Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SoulLord 04-24-06, 06:30 PM	Using only the core books (DMG,PHB,MM,psionics) what are the best custom magic items you can think off? +1 headband of intellect; 1000gp +1 cloack of Use Magic Device; 100gp +1 google of spot;100 gp Boots of enlarge person 1/day as a 1st level caster 360 gp.
Pinky's brain 04-24-06, 06:39 PM	First of all continuous versions of all powerfull low level spells (protection from evil, psionic lion's pounce ... that sort of stuff). At this point the game is of course already broken ... but if you then interpret "use activated" as allowing you to make items which cast spells without taking a character action activation on any given event it breaks even worse. Because then you get the swords of use activated truestrike, vampiric touch, etc etc etc which all acivate on a swing of the sword. Don't ... just don't.
tafkamhokie 04-24-06, 06:59 PM	The skill bonus items are amazingly good for the price. Every character should probably want Goggles of Spot with at least a +2 or +3 bonus. Lockpicks of Open Lock +7 = 4900 gp vs. Wand of Knock = 4500 gp. Not bad. My favorite is Boots of Expeditious Retreat (2000 gp x caster level 1 x spell level 1 x 2 for a 1/min per level spell) 4000 gp. These boots almost singlehandedly make a spring attack fighter worthwhile.
SoulLord 04-24-06, 07:03 PM	Boots of psionic lions charge 1/day as a 3rd level psychic warrior cl2 2160 gp not too bad.
Boondoggle 04-25-06, 01:04 AM	If you want broken, make a command word activated gloves of cure minor wounds: 900gp. However, all of this is moot because the table whence all this brokenness is calculated is clearly labled "Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values." Furthermore, there's a sidebar on p.282 that quite plainly says custom items require at least some DM review.
lostone 04-25-06, 08:57 AM	So assume the DM is approving anything priced using the table. But I think the OP needs to set another rule: Limit on price. Cheap is very subjective. Cheap to a 1st level character means he can't afford more than a couple potions. Cheap to a 20th level character means 20,000gp. :) A ring of prestidigitation is a must have though. It can clean your clothes and gear quickly, without all that laborous scrubbing and rinsing. It can clean yourself, eliminating the need to waste water in a survival situation. It can flavor the nastiest glop the rundown roadside innkeeper dares to call food into something tolerable. And it's only 1000gp. The 3.0 DMG listed a gray ioun stone with no abilities other than to orbit the user. Combine that with a continual flame spell for a hands-free permanent lightsource. I don't remember prices on those, I'm at work. Other useful low level spells to get in continuous or use-activated or command word items are: Undetectable Alignment, Detect Magic, Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Create Water, Detect Poison, Mage Hand, Alarm, Mage Armor, Shield, Grease, etc.
hogarth 04-25-06, 09:39 AM	A cheaper version of a Third Eye: Sense would be nicer; you can see and hear just about anywhere on the same plane as you, as long as the location is either "familiar" or "obvious". Command word activated Clairvoyant Sense = 3 x 2 x 1800 = 10,800 gp By the way, if you like the idea of Goggles of Spot +3 for 900 gp, then you'd probably like the command word activated Synesthete device for 1800 gp. You get to pick one of the following menu items: a) +4 Spot & +4 Search (circumstance) b) +4 Listen (circumstance) c) immunity to blindness & gaze attacks d) immunity to deafness You have to reactivate it every 10 minutes, but who cares? EDIT: One more -- a command word activated item of Precognition. For 1,800 gp, spend a standard action and get a +2 insight bonus to one attack, skill check, damage roll or saving throw of your choice in the next ten minutes. Similarly, use-activated or command word activated items of Psionic Minor Creation, Mindlink, Chameleon and Elfsight would be cheap and useful.
SoulLord 04-25-06, 10:28 AM	well I consider cheap to be under the 2,000 gp but I'm mostly interested in seeing if we can squeeze good things under the 400gp price range besides the +1, and +2 bonuses to skills
hogarth 04-25-06, 11:19 AM	well I consider cheap to be under the 2,000 gp but I'm mostly interested in seeing if we can squeeze good things under the 400gp price range besides the +1, and +2 bonuses to skills Under 400 gp is tougher. How about a command word activation item of Call to Mind 1/day for 360 gp? That would certainly help with Knowledge checks (if you fail a check, you get a reroll with a +4 bonus). A command word activation item of Endure Elements 1/day (also 360 gp) would be useful in harsh climates (24 hour duration).
