I’m unclear about the exact cost of adding enhancements to
a cold iron weapon. Page 284 in the Dungeon Master’s
Guide says any magical enhancements to a cold iron item
cost an additional 2,000 gp. I am unclear as to whether this
D&D FAQ v.3.5 57 Update Version: 07/13/07
is a one-time cost or if it applies to each enhancement. For
example, would a +1 cold iron frost longsword cost the same
as a +2 cold iron longsword (10,330 gp) since both are “+2”
weapons, or would it cost 12,330 gp (2,000 extra for the +1
enhancement, and 2,000 extra for the frost enhancement)?
Also, is the extra cost (whatever it might be) added to the
magic item’s base (so that it takes longer to make a cold
iron item), or just to the total price?
You pay +2,000 gp each time you enhance the item, not for
each magical property. When you first create the item, you add
+2,000 gp on top of the cost of all other enhancements you add
to the weapon, and that 2,000 gp increases only the item’s
market price. So your example +1 cold iron frost longsword
would have a market price of 10,330 gp
(30+300+8,000+2,000). The cost to create the sword would be
6,330 gp (30+300+4,000+2,000) and 320 XP (1/25th of the
8,000 gp cost for the enhancements). The sword would take 8
days to make (the 8,000 gp divided by 1,000).
If you later went back and added another +1 enhancement,
you’d have to pay the extra 2,000 gp again.
FAQ
