Approximate costs for raw metals [Archive] - Wizards Community

Approximate costs for raw metals [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Keevo_Darkwood
10-16-06, 11:30 AM I'm wondering what the approximate cost would be for a pound of raw (by 'raw', I mean 'refined from ore, but not yet forged') mithril. Y'see, I'm pondering a suit of mithril full-plate for a centaur character of mine, but after crunching the numbers, I learned that, even with a significant number of ranks in Craft [armorsmith], such an endeavor would take dedicated work, week in and week out, for about four years. :raincloud That being the case, I decided to simply wait until she's worthy of being able to Wish or proxy-Miracle the metal into its proper shape.

That still leaves the question, however, of what the cost would be of a pound of raw mithril. Though it'd take 100 pounds of it to make the armor (50 * 4 / 2), it'll almost certainly not be available all at once, so it'd have to be gotten a few pounds at a time.

(Oh, and before anyone says, "just get some high-end Armor-boosting magic items and be done with it", this is something I'd like for thematic reasons...if Ilaija the centaur, eventually Ilaija the Paladin of Freedom once she's done with her centaur progression, lives long enough to level up into the mid-teens, I'd love to see her charging into battle, the light of Freedom reflecting off of her beautiful armor to shine upon and strike fear in the hearts of those who shroud themselves in the darkness of Tyranny. Pretty cool thing to imagine, ne? :D )
tarkin
10-16-06, 11:58 AM 1) Use the spell FABRICATE. That is what it is for.

2) When making non-magic items, raw materials cost 1/3 the end price.
Keevo_Darkwood
10-16-06, 02:33 PM 1) Use the spell FABRICATE. That is what it is for.

OOoooooo!! I'd entirely forgotten about that spell. Thanks for reminding me of it; this will be incredibly useful. :) :thumbsup: :w00t:

2) When making non-magic items, raw materials cost 1/3 the end price.

Hmmmm. So, using the figures for a suit of mithril full-plate for a humanoid wearer to cut down on the math a little....

(9000 - 300) / 3 = 2900 gp worth of mithril ... 2900 / 25 = 116 gp per pound of mithril
....or about equal to 7 long swords and a short sword.

Again, thanks. :)
risner
10-17-06, 03:31 AM Dragonomican (and no I don't know how to spell it) has Mithril at 100 gp per pound (trade good.)

When using craft skills, you may have additional costs beyond the raw metal cost (which is why you came up with 116 gp per pound.)
Keevo_Darkwood
10-17-06, 04:47 AM Hmmmm, I didn't think of that book (probably because I don't have it yet).

Yes, you're right about the figures, though. I hadn't taken the cost of the other supplies into account for the construction cost. *decrements that long-sword count by one*

Out of curiosity, does the Draconomicon also list the cost for adamantite?
risner
10-17-06, 08:26 AM Out of curiosity, does the Draconomicon also list the cost for adamantite?

Yes, and it is also 100 gp per pound. Which points out just how hot you need to get the forge to melt that nearly unbreakable metal. It takes a lot of firewood to forge an adamantine sword.
lint trap
10-17-06, 09:31 AM The listing for Mithril in the Draconomicon is for mithril ore, not refined mithril. The DMG has all the costs for mithril; it's about 500 gp/lb., but the heavy armor cost of 9,000 gp per suit overrides that figure. Since it's for a large creature, that gives you 18,000 gp of mithril.

Also (and I'm just guessing on this), I don't think that special material costs are figured into crafting times. It just doesn't make sense that it would take a master dwarven smith four years to make what a 9th level Wizard can to in a few minutes.
Keevo_Darkwood
10-17-06, 11:33 AM The listing for Mithril in the Draconomicon is for mithril ore, not refined mithril. The DMG has all the costs for mithril; it's about 500 gp/lb., but the heavy armor cost of 9,000 gp per suit overrides that figure. Since it's for a large creature, that gives you 18,000 gp of mithril.

Also (and I'm just guessing on this), I don't think that special material costs are figured into crafting times. It just doesn't make sense that it would take a master dwarven smith four years to make what a 9th level Wizard can to in a few minutes.

Large non-humanoid creature, actually. The latter quality doubles the cost again, to 36,000 for a suit of masterwork mithril heavy armor, not counting the quadrupled cost of the basic armor cost itself.

