Please help me price this cheesy item

[Nail]

As a PC up to 21st level, I can tell you that the Soulfire armor ability was awesome...an amazing bargain for the price. My Clr avoided so many negative energy effects, it'd make yer head spin.

I'd lean toward the 200k price, and I'd allow it IMC, FWIW.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Does soulfire protect against ability damage/drain? Does death ward? I thought death ward did, but I can't find where it says that ability damage or drain is ever a negative energy effect. I know that ability damage due to poison or disease wouldn't be a negative energy effect, but what about when it's due to an attack by an undead monster or a thorciasid or something?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Does soulfire protect against ability damage/drain?

Only if it's a negative energy effect.

Strength Damage (Su): The touch of a shadow deals 1d6 points of Strength damage to a living foe. A creature reduced to Strength 0 by a shadow dies. This is a negative energy effect.

Negative energy effect.

Constitution Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a wraith’s incorporeal touch attack must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Constitution drain. The save DC is Charisma-based. On each such successful attack, the wraith gains 5 temporary hit points.

Not a negative energy effect.

-Hyp.

 

[Sejs]

Does death ward? I thought death ward did, but I can't find where it says that ability damage or drain is ever a negative energy effect.

Death Ward protects against death effects, spells with the [death] descriptor, energy drain and negative energy effects.


The attacks of a Shadow, and the effects of a Chill Touch spell would be examples of negative energy effects that deal ability damage. Wounding weapons and the Rotting Constriction effect of the epic pseudonatural template are examples of ability damage/drain that is not a negative energy effect.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Thanks! Turns out I've been playing this one wrong.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I suspect that +x armor abilities seem like bargains because simply getting +1 [ability x] armor and buffing it up with magic vestment is a common practice and eliminates the opportunity cost of AC. If you figured the cost of soulfire armor as it would be tacked on to a +5 suit of armor, it doesn't look so cheap (81k instead of 25k). The other big offender in this regard is fortification. It's a bargain if you figure it at +1 moderate or +1 heavy fortification. It's not an obvious choice if you count the cost of a +4 or +5 fortification armor or shield.

The Soulfire armor 'feels' like a bargain, to me. I haven't seen it in play, so I can't really comment on how underpriced it is... and also, the fact that it's an armor ability means that it could rapidly get a lot more expensive.

Having said that, 125k is a lot of money, so I might allow it at that price if I didn't feel it was likely to be abused somehow.

 

[Nail]

I suspect that +x armor abilities seem like bargains because simply getting +1 [ability x] armor and buffing it up with magic vestment is a common practice and eliminates the opportunity cost of AC.

Exactly.

That's what my Clr did, at any rate. Why bother buying +2 armor, when +1 and Magic Vestment will do it for you most of the day? Etc.

 

[Sejs]

Exactly.

That's what my Clr did, at any rate. Why bother buying +2 armor, when +1 and Magic Vestment will do it for you most of the day? Etc.

It has another opportunity cost. Three, actually: availability of a cleric, expenditure of 3rd level spell slots, and a handful of actions that'll frankly be done when actions generally don't matter. Plus it's vulnerable to dispelling, but *shrug*

Mind you, those costs generally a lot more reasonable than placing several thousand gold on the barrelhead.

Magic Vestment's great, particularly if you're the caster. If you're someone else though, it's not necessarily as reliable an option.

 

[Nail]

Magic Vestment's great, particularly if you're the caster. If you're someone else though, it's not necessarily as reliable an option.

True enough.

In that campaign, I made a special effort to maximize our planning and advance prep. So the night before a major expedition, my cleric would blow all of his spell slots on long-term buffs for all party members. I'd even have typed sheets to hand to each player showing them what spells I had cast on them, what the spells did for them, and what the CL was, in case of Dispels.

So by 15th level or so, all of the party had Magic Vestments on all of their armor and weapons and shields, courtesy of the friendly cleric. ....Not to mention all of the other buffs. Energy Immunity was a favorite.

Needless to say, this is all very campaign dependent. YMMV.

 

[MarkB]

It has another opportunity cost. Three, actually: availability of a cleric, expenditure of 3rd level spell slots, and a handful of actions that'll frankly be done when actions generally don't matter. Plus it's vulnerable to dispelling, but *shrug*

Mind you, those costs generally a lot more reasonable than placing several thousand gold on the barrelhead.

Magic Vestment's great, particularly if you're the caster. If you're someone else though, it's not necessarily as reliable an option.

Much of that opportunity cost can be offset by smaller monetary investments. Buying the Cleric a 3rd level Pearl of Power at 9,000 gp will be a cheap alternative if your armour's already heavily enhanced with special abilities.