When Crafting Magic Items, Not Needing a Body Slot Costs More. Would Needing Most of Them Cost Less?

[a-d]

Question
If it cost more to create a magic item which doesn't use any body slots, would it cost less to make one that used most of them?
Difference in cost between something like an Ioun Stone and a full body stocking.

Something like an Ioun stone would float around, near, or at least not take up a body slot. And you could potentially have an unlimited number of them without any interfering with each other. However, unless you have a Feat which allows it you can't wear more than one magic shirt without losing the benefits of one or the other. So wouldn't a body stocking, that's like a zip up set of pajama's with gloves sewn on, interfere with any other magical equipment besides a sword and shield, making it cost less to make?

Not sure that's clear... One more try.
1. A person can't wear more than one magic shirt without losing whatever benefit the shirts would give unless they take a specific Feat.
2. When making magic items, they go to specific areas of the body, or 'body slots.'
3. If a magic item is supposed to be instantly available without taking up a body slot, it's price is higher to buy or make.

Question
If not needing a body slot costs more, would using up most of them cost less?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

So if I understand your question, are you asking that if a magic item took up more than 1 body slot, could you decrease it's cost?
Something that covered the chest, arms, fingers and back slots, for example?

I believe this is entering houserule and percentile math territory.

 

[delericho]

Yep, what he said.

It's a reasonable question, but not something that's addressed specifically in the rules, so your DM would need to make the call.

The one thing that's close is "magic item sets" from the "Magic Item Compendium" (and I think they appeared in Dragon before then). Those don't give a price break as such, though - rather, they're normally priced items, but if you combine the full set then you get some additional bonus free. That might give some idea of how to work it.

 

[a-d]

Drat. No rules to support it as written? And yes, though I was hoping to leave the backpack, sword, shield, and belt areas alone
...But if the price reduction was great enough the loss might be worth it.

The idea came from reading about the Gnomish Artificer in "Magic of Faerun" on page 24. They're able to make non-magical equipment that functions like their magical counterparts but take up two body slots by default. If you want them to only take up one the price doubles.

The idea of non-magical magic equipment inspired the idea of making Iron Man in DnD and well...everything else grew from that. A single suit of non-magical magic armor? Why not a single suit of Magical magic armor?

But if there aren't any rules to support using more body slots instead of less then I'm a bit stumped. Halving the price for each extra body slot taken would practically force the merchant to pay you to buy it. And if you're an Artificer...

Later
I'll check into magic item sets. Maybe they'll have an example of one which does nothing unless all the bits are together.