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A weapon must be masterwork to be enchanted, it also must have +1 enhancement bonus before it can be enchanted. Does the +1 enhancement bonus* from being masterwork apply?
Example Calculation: +1 Benevolent Rapier
Rapier 20gp
Masterwork 300gp
Benevolent 2000gp
Total: 2320gp
*Note: This is a non-magical bonus to attack rolls
This is explained on Magic Weapons:
A magic weapon is enhanced to strike more truly and deliver more damage. Magic weapons have enhancement bonuses ranging from +1 to +5. They apply these bonuses to both attack and damage rolls when used in combat. All magic weapons are also masterwork weapons, but their masterwork bonuses on attack rolls do not stack with their enhancement bonuses on attack rolls.
You will notice that though both add an enhancement bonus, the masterwork's enhancement bonus is not a magic weapon's enhancement bonus, which is required before you can add a Special Ability to weapons:
Creating a magic weapon has a special prerequisite: The creator’s caster level must be at least three times the enhancement bonus of the weapon. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met. A magic weapon must have at least a 1 enhancement bonus to have any melee or ranged special weapon abilities.
Though both are enhancement bonuses, a masterwork weapon is not a magic weapon yet. It becomes a magical weapon once you bestow the first +1 magical enhancement bonus on it, as explained on this answer about calculating the costs of a magical weapon.
The distinction here, and better explained on Ryan's answer, is that the masterwork's enhancement bonus is applied on your attack rolls, while the magic weapon's enhancement bonus is applied on the weapon, which increases your attack rolls aswell. Being bonuses of the same type, they don't stack.
Ah, no. This is one of those “could they not afford a thesaurus?” moments, where they keep using the same word for slightly different things.
There is a difference between an enhancement bonus to some particular roll, and an enhancement bonus to the weapon itself, which is a property that items can have. They re-use the name because enhancement bonuses to items usually result in those items giving enhancement bonuses to certain things, but it’s still pretty unclear.
Being a masterwork weapon adds a +1 enhancement bonus to attack rolls. Having a +1 enhancement bonus to a weapon also adds a +1 enhancement bonus to attack rolls, as well as a +1 enhancement bonus to damage, but it is also more than that. For example, having a +1 enhancement bonus to the weapon also improves its hit points and hardness, allows it overcome DR /magic, and makes it eligible to receive special weapon properties. Having a weapon that offers enhancement bonuses on some or all rolls relevant to that weapon’s use is not the same as having an enhancement bonus to the weapon.
Since a +1 weapon is always also a masterwork weapon, it has two separate +1 enhancement bonuses to attack rolls, and these don’t stack.
And when the rules say that a magic weapon must have a +1 enhancement bonus before you can add special properties, it means that it must be a +1 weapon, not merely that it must have enhancement bonuses to the right rolls. So even if you found some other way to add a +1 enhancement bonus to the weapon’s damage, and also had a +1 enhancement bonus to attack because it’s masterwork, that still wouldn’t quite qualify.
That means your +1 benevolent rapier needs to be a rapier (20 gp), that is masterwork (+300 gp), that has a +1 enhancement bonus (+2,000 gp), and then has the benevolent property (+6,000 gp for going from +1-equivalent to +2-equivalent). Total cost is 8,320 gp. With 2,320 gp, you can only afford a +1 rapier.
In neat tabular form:
| Item or enhancement | Cost |
|---|---|
| rapier | 20 gp |
| masterwork | 300 gp |
| +1 enhancement | 2,000 gp |
| benevolent property | 6,000 gp |
| Total | 8,320 gp |
In this case, the order they’re written is also the order in which these have to be applied: each line is a requirement for the next one.
No
A MWK weapon does not count as a +1 weapon for crafting purposes, and doesn't even give the benefits of a +1 weapon. Let's compare real quick:
MWK:
+1:
As you can see, the value of these two attributes is different.
If you wanted a +1 Benevolent weapon, you'd pay:
Rapier 20gp
Masterwork +300gp
+1 Weapon +2000gp
Benevolent +6000gp(8000gp total enchantment costs)
Total 8320gp
