Upgrading CL of Magic Items

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

So say I need to increase the CL of a preexisting magic item.

For things that calculate price based on caster and spell level this is a simple matter, pay the difference.

But what about items that don't calculate price based on spells on it, such as in my case, a Dragon Spirit Cincture?

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

So say I need to increase the CL of a preexisting magic item.

For things that calculate price based on caster and spell level this is a simple matter, pay the difference.

But what about items that don't calculate price based on spells on it, such as in my case, a Dragon Spirit Cincture?

Citations make the boards go round.

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

So say I need to increase the CL of a preexisting magic item.

For things that calculate price based on caster and spell level this is a simple matter, pay the difference.

But what about items that don't calculate price based on spells on it, such as in my case, a Dragon Spirit Cincture?

Citations make the boards go round.

IMPROVING MAGIC ITEMS
You can add new magical abilities to a magic item with virtually
no restrictions. The cost and prerequisites to do this are the same
as if the item was not magical. Thus, a +1 longsword can be made
into a +2 vorpal longsword, with the cost to create it being equal
to that of a +2 vorpal longsword minus the cost of a +1 longsword
(98,315 – 2,315 = 96,000 gp). The character improving the magic
item must meet the same prerequisites as if he were creating the
item from scratch.
It’s recommended that you add new magical abilities only to
items that occupy the same body slot as the added effect would
normally occupy. For example, it’s okay to add the power of boots
of striding and springing to slippers of spider climbing, since both of
those items occupy the same body slot. However, adding the power
of boots of striding and springing to a cloak of resistance doesn’t make
much sense. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a reasonable
guide that helps maintain some level of fl  avor and verisimilitude
in the magic item system.
 In most cases, if the item is one that occupies a body slot, the
cost of adding any additional ability to that item is 1-1/2 times the
value of the added power (or the value of the added power plus 1/2
the value of the existing item, if the added power normally costs
more than the existing item). For example, if a character adds the
power to confer feather fall to her ring of jumping, the cost of adding
this ability is 3,300 gp, the same as for creating a ring of feather
falling × 1-1/2. On the other hand, if she were adding the power
of a ring of force shield to that ring of jumping, the cost of adding the
ability would be 9,750 gp (8,500 gp for the ring of force shield plus
half of 2,500 gp, the price of a ring of jumping).
 This added cost doesn’t necessarily apply when adding some
common effects to existing items; see below.

DRAGON SPIRIT
CINCTURE
Price (Item Level): 2,000 gp (6th)
Body Slot: Waist
Caster Level: 6th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 18) evocation
Activation: —
Weight: —
This wide, embroidered belt sash is emblazoned
with images of fi re-breathing dragons.
While you wear a dragon spirit cincture, your
breath weapon damage is increased by one
die (or by 1 point if your breath weapon
doesn’t deal damage expressed in dice).
 If you are also holding a magic weapon
that deals the same type of damage as your
breath weapon, your breath weapon save
DC increases by 1.
Prerequisites:  Craft Wondrous Item,
breath weapon.
Cost to Create: 1,000 gp, 80 XP, 2 days.

[kitep]

I don't know of any rules applying to this, other than "look for items that already do something similar and price accordingly".

I'm also wondering what I'm missing.  What good does raising the CL do, other than make it less vulnerable to Dispel Magic?

[ketaro]

In the game, many areas we'll be traveling through incur a CL penalty on both casters and magic gear. If the CL drops to 0, the magic item ceases to function temporarily until you leave the area.

For context, required (for now at least, not for ever) manual travel through space to get between planets. The mechanics is planets, being full of life and whatnot are rife with magic for normal operations for casters, but the further from a planet you get (i.e. space) the less magic there is to pull from.

In short, outer space is an AMF field that scales incrementally rather than being a straight off switch for magic like usual.

There are rules to scale price by CL for consumables like Wands and Ect but not for Wondrous Items in general. So what would be a decent way to go about it?

[kitep]

Ah, that explains why you need a higher caster level.

As you said, there are rules for wands and similar items.  Which would just be a straight multiple of the CL, eg double the CL, double the price.  So it seems you could do the same for wondrous items.

The Dragon Spirit Cincture is a 6th level item that cost 2000gp, or 2000/6 = 333.33gp/level.  So at 9th level, it would cost 3000gp, at 12th level 4000gp, etc.

Pricing it this way seems a little pricey for my tastes since it really doesn't improve the item, but at least it's a starting point.

Good luck!

[kitep]

Could you get an item made like a staff, which uses the CL of the wielder instead of the creator?  I think the cost is the same, but it does have some more requirements (min CL of 8, multiple spells, different metamagic creation feat).

And if it helps, items made using Words of Creation and good spells increase the CL by 1 without increasing the cost (BOED, p32)

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

There are no rules for that. The MIC is assuming you are changing priced things to other priced things.

You aren't. This item doesn't use its CL. So if you "found" a version at a higher CL ... it wouldn't change the price. Why? Because this item doesn't care about its CL, and it isn't priced to care about its CL. So just craft it yourself at a higher CL and avoid those CL penalty "for free."

If your DM really hated getting something minor like that for free, you could assume it was priced for (and hid) its CL. This means the base cast was (base cost)*6CL=1000gp, or a base cost of 166.6666gp. So now you craft/buy it at however high a CL you need times 166.6666