New Magic Item: Caster's Gloves

[trav_laney]

If this has already been discussed in another thread, please point me in the right direction...

One of my players presented this idea to me at our last game, and I wanted to run it past the sages in this forum before unleashing it upon my world. The idea was to create a set of "caster's gloves" that could be enchanted like a magic weapon, granting a bonus to attack and damage rolls for rays and touch spells.

The base cost of these gloves would be the same as a masterworked weapon. Bestwoing an enhancement bonus upon them would require both the Craft Arms & Armor feat and the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The gold, xp, and time costs of this enhancement bonus would be the same as any other weapon. This enhancement bonus would be applied to the spell's attack roll and damage roll (only), and would not have any bearing on the spell's save DC, caster level, casting time, or spell level.

Other weapon abilities could be added to the gloves, such as defending, holy, bane, or even flaming, just like any other weapon. I haven't thought this through entirely; the thought of dancing gloves is amusing to me but probably wouldn't work, for example. I'd have to go through the list, but I'm just brainstorming at this point.

It doesn't even have to be gloves, I suppose. It could be a set of bracers or a pair of rings, for example, which would cost the spellcaster some important magic item slots. It could also be a special wand (ala Harry Potter), crystal, holy symbol, ceremonial dagger, or some other focus that must be equipped and wielded like a weapon in order to gain the bonuses...which in turn would make them subject to sundering and disarming.

Thoughts? Things I should be wary of? Has anyone ever tried something like this before in their campaign?

 

[Nifft]

They'd be a good item slot, since they'd compete with Gloves of Dex (ranged attacks, touch attacks, AC, initiative, Reflex saves, and a lot of skills).

So long as you don't allow Dex boosters in other item slots, I think they'd be a good item.

Cheers, -- N

EDIT: You might price them like an Amulet of Mighty Fists

 

[trav_laney]

So long as you don't allow Dex boosters in other item slots, I think they'd be a good item.

I think that is where item slot affinity would come into play. If a character were to craft himself a dex-boosting item for a different magic item slot, it would cost twice as much.

And by that same rule, these gloves should probably cost twice as much as a weapon would, since they are using a different item slot. If the caster item were to use the same slot as a weapon, the cost could then be the same.

 

[Nifft]

Let's see. There are two ways we could model these: x/day or unlimited use.

For x/day, let's go with the Rod of Metamagic mechanics, or spell templates from Arcana Evolved.

Ruby Salamander Rod
Benefit: When wielded, this rod functions as a +1 flaming light mace. You can use it to deliver touch spells, in which case it grants you a +1 to your attack roll and deals +1d6 fire damage (in addition to the spell's normal effect). If you use the rod to deliver a touch spell with the [fire] descriptor, it instead deals +2d6 fire damage.
3/day, you can inflame any spell that deals damage. Each target that takes damage takes an extra +1d6 fire damage. If the spell has the [fire] descriptor, the extra damage dealt increases to +2d6.
Price: 40,000 gp

Price breakdown: +1 flaming mace (8k) + rod of empower (32.5k)
Sidebar: The extra damage certainly can add up, but +2d6 fire damage on top of a fireball is weaker than +50% damage on top of a fireball, lightning bolt, cone of cold or whatever else. On the other hand, +5d6 fire damage on top of 5d4+5 magic missile damage is pretty sweet (assuming you target 5 critters). At high level, Rod of Empower will win for sheer damage, but it's not as cool -- you don't threaten an area when wielding it, and you can't use it to deal 2d6 damage chill touch attacks all combat.

Similar items for Cold and Electricity would be totally appropriate.

Cheers, -- N

 

[starwed]

I doubt you could go wrong with the standard price for a +X weapon. I wouldn't even require the two seperate item creation feats.

Because think about it: is +X to hit and damage more useful for a fighter, or a spellcaster? The fighter is going to be using that bonus several times per round. The spellcaster, most likely, will only use it occasionally, and almost always in conjunction with rays or other touch attack spells. Even on a warlock, who quite likely uses rays more than any other character class, I don't think it would really be more powerful than the equivalent weapon enhancement.

 

[Felnar]

my math brain isnt working right now
and i wont go so far to say that its a bad idea
but are rays and the other spells requiring an attack spell currently underpowered?
when a wizard shoots multiple rays, they already get to use their full attack bonus (no penalties for iterative-attacks or TWF) for each attack and touch AC's are low to start with
could the bonus
so couldnt a few pluses to hit cut the wizards miss chance in half (for each attack)

although, i assume Nifft already realizes all this, and it does use up wizard resources (wealth and item slots), so its probably fine
again, my math brain isnt working right now

 

[trav_laney]

No, I don't think the wizard's touch attack spells are underpowered, certainly not any more than other characters. The player in my group was just looking for a different way to buff his attack bonus on his wizard...preferably in a way that would stack with his enhancement bonus to dex, and not hurt his caster level advancement. I suggested taking levels of Warmage, but I'm always open to trying new things.

SO I tested the idea today at 1st, 10th and 20th levels. The results were....meh. Like Starwed said, it just isn't that big of a deal. So he gets a +2 to hit and damage with his scorching ray spell? Nice. Was it worth paying 8k for that bonus? Probably not...he could have gotten that same bonus to hit, plus a bonus to his AC, reflex saves, and skills, with some +4 gloves of dexterity.

"But you don't get extra damage on your spells," you might say. And I would say, "Big deal." By the time you are facing CR 13 monsters, +2 (or even +5) damage per spell just isn't a big deal. It's great for fighters with multiple attacks per round, but for a one-bang spell, it's lame.

Thanks, everyone, for your input and advice. I'm scrapping the idea...it's just not worth the trouble.