[PF] Help me price this item for magic item creation?

[Petrukio]

Heya,

I'm looking for some help in pricing a new item for creation. The general idea of the item is to make my artificer an item that helps him, well, make items. So the items I am basing this on are the following:

1) Artificer's Monocle (D&D Magic Item Compendium, page 72)
2) Goggles of Elvenkind (Pathfinder Ultimate Equipment, page 225)
3) Eyeglasses (Pathfinder Adventurer's Armory, page 12)

Yes, I know that that is two different-but-similar systems, but I will be using the Pathfinder rules (Pathfinder Core Rulebook, page 548) to build the resulting item.

I will not be using the entirety of the Goggles of Elvenkind. For this item, I couldn't care less about its ability to grant low-light vision. (As it happens, the character in question is an elf anyway, so the point is mostly moot). This will reduce the price significantly, since that ability seems to cost around 6,000gp on it's own.

Since the Pathfinder Artificer (from Adamant Entertainment's Tome of Secrets) does not have the Artificer Knowledge feature that the Eberron-based Artificer does, I need to add the ability to Detect Magic to the item.

In the end, the resulting magic item has two parts. A part that grants skill bonuses, and a part that casts spells. I'll build them first as two separate items with 'similar' abilities (PFCR 549-50), then mash them together as an item with different abilities.

Item 1: Skill Bonuses
Item will grant +5 competence bonus on Spellcraft and on Use Magic Device. (And possibly, eventually, Perception.)
2,500gp +5 Skill Bonus on Spellcraft
1,875gp +5 Skill Bonus on Use Magic Device
----------
4,375gp Base Price

Item 2: Spells
Item will be able to cast Detect Magic and Identify on command.
1,800gp Identify (CL 1, SL 1)
675gp Detect Magic (CL 1, SL 0 (counts as 1/2))
----------
2,475gp

Now, to mash the two together. We take the most expensive item (4,375gp) and the second item at a 50% increase (3,712.5gp). If we count the two spells separately, it's 4,050gp instead.

So the base price of our item is 8,087.5gp (or 8,425gp if we're counting the spells separately). Cost to create is 4,043.75gp (or 4,212.5gp).

Okay, here's the next twist. I want to make these items for my character, so I am going to restrict the item to those who have levels in Artificer. That reduces costs by 30%, changing our numbers to 2,830.63gp (or 2,948.75gp). I'm not sure if requiring specific skill levels stacks or overlaps, so I'm ignoring it for now. If they stack, the prices drop by another 10% (to 2,426.25 or 2,527.5).

Then we add in the price for the eyeglasses (which are 5gp). Round up to either 2,850gp (or 2,975gp) - say that we need to make the eyeglasses masterworked so they can be properly enchanted.

Can anyone let me know if I've got this wrong anywhere, and, if so, where? Thanks.

[kestrel404]

First, your initial calculations are a bit off. You need to calculate the values of each individual effect seperately, THEN figure out modifiers, then add everything up.

So you want the following effects:
+5 competence bonus to spellcraft (2500gp)
+5 competence bonus to UMD (2500gp)
Command Word Identify spell (1800 gp * spell level (1) * caster level (1) = 1800gp)

Note that Identify gives you Detect Magic for 3 rounds/use (as opposed to 10 rounds for the cantrip), so you probably don't need that spell separately unless you want it as an 'always on' ability - and that would cost a fair amount more.

Base value is 2500gp for the 'most expensive' effect, with the other two effects costing 1.5 times as much each.

2500gp + 3750gp + 2700gp = 8950gp

Not too far off the mark from your original estimate. Also, you shouldn't be adding on those 'only X class' or 'minimum ability Y' price modifiers to items you craft. That's just pure cheese and I don't know of any GM that allows it unless the game it's going to be used in is pure cheese to start with (and even then, magic item crafting is generally banned outright as being overpowered).

Now here comes the part you're not going to want to hear, but I'm gonna tell you anyway.

Magic item prices created this way are for reference purposes only - the GM can decide that the item you want costs whatever he feels is appropriate. Personally, I think the item above should probably cost about 25,000 - 30,000 gp (about 3x the calculated value). Why? Because it's giving you a +15 bonus to spellcraft checks to identify an item, plus other bonuses. And if I was really going to be fair, I'd double that again, since both Spellcarft and UMD are 'rare' skills which don't get bonuses from any other magic items.

It's the same reason that an at-will item of True Strike is going to cost a lot more than 1800 gp - the bonus you get from the spell is WAY more potent than the cost from the item system.

[Kudaku]

@Kestrel: There is some cover for items that give bonuses to spellcraft being priced more or less by the standard model - the Armillary Amulet (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/amulet-armillary) grants a +5 competence bonus at Spellcraft, and is priced the same as a cloak of elvenkind. The Gloves of Elvenkind (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/gloves-of-elvenkind) is another example, though those also give a +5 bonus on concentration checks and are priced somewhat higher.

Furthermore, the fact that the item and the Identify spell work well together shouldn't triple the cost. The synergy is only relevant for OOC events and is no different from buying the Armillary Amulet and combining it with a ring that can cast Identify on command.

One option is to change the Identify spell to x charges per day instead of on Command - you probably won't need to cast Identify more than three times in one adventuring day and if you do you'll probably have spare charges the next morning.

I do agree with Kestrel that the "restricted to my class so I get a 30% discount"-argument is extremely dodgy ground. I wouldn't let that fly in any campaign I was running.

Finally, If I were you I'd consider cutting the + UMD bonus on the item. As near as I can tell UMD is on the (very) short list of skills that don't have any magical items that specifically improve it and Paizo probably intended it that way - it's the dodgy part of your item as its currently designed. The closest thing I was able to find is the Circlet of persuasion.