Magic Item Crafting Rules: Difference between revisions

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*The Paladin praying before an altar, literally sweating blood from the force of her faithful devotion?  She's making that amulet with her Divinity.
*The Paladin praying before an altar, literally sweating blood from the force of her faithful devotion?  She's making that amulet with her Divinity.
*The Fighter crisping at an anvil as he welds honest steel to dragon claws in a fire fueled by an elemental? He can use his Warcraft for this job.
*The Fighter crisping at an anvil as he welds honest steel to dragon claws in a fire fueled by an elemental? He can use his Warfare for this job.
*The Ranger standing in a forgotten grotto, singing as she weaves a cloak out of dryad hair and assassin-vines?  She's using Naturalism.
*The Ranger standing in a forgotten grotto, singing as she weaves a cloak out of dryad hair and assassin-vines?  She's using Naturalism.
*The Rogue hiding in a bell tower, stealing chimes from the Great Bell to power her new Chime of Opening?  That's Spycraft she's using to steal that magic.
*The Rogue hiding in a bell tower, stealing chimes from the Great Bell to power her new Chime of Opening?  That's Spycraft she's using to steal that magic.
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===Effective Caster Level and the Magic Item Creation Check===
===Effective Caster Level and the Magic Item Creation Check===
* To create magic items, characters must have the [[Creator]] feat. No exceptions!  The Creator feat represents the innate talent required to handle magic and infuse it into an object. Creator allows a character to invest time and money in an item's creation. During each Interval of this Abstract process the Creator may make a single Skill Roll (using any bailiwick skill: [[Divinity]], [[Naturalism]], [[Reason]], [[Spellcraft]], [[Spycraft]], or [[Warcraft]]) to determine his action pool for the interval. The action pool is then rolled, and the resulting pips can either be expended or banked, per the [[Abstract Encounters]] rules. If the character possesses multiple bailiwick skills, he may select the skill he prefers to use.
* To create magic items, characters must have the [[Creator]] feat. No exceptions!  The Creator feat represents the innate talent required to handle magic and infuse it into an object. Creator allows a character to invest time and money in an item's creation. During each Interval of this Abstract process the Creator may make a single Skill Roll (using any bailiwick skill: [[Divinity]], [[Naturalism]], [[Reason]], [[Spellcraft]], [[Spycraft]], or [[Warfare]]) to determine his action pool for the interval. The action pool is then rolled, and the resulting pips can either be expended or banked, per the [[Abstract Encounters]] rules. If the character possesses multiple bailiwick skills, he may select the skill he prefers to use.


* All magic items have a Caster Level (CL).  For purposes of magic item creation, all characters have an Effective Caster Level based on the number of ranks they have invested in their bailiwick skill (Divinity, Naturalism, Reason, Spellcraft, Spycraft, or Warcraft).  This Effective Caster Level can never be higher than the class level of the class which qualifies for the skill they are using for the creation roll.  For example, if a Paladin takes the Creator feat at 15th level and has invested only seven ranks into Divinity, then for item creation purposes she has an effective caster level of seven.  Conversely, if that same Paladin had fifteen ranks in Divinity, her Effective Caster Level is fifteen for item creation.
* All magic items have a Caster Level (CL).  For purposes of magic item creation, all characters have an Effective Caster Level based on the number of ranks they have invested in their bailiwick skill (Divinity, Naturalism, Reason, Spellcraft, Spycraft, or Warfare).  This Effective Caster Level can never be higher than the class level of the class which qualifies for the skill they are using for the creation roll.  For example, if a Paladin takes the Creator feat at 15th level and has invested only seven ranks into Divinity, then for item creation purposes she has an effective caster level of seven.  Conversely, if that same Paladin had fifteen ranks in Divinity, her Effective Caster Level is fifteen for item creation.


