PDA

View Full Version : Advice on pricing a 3.P magic item that enhances scroll use?



gadren
2013-12-03, 08:30 PM
Hey, I'm curious how much you guys think the following magic item would be worth? I'm usually pretty good at gauging the cost of these things, but there aren't really any similar items to compare it to...

Spectacles of the Master Scribe
Price: ?
Body Slot: Face
Caster Level: ?
Aura: ?
Activation: --
Weight: 0.1 lbs.

These spectacles are set in a delicate bronze frame. The crystal lenses glow dimly when viewing a magic scroll.

When the wearer of the spectacles of the master scribe casts a spell from a scroll, the saving throw DC for that spell is increased by +1. If the wearer has the Scribe Scroll feat, then he/she can forgo the +1 bonus to instead set the DC following the same rules as casting a spell from a magic staff. (However, the caster level does not change.)

malonkey1
2013-12-04, 04:17 PM
Let's see...Spell Focus is a feat available from level 1, which has this effect for a single school, all spells (scroll or no). In order to replicate it, you'd need each school. Discounting possible bonus feats, that can't be done until level 15 (8 chools, a new Spell focus at odd levels.). We can argue that only being able to apply this to scrolls makes it about, say, 33% as useful as if it were to be applicable to all spells, as while it is still applicable to a broad variety of spells, scrolls are inefficient and not as common in most late-level loot, and a pain in the butt to scribe en masse. So we could say that it should be abooooout 1/3 of level 15, or level 5. This is just guesstimation, but by my reckoning, it should have a CL of ~5, a price of, eh...about 4000 GP? Maybe. I'm pretty sure the school should be universal.

gadren
2013-12-04, 10:34 PM
Let's see...Spell Focus is a feat available from level 1, which has this effect for a single school, all spells (scroll or no). In order to replicate it, you'd need each school. Discounting possible bonus feats, that can't be done until level 15 (8 chools, a new Spell focus at odd levels.). We can argue that only being able to apply this to scrolls makes it about, say, 33% as useful as if it were to be applicable to all spells, as while it is still applicable to a broad variety of spells, scrolls are inefficient and not as common in most late-level loot, and a pain in the butt to scribe en masse. So we could say that it should be abooooout 1/3 of level 15, or level 5. This is just guesstimation, but by my reckoning, it should have a CL of ~5, a price of, eh...about 4000 GP? Maybe. I'm pretty sure the school should be universal.
Well, keep in mind that the more powerful ability (for those who have scribe scroll, ie all wizards for one) is the setting of the DC using your ability modifier like you do for staves, making a lot of scrolls that are otherwise useless quite potent.

gadren
2013-12-09, 05:39 PM
No one else has input on this?

Kamai
2013-12-09, 07:50 PM
Following from similar effects, the first part looks like a +1 metamagic rod (heighten), usable only on scrolls? Work from a moderate rod (to compensate that it'd only work for scrolls, but that it could also affect 7-9th level spells), which puts that part at 18,000, No school, Heighten spell. The second part would be fairly cost as a Pearl of Power (9th). It has the drawback of not getting the caster level brought along, but it's otherwise turning a scroll into a full spellslot. You have to have Scribe Scroll to do this, true, but that (kind of) counterbalances being able to use it as long as you have scrolls. From all of this, my first guess would be 99,000 total gold.

I'm really not sure, though, how much getting spells at minimum caster level weakens this.