Price Check: Ring of Enlarge Person 1/day

Nail · Mar 12, 2007

Hypersmurf said:
How odd that the Potion of Lesser Restoration, a spell with a 3 round casting time, suffers no price increase over all the other spell level 2, CL3 potions.

QFT

Hypersmurf · Mar 12, 2007

blargney the second said:
I agree.

And I still think the 250gp is right for EP potions.

I think 250gp was right for a 3E potion of Enlarge... a spell which had negligible combat application at CL1-4, but was of some use at CL5.

I think there is nothing in the 3.5 pricing rules for potions (rules, note, not guidelines, when it comes to potions, wands, and scrolls) that mandates - or permits - an increase in price for a spell with a casting time of more than one action.

I think that the formula tells us, with no room for argument, that a potion of enlarge person with a base price of 250gp is caster level 5, because the pricing formula for potions is exact, not a guide.

I think that there is nothing preventing someone from crafting a CL1 potion of the same spell, for a base price of 50gp.

If it were a ring, or a wondrous item, or a rod, stating CL1 and 250gp, that's fine - the designers decided the guideline gave too low a cost, and upped it to what felt reasonable. But it's not - it's a potion. Which means that a base price of 250gp tells us it's CL5.

Why would one first-level potion, unlike all the others, be listed at CL5? Because in the previous edition, that was the CL that made sense, and nobody thought to change it when they typed up the revised table.

Not all items adhere to these formulas directly. The reasons for this are several. First and foremost, these few formulas aren’t enough to truly gauge the exact differences between items. The price of a magic item may be modified based on its actual worth. The formulas only provide a starting point. The pricing of scrolls assumes that, whenever possible, a wizard or cleric created it. Potions and wands follow the formulas exactly. Staffs follow the formulas closely, and other items require at least some judgment calls.

What's the formula potions follow exactly?

Code:

Spell Effect                Base Price                           Example 
Single use, use-activated   Spell level x caster level x 50 gp   Potion of CLW

-Hyp.

Nail · Mar 12, 2007

.....and they follow them exactly so the DMG doesn't have to list all of the available options and describe them too!

It's interesting that scrolls need not follow the formulas exactly.......

calypso15 · Mar 12, 2007

Nail said:
It's interesting that scrolls need not follow the formulas exactly.......

The SRD doesn't say so explicitly, but they sure seem to follow the rule exactly. Do you have an example of one that doesn't?

Nail · Mar 12, 2007

With a quick scan.....Nope.

Mistwell · Mar 16, 2007

Well, your question has been answered.

The magic item compendium has the exact item you are looking for. It is a belt. It is usable 1 x a day. It enlarges you as if enlarge person were cast on you. It lasts TEN MINUTES. And it costs....drum roll please....
.
.
.
.
3000 gp.

Nail · Mar 16, 2007

Belt of Enlarge Person, 1/day, D: 10 minutes?

1,800gp (command activation) * 1 (Spl Lvl) * 10 (CL, for 10 minutes) * 1/5 (1/day) =

3,600gp

The Magic Item Compendium price is cheaper!

SlagMortar · Mar 16, 2007

For most combats, all of this is reduced to an effective:
Extra reach,
+2 Damage (Str + weapon size increase),
-2 AC,
-1 Ref saves

Don't forget the combat maneuvers. +4 for the size and +1 for the strength bonus to every one. +5 to trip and grapple is nothing to sneeze at given out badly those can shut down a single tough opponent.

Hypersmurf · Mar 16, 2007

Nail said:
The Magic Item Compendium price is cheaper!

Wasn't that part of their design mandate? Make non-big-six items more affordable?

-Hyp.

Salthorae · Mar 16, 2007

Hypersmurf said:
Wasn't that part of their design mandate? Make non-big-six items more affordable?

-Hyp.

Yes it was. I'm curious as I don't have the MIC yet, but do they give guidelines as to how they arrived at item pricing? If not, won't it throw a big wrench in custom magic item creation?

This thread is a perfect example... by Nail's cost this belt would be 3600gp at CL 10, but per the MIC it's only 3k gp...why the random 600gp savings? It will lead to much haggling between player/DM methinks.