* While item creation costs are handled in detail in the linked pages above, note that the two primary cost factors are the caster level and the level of the spell (or the allowed substitutions) put into the item. A creator can create an item at a lower caster level than her own, but never lower than the minimum level needed to cast the prerequisite spell.
* While item creation costs are handled in detail in the linked pages above, note that the two primary cost factors are the caster level and the level of the spell (or the allowed substitutions) put into the item. A creator can create an item at a lower caster level than her own, but never lower than the minimum level needed to cast the prerequisite spell.
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**For users of Spellcraft, any place suitable for preparing spells is suitable for making items.  
**For users of Spellcraft, any place suitable for preparing spells is suitable for making items.  
**Warcraft works best in forges and smithies and training halls; rough, rude places of strife.  
**Warfare works best in forges and smithies and training halls; rough, rude places of strife.  
**Spycraft works best in hidden spyholes full of small secretive nooks and hidden tools.  
**Spycraft works best in hidden spyholes full of small secretive nooks and hidden tools.  
**Naturalism works great in grottoes and caves and glades, anywhere the Nascent Seed is strong and vital.  
**Naturalism works great in grottoes and caves and glades, anywhere the Nascent Seed is strong and vital.  
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*If the conditions are poor, work can still progress on a magic item but the number of pips you can bank per day is divided by three(round down).  Crafting in a bad workspace is very time-consuming.
*If the conditions are poor, work can still progress on a magic item but the number of pips you can bank per day is divided by three(round down).  Crafting in a bad workspace is very time-consuming.


*If the item being made is not one that naturally 'fits' with the skill being used, then all creation times are tripled as above.  It's a bad idea for a Wizard to try and make a suit of armor using Spellcraft, just like its a bad idea for a Brawler to try to make wand using Warcraft.  Note that many items are just weird (like Wondrous items) and such items should not be penalized by this rule.  GM's are encouraged to be merciful.  GMs should also consider setting times 'in-between' fast and slow as they see fit, to fine-tune the process.
*If the item being made is not one that naturally 'fits' with the skill being used, then all creation times are tripled as above.  It's a bad idea for a Wizard to try and make a suit of armor using Spellcraft, just like its a bad idea for a Brawler to try to make wand using Warfare.  Note that many items are just weird (like Wondrous items) and such items should not be penalized by this rule.  GM's are encouraged to be merciful.  GMs should also consider setting times 'in-between' fast and slow as they see fit, to fine-tune the process.


*These time penalties DO NOT stack!  If you're going to use Spycraft to make a great axe, you might as well not worry about finding a proper hole to work in, it's not going to get any slower.
*These time penalties DO NOT stack!  If you're going to use Spycraft to make a great axe, you might as well not worry about finding a proper hole to work in, it's not going to get any slower.


* For example: If a Warlord uses Warcraft and a forge to make a magic breastplate, then the time is as above for fast crafting. If that same warlord then tries to make a magical staff with that same forge, they certainly may do so, but the time for such a deed should be tripled at a minimum. Similarly, if a Wizard seeks to make a wand of fire in his study, such a feat is done in the time laid out above. If that same Wizard wants to make a flaming sword in his study, then the time required should be tripled. Note that simply changing workplaces has no effect on this process: The Warlord in the study makes the staff no more quickly, and the Wizard in the forge doesn't fare any better with the sword either. In all cases, they can both make the items they want, but it would be much quicker and easier if they made each others item, and simply swapped for them.
* For example: If a Warlord uses Warfare and a forge to make a magic breastplate, then the time is as above for fast crafting. If that same warlord then tries to make a magical staff with that same forge, they certainly may do so, but the time for such a deed should be tripled at a minimum. Similarly, if a Wizard seeks to make a wand of fire in his study, such a feat is done in the time laid out above. If that same Wizard wants to make a flaming sword in his study, then the time required should be tripled. Note that simply changing workplaces has no effect on this process: The Warlord in the study makes the staff no more quickly, and the Wizard in the forge doesn't fare any better with the sword either. In all cases, they can both make the items they want, but it would be much quicker and easier if they made each others item, and simply swapped for them.


