Help needed with building a wondrous item

[Malar's Cow]

One of my players wants to build a wondrous item that allows her to speak while in Wildshape. She is an 8th level druid with the Craft Wondrous item feat/

I'm having difficulty establishing the following for this item:
1. Proper body slot for the item: Should it be the neck (for discernment), the head (for Intelligence improvement) or a vest (for class ability improvement)
2. Since the item doesn't duplicate the effect of any SRD spell, what criterion should I use for the base price?
3. Should the item be continuous use, or should it be a spell-completion or command-word trigger that allows it to operate for a set number of times per day?
4. What minimum Caster Level and spell components would you recommend for the creation?

Alternately, if there is an item in one of the WotC books that duplicates this effect, can someone reference it? Wondrous Item creation has always been one of the more difficult aspects for me to grasp in 3.5, and any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cabral]

Somewhere there is a collar of animal speech I think. Unfortunately, I can't find it

1. I would call this Interaction, but a hat slot for an animal is a bit silly... so collar it is!
2. The spell that fits this niche perfectly, in my opinion is Ghost Sound.
3. I would price it as a use activated item: 0.5 (0th level) x 1 (CL) x2,000 gp (use activated) x4 (Ghost sound has a 1 rnd/lvl duration) = 4,000 gp
4. CL 1 creation requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, Ghost Sound (or creator must be a druid)

Actually, it's funny, this is a different item which I priced the same way as another item someone was designing...

 

[Infiniti2000]

There was a torc of animal speech in Masters of the Wild I believe.

 

[nittanytbone]

She could also make a Hat of Speaking to Animals.

1 (1st level) x 1 (CL) x 2,000 gp (use activated) x2 (speak to animals has a 1 min/lvl duration) = 4,000 gp

While she couldn't use it while wildshaped, she could loan it to a party member who could be the interpreter. It would also be useful for talking with her animal companion on a regular basis.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

She could also make a Hat of Speaking to Animals.

1 (1st level) x 1 (CL) x 2,000 gp (use activated) x2 (speak to animals has a 1 min/lvl duration) = 4,000 gp

While she couldn't use it while wildshaped, she could loan it to a party member who could be the interpreter. It would also be useful for talking with her animal companion on a regular basis.

My druid made a Headband of Animal Speech for the party bard along those lines (and keep in mind that crafting cost is half of item cost). Since magic item prerequisites don't always map literally to the effect of the item, you could plausibly create a Collar of Wild Speech that requires Speak with Animals but allows an animal (wildshaped druid) to speak with humans. Seems similar in power. I wouldn't recommend anything like Ghost Sound or Ventriloquism as those are not druid spells, and it would seem more in character for a druid to design an item he can create himself rather than asking a wizard to do it for him.

 

[Cabral]

Using ghost sound to price the item doesn't mean you have to use it as a prerequisite. I agree, however, that Speak to Animals is good choice for a prerequisite.

 

[Infiniti2000]

She could also make a Hat of Speaking to Animals.

1 (1st level) x 1 (CL) x 2,000 gp (use activated) x2 (speak to animals has a 1 min/lvl duration) = 4,000 gp

While she couldn't use it while wildshaped, she could loan it to a party member who could be the interpreter. It would also be useful for talking with her animal companion on a regular basis.

That's too cheap. The torc was around 10-12,000gp.

 

[Malar's Cow]

Thanks for all the help folks. Settled on the Speak with Animals as the prerequisite, base price 4,000 gp, and the choker as the body slot. Got in the way of her Amulet of Natural Armor, but c'est la vie.

 

[Mistwell]

That's too cheap. The torc was around 10-12,000gp.

It was 12000 gp. I agree, 4000 gp is too cheap. I can see decreasing the price in 3.5 due to the increased number of speech-like abilities in 3.5 for wildshaping. But still, 4000 gp seems too cheap to me. I'd probably double that to 8000 gp as a compromise.

It's too bad Mindbender requires an Arcane caster level of 5. A level of Mindbender would be very useful for a druid, to get the telepathy. I suppose you could take one level of sorceror (charm person as one of the spells chosen), and the Practiced Spellcaster feat, and qualify that way. But I don't know if that would be worth it.

 

[Cabral]

Torc of Animal speech, 12,000 gp and allows the wearer to speak with animals at will. Now, I would argue that the torc is more potent than a collar/choker that allows the wearer to communicate normally while wildshaped.