Chain Price [Archive] - Wizards Community

Chain Price [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Kradlo
05-31-06, 07:16 PM This recently came up in a game. One of our PCs wanted to buy a length of standard iron chain. The price of 10 feet of chain is 30 gp. That's right, 30 gp. Now, that's a lot of gold for normal iron chain, I think.

The price becomes even more suspicious when you consider that a spiked chain is 25 gp. Given that the spiked chain has a 10-foot reach, the length must be around 10 feet. So, putting spikes on the chain decreases the value by 5 gp, even after taking into consideration the weapon-grade forging of the spiked chain compared to the standard forging of the regular chain.

Does this strike you as odd? I'd think that 30 silver pieces would be more in line for that 10-foot length of chain, rather than 30 gold.

Thoughts?
GhostStepper
05-31-06, 07:29 PM Technically the spiked chain doesnt have to be 10 feet long, it just has to be long enough (including the length of your arm) to reach into a space thats beyond your adjacent square. Not all pole arms are a full 10 feet long. That WOULD explain it but whats even stranger is that a 10 ft. length of chain weighs 2 lb. while the spiked chain is cheaper and weighs 10 lb. They certainly arnt charging by weight.
dengarbountyhunter
05-31-06, 08:12 PM wow, that's a whole lot of weird things about chains...
ShinAkuma2
05-31-06, 09:54 PM That WOULD explain it but whats even stranger is that a 10 ft. length of chain weighs 2 lb. while the spiked chain is cheaper and weighs 10 lb. They certainly arnt charging by weight.

I would guess that the Spiked Chain is thicker so that its blows land more solidly. If you go by the illustrations, it also has those rings in it...I have no idea why that would make it so much heavier, but one never knows.

Now, as for the cost...I'm not really sure, but maybe the regular chain is simply higher quality so that it's harder to break. You wouldn't use a Spiked Chain to bind/hang something, so it doesn't need to be able to support a lot of weight.
GhostStepper
05-31-06, 10:23 PM Now, as for the cost...I'm not really sure, but maybe the regular chain is simply higher quality so that it's harder to break. You wouldn't use a Spiked Chain to bind/hang something, so it doesn't need to be able to support a lot of weight.

That still seems a bit odd. lol I dont see why youd want a generic chain to be higher quality than a weapon you rely on. And besides, the regular chain is 1/5th the mass of the spiked chain so how much stronger could it be?
Dragonsblood
05-31-06, 11:07 PM What'll really blow your mind is that you can buy iron pots, melt them down, and sell them back at double what you paid.
Rudi_Schteppen
05-31-06, 11:14 PM How? How on earth does that work?
tarkin
06-01-06, 12:08 PM It depends on a DM being stupid.

If you check the SRD you will see

Iron Pots sell for 5 sp, at 10 lbs.

If I recall correctly, Raw iron itself is priced at 5 sp per pound. (so players can sell it at 2.5 sp per pound.)

If you check other locations you will see that the pot is a mis-print. It supposed to be 2 lb iron pot that can hold upto 8 lbs for a weight of 10 lbs when Full.

But if you ignore this, then you can convince a DM to buy iron at 5 cp / lb, then sell it at a profit.

It also assumes that iron pots are pure iron, not adulterated.
Darkxarth
06-01-06, 12:22 PM Interesting about the Iron Pots...

But, as far as 30 GP for an iron chain... I would say that it was not well thought out. Okay, if an Iron Pot weighs 2 lbs, as tarkin says then it should be near in price to an iron chain. Now, the chain should be more expensive, it is harder to make. But, if they wiegh the same, I would put the price of a 10ft Iron Chain at... 3 GP instead of 30 GP. And a SPiked Chain is more expensive because it has to be reworked to hold heavy, iron spikes. Also, I can see why the Spiked Chain is heavier than a regular chain, those spikes get pretty big at the end of the chain.
Shadowfax7
06-01-06, 12:47 PM If you check other locations you will see that the pot is a mis-print. It supposed to be 2 lb iron pot that can hold upto 8 lbs for a weight of 10 lbs when Full.This is interesting and I have never seen errata on this.

