So the Craft Construct feat requires a caster level of 5 as a prereq( as well as some other stuff ). A wizard who is planning to pick it up can get it at the minimum caster level. However, every construct I have seen has a minimum CL of 7. So that means that you can get Craft Construct at 5th level, but can't do anything with it until 7th level. Someone correct me if I am wrong. ( and before you say CL isn't a requirement for building the item it was pointed out to me that on page 461 in the core book it states that CL is a prereq for crafting the item )

It just seems kind of silly to me to allow you to get the feat at 5th level and then not be able to use it for 2 levels. You might as well make the caster level requirement 7th.

Just because there aren't constructs with CL below 7 now doesn't mean there never will be. (From Paizo or third parties.)

Also, maybe making an animated footstool might require a lower CL?

So the Craft Construct feat requires a caster level of 5 as a prereq( as well as some other stuff ). A wizard who is planning to pick it up can get it at the minimum caster level. However, every construct I have seen has a minimum CL of 7. So that means that you can get Craft Construct at 5th level, but can't do anything with it until 7th level. Someone correct me if I am wrong. ( and before you say CL isn't a requirement for building the item it was pointed out to me that on page 461 in the core book it states that CL is a prereq for crafting the item )

It just seems kind of silly to me to allow you to get the feat at 5th level and then not be able to use it for 2 levels. You might as well make the caster level requirement 7th.

Correction, page 460.

:)

However, every construct I have seen has a minimum CL of 7.

We haven't seen the caster level requirements for creating animated objects. Maybe the tiny one is caster level 5?

The fact that it's available at level 5 is still an advantage, since if it were available at level 7, you probably wouldn't even be able to pick it up until level 9. You could go through 3.5 sources for low-level constructs; the mechonomicon is a good resource for that. I know the clockroach has a minimum caster level of 4.

Yeah, but once you build one, you can never get rid of them!

(*bah-dum-pssh!*)

The fact that it's available at level 5 is still an advantage, since if it were available at level 7, you probably wouldn't even be able to pick it up until level 9.

Well, actually, since the new Feat progression gives you a feat every other level (1st - 3rd - 5th - 7th and so on), this is not an issue. But I agree that some low-level Constructs could have a lower caster level than 7th, so the Feat is fine for me.

Just my 2c.

Just because there aren't constructs with CL below 7 now doesn't mean there never will be. (From Paizo or third parties.)

Also, maybe making an animated footstool might require a lower CL?

Agreed.

But I really do not get why homunculi have CL7.

The CL7 prereq. can probably be overcome with items (like the orange prism ioun stones), spells, feats or class abilities that increase effective CL.

you CAN get around caster level but the DC of creation goes up for each requirement you do not meet. The only thing you MUST have is the feat itself. So you CAN create a construct at a lower level (level 5 for your homunculus) but your chances of failing are that much higher.

Well, actually, since the new Feat progression gives you a feat every other level (1st - 3rd - 5th - 7th and so on), this is not an issue. But I agree that some low-level Constructs could have a lower caster level than 7th, so the Feat is fine for me.

Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting that. It's been 1/3/6/9/12/15/18 for so long.

The "other stuff" that you mentioneed are the Prerequisites: Caster level 5th, the 5th level feat Craft Magic Arms and Armor, and the 3rd level feat Craft Wondrous Item.

Now if you only have 1 5th level feat slot and you dont get another slot untill 7th then at 5th you take Craft Magic Arms and Armor and at 7th you take craft construct.

thus the minimum of CL of 7 for all constructs.

So the Craft Construct feat requires a caster level of 5 as a prereq( as well as some other stuff ). A wizard who is planning to pick it up can get it at the minimum caster level. However, every construct I have seen has a minimum CL of 7. So that means that you can get Craft Construct at 5th level, but can't do anything with it until 7th level. Someone correct me if I am wrong. ( and before you say CL isn't a requirement for building the item it was pointed out to me that on page 461 in the core book it states that CL is a prereq for crafting the item )

It just seems kind of silly to me to allow you to get the feat at 5th level and then not be able to use it for 2 levels. You might as well make the caster level requirement 7th.

As others have mentioned, you can create items with a higher CL than your own - your spellcraft DC just gets higher. Pg. 549 states that the item creation feat is the ONLY prerequisite that cannot be sidestepped (first full paragraph of that page) in this manner.

That said, Craft Construct is a TERRIBLE feat to take at 5th level. Don't do it! Constructs are massively expensive - at 5th level, you won't have near the kind of money required (or, at least, you shouldn't - I'll admit it's possible). Additionally, your low level means that many of the spells for most constructs are unavailable - meaning more Spellcraft penalties. Add in the fact that the constructs you could (possibly) make at that level generally...well...suck, especially given the cost, and I think you'll be hugely disappointed by the feat. At least the prerequisite feats (Item, Arms) are decent item making feats.

Craft Construct is a nasty, horrible, unfair feat at any level. You can make Figurines of Wondrous Power with just Craft Wondrous Item, but you need a whole extra feat to make a golem? I totally understand (and agree with) wanting to make 'cool stuff' like golems, but the first time I saw Craft Construct (as a feat) I nearly ripped my own head off in frustration.

That said, I'd wait until at least 10th level (wizard; bonus feat) to take Craft Construct. If you want a homunculus or iron cobra (etc), hire a higher level wizard to do it for you. Any feat where you're only going to be making one or two things (just) for yourself probably should be NPC territory.

As far as why it appears at 5th and not 7th, in addition to reasons stated, I think it also fits into that Bonus Wizard feat pool, right? Which you would get at 5th and again at 10th, without competing with general feats at any odd level.

Now if you only have 1 5th level feat slot and you dont get another slot untill 7th then at 5th you take Craft Magic Arms and Armor and at 7th you take craft construct.

Wizards get a bonus feat at 5th level, thus they can take both at 5th level.

Why would you want to make constructs? They are critable unless you make them with a cloak of displacement.

you CAN get around caster level but the DC of creation goes up for each requirement you do not meet. The only thing you MUST have is the feat itself. So you CAN create a construct at a lower level (level 5 for your homunculus) but your chances of failing are that much higher.

My memory is terrible, but I think I read a post by someone from Paizo, JB or JJ, saying that the CL is not considered a prerequisite and so can't be ignored for the higher DC check.

Take a look at page 461: "The prerequisites for creation of an item are given immediately following the item's caster level."

That's how I understood it as well.