spells as magic items

[lightful]

By the DMG bracers of armor +4 cost 16,000 gp. Yet, apperently it would only cost 1,000 gp to make (and 2,000 to buy) a set of bracers imbued with a pemanent mage armor spell giving the same +4 armor bonus. Can this be right ?

 

[the Jester]

The guidelines for pricing item creation in the dmg are just guidelines. Don't take them as gospel. Far better would be to look at a comparable item in the dmg and ascertain a reasonable cost based on that in combination with the guidelines.

 

[Khayman]

I guess the argument is that wizards charge what the market can bear.

 

[dcollins]

By the DMG bracers of armor +4 cost 16,000 gp. Yet, apperently it would only cost 1,000 gp to make (and 2,000 to buy) a set of bracers imbued with a pemanent mage armor spell giving the same +4 armor bonus. Can this be right ?

The actual DMG item listings are correct and part of the core rules. The "new item" pricing formulas are simply guidelines for DMs making up their own items -- and in this case, they produce an incorrect (too-low) result.

You should carefully read the sidebar describing when you would use that table. For a new item it says (1) look for a matching item in the DMG and use that price; (2) if that fails, then turn to the pricing guideline formulas. Even then, you should first run into the formula for "armor enhancement bonus" which takes precedence over the "spell effect" estimates. The sidebar ends with: "The formulas only provide a starting point... items require at least some DM judgement calls."

Here's another take from Monte Cook, author of that section of the DMG ( http://www.montecook.com/arch_dmonly3.html ). As he says:

The most important thing to remember is, Table 8-40 doesn't determine prices. It suggests them. Don't say, "Wow, these shoes of continual improved invisibility sure are cheap." Do say, "Hmm, these formulas don't work when it comes to spells like improved invisibility." When someone asks me, "Can I really make an item that will cast cure light wounds at will, activated by a command word, for only 900 gp?"I now reply, "Only if your DM isn't paying attention."

 

[lightful]

Thanks for the replies. I have seen the sidebars, and the notes directing me to similiar items. I was just wondering if this was a correct reading of the rules in the SRD.

 

[dcollins]

The short story is that the price should not be 1,000 gp, the price needs to be 16,000 gp because the effect (and even prerequisite spell) is identical to bracers of armor.

 

[irdeggman]

Check Skip's Rules of the Game articles on the WotC site. Specifically the ones on Making Magic items. He goes into the guidelines thing and how useful an item is.