Swapping item slots

[carborundum]

I'm organising a weekend game and just got a mail from a player who's working on his character. He has two questions and I don't know if he's going too far or being reasonable...

1) He wants to swap a lot of item slots around to get his 'perfect' build - headband in a robe, another headband in earrings and an anklet in an armband.

Is this a big deal or nothing too worry about?

2) His other idea was to change the Dispelling Cord (5x daily +2 on dispel checks, 1000gp) into a Spell Booster Cord (5x daily +2 on SR checks) for the same price. Is this reasonable?

Hopefully you guys can give me some advice!

 

[Jhaelen]

I'm organising a weekend game and just got a mail from a player who's working on his character. He has two questions and I don't know if he's going too far or being reasonable...

1) He wants to swap a lot of item slots around to get his 'perfect' build - headband in a robe, another headband in earrings and an anklet in an armband.

Is this a big deal or nothing too worry about?

Imho, it's a big deal.
Do you have the MIC? It lists a few alternate slots for the most common items that are available without affecting the item's price.

After getting the MIC I disallowed any modifications on magic items, they all have to be straight out of the books. At the least it saved me a lot of headaches.

2) His other idea was to change the Dispelling Cord (5x daily +2 on dispel checks, 1000gp) into a Spell Booster Cord (5x daily +2 on SR checks) for the same price. Is this reasonable?

I don't think so. A bonus on dispel checks is a lot more specific than than a bonus on SR checks.

It's (almost) like saying a +2 to strength checks to lift gates is worth the same as a general +2 bonus to strength. I'm not sure what a good price for such an item would be, though (as mentioned above I prefer not having to bother about thinking about pricing custom-made magic items).

 

[frankthedm]

I'm organising a weekend game and just got a mail from a player who's working on his character. He has two questions and I don't know if he's going too far or being reasonable...

Partially it matters on the item, but you should not say yes on custom magic items unless you are sure the player is not trying to take advantage of the system. Pricing a magic item is not G.U.R.P.S. character creation.

1) He wants to swap a lot of item slots around to get his 'perfect' build - headband in a robe, another headband in earrings and an anklet in an armband.

There is normally a 50% upcharge for changing slots. The price flat out doubles if the change is to a slotless location.

2) His other idea was to change the Dispelling Cord (5x daily +2 on dispel checks, 1000gp) into a Spell Booster Cord (5x daily +2 on SR checks) for the same price. Is this reasonable?

No. Not even slightly reasonable. Dispelling is a very limited defensive application. Getting through SR is an offensive application that can be used for any attack on critters with SR.

 

[carborundum]

Thanks guys. I'd forgotten about that 50% thing - he's already struggling with the amount of starting cash on offer (it's the standard amount, and they have to point-buy, shocking!)

If I give him a chance for the SR item, what would be a reasonable price? Is 8000gp enough? I haven't found any SR-overcoming items except the Robe of the Archmagi - and that was a wake-up call to be honest!

 

[frankthedm]

If I give him a chance for the SR item, what would be a reasonable price? Is 8000gp enough? I haven't found any SR-overcoming items except the Robe of the Archmagi - and that was a wake-up call to be honest!

Unless you use a lot of SR foes, 5 times a day is going to be enough to cover the majority of times an attack spell is used against a foe with SR. As such it should cost almost as much as a continuous +2 to break SR. To me this smells like a player not wanting to take Spell Penetration [& Greater] or trying to find something that stacks with those feats.

 

[EroGaki]

Unless you use a lot of SR foes, 5 times a day is going to be enough to cover the majority of times an attack spell is used against a foe with SR. As such it should cost almost as much as a continuous +2 to break SR. To me this smells like a player not wanting to take Spell Penetration [& Greater] or trying to find something that stacks with those feats.

Keep in mind that Frankthedm hates his players, so his advice should be taken with a grain of salt.

Seriously, why is it that every time any player anywhere wants to do anything outside of the box, frankthedm assumes that said player is "trying to take advantage of the system?"

That being said, I believe you should increase the price of the SR item, but just don't go over board; +2 to SR is a good boast, but hardly game breaking.

Comment on rules. Don't take personal shots against other members. Your point would have been fine without the editorializing. ~ Piratecat

 

[irdeggman]

Think of SR as equivalent to DR.

What would it be worth to have an item that could bypass 2 points of DR?

Although not a straight up comparison, it should give you an idea of the comparable "worth" - spellcasters use SR, warriors use DR.

I echo the point of going to the MIC for comparisons - while I really don't like a lot of stuff in that book, it is "official" and fairly exhaustive on covering a lot of things.

Be real careful on slot swapping. There is a reason they are what they are - mostly to balance things out within the WotC D&D framework. The amoutn of house-rules you use will affect the game balance mechanics of the WotC sources.

 

[frankthedm]

Think of SR as equivalent to DR.

What would it be worth to have an item that could bypass 2 points of DR?

Although not a straight up comparison, it should give you an idea of the comparable "worth" - spellcasters use SR, warriors use DR.

I'd say it is more comparable to the all or nothing Concealment Miss chance. With DR it is a question of how well you get through, but with SR it is a question of if you get through.

 

[billd91]

If I give him a chance for the SR item, what would be a reasonable price? Is 8000gp enough? I haven't found any SR-overcoming items except the Robe of the Archmagi - and that was a wake-up call to be honest!

Well, for that robe's powers, the +2 to overcoming SR is probably a minor consideration.

I don't think I'd charge more than about 4,000 gp for a +2 to overcome SR. 8,000gp would be the very highest end I would even consider.

 

[Nebten]

1) He wants to swap a lot of item slots around to get his 'perfect' build - headband in a robe, another headband in earrings and an anklet in an armband.

Earrings and headbands take up the same slot, so you don't have to change anything there as its just fluff.

But I would follow the DMG, as noted already, for price increase with switching of sloted items.

If he is having a hard time with the cash, then his PC should go adventuring. Good motivation =v) Seriously, with regards to the robe, I would look at other magic items that give abilities equal to feats since he's basically getting Spell Pentration. I can't referance any right now, but that maybe is a decent starting point.