the most broken enhancements around, but I think that an always on Charm effect and Fear aura should be bumped up in cost a fair bit.

Arm of Nyr: Unnamed +2 bonus to Str and Dex per arm added, and a +2 deflection bonus all for 13k? Players who want this sort of thing will gladly cut their own arms off to get it. (Or they'll start thrusting their arms down every mysterious small, dark hole that you can throw at them, which is usually a player's greatest fear when encountered)

Equerry's Armor: It's a very cool item and not overpowered, but I think 10k is just too cheap. The +2 full plate portion alone is worth 5650, but I don't think that +2 Dex and +10 move to your mount is only worth 2.5k (doubled). I suppose that the utility is limited, but a character who wants this armor is going to want to sleep on his mount anyways. Still, it's not a huge issue when compared to some of the other items in this book.

 

[kreynolds]

Energy Drain: No limit to how many times a day the Enervation effect can be used, no save. Let's see, 16th level fighter using Shield bashing, that's 4 attacks per round, 4d4 negative levels assuming all hit...or a dual wielder with Shield Expert and Improved or Greater 2 weapon fighting so you can use the Shield bashes in addition to your other weapon attacks. If you want to be boring (and more sick) have it on armor and just do touch attacks all day long. Multiple touch attacks if your BAB is high enough. Hmmm, can you use off hand attacks to do this too? Only a +2 cost.

I only glanced at your list, but this one really caught my eye. I honestly don't know if the item is truly intended to function as it is written. If so, I would definately have to agree with anyone that thinks it's a bit "over the top". I have to wonder, however, if one of the possible intentions of this armor enhancement was to function similar to a Vampire Monk's level draining ability, thus only useable once per action. So, if you took a full attack action, it would only function once.

 

[ConcreteBuddha]

Actually, making it a +3 enhancement that emulates boots of speed (8k gp) is far over priced, even if its the first 3 enhancements on the armor (beyond the required +1 of course). I agree that it is too powerful as a permanent effect, but limiting it to 10 rounds per day for a +3 is rather over the top.



Arnix (tm)

Sorry to bring the discussion back to the armor of speed, but I agree with you, Arnix.

To fix it, I suggest limiting the armor to 10 rounds per day, but instead of requiring a standard action as per the boots, it instead requires a free action.

That, IMHO, is powerful and worth the price, but won't ruin a game.
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And I thought the Arm of Nyr was an enhancement bonus to Str and Dex. I could be wrong.
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Equerry's Armor, Arm of Nyr: IMC, unique magic items like these get the discount provided in the book with one catch: the disadvantage is that these magic items cannot be upgraded with additional powers. The magic is "set" and cannot be altered without ruining the original enchantment. (Rhino hide was our case in point.) It works for us, but as always, YMMV.

 

[Taren Seeker]

I only glanced at your list, but this one really caught my eye. I honestly don't know if the item is truly intended to function as it is written. If so, I would definately have to agree with anyone that thinks it's a bit "over the top". I have to wonder, however, if one of the possible intentions of this armor enhancement was to function similar to a Vampire Monk's level draining ability, thus only useable once per action. So, if you took a full attack action, it would only function once.

That's a Sage advice thing, right? I remember something about that and something similar with Improved grab, but I couldn't find anything in the MM errata. checking... In fact, they rewrote the Energy Drain entry and don't mention anything about it. Are you refering to something else?

If not, like I said, bro-diddly-oken.

Oh and Concretebuddha, yes the Arm gives an unnamed bonus to Str and Dex. I wouldn't have written all that out if I hadn't checked.

 

[Hejdun]

1) Command ability (Armor/Shields): Does the "+2 morale bonus on Will saves to all allies within 30 feet" apply to the user too? Presumably the user is an ally of himself (schizoid, I know), just as the bard counts as his own ally for his bardic music effects. Also, is the market price (+2 bonus) a little low for the abilities provided (opinion wanted, rather than ruling)?

On the price, consider if you get towards higher level and get powerful armor. On a +10 armor, the Command is costing you (100,000 - 64,000) 36,000gp, compared to just having a +8 equivelant armor. Compared to just getting a Cloak of Charisma +4 for 16,000gp and a Cloak (or whatever) of Resistance +2 is 4,000gp. You're paying 16,000gp more for a few advantages.

2) Speed ability (Armor/Shields): Yeah, riiiight!! A permanent haste ability at +3 market price bonus?! Has there been any errata on this (official or unofficial)? I seem to recall something on the boards a while ago about it actually being equivalent to a +7 bonus or something, but I'm not sure.

We just play it as a +2 bonus, and it works exactly like the boots.