Please help me with custom item cost

[Tarlek Flamehai]

Someone with a good grasp of the custom item cost please help.

I would like a Novice Ring of the Diamond Mind (1500gp, 120xp), but I don't know if the price listed in ToB is Market Price, Item Cost, or Base Price. I would also like to add Undersong-as Use Activated 3/day CL6th.

Thanks in Advance!

[Venger]

p150 of ToB lists it as 3,000gp. this is market price, so if you wanted to make it yourself (not taking into account any other cost reducers) it'd cost 1500gp.

the rules for creating magic items are all right here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm)

base price for a use-activated item is spell lvl x CL x 2000. that's 12000

it's charges per day, so you divide that by (5/2). 12000 x (5/2) = 4800, so that's the cost of an item of undersong activated 2/day at CL 6.

combining magic item rules says you add 50% of all but the most expensive enhancements, so you'd have 4800 + (1.5 x3000) = 9300 if you're buying it.

items always list market price.

[Tarlek Flamehai]

Thanks Venger, I missed the price on pg150 and just caught the item cost on pg149.

[Kelb_Panthera]

You can't really put use-activated on a ring. That'd be a constant effect. What you're looking for is command activated 3/day. The only difference this makes from venger's otherwise accurate breakdown is that the constant for command activated items is 1800 rather than 2000.

[Venger]

You can't really put use-activated on a ring. That'd be a constant effect. What you're looking for is command activated 3/day. The only difference this makes from venger's otherwise accurate breakdown is that the constant for command activated items is 1800 rather than 2000.

what exactly is the difference?

I'm sure you're right, but I'm not really that clear on how one decides something's command-activated vs. use-activated. is it just whether it's passive/constant? so "active" things like ring of spell-battle are command and ring of x-ray vision, say, is use?

anyway, that'd mean...

1x 6 x 1800=10800
10800/ (5/3) = 6480
6480 + (3000 x 1.5) = 10980 (total cost of the combined magic items.)

[Kelb_Panthera]

what exactly is the difference?

I'm sure you're right, but I'm not really that clear on how one decides something's command-activated vs. use-activated. is it just whether it's passive/constant? so "active" things like ring of spell-battle are command and ring of x-ray vision, say, is use?

anyway, that'd mean...

1x 6 x 1800=10800
10800/ (5/3) = 6480
6480 + (3000 x 1.5) = 10980 (total cost of the combined magic items.)

Use activated means that the magic triggers when the item is put to its normal use, i.e. a flaming sword dealing fire damage when the sword is put to its normal use via attacking a foe or a horn of the tritons being blown. A worn item can't really be use activated in most cases because its normal use is simply being worn which would cause it to activate constantly. Thus worn items are typically constant effect items.

Command activation items are items that either don't have a use beyond their nature as a magic item or you don't want them to activate every time you use the item for its mundane purpose.