Noob Question for Magical Weapon.

[AidenSpade]

I haven't been playing very long, and I am curious what the cost for a +4 rapier with enchants Speed which is a +3 and vampiric is a +2 on it. I am thinking it would cost 162, 320 gp but not sure and would like some clarification whether I am right. If not would someone explain exactly how to calculate the cost.

[Glimbur]

The basic idea behind enchanting magic weapons (and armor, actually) is that the more magic is already on it the more expensive it is to put more on it. They do this via the +enchantment equivalencies.

+4 Rapier of Speed (+3) and Vampiric (+2) costs like a +9 weapon, with the base price of a masterwork rapier. Per the chart (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm) a +9 weapon costs 162,000 plus the 320 for a base rapier, so your total is right.

Other newbie mistakes include: not knowing that the weapon/armor has to be at least +1 before you can put other things on it (so a flaming sword is 8000 plus base weapon cost, but it's also +1) and the limit that you can only have +5 of real enhancement bonus. The table goes up to +10, but a real +6 sword does not cost 72000 plus base cost, it uses Epic pricing. Also, Epic is probably not worth learning; game balance gets even weirder at over 20th level.

[AidenSpade]

Thank you so much for the explanation and confirming my cost was correct. I really do appreciate the help.

[Divide by Zero]

As a side note, if there is a character in the party capable of casting Greater Magic Weapon, you might want to consider dropping the enhancement bonus to +1. That'll let you either put more special abilities on it or buy more items.

[AidenSpade]

So, would it possible to use permanency and keep the cost at 72320 then?

[Divide by Zero]

So, would it possible to use permanency and keep the cost at 72320 then?

No, but at the levels where you can afford a +9 weapon, it lasts all day long, and since it's a level 3-4 spell casting it once a day is a trivial cost.

[AidenSpade]

Well I figured it was worth a shot lol. So far I have played in three campaigns so far the DM's seem to be quite generous with the gold, or at least it seems like it to me.

[Sir Chuckles]

Well I figured it was worth a shot lol. So far I have played in three campaigns so far the DM's seem to be quite generous with the gold, or at least it seems like it to me.

There is a wealth by level chart out there.
A +9 weapon like that could be bought at ECL 15, but it would eat nearly all your cash. 17th level is when I'd expect to be packing a +9 weapon.

And, yeah, I'd drop that down from +4 to +1, making it a +6 weapon, which is reasonable for Lv13/14.
At that level, Magic Weapon is your friend.

[AidenSpade]

Thanks for the information. That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.

[AidenSpade]

Also while we are on the discussion of the greater magic weapon spell. Is it possible to have a wand of greater magic weapon and if so what would the cost be?

[bekeleven]

The base price of a fully-charged wand (50 charges) is 750 GP x Level of Spell x Level of Caster. This means that if you wanted a wand of greater magic weapon, the cheapest would be 750x3x7= 15750 but would be only 7th level - not worth it. If you wanted (for instance) a +4 bonus to attack and damage, then by the spell's scaling (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicWeaponGreater.htm) it would last 16 hours per casting, and cost 750x3x16 = 36000 GP. Seems like a lot! However, assuming you keep to at least 2 roughly level-appropriate encounters per day, that will last you through at least 7 levels of adventuring.

There are other ways to reduce magic item costs - I assume there's a guide for them somewhere - but most generally aren't allowed at a table. If all were in play, You could make an item that granted a +5 bonus, worked indefinitely and cost 12,960 GP. A more realistic price for such an item would be 21,600 GP, if you can find someone to craft it.

[TuggyNE]

The base price of a fully-charged wand (50 charges) is 750 GP x Level of Spell x Level of Caster. This means that if you wanted a wand of greater magic weapon, the cheapest would be 750x3x7= 15750 but would be only 7th level - not worth it.

Actually, the cheapest would be a Sor/Wiz version for 750x3x5 = 11250gp. But, of course, it would act just like magic weapon.

At CL 8 it would be 18000gp for +2; +3 would cost 27000, and +5 would cost 45000.

[Urpriest]

In general, you're probably better off buying a Pearl of Power and handing it to a friendly caster, if you've got one around. The Pearl means they're not "wasting spell slots" on you if they're concerned about that.