As for crafting times....I agree with you on that point.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Keevo_Darkwood 10-16-06, 11:30 AM	I'm wondering what the approximate cost would be for a pound of raw (by 'raw', I mean 'refined from ore, but not yet forged') mithril. Y'see, I'm pondering a suit of mithril full-plate for a centaur character of mine, but after crunching the numbers, I learned that, even with a significant number of ranks in Craft [armorsmith], such an endeavor would take dedicated work, week in and week out, for about four years. :raincloud That being the case, I decided to simply wait until she's worthy of being able to Wish or proxy-Miracle the metal into its proper shape. That still leaves the question, however, of what the cost would be of a pound of raw mithril. Though it'd take 100 pounds of it to make the armor (50 * 4 / 2), it'll almost certainly not be available all at once, so it'd have to be gotten a few pounds at a time. (Oh, and before anyone says, "just get some high-end Armor-boosting magic items and be done with it", this is something I'd like for thematic reasons...if Ilaija the centaur, eventually Ilaija the Paladin of Freedom once she's done with her centaur progression, lives long enough to level up into the mid-teens, I'd love to see her charging into battle, the light of Freedom reflecting off of her beautiful armor to shine upon and strike fear in the hearts of those who shroud themselves in the darkness of Tyranny. Pretty cool thing to imagine, ne? :D )
tarkin 10-16-06, 11:58 AM	1) Use the spell FABRICATE. That is what it is for. 2) When making non-magic items, raw materials cost 1/3 the end price.
Keevo_Darkwood 10-16-06, 02:33 PM	1) Use the spell FABRICATE. That is what it is for. OOoooooo!! I'd entirely forgotten about that spell. Thanks for reminding me of it; this will be incredibly useful. :) :thumbsup: :w00t: 2) When making non-magic items, raw materials cost 1/3 the end price. Hmmmm. So, using the figures for a suit of mithril full-plate for a humanoid wearer to cut down on the math a little.... (9000 - 300) / 3 = 2900 gp worth of mithril ... 2900 / 25 = 116 gp per pound of mithril ....or about equal to 7 long swords and a short sword. Again, thanks. :)
risner 10-17-06, 03:31 AM	Dragonomican (and no I don't know how to spell it) has Mithril at 100 gp per pound (trade good.) When using craft skills, you may have additional costs beyond the raw metal cost (which is why you came up with 116 gp per pound.)
Keevo_Darkwood 10-17-06, 04:47 AM	Hmmmm, I didn't think of that book (probably because I don't have it yet). Yes, you're right about the figures, though. I hadn't taken the cost of the other supplies into account for the construction cost. decrements that long-sword count by one Out of curiosity, does the Draconomicon also list the cost for adamantite?
risner 10-17-06, 08:26 AM	Out of curiosity, does the Draconomicon also list the cost for adamantite? Yes, and it is also 100 gp per pound. Which points out just how hot you need to get the forge to melt that nearly unbreakable metal. It takes a lot of firewood to forge an adamantine sword.
lint trap 10-17-06, 09:31 AM	The listing for Mithril in the Draconomicon is for mithril ore, not refined mithril. The DMG has all the costs for mithril; it's about 500 gp/lb., but the heavy armor cost of 9,000 gp per suit overrides that figure. Since it's for a large creature, that gives you 18,000 gp of mithril. Also (and I'm just guessing on this), I don't think that special material costs are figured into crafting times. It just doesn't make sense that it would take a master dwarven smith four years to make what a 9th level Wizard can to in a few minutes.
Keevo_Darkwood 10-17-06, 11:33 AM	The listing for Mithril in the Draconomicon is for mithril ore, not refined mithril. The DMG has all the costs for mithril; it's about 500 gp/lb., but the heavy armor cost of 9,000 gp per suit overrides that figure. Since it's for a large creature, that gives you 18,000 gp of mithril. Also (and I'm just guessing on this), I don't think that special material costs are figured into crafting times. It just doesn't make sense that it would take a master dwarven smith four years to make what a 9th level Wizard can to in a few minutes. Large non-humanoid creature, actually. The latter quality doubles the cost again, to 36,000 for a suit of masterwork mithril heavy armor, not counting the quadrupled cost of the basic armor cost itself. As for crafting times....I agree with you on that point.