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View Full Version : Help me price this item 3.5



Kaerou
2010-02-16, 07:52 AM
Hiya.

In one of my games, i'm going to be having the party fighter (with a dash of rogue) gain a runic mark on their hand that confers fast healing 1. (to alleviate the lack of party healer). Its going to be slotless (as a runic mark on their hand like a suikoden rune)

I really have no idea where to begin to price this though.

The only equivalent I can think of is a ring of regeneration, but that costs 90k and isn't worth its price.

I'm hoping to keep it around 25k at a push. If its going to be worth more than that, maybe i'll give it a finite duration/day or require concentration to use (for after battle healing)

Anyway.. any help is appreciated.

And while i'm on the subject since i'm so clueless: how do you price feats gifted on items?

Thanks in advance!

Evard
2010-02-16, 08:08 AM
I would say make the item cost around 15,000 gp (yes that low but wait for it) and the person putting it on won't do it unless the fighter (and anyone else) does him/her a favor. Something like hey I have these err "rats" in my basement.... Which turn out to be owlbears with rat tails or something... Or something where he has to sneak in and steal a scroll without being seen (he is part rogue after all) and he has three nights to try it before they remove the scroll... Whatever it is make it dangerous enough that the fighter might die but if he doesn't fail then he gets the runic mark and pays up 15k gp

Gnaritas
2010-02-16, 08:58 AM
Remember that you want it to have a 24 hour attunement period or something similar.

And if i would have to name a price, i would say more than 15k, especially as a non-slotted item. At least 25k.

BenTheJester
2010-02-16, 09:50 AM
15-20k if you have to concentrate is good.

If not, I'd say much more than that, around 30-35k

Zeta Kai
2010-02-16, 09:53 AM
Well, if I were to make something like that completely by RAW, then I'd take regenerate (the closest spell to the effect desired). To make this item using regenerate, I'd assume that the item was using a spell effect, & use the following formula:

Use-activated or continuous Spell level × caster level × 2,000 gp

Now, regenerate is a 7th level spell, so the minimum caster level would be 13th. So, we're left with the following formula:

7 × 13 × 2,000 gp

Which is 182,000gp. Now, normally, if a continuous item has an effect based on a spell with a duration measured in rounds, you multiply the cost by 4 (& less for spells with longer durations). But regenerate is a much more powerful effect that what we're going for, which is merely FH, so we'll ignore that stipulation (an ad hoc ruling, I know). But, items with no space limitation (like a ioun stone) multiply their entire cost by 2. So, a runic mark created with this method would cost 364,000gp.

Which is insane.

Clearly, we need to work with a less powerful spell to start with, as regenerate is just too much spell to do the job. Something as simple as a cure minor wounds spell would do the trick, as FH is basically equivalent to a casting of CMW every round. Now, because a 0th-level spell like CMW has a minimum caster level of 1, that would give us the following formula:

½ × 1 × 2,000 gp

Which is only 1,000gp. But those other factors above still come into play. This time, we should not ignore the multiplier for a continuous item has an effect based on a spell with a duration measured in rounds. In fact, since CMW is an instantaneous effect, I'd increase the multiplier to x5 (again, an ad hoc ruling, but a fair one, considering the cheap starting price). And factoring in the x2 multiplier for an item with no space limitation, we have an effective multiplier of x10. Which would give us a final price of 10,000gp.

This is a fair price, IMO, as it only saving the PC from the convenience of a healer, which in most parties is essentially free. Gamewise, this bonus isn't really worth as much as some would say, as it is still laughably easy for a DM to challenge a player whose primary advantage is FH. Most players would gladly pay 10K for such an item (& especially the 5K for an item that does take up a slot), mechanically, it isn't the gamebreaking advantage one might think that it is.

Swiftest
2010-02-16, 10:25 AM
I would go with 20,000 gp, for the simple reason that although Zeta Kai's arguments are persuasive, there is one key advantage to having such an item. Namely, that it is impossible to deplete one of the character's crucial resources -- hp. He could have 100 encounters in a day and as long as he has one minute between fights, he could count on being fully healed. For a martial character this is essentially the only real resource he is likely to care about aside from potential ability point drain/damage.

I would argue that fast healing is exactly as powerful as players think it is -- it basically totally obviates the need for out-of-combat healing and significantly reduces the need for in-combat healing as well (after all, if the next hit the monster deals isn't going to kill the player, and the party assumes it can win the fight without more than one more hit being dealt, why heal?). This also completely frees up party resources that might have been spent on healing in the future (except heavy combat spot healing) such as wands of cure light wounds or lesser vigor, or healing pots, which will save the character untold amounts over time. They might have one wand of cure serious and only have to use it once every 5 combats when things really get hairy. Thus, 20k is a decent price that will still force a considerable expenditure on the part of the player -- a price they'll be more than happy to pay, believe me.

lsfreak
2010-02-16, 10:38 AM
One question is, do you need to price it? It's not like it's going to be sold at a later point.

I'd price it at roughly 10.000gp. Fast healing 1 often won't make the difference in-combat; if he's going to die, one hit point a round isn't going to stop that from happening. If he's in a time-tight situation, he'll probably still need faster healing than 10hp/minute.

Also, to put it in perspective, that 10.000gp could also buy ~7300hp in healing from wands of lesser vigor. The only difference is the lack of an action (and need for UMD) to activate, which in the long run won't mean much more than saving a few feet of movement every minute.