Can you provide those "other locations" for this info ?? I would like to check it out for myself.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kradlo 05-31-06, 07:16 PM	This recently came up in a game. One of our PCs wanted to buy a length of standard iron chain. The price of 10 feet of chain is 30 gp. That's right, 30 gp. Now, that's a lot of gold for normal iron chain, I think. The price becomes even more suspicious when you consider that a spiked chain is 25 gp. Given that the spiked chain has a 10-foot reach, the length must be around 10 feet. So, putting spikes on the chain decreases the value by 5 gp, even after taking into consideration the weapon-grade forging of the spiked chain compared to the standard forging of the regular chain. Does this strike you as odd? I'd think that 30 silver pieces would be more in line for that 10-foot length of chain, rather than 30 gold. Thoughts?
GhostStepper 05-31-06, 07:29 PM	Technically the spiked chain doesnt have to be 10 feet long, it just has to be long enough (including the length of your arm) to reach into a space thats beyond your adjacent square. Not all pole arms are a full 10 feet long. That WOULD explain it but whats even stranger is that a 10 ft. length of chain weighs 2 lb. while the spiked chain is cheaper and weighs 10 lb. They certainly arnt charging by weight.
dengarbountyhunter 05-31-06, 08:12 PM	wow, that's a whole lot of weird things about chains...
ShinAkuma2 05-31-06, 09:54 PM	That WOULD explain it but whats even stranger is that a 10 ft. length of chain weighs 2 lb. while the spiked chain is cheaper and weighs 10 lb. They certainly arnt charging by weight. I would guess that the Spiked Chain is thicker so that its blows land more solidly. If you go by the illustrations, it also has those rings in it...I have no idea why that would make it so much heavier, but one never knows. Now, as for the cost...I'm not really sure, but maybe the regular chain is simply higher quality so that it's harder to break. You wouldn't use a Spiked Chain to bind/hang something, so it doesn't need to be able to support a lot of weight.
GhostStepper 05-31-06, 10:23 PM	Now, as for the cost...I'm not really sure, but maybe the regular chain is simply higher quality so that it's harder to break. You wouldn't use a Spiked Chain to bind/hang something, so it doesn't need to be able to support a lot of weight. That still seems a bit odd. lol I dont see why youd want a generic chain to be higher quality than a weapon you rely on. And besides, the regular chain is 1/5th the mass of the spiked chain so how much stronger could it be?
Dragonsblood 05-31-06, 11:07 PM	What'll really blow your mind is that you can buy iron pots, melt them down, and sell them back at double what you paid.
Rudi_Schteppen 05-31-06, 11:14 PM	How? How on earth does that work?
tarkin 06-01-06, 12:08 PM	It depends on a DM being stupid. If you check the SRD you will see Iron Pots sell for 5 sp, at 10 lbs. If I recall correctly, Raw iron itself is priced at 5 sp per pound. (so players can sell it at 2.5 sp per pound.) If you check other locations you will see that the pot is a mis-print. It supposed to be 2 lb iron pot that can hold upto 8 lbs for a weight of 10 lbs when Full. But if you ignore this, then you can convince a DM to buy iron at 5 cp / lb, then sell it at a profit. It also assumes that iron pots are pure iron, not adulterated.
Darkxarth 06-01-06, 12:22 PM	Interesting about the Iron Pots... But, as far as 30 GP for an iron chain... I would say that it was not well thought out. Okay, if an Iron Pot weighs 2 lbs, as tarkin says then it should be near in price to an iron chain. Now, the chain should be more expensive, it is harder to make. But, if they wiegh the same, I would put the price of a 10ft Iron Chain at... 3 GP instead of 30 GP. And a SPiked Chain is more expensive because it has to be reworked to hold heavy, iron spikes. Also, I can see why the Spiked Chain is heavier than a regular chain, those spikes get pretty big at the end of the chain.
Shadowfax7 06-01-06, 12:47 PM	If you check other locations you will see that the pot is a mis-print. It supposed to be 2 lb iron pot that can hold upto 8 lbs for a weight of 10 lbs when Full.This is interesting and I have never seen errata on this. Can you provide those "other locations" for this info ?? I would like to check it out for myself.