SoulLord 04-25-06, 06:54 PM	Nice if we add that only a specific alignment can use it we can reduce the price by 30% so the command word activation item of Call to Mind 1/day would be 252gp
Gryftir 04-25-06, 07:18 PM	alignments can change. Make it class based. I love wands of lesser sonic orb for rogue builds. Sudden stunning (DMG II) is an awesome cheap weapon's enhancement. +2,000 gp on your magical weapon (not a +1 bonus). Good for melee bards, and awesome for melee rogues, especially with TWF.
SoulLord 04-26-06, 11:42 AM	Going on with the same topic do you see any useful 0 lvl spells to add to the calculations? (0 lvl spells count as 1/2 a spell level) wand of cure minor wounds for rogues who have knowledage history for 237 gp roughly 5gp per hp healed.
DaneDarkblade 04-26-06, 03:49 PM	Brooch of sheilding just add protection from arrows. My DM ruled it at a cost of 3000 market.
Xeraph 04-26-06, 06:05 PM	This is a great thread, bring on the good ideas! Anyway to make the Horseshoes of the Zephyr available to humanoids? Im not very good at that whole custom item bussiness.
SoulLord 04-27-06, 12:46 PM	How about this Amulet of Biofeedback gain DR 2 for 1 minute command word activated, 1 /day cost including limited class and skill requirement. 227 gold
colm_l 04-27-06, 01:11 PM	Multi-use Pearl of Power equivalents. Similar abilities get a cost reduction.
Yami 04-27-06, 01:21 PM	I like small, cheap magic items, for some reason. Maybe so I can afford more of them? Pendant of the Last Gasp This pendant, often hanging on a simple leather strap or string. When the wearer speaks a command word or falls unconcious, this simple quartz stone releases a small burst of healing, restoring 1 HP to the wearer. This can never give the wearer more than their normal maxiumum number of hit points. Market Price: 25 gp (requires cure minor wounds) Necklet of the Last Gasp As the Pendant of the Last Gasp, except can be used 1/day. Market Price: 200gp (requires cure minor wounds) These would not work for those that fight until dead, or fight with negative HP while raging...until the rage is over and they fall unconcious. They're nice cheap little items for free stabilization, though! My expired ioun stone torch was mentioned earilier, I believe, but here are a couple others I've made: Recycled Ioun Torch An expended Ioun stone can have Continual Flame cast upon it, creating a torch-like light that circles the user's head and requires no hands to hold. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I believe this would cost 135 gp (25 for expended stone, 110 for continual flame casting) Lodestone For those parties with little ability to find their way in the wild, a Lodestone is a useful little magical tool: Take an expended ioun stone again, and enchant it with Know Direction. It always hovers around the user's head, to the north. Market Price: 1025 gp
SoulLord 04-27-06, 01:51 PM	Very interesting Yami. could you provide the Breakdown for this item? Pendant of the Last Gasp This pendant, often hanging on a simple leather strap or string. When the wearer speaks a command word or falls unconcious, this simple quartz stone releases a small burst of healing, restoring 1 HP to the wearer. This can never give the wearer more than their normal maxiumum number of hit points.
hogarth 04-27-06, 02:09 PM	Very interesting Yami. could you provide the Breakdown for this item? A single-use, use-activated 0-level spell would cost 1/2 x 1 x 50 = 25 gp. However, from my reading of the guidelines it looks like it would use up a body slot unless you doubled the cost (to 50 gp).
