Craft Wondrous Item: Multiple Different Abilities

[Alejandro]

Please help me decipher the guidelines surrounding the creation of a magic item with multiple different abilities. I don't like characters dripping with magic items, and would like to create a chain (necklace slot) that enhances all attributes by +2. I vaguely remember a "Headband of Perfection" in Sword and Fist that enhanced all attributes, but I didn't understand its pricing either.

There seems to be a contradiction between the table and the text description of "multiple different abilities". The table doubles the cost of the higher item cost by 2, while the text increases the cost by 50% for all abilities.

What should this item's cost be? Thanks in advance.

 

[Darklone]

MiniHB has a +6 to all item. I think it costs 250K... IIRC about half of what all 6 items would cost.

 

[Will]

I think the 50% increase for additional abilities is the most sensible. I just checked 3/10 errata and see nothing specific.

So +2 to all would be 34,000 and +6 to all should be 306,000 gp.

 

[Destil]

If you're the DM and you're making items like this because you don't want players dripping in magic items, I'd ignore the rules for increasing pricing of items with more than one ability, to some degree or perhaps entirely. Those rules are in place because one of the limits of magic items is how many you can wear at once. If you're never planning on giving player access to enough magic items that the limited number of slots would come into play then you'd be unfairly penalizing them for a campaign flavor decision (unless you likewise also want the amount of magic they’re using reduced, but even then that's kind of a round-about solution, if it works it's good, I'd rather see the gold piece value they’re expected to have lower since it's easier to follow and won't mess with scrolls and stuff).

Basically, the rules assume you'd hand out a headband of intellect, periapts of health and wisdom, gloves of dexterity, bracers of strength and a cloak of charisma, and instead you're giving one item instead.

I'd price this as leniently as possible in that case... they can wear the headband, the gloves, one necklace, the cloak and the bracers all at once (total value 20k). Add to that an ioun stone to replace the 2nd pendant for 8k. So total value 28k. Assuming you won't be handing out cloaks of resistance or bracers of archery right and left your necklace is no more powerful than the sum of all those items, since it doesn’t have to ‘compete’ for slots and your PCs shouldn’t ever get close to using them all, anyway.

 

[Alejandro]

Actually, I'm the player but I just have an aversion to owning too many magic items. I won't be "using" the other slots, and am simply planning for the future because I like the look of my naga-borne chain (+2 Int). Between Destil and Will, I think I understand how costs are calculated. Thanks all!

 

[UltimaGabe]

I've never quite understood the whole 50% extra thing- in our campaign, we simply ignore that sidebar and use the rule that if something doesn't take up a slot (or, rather, is added onto something else) you double the cost of the lower items. So if you have a Cloak of Resistance +5 (25,000) and want to make it a Cloak of Charisma +6 (32,000), you'd pay the 32,000, as well as another 25,000 to make the Resistance +5 added on. So in the end, you've paid 32,000 for the Charisma +6, and then 50,000 for the Resistance +5.

 

[allenw]

I think the 50% increase for additional abilities is the most sensible. I just checked 3/10 errata and see nothing specific.

It's in there (the 3.5 DMG errata at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20040125a); you may have missed it because it spans a column break. To quote:
'Table 7–33
Dungeon Master’s Guide, page 285
Problem: The “Multiple different abilities” line is in error.
Solution: Change “Multiply higher item cost by 2” to
“Multiply lower item cost by 1.5” '

So, it appears that the official, errated rule *is* "50% increase for additional abilities," with the highest-cost ability counted as the "first" one.

 

[Alejandro]

Ah, that's great! Thanks allenw!

 

[Diirk]

Necklace of +2 str/dex/con/int/wis/cha? Costly...

Each stat is 4000 each. But keep in mind that the neck slot isn't the appropriate slot for most of those stats (only con and wisdom), so thats 50% extra..

so 4000x2, 6000x4.

Then 5 of these are 2ndary abilities so muliply their cost by 1.5 (Note: The 6000s this effects become 8000, not 9000... As in all d&d maths, multipliers add together, not multiply)

so we have: 6000 + 8000 + 8000 + 8000 + 6000 + 6000
= 42,000

Do you really need all 6 stats?