Custom magic items with non-customary bonuses

[ayvango]

I've heard about simple custom magic item price estimation rule: if an item provides non-customary bonus double its price. e.g. insight bonus to skill would cost two times as competence one. I tried to find this rule and fail. Could it be just a wishful thinking?

[Ravenstower]

The only times I've ever heard this come up, the person speaking of it was actually confusing it with uncustomary body slots -- e.g. having a Breastplate of Intellect instead of a Headband of Intellect. That's a 1.5x multiplier. Having no slot at all is a 2.0x multiplier (e.g. Ioun stone).

All as per SRD, Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values.

[Tedective]

A creator can add new magical abilities to a magic item with no restrictions. The cost to do this is the same as if the item was not magical. Thus, a +1 longsword can be made into a +2 vorpal longsword, with the cost to create it being equal to that of a +2 vorpal sword minus the cost of a +1 sword.

If the item is one that occupies a specific place on a character’s body (see Magic Items on the Body, page 214), the cost of adding any additional ability to that item increases by 50%. For example, if a character adds the power to confer invisibility to her ring of protection +2, the cost of adding this ability is the same as for creating a ring of invisibility multiplied by 1.5.

Wondrous items that don’t match the affinity for a particular body slot should cost 50% more than wondrous items that match the affinity. Compare the boots of teleportation with the helm of teleportation. Unless you are intentionally aiming for a truly oddball game, avoid patently absurd combinations such as eyeglasses of giant Strength at any price.

Dungeon Master's Guide (3.5), page 288.


50% more for strange effects. 50% more again for additional strange effects.

My group house ruled that unique magic items can be modified this way too. Simply assume the additional effects are gold-related instead of enhancement bonus-related. For instance, Bow of the Wintermoon (A +1 Composite Longbow that's also a Relic) is worth 3,400 gp. 2,000 is in the +1 enhancement bonus. 300 for Masterwork. 75 gp for Longbow. Total so far: 2375. Therefore, the remaining Relic Power effect and ability to utilize full Strength when Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, or Chaotic Neutral is worth 1,025 gp. It's still a +1 longbow though, so making it +2 would only cost 3,000.

We house ruled too though that unique items may not have other unique item effects stacked together. This makes magic items more flavorful than simple "Bracers of Armor +5". One could add Armor +5 to say Caduceus Bracers for a very tough Paladin. One member's been abusing Enhancement bonuses stacking by paying 50% more for all his equipment to have Deflection +5.

...

I abused the enhancement bonus stacking by having each item do +1 all stats for 1000 x1.5 x1.5 (2,250) for a total of +12 all stats for 162,000, minus a flake or two for non-goofy body slots.

Advice: Don't allow enhancement bonuses to stack.

[Manyasone]

Advice: Don't allow enhancement bonuses to stack.

As per the core rules, they explicitly don't, mate.

[Kayblis]

Bonuses of the same kind don't stack. You can't wear a common +6 STR item, cast Bull's Strength, then use Bite of the Werebear for a total of +26 enhancement. You also can't have 5 equipment of +2 enhancement STR to add +10 total. They overlap, so only the strongest effect works.

To the OP, the SRD lists guidelines for magic item creation here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm). It says you can have AC and Save bonuses of other kinds, and those are double the cost. This is due to the uncommon items that provide insight or luck bonuses. You can extend that rule to other stats and attributes, but that would be a GM call.