ciopo
2020-03-03, 11:52 AM
The rules described in page 233 of the Magic item compendium only esplicitly calls out what the gold cost for those item improvements are. Do improving a item not have an associated xp cost as opposed to crafting a new item? The following paragraph about adding common item effects calls out explicitly that adding a common effect costs 1/25 of the gold as xp cost, but that paragraph is esplicitly an exception list, I guess because it would defeat the point if improving a +2dex to +4dex would cost more than buying a new item.
I'm curious about the RAW, RAI seems reasonable to me that xp cost would be 1/25 of gold cost, but it is not written anywhere and the srd magic item creation doesn't really help since it doesn't contemplate improving items.
IMPROVING MAGIC ITEMS
You can add new magical abilities to a magic item with virtually
no restrictions. The cost and prerequisites to do this are 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 longsword minus the cost of a +1 longsword
(98,315 – 2,315 = 96,000 gp). The character improving the magic
item must meet the same prerequisites as if he were creating the
item from scratch.
It’s recommended that you add new magical abilities only to
items that occupy the same body slot as the added effect would
normally occupy. For example, it’s okay to add the power of boots
of striding and springing to slippers of spider climbing, since both of
those items occupy the same body slot. However, adding the power
of boots of striding and springing to a cloak of resistance doesn’t make
much sense. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a reasonable
guide that helps maintain some level of flavor and verisimilitude
in the magic item system.
In most cases, if the item is one that occupies a body slot, the
cost of adding any additional ability to that item is 1-1/2 times the
value of the added power (or the value of the added power plus 1/2
the value of the existing item, if the added power normally costs
more than the existing item). For example, if a character adds the
power to confer feather fall to her ring of jumping, the cost of adding
this ability is 3,300 gp, the same as for creating a ring of feather fall-
ing = 1-1/2. On the other hand, if she were adding the power of
a ring of force shield to that ring of jumping, the cost of adding the
ability would be 9,750 gp (8,500 gp for the ring of force shield plus
half of 2,500 gp, the price of a ring of jumping).
This added cost doesn’t necessarily apply when adding some
common effects to existing items; see below.
Relevant common effects quote
Table 6–11: Adding/Improving Common Item Effects presents
a list of common item effects, from ability score enhancement
bonuses to energy resistance, and the price to add that effect to
an item.
The table also indicates the appropriate body slot (or slots) for
each effect. For example, you can add an enhancement bonus to
Charisma only to an item that occupies the head or shoulders body
slot (such as a headband or cloak). A DM can choose to deviate
from this guideline, but should avoid nonsensical combinations
(such as gloves that provide a bonus to Wisdom).
Adding one of these effects to an existing item works much
like creating an item from scratch. The crafting character must
meet the given prerequisites, must expend gold equal to one-half the price and XP equal to 1/25 the price, and must spend 1 day per 1000 gp of the price
Even "funnier" adding uncommon effects not only allegedly don't cost any xp, but it also take no time at all to craft!?
I'm curious about the RAW, RAI seems reasonable to me that xp cost would be 1/25 of gold cost, but it is not written anywhere and the srd magic item creation doesn't really help since it doesn't contemplate improving items.
IMPROVING MAGIC ITEMS
You can add new magical abilities to a magic item with virtually
no restrictions. The cost and prerequisites to do this are 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 longsword minus the cost of a +1 longsword
(98,315 – 2,315 = 96,000 gp). The character improving the magic
item must meet the same prerequisites as if he were creating the
item from scratch.
It’s recommended that you add new magical abilities only to
items that occupy the same body slot as the added effect would
normally occupy. For example, it’s okay to add the power of boots
of striding and springing to slippers of spider climbing, since both of
those items occupy the same body slot. However, adding the power
of boots of striding and springing to a cloak of resistance doesn’t make
much sense. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a reasonable
guide that helps maintain some level of flavor and verisimilitude
in the magic item system.
In most cases, if the item is one that occupies a body slot, the
cost of adding any additional ability to that item is 1-1/2 times the
value of the added power (or the value of the added power plus 1/2
the value of the existing item, if the added power normally costs
more than the existing item). For example, if a character adds the
power to confer feather fall to her ring of jumping, the cost of adding
this ability is 3,300 gp, the same as for creating a ring of feather fall-
ing = 1-1/2. On the other hand, if she were adding the power of
a ring of force shield to that ring of jumping, the cost of adding the
ability would be 9,750 gp (8,500 gp for the ring of force shield plus
half of 2,500 gp, the price of a ring of jumping).
This added cost doesn’t necessarily apply when adding some
common effects to existing items; see below.
Relevant common effects quote
Table 6–11: Adding/Improving Common Item Effects presents
a list of common item effects, from ability score enhancement
bonuses to energy resistance, and the price to add that effect to
an item.
The table also indicates the appropriate body slot (or slots) for
each effect. For example, you can add an enhancement bonus to
Charisma only to an item that occupies the head or shoulders body
slot (such as a headband or cloak). A DM can choose to deviate
from this guideline, but should avoid nonsensical combinations
(such as gloves that provide a bonus to Wisdom).
Adding one of these effects to an existing item works much
like creating an item from scratch. The crafting character must
meet the given prerequisites, must expend gold equal to one-half the price and XP equal to 1/25 the price, and must spend 1 day per 1000 gp of the price
Even "funnier" adding uncommon effects not only allegedly don't cost any xp, but it also take no time at all to craft!?