Custom magic item granting a running start

[UndeadCleric]

One of my player desires a custom magic item that allows his character to treat any jump check as if he had a running start. The only problem is that it doesn't provide a linear boost, so I have no idea how to price such an item. It effectively halves the DC when he wouldn't normally have a running start but if he normally would, he gets no benefit whatsoever. A little help with pricing? Thanks!

[ericgrau]

There are other abilities that do the same so you need to price it as a special ability or feat, which puts it in the 3,000 gp to 20,000 gp range depending on how hard it is to get otherwise. I don't remember how you do it with classes or feats so I can't say how hard it is to get. But I'm going to guess in the 5k-10k range.

Keep in mind it's not exactly like a +20 even in the most extreme case because players will often choose not to jump and do something else whenever they can't get a running start or get a running start when they can. So it's more like a +20 under very limited circumstances which isn't worth nearly as much. So it must be way, way less than 40k.

[The Mentalist]

A variant on the Hustle power (grants an extra move action) would probably be the equivalent. Just say it treats you as having the extra-momentum.

Other options are Expeditious Retreat or Long Strider.

So, First level spell or power is where I would price it, at most. I mean how often do you not have the opportunity to make a running start on a Jump check?

[rot42]

Boots of Jumping halve the running start distance and give a boost to Jump times/day - MIC 77, 2500. Belt of Ultimate Athleticism lets you take 10 on a Jump check - MIC 75, 3600. A straight +10 to Jump is 10,000. I would put your item somewhere in the 5,000-7,000 range.

If you do go the Expeditious Retreat option, remember that that adds +12 to Jump. An item of that plus the belt should be enough to make a standing jumping charge for Leap Attack, if that is their plan.

[Jasdoif]

If I were to guesstimate something....


Leaping Dragon Stance is a 3rd-level martial stance, that grants a +10 enhancement bonus on Jump checks and considers all your jumps to be running jumps.

If I were to price this as though the stance were a spell effect on a magic item, using the guidelines in the DMG....The minimum initiator level for a 3rd-level maneuver is 5th, so for a continuous/use-activated item that has simulates a 3rd-level effect with a duration exceeding 24 hours at CL 5...comes out to 15,000gp.

That's for an effect that grants a +10 enhancement bonus as well as makes all jumps considered running jumps. A +10 competence bonus to a skill would cost 10,000gp, let's assume it's about equivalent to the enhancement bonus in terms of value-for-type, and subtract....

And we end up with 5,000gp for an item that considers all jumps to be running jumps.


I can't say for sure whether that's actually an appropriate price, but it's at least a quasi-reasonable starting point.

[Zaq]

For what it's worth, the feat Leap of the Heavens does essentially this, and it has pretty trivial prereqs (I think it's just Jump 4, but I'm posting from memory). So if you want to to the "price as feat" route, it's a pretty simple and non-esoteric feat.