Aufenshauft 04-27-06, 02:11 PM	Well, most of these can be corrupted even more if your DM is looking at THE TABLE IS RIGHT. Sanctum it. All of the calculations in that table rely on spell level and caster level. Now, for purposes of creating an item you cast the spell once during creation. If that spell is treated as one level lower than normal you just reduced the cost of a 1st or 2nd level effect in half. Just don't craft at home. Kind of makes you wonder what a sanctumed cantrip is like...
amalcon 04-27-06, 02:16 PM	Projectile of Illumination (arrow, bolt, sling bullet, shuriken, dart) When fired (or thrown), this projectile immediately begins to glow. It continues to glow for ten minutes, at which point the magic is expended. Market Price: 1/2*1*50=25 GP + price of the projectile (5 sp for darts, 2 sp for shuriken, 1 sp for bolts, 5 cp for arrows, 1 cp for bullets) These are effective flares. You can use them for signaling, or for illumination of areas you need to see in for whatever reason. A higher-priced but more durable option for accomplishing this would be: Launcher of Illumination (bow, crossbow, or sling) When a projectile is placed in this weapon, and a command word is spoken (a standard action), the projectile begins to glow. It continues to glow for ten minutes, at which point the magic is expended. Market Price: 1/2*1*1800=900 GP + cost of weapon. Alternatively, make this a magic weapon property for +1350 GP (multiplying by 1.5 because this cannot be the highest cost ability on a weapon). Unlike most custom magic items people here like to invent, these are actually balanced enough that your DM might allow them. You could probably even get the ammunition cheaper, by making them alchemical (building a sunrod into an arrow, they would probably cost about 3 GP I'd estimate), but you'd have to work with your DM for this.
Yami 04-27-06, 08:24 PM	A single-use, use-activated 0-level spell would cost 1/2 x 1 x 50 = 25 gp. However, from my reading of the guidelines it looks like it would use up a body slot unless you doubled the cost (to 50 gp). yeah, it's a necklace. You could turn it into a slotless item and up the cost to 50gp. I'm just thinking 1 pt. of healing for stablization or anything else for a first level character, even as starting equipment, should be as cheap as possible. ;)
Aufenshauft 04-28-06, 12:33 PM	Okay, just to tick your DM off more than usual (say, by asking the names of each and every NPC you meet). Eyepiece of Detect Magic- Allows user to use Detect Magic at will. Continuous command-activated item created with sanctumed spell while on the road. Cost: 1/4 x 1800 = 450gp Aka. detect enemies or important NPCs as the DM will be forced to really work at making a 'joe' be someone important after you determine he has nothing magical on him. Even better, you could make one of these things as a trigger for adventurers. Make a one-shot fireball effect that only goes off when this item does, and make is a use-activated (upping the price to 500gp). I had an authoritarian mage guild use this trick, as it weeded out adventurers from the general populace. One-shot fireball (aka land mine) costs 2x5x50=500 gp using the same stratagy. Therefore, you make one of them to go off in an alley when the first item detects magic and pick up the pieces. Then use the profits to make another fireball mine. Rinse and repeat until you have the xp to level up and make bigger ones. You'd be the terror of town.
SoulLord 04-28-06, 05:52 PM	yeah, it's a necklace. You could turn it into a slotless item and up the cost to 50gp. I'm just thinking 1 pt. of healing for stablization or anything else for a first level character, even as starting equipment, should be as cheap as possible. ;) the this is since it's use activated doesn't it need a standard action to activate it? which you wouldn't have when you are unconciouss? just trying to understand the logic of the breakup :)
Yami 04-29-06, 12:40 AM	Pendant of the Last Gasp This pendant, often hanging on a simple leather strap or string. When the wearer speaks a command word or falls unconcious, this simple quartz stone releases a small burst of healing, restoring 1 HP to the wearer. This can never give the wearer more than their normal maxiumum number of hit points. Market Price: 25 gp (requires cure minor wounds) See above.
SoulLord 05-03-06, 02:21 PM	Due noted. what throws me off a bit is; if it's a use activated item; which requires a standard action to activate. If falling unconcius is a valid trigger?.
Yami 05-03-06, 07:49 PM	That's probably up to the DM. I couldn't find a better description of it's activation than use activated. :)
SoulLord 05-10-06, 01:16 PM	Adding more stuff. Staff of grease (use the dc of the caster) (or other 1st lvl arcane spell) CL 8 * SL 1 * base cost 375 * .5 double charge cost = 1500 gp to create, 3000 gp to buy basically 25 charges or 120gp per charge