# Reducing Magic Item Creation Costs by adding use restrictions?

What is the source (book/page) that identifies how to reduce magic items costs by adding use restrictions. ie, race, alignment, abilities etc?

Example: +1 Bane (giant) shortsword would cost 8310GP.

But if the creator makes it usable only by dwarves it should reduce the price by "X"%. (Believe it can be further reduced by adding Lawful alignment & again by adding knowledge _____ +5 requirements. (I don't know what the % are because I can't find the source.)

## 1 Answer

The Dungeon Master's Guide sidebar Behind the Curtain: Magic Item Gold Piece Values under the heading Other Considerations includes these bullets:

• Item Requires Skill to Use: Some items require a specific skill (such as Perform for a musical instrument) to get them to function. This factor should reduce the cost about 10%.
• Item Requires Specific Class or Alignment to Use: Even more restrictive than requiring a skill, this limitation cuts the cost by 30%." (282)

A racial restriction on an item's use, while not specifically mentioned, is probably subject to the second bullet's price reduction.

• Curious if it elaborates on multiple requirements. As in can you have an item that is limited to Wizard/Rogues? [ie. Multi-classed]. And are the decreases added together or is there an order in which you reduce the cost? Is the Skill, Race, Class, AND Alignment restricted item now 100% reduced? – John Grabanski Aug 5 '16 at 20:38
• @JohnGrabanski If there were more to say about, I'd've said it. :-) Unfortunately, I think that's all the direction the reader's given. (I searched a few other sources and came up empty.) As the magic item prices in the Dungeon Master's Guide don't consistently adhere to its own guidelines, it's even kind of difficult to yank from the DMG a sample item that follows these instructions and tell for certain that it does. – Hey I Can Chan Aug 5 '16 at 20:50
• I'm looking at the page (found a PDF) and the Other Considerations reads as follows: Once you have a final cost figure, reduce that number if either of the following conditions applies, "either" here reads to me as Skill OR (Class OR Alignment), meaning you only can use 'either' Skill or Class or Alignment. That's going a bit deep into the interpretation but RAW that's how it feels to me, and considering a Skill, Class, Race, Alignment restricted item is 100% decreased. I'd have to say one or the other. In my game I'd rule you can have multiple restrictions, but change %'s – John Grabanski Aug 5 '16 at 20:57
• @JohnGrabanski That's cool. They're guidelines. You can apply them however you want. (Or, in some cases, ignore them completely. Like if your campaign's PCs are all gnomes and the PCs dictate the magic items they create only work for gnomes. That's probably not worth a 30% price reduction in such a campaign.) – Hey I Can Chan Aug 5 '16 at 21:07
• @john grabanski since \$ is a real world concept "normal math rules" apply (PHB 304) I think that would mean take the largest discount and then take the next discount off of that total, rinse lather repeat. (1000GP-30%=X, X-30%=Y, Y-10%=total=441GP~roughly 44% discount off original price if my hasty brain calculator holds up) – Ben-Jamin Aug 5 '16 at 21:11