Magic item creation for new high level characters

[pennton]

We're about to incorporate the Alpha 3 Pathfinder rules into my current campaign as most of the players needed to make new characters anyway. The new players will be starting at 10th level.

The new rules for magic item creation present an interesting potential balance issue when it comes to starting equipment for high level characters. Suppose we use 62,000 gp for 10th level characters per the Character Wealth by Level table on page 123. If that money is used as starting funds, is a character with item creation feats allowed to use those feats to effectively create his magic items at half the cost, or should he be forced to pay full market price like the other characters who don't have item creation feats?

The same question pertains to a wizard's Arcane Bond. Should a new 10th level wizard be able to enchant his Arcane Bond at 50% the normal cost before entering the game?

This issue didn't really come into play prior to the Pathfinder rules because of the xp cost component. Players would be reluctant to pay a ton of xp for item creation because it would put them behind the other players in experience. Now that the only limiting factor for magic item creation is gold and time, there's no reason not to take full advantage of one's item creation feats whenever possible.

So, should a brand new high level character get an effective 50% discount on all his magic items if he takes the appropriate magic item creation feats? Or is that a misuse of the concept of character wealth by level?

[Andrew Bay]

How is that any different than if he had made them along the way? He has to have the prereqs for making everything he owns this way. So he won't be starting with a +5 Book of stat boosting since he can't yet make one.

The real fun occurs when the whole party gets together with the mages and make the entire party's gear that way.

IMarv

[pennton]

There's really only a difference if there is a distinction between starting funds and character wealth by level.

If character wealth is supposed to represent the market price of what an average 10th level character is supposed to have, then that amount would include the use of item creation feats along the way and assume that the mages were using item creation for the entire party's benefit. In that event, the total value of each character's items should be the same regardless of whether they took item creation feats.

If you use character wealth as a literal measure of starting funds, then players with item creation feats get to start with significantly more valuable equipment than players who do not have the feats.

[LazarX]

You can take it either way if you want to.

However if the player really insists that his items should be discounted because he crafted them himself. I'll say fine. "Now lets total the experience cost for all of these then okay?" Everyone else is starting at 10th level plus one exp point. This would be for a normal 3.5 game

If it's a Pathfinder game where MIC doesn't have exp cost, the answer is no way, Jose. Everyone got thier stuff thier own way, you get the beanie of saying that you created yours.

[Doug Bragg 172]

pennton wrote:

We're about to incorporate the Alpha 3 Pathfinder rules into my current campaign as most of the players needed to make new characters anyway. The new players will be starting at 10th level.

...

The same question pertains to a wizard's Arcane Bond. Should a new 10th level wizard be able to enchant his Arcane Bond at 50% the normal cost before entering the game?

Since the Arcane bonded item can't be bought... the player would only ever pay 1/2 the cost to make. I don't see a basis for charging full price for this.

As for the rest of the gear... I could see it going either way. I guess it depends upon how close the other players are on character wealth. If they are at or above the recommended character wealth, then I'd let the caster craft (or craft 1/2 of the stuff)... if the rest of the party is below that level, then the gear other than bonded item cost full price.