Enchanting Cold Iron: Extra 2000gp each time or once?

[TheEvil]

A interpretation on the text for cold iron recently came up and I am curious what the opinion on ENWorld is.

From the SRD the text on Cold Iron says:
This iron, mined deep underground, known for its effectiveness against fey creatures, is forged at a lower temperature to preserve its delicate properties. Weapons made of cold iron cost twice as much to make as their normal counterparts. Also, any magical enhancements cost an additional 2,000 gp.

Items without metal parts cannot be made from cold iron. An arrow could be made of cold iron, but a quarterstaff could not.

A double weapon that has only half of it made of cold iron increases its cost by 50%.

Cold iron has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.

It has always been my understanding that the extra cost to enchant was a one time thing, sort of the cost to make the metal open to enchantment. This was how it was explained to me in Living Greyhawk, though I would have to admit the people were not always the most knowledgable about the rules, to say nothing of the vagarities of LG.

Recently some people in the group are saying they think the cost is intended to be paid each time the item is enchanted.

How do you guys play?

 

[Twowolves]

I asked this very same question here a couple of weeks ago. Didn't get many replies, but one poster said it was +2000gp every time you went to enchant the weapon. I don't agree, simply because that would make cold iron weapons vary in price depending on how and when it was made, making it the only item like that in the rules (AFAIK).

 

[Thurbane]

According to the "official" FAQ:

I’m unclear about the exact cost of adding enhancements to
a cold iron weapon. Page 284 in the Dungeon Master’s
Guide says any magical enhancements to a cold iron item
cost an additional 2,000 gp. I am unclear as to whether this
is a one-time cost or if it applies to each enhancement. For
example, would a +1 cold iron frost longsword cost the same
as a +2 cold iron longsword (10,330 gp) since both are “+2”
weapons, or would it cost 12,330 gp (2,000 extra for the +1
enhancement, and 2,000 extra for the frost enhancement)?
Also, is the extra cost (whatever it might be) added to the
magic item’s base (so that it takes longer to make a cold
iron item), or just to the total price?
You pay +2,000 gp each time you enhance the item, not for
each magical property. When you first create the item, you add
+2,000 gp on top of the cost of all other enhancements you add
to the weapon, and that 2,000 gp increases only the item’s
market price. So your example +1 cold iron frost longsword
would have a market price of 10,330 gp
(30+300+8,000+2,000). The cost to create the sword would be
6,330 gp (30+300+4,000+2,000) and 320 XP (1/25th of the
8,000 gp cost for the enhancements). The sword would take 8
days to make (the 8,000 gp divided by 1,000).
If you later went back and added another +1 enhancement,
you’d have to pay the extra 2,000 gp again.

 

[Twowolves]

Great. So the FAQ says the cost of a +2, flaming, holy, undead bane COLD IRON longsword could be any of 5 different prices, depending on when and how it was made, completely unlike, oh say, every other freakin' item in the game. Pure genius.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Great. So the FAQ says the cost of a +2, flaming, holy, undead bane longsword could be any of 5 different prices, depending on when and how it was made, completely unlike, oh say, every other freakin' item in the game. Pure genius.

Only if it's made of cold iron!

-Hyp.

 

[Mistwell]

Great. So the FAQ says the cost of a +2, flaming, holy, undead bane COLD IRON longsword could be any of 5 different prices, depending on when and how it was made, completely unlike, oh say, every other freakin' item in the game. Pure genius.

I don't read their answer that way. I agree with you that it's a lame answer, but it seemed to be saying you have to start with cold iron. I mean, you cannot actually add cold iron to a non-cold-iron weapon, can you?

 

[Hypersmurf]

I don't read their answer that way. I agree with you that it's a lame answer, but it seemed to be saying you have to start with cold iron. I mean, you cannot actually add cold iron to a non-cold-iron weapon, can you?

Their answer tells us that the price of a +2 frost cold iron longsword is 16,330 if you took a masterwork cold iron longsword and made it +2 frost. But if you made it +1 frost and then +2 frost, it would be 18,330; and if you made it +1, then +1 frost, then +2 frost, it would be 20,330.

The FAQ answer clearly states that you pay 2000 when you first make it magical, and another 2000 if you subsequently upgrade that magic. "You’d have to pay the extra 2,000 gp again."

-Hyp.

 

[hong]

And remember kids, FAQ spelled backwoids is DUM!

 

[frankthedm]

Surprise, surprise, people attacking the FAQ for giving an answer they didn't like. When one is upgrading weapons to higher pluses, 2k gold is loose change.

IMHO, it hurts, but the reasoning is good. Cold iron tends to be anti magical, which one has to surpress for the enchanting process to the cost of 2000gp. After that the non magical nature takes back over. Adding more magic later on requires surpressing cold iron's anti magical property again.

 

[Mistwell]

The FAQ answer clearly states that you pay 2000 when you first make it magical, and another 2000 if you subsequently upgrade that magic. "You’d have to pay the extra 2,000 gp again."

-Hyp.

I understand that the FAQ answer is slightly flawed in that EACH +1 enhancement or enhancement-equivelent should cost an extra 2000 gp, and not the group of enhancements done at a single time costing an extra single 2000gp. However, that seems like a pretty minor accounting error on their part, and not a major conceptual error.

As for the later part of your quote, which is snipped above, the rule in the DMG says the same thing as well, doesn't it? "Also, any magical enhancements cost an additional 2,000 gp." If you interpret "any" to mean "each", which I think is one fair interpretation of the word "any", then the rule is pretty clear. Each enhancement to the item costs an extra 2000 gp. No problems with calculating, no issue with the timing of the magic item's creation and future enhancement, etc...