* Potions and scrolls are an exception to the 'time to craft' rules; they can take as little as 2 hours to create (if their base price is 250 gp or less). Scrolls and potions whose base price is more than 250 gp, but less than 1,000 gp, take 8 hours to create. The character must spend the gold at the beginning of the construction process. Regardless of the time needed for construction, a creator can create no more than one magic item per day. This time can be halved by increasing the DC to create the item by 5.  So a potion worth less than 250 gold can be made in an hour if the DC is increased by 5.  In all cases, 1 hour is the minimum time to create any scroll or potion.
* Potions and scrolls are an exception to the 'time to craft' rules; they can take as little as 2 hours to create (if their base price is 250 gp or less). Scrolls and potions whose base price is more than 250 gp, but less than 1,000 gp, take 8 hours to create. The character must spend the gold at the beginning of the construction process. Regardless of the time needed for construction, a creator can create no more than one magic item per day. This time can be halved by increasing the DC to create the item by 5.  So a potion worth less than 250 gold can be made in an hour if the DC is increased by 5.  In all cases, 1 hour is the minimum time to create any scroll or potion.
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NPC's can be hired to fulfill a spell prerequisite.  If you do so, you must pay for the NPC's spell casting service for each day of the item creation.  Note that NPC's will rarely if ever have the Cooperative Crafting feat.   
NPC's can be hired to fulfill a spell prerequisite.  If you do so, you must pay for the NPC's spell casting service for each day of the item creation.  Note that NPC's will rarely if ever have the Cooperative Crafting feat.   


If at least one of the characters involved in the item creation has the [[Cooperative Crafting]] feat, they are allowed to use the Aid Another action during the crafting process to provide a +2 untyped bonus on any Craft, Divinity, Naturalism, Reason, Spellcraft, Spycraft or Warcraft checks related to the making of the item, and their assistance doubles the number of hours of progress made each day. Note that multiple people with the Creator feat and Cooperative Crafting can assist in creating a magic item. In such cases, each person with the Cooperative Crafting feat may use the Aid Another action to add a +2 untyped bonus to the creation roll, and adds another multiple to the amount of progress made each day.
If at least one of the characters involved in the item creation has the [[Cooperative Crafting]] feat, they are allowed to use the Aid Another action during the crafting process to provide a +2 untyped bonus on any Craft, Divinity, Naturalism, Reason, Spellcraft, Spycraft or Warfare checks related to the making of the item, and their assistance doubles the number of hours of progress made each day. Note that multiple people with the Creator feat and Cooperative Crafting can assist in creating a magic item. In such cases, each person with the Cooperative Crafting feat may use the Aid Another action to add a +2 untyped bonus to the creation roll, and adds another multiple to the amount of progress made each day.


* '''Example:''' Two Creators work on an item together. One has a 'good' skill for the item (Spycraft used to make a crystal ball, for example) and one of them has a 'good' place to work (a quiet sylvan grove for a Druid's Naturalism.). They would normally gain eight hours of progress per day of work, but since they are both working and the Druid has the Cooperative Crafting feat, they make sixteen hours of progress each day, and the final creation roll gains a +2. If three Creators work together and any of them have a 'good' skill and any of them have a 'good' work place, they make 24 hours of progress for each day of work, and at least two of them have the Cooperative Crafting feat, the final roll is at +4.  Any number of player characters may aid another using [[Cooperative Crafting]].  I mean, they paid a feat for the privilege!
* '''Example:''' Two Creators work on an item together. One has a 'good' skill for the item (Spycraft used to make a crystal ball, for example) and one of them has a 'good' place to work (a quiet sylvan grove for a Druid's Naturalism.). They would normally gain eight hours of progress per day of work, but since they are both working and the Druid has the Cooperative Crafting feat, they make sixteen hours of progress each day, and the final creation roll gains a +2. If three Creators work together and any of them have a 'good' skill and any of them have a 'good' work place, they make 24 hours of progress for each day of work, and at least two of them have the Cooperative Crafting feat, the final roll is at +4.  Any number of player characters may aid another using [[Cooperative Crafting]].  I mean, they paid a feat for the privilege!

Revision as of 19:01, 16 July 2016

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