[3.5] figuring costs on different bonus types to ac and attack rolls..

[animewatcha]

If I wanted to do +1 on different types of ac bonuses ( not armor, shield, enhancement, natural ), how would I figure the price for all them being on same item? How many different types are there that apply to normal ac, touch ac, and flatflooted at same time ( like insight/luck ).

How does one figure price for luck bonus to attack roll, insight bonus, etc.? let alone same item?

[ArcturusV]

Thing is, I think you're mostly off into DM Fiat/Homebrew land here. I can't think of any means to do this. Presuming what you mean is enchantments. The closest I can even remember working is stuff like items that give Armor Bonus, Natural Armor Bonus, and Enhancement Bonuses. I think that's the limit of your ability to craft stack items. Most Insight/Luck/Deflection/etc bonuses come from spells, circumstances, or other one shot temporary effects.

[TuggyNE]

If I wanted to do +1 on different types of ac bonuses ( not armor, shield, enhancement, natural ), how would I figure the price for all them being on same item?

Using the guidelines (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#tableEstimatingMagicItemGol dPieceValues), most of them would start out at 2500 * bonus2, or 2500gp. Then, combine them; all but one are multiplied by 1.5. For luck, perfection, insight, and sacred (let's say), that'd be a total of 13750gp, I think.


How many different types are there that apply to normal ac, touch ac, and flatflooted at same time ( like insight/luck ).

Insight applies to touch and regular, but not usually to flat-footed; most other unusual types apply to all AC.


How does one figure price for luck bonus to attack roll, insight bonus, etc.? let alone same item?

Same basic principle, but attack bonuses appear to be twice as expensive. So 27500gp.

[Diarmuid]

Insight applies to touch and regular, but not usually to flat-footed; most other unusual types apply to all AC.

Whats your source for this?

Unless specified differently in the mechanics for the source of the bonus type the only limits on what applies when to your AC are as follows:

Touch: Everything except Armor, Shield, Nat Armor
Flat-Footed: Everything except Dex

Now there are plenty of things that specify that they are also not usable while flat-footed, but a magic item that simply provided a +1 Insight bonus to AC would not be one of them. There is nothing inherent about the Insight bonus type stating that it does not apply while flat-footed.

[ericgrau]

Dodge bonuses also don't apply when flat-footed. But yeah, usually everything except dex and dodge applies.

To the original question, use existing items as a guideline. Dusty rose prism ioun stone is 5,000 gp for +1 insight AC, so I'd say bonus * bonus * 5,000 gp for insight AC. Based on the luckstone and pale green prism ioun stone, I'd say a competence bonus to attack rolls is 10,000 gp * bonus * bonus. And probably the same for other misc. types, if any.

I wouldn't allow an unlimited number of new bonus types, nor even 3-4 new bonus types. Because then you can keep taking +1s in a new type and it's almost identical to being untyped. And you can't price such an untyped bonus because it has no way of scaling by bonus * bonus. It's always effectively * bonus because you never go beyond +1. So except in special cases like artifacts or other rare items I'd use only existing types that were already used on a particular stat, like insight for AC and competence for attack rolls.

If the cost seems high, that's because it's supposed to be. As you may have guessed by now, you wouldn't want someone to work around the bonus * bonus rule by selecting new bonus types. These items are supposed to be selected last of all once the player has capped out his normal items.

[Fax Celestis]

Touch: Everything except Armor, Shield, Nat Armor
Flat-Footed: Everything except Dex

Yup.


Touch Attacks
Some attacks disregard armor, including shields and natural armor. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (either ranged or melee). When you are the target of a touch attack, your AC doesn't include any armor bonus, shield bonus, or natural armor bonus. All other modifiers, such as your size modifier, Dexterity modifier, and deflection bonus (if any) apply normally.


Flat-Footed
A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, not yet reacting normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity.

Fairly clear on that.

[Chronos]

There's nothing in the game that provides an enhancement bonus to AC. If you have a magical suit of armor, it has an armor bonus, which is increased by having an enhancement bonus to the armor bonus, not directly to your AC itself. The same goes for shields.

Thus, for instance: Full plate and a large shield is a +8 armor bonus and a +2 shield bonus. Full plate +1 and a large shield is a +9 armor bonus and a +2 shield bonus. Full plate and a large shield +2 is a +8 armor bonus and a +4 shield bonus. Full plate +1 and a large shield +2 is a +9 armor bonus and a +4 shield bonus.

[Diarmuid]

Dodge bonuses also don't apply when flat-footed. But yeah, usually everything except dex and dodge applies

As Fax pointed out, dodge bonuses where it is not specifically listed as not applying when flat footed would apply normally while flat footed.

Yes, the majority of dodge bonuses have this caveat, but a custom magic item that provided a +1 dodge bonus to AC would apply while Flat-Footed per RAW.

[ericgrau]

Actually his quotation wasn't exclusive, and did not provide a ruling one way or the other on any bonus besides dexterity. In fact...


A dodge bonus improves Armor Class (and sometimes Reflex saves) resulting from physical skill at avoiding blows and other ill effects. Dodge bonuses are never granted by spells or magic items. Any situation or effect (except wearing armor) that negates a character's Dexterity bonus also negates any dodge bonuses the character may have. Dodge bonuses stack with all other bonuses to AC, even other dodge bonuses. Dodge bonuses apply against touch attacks.

Other special rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/theBasics.htm#modifiers): circumstance modifiers stack with eachother unless they're "essentially from the same source". Changing race, via reincarnation for example, removes racial bonuses. Enhancement bonuses effectively increase the bonus they enhance rather than being their own independent bonus. Bracers of armor +2 (+2 enhancement bonus to armor) do not stack with a +0 chain shirt, while a +1 chain shirt stacks fully with a +1 shield.

[TuggyNE]

Whats your source for this?
[…]
Now there are plenty of things that specify that they are also not usable while flat-footed

The question answers itself; "usually" here refers to the convention established by existing sources of insight bonuses. When designing and pricing custom magic items, nothing is more important to consider than consistency with existing effects and items.

[Chronos]

Bracers of armor +2 (+2 enhancement bonus to armor) do not stack with a +0 chain shirt
Bracers of armor don't have anything to do with any sort of enhancement bonus. Bracers of Armor +2 just flat out give a +2 armor bonus to AC. They work just like a nonmagical suit of leather armor. No special rule is needed to make them not stack with a chain shirt, because they both provide the same kind of bonus.