Help w/ magic item

[Sejs]

Howdy, I'm trying to create a magic item but I'm not sure how to price it. Any insights y'all can offer would be of great assistance.


At it's core, the item looking to be made is a pair of bracers that act as a magical swordsmanship tutor for the person wearing them.

*If you are holding a weapon, but are not proficient in its use, the bracers grant you the appropriate Weapon Prof. This works with simple weapons, martial weapons, and the bastard sword.

*If you are proficient with the held weapon, and would otherwise meet the requirements, it grants you the Weapon Focus feat for that weapon. Restrictions on what weapons can be used are as above.

*If you have Weapon Focus with the held weapon, and otherwise meet the requirements, it grants you Weapon Specilization feat with that weapon. Restrictions as above.

*If you have the Weapon Specilization feat with the held weapon, and otherwise meet the requirements, it grants you the Improved Critical feat with that weapon. Restrictions as above.

*If you have all the above feats for the weapon held (Proficiency, Focus, Specilization, Improved Critical) the bracers grant no further abilities. The idea being that once you've attained that level on your own, you're a master of that weapon, and should either pass the bracers on, or train in another weapon.


So as you can see, the item has a number of abilities, but they're all mutually exclusive - you only have access to one 'tier' at a time. Any suggestions on how to price this item? Costing it out as if it gave a +1 to hit, +2 to damage, and two feats constantly seems a bit much, as you don't get -all- those abilities at any given time, and unless you othewise qualify to take them yourself (4 levels of Fighter for Spec, BA +8 for Imp Crit), you don't gain that tier.

Anyway, thank you for your help. Look forward to your replies.

 

[Pax]

I'd guess at ~5K for the pair. Maybe a touch less ... they're more than a little better than Bracers of Striking are, since they go several steps further. But they're not in and of themselves a massively cheesy item.

I tend to assume the best-and-brightest ability as the one to base the price on. YMMV

 

[Ferox4]

It's really more a matter of "feeling out" the cost vs. the economics of your game. Hard pricing is something of a misnomer in D&D, IMO. I think Pax is about right at 5K, but it could certainly be a bit more considering the granting of additional feats. IMC, anything granting additional feats is a BFD! and is highly prized. Again, though, it will vary from campaign to campaign.

Cheers, F4

 

[Spatzimaus]

It's most comparable to Bracers of Archery.

Bracers of Archery:
> Gives proficiency with all bows
> If already proficient, gives +2 attack and +1 damage
for a price of 5100gp

Now, yours:
> Gives proficiency with ANY martial weapon
> If already proficient, gives +1 attack unless it's a weapon you've already started up the Feat chain on, in which case it's either +2 damage or improved critical (which adds on average ~1 damage)

So, your item is far more flexible on the proficiency side, but considerably less powerful on the other effect. Its biggest advantage, I'd say, is that you can get access to Weapon Specialization even if you're not a Fighter, and Improved Critical early if you are.
For me, this'd price it well above the Bracers, but you could drop it a bit closer if you made a few changes:
> Only works on melee weapons (it IS a swordsmanship tutor, you said)
> You have to use the weapon for a certain period of time (say, a day) before the effect kicks in.

Even with that, I wouldn't put it less than 10k, just because it's so useful for a Rogue or Bard. Proficiency with any weapon overcomes one of the class' drawbacks, and Weapon Specialization for your Weapon Focus'd weapon?
Which brings us to the last suggestion:
> Make Weapon Specialization the third Feat in the chain. Either by moving Improved Critical down, or by making something up for the second step. A class-specific Feat should not be this easy to get from an item.

 

[Angcuru]

well, how long would it take in terms of training, before the feats were granted?

 

[Sejs]

well, how long would it take in terms of training, before the feats were granted?

4 levels of Fighter and 4 levels of any class that grants full BA.

It's most comparable to Bracers of Archery.

Bracers of Archery:
> Gives proficiency with all bows
> If already proficient, gives +2 attack and +1 damage
for a price of 5100gp

Er, okay I'm a dork. I totally forgot about Bracers of Archery - thank you for pointing them out Spatz.

For me, this'd price it well above the Bracers, but you could drop it a bit closer if you made a few changes:
> Only works on melee weapons (it IS a swordsmanship tutor, you said)

Good point, actually. By intent the item should be limited to simple and martial melee weapons, and the bastard sword as it was meant to train the user in melee combat, rather than ranged.

Proficiency with any weapon overcomes one of the class' drawbacks, and Weapon Specialization for your Weapon Focus'd weapon?
Which brings us to the last suggestion:
> Make Weapon Specialization the third Feat in the chain. Either by moving Improved Critical down, or by making something up for the second step. A class-specific Feat should not be this easy to get from an item.

I probably should have been more explicit in my description - the user has to be able to qualify for that tier ability on their own. That means it's as follows:

Tier 1 ~ User not proficient with melee weapon held (simple, martial, bastard sword)
-Ability: Grants proficiency with that weapon while held.
-Requirements: None (simple/martial weapons), BA +1 (bastard sword used one-handed)

Tier 2 ~ User proficient with melee weapon held (simple, martial, bastard sword)
-Ability: Grants the Weapon Focus feat for the weapon held.
-Requirements: Appropriate Simple, Martial, or Exotic Weapon Proficiency, BA +1.

Tier 3 ~ User has Weapon Focus with melee weapon held (simple, martial, bastard sword)
-Ability: Grants the Weapon Specilization feat for the weapon held.
-Requirements: Appropriate Simple, Martial, or Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus w/ that weapon, BA +4, 4 Levels of the Fighter class.

Tier 4 ~ User has Weapon Specilization with the melee weapon held (simple, martial, bastard sword)
-Ability: Grants the Improved Critical feat for the weapon held.
-Requirements: Appropriate Simple, Martial, or Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus w/ that weapon, 4 Levels of the Fighter class, Weapon Specilization w/ that weapon, BA +8.

Tier 5 ~ User has Proficiency, Focus, Specilization, and Improved Critical with the melee weapon held (simple, martial, bastard sword)
-Ability: None. Item grants no further bonus with that weapon.