D&D 5E How were the "Sane Magic Item Prices" arrived at?

[Quickleaf]

This is one of the original threads by Saidoro: Sane Magic Item Prices

This is the PDF of Sane Magic Item Prices:
Does anyone know where I can find the indepth conversation of how they reached these prices?

I like it, but I have some magic items I'd like to price which are not listed in the document and I'm trying to follow their guidelines/logic.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

I think it was originally from reddit. AFAIK, it was based on 3.X and a lot of air pulling.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I'm not sure where it's from, but I find many of the choices pretty dubious. It seems to undervalue static bonuses and overvalue charged items.

 

[Oofta]

I made my own version based on rarity and the subcategories from XGtE. Many things that are expensive don't really add significantly more objective value but are higher priced because they're desirable and difficult to obtain.

Still not perfect of course because rarity is still kind of arbitrary but it was at least following a logic.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm not sure where it's from, but I find many of the choices pretty dubious. It seems to undervalue static bonuses and overvalue charged items.

That's from 3rd edition. Static bonuses from magic items are baked into character progression, therefore items of that type must be affordable.

 

[MwaO]

Given how exponential treasure is in 5e, there really isn't a sane magic item pricing that's possible — hoards go from 3k in 5-10 to 30k from 11-16 to 300k in 17-20...

i.e. any remotely sane pricing for items in 5-10 tier = crazy cheap in 11-16 tier

 

[Oofta]

Given how exponential treasure is in 5e, there really isn't a sane magic item pricing that's possible — hoards go from 3k in 5-10 to 30k from 11-16 to 300k in 17-20...

i.e. any remotely sane pricing for items in 5-10 tier = crazy cheap in 11-16 tier

Only if your DM isn't a cheapskate.

The general expected wealth in 5E seems to assume building keeps and establishing kingdoms. I would hope the 2024 edition has some fixes for this, I know I've implemented my own.

 

[MwaO]

Only if your DM isn't a cheapskate.

The general expected wealth in 5E seems to assume building keeps and establishing kingdoms. I would hope the 2024 edition has some fixes for this, I know I've implemented my own.

There's no pricing on keeps/kingdoms in DMG nor is that generally a common thing to do in any case for most PCs who in theory are wandering around the country/world/universe most of the time, so I don't think that's really a valid assumption, any more than it was in 1e. "You should spend insane money for vague benefits."

 

[Oofta]

There's no pricing on keeps/kingdoms in DMG nor is that generally a common thing to do in any case for most PCs who in theory are wandering around the country/world/universe most of the time, so I don't think that's really a valid assumption, any more than it was in 1e. "You should spend insane money for vague benefits."

Doesn't mean things weren't planned or based on previous editions when we did have rules for it.

In any case, I hope it's updated.

 

[Quickleaf]

Yeah, at this point I've sort of thrown up my hands, and am using some combination of my gut, the AD&D Encyclopedia Magica, the Thieves Guild website / the Sane Magic Item prices document, and then more of my gut. It's very messy and I know it could be better, I just don't have any answers right now.