Magic Item Creation...

[AuraSeer]

If he had more money, why would he bother with intelligent items? The standard model is continuously active.

 

[hong]

Later on, when one has more money, have the ring made, and get it made intelligent, so it can activate itself. Of course, you'll need a special purpose, which would be best put as "Keep Wielder's Butt Alive".

But that gets expensive.

There are many versions of "keep wielder's butt alive" items. My archer has just commissioned an amulet to cast a heal once per day, if/when he drops to -10 hit points or lower. The cost was a cool 46,000 gp. He did this after being knocked down to -9 hp in a recent fight. In the same fight, three other PCs had their butts saved by fortunate fate spells and a ring of nine lives.

Also, how much would people charge for an item that provides a +1 to +5 competence bonus to one save? Note: that's competence, not resistance. This would be ideal for, say, fighters with a +10 Will save at 15th level, with a +5 resistance bonus already figured in. Or a wizard with a +10 Fort save. Would (bonus squared) x 1000 gp suffice?

 

[AuraSeer]

My archer has just commissioned an amulet to cast a heal once per day, if/when he drops to -10 hit points or lower.

I'm sorry to tell you that this item is entirely useless. If your hit points are ever at -10 or less, you are dead. Since you're a corpse, not a creature, the Heal will fizzle without effect.

If I were you I'd set it to trigger "when the wearer falls unconscious." That would cover any case where you drop into negative hp, as well as any time you've taken subdual damage or otherwise been knocked out. (Of course, if you have 1 hp left and take 11 points from a single hit, you're still dead and the ring can't help you.)

 

[Destil]

Also, how much would people charge for an item that provides a +1 to +5 competence bonus to one save? Note: that's competence, not resistance. This would be ideal for, say, fighters with a +10 Will save at 15th level, with a +5 resistance bonus already figured in. Or a wizard with a +10 Fort save. Would (bonus squared) x 1000 gp suffice?

(bonus squared) x 1500 I'd say. Skirting the standard stacking rules (there are things that add compentence bonuses to saves, but the're not too common) can be powerful. I might also be tempted to simply limit the ability to rings alone and let it slide by at 1000x. (I sometimes don't allow certian bonuses to be added to wonderous items, requiring forge ring instead, but that's just me)

As far as the original question, there are a lot of options. You could come up with prices for these via formulas or by compairing them to other items in the DMG, but I won't bother to provide any, as this is fully at the descression of your DM.

Circlet of free will: this is a simple silver circlet engraved with very fine flowing engravings running along it in a fluid manner. It provided SR 18 vs. hold spells.

Pendant of inner fire: This is comprised of a faceted emrald that glows with a faint green flame from within on a simple string. Every day the wearer can act normaly for the first 4 rounds when they would be under the effects of a Hold Person or Hold Monster spell. The spell is supressed for these rounds, after this limit is up it again takes effect. During this time the wearer receves a +2 moral bonus to all attack and damage rolls.

Ioun Stone (pale lavender disk): this functions exactily like a standard (ellipsoid) pale lavender ioun stone, only it only functions against hold person, absorbing the spell (as long as it's under 4th level) with a readied action.

 

[hong]

I'm sorry to tell you that this item is entirely useless. If your hit points are ever at -10 or less, you are dead. Since you're a corpse, not a creature, the Heal will fizzle without effect.

Let us now assume that the people involved are all intelligent enough to realise what is the spirit and intended usage of the custom-made item in question, without having to worry about the legalistic quibblings of a few small-minded, ignorable individuals on certain messageboards.


Hong "any other questions?" Ooi

 

[AuraSeer]

Let us now assume that the people involved are all intelligent enough to realise what is the spirit and intended usage of the custom-made item in question, without having to worry about the legalistic quibblings of a few small-minded, ignorable individuals on certain messageboards.

Holy crap, who spit in your corn flakes this morning? All I did was point out a problem with your item.

Items based on Contingency-like effects have the drawback that they're not smart. They do what you say, literally, whether or not that's what you really wanted. So it's important to get the wording right.

If you have a house rule that lets this magic item trigger "in between" your loss of hit points and your actual death, fine. All you had to do was say so. There's no reason to get all pissy about it.

 

[hong]

Holy crap, who spit in your corn flakes this morning? All I did was point out a problem with your item.

A problem which does not exist, given that it's a CUSTOM-MADE item, and my DM and I have hashed out exactly what its intended function is, and I didn't particularly feel the need to spell out in ten-paragraph form with bulleted points and diagrams and arrows exactly how the mechanics would function within the framework of the formal system that is the 3E ruleset.

Items based on Contingency-like effects have the drawback that they're not smart.

They're smart enough to do exactly what my DM wants them to do, which in this case, fortunately also happens to be what _I_ want them to do.

They do what you say, literally, whether or not that's what you really wanted.

No, they do what my DM says, literally.

So it's important to get the wording right.

It's exactly as important as the people in our group deem it to be.

If you have a house rule that lets this magic item trigger "in between" your loss of hit points and your actual death, fine.

Read up the fortunate fate spell in Magic of Faerun. This is basically an item that does the same thing, once per day.

All you had to do was say so. There's no reason to get all pissy about it.

But this is more fun.

 

[Hypersmurf]

My archer has just commissioned an amulet to cast a heal once per day, if/when he drops to -10 hit points or lower.

Just make sure the BBEG doesn't find out about it - if he orders his goons to use subdual damage against you, it won't trigger...

-Hyp.

 

[hong]

Just make sure the BBEG doesn't find out about it - if he orders his goons to use subdual damage against you, it won't trigger...

Oh, there's plenty of ways to bypass this item. Hold monster, followed by two coups de grace, will work fine, for instance. As will disintegrate, finger of death, Con drain, energy drain.... This is just something to give me a buffer against the good old-fashioned method of dealing huge gobs of damage.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Yup - the difference being that not every monster has access to the spells and special abilities, but (just about) every monster has the potential to deal subdual damage...

In huge gobs, no less

-Hyp.