When determining wealth by level how do you consider the party's magic item creation feats? For example, take a party where three casters have split all the magic item creation feats between them. Any gold the party takes in is effectively doubled when the party uses it to make magic items. Do you "punish" the party by having less gold on the monsters or is the characters feat and the equipment it produces as much a part of themselves as a druids animal companion?
First off, the party has spent feats so they should get some benefit from taking them. With that being said a high portion of a parties wealth is by getting "stuff" and not raw coins or gems.
If they are using that "stuff" they will not have as much coin to make things. And if they are selling that "stuff" then they are getting less then the full value of the items based upon what the DM allows. (Usually 50%). So if they then take that coin and make items they are back on par with the items.
I just check up WBL a little now and then and adjust future rewards based on that. And I include the full market price of crafted items. To me, the advantage of item creation isn't "get full power at half the price" but rather horizontal power; more choices. Magic marts are nearly non-existent in our games (and even if you go by the core rules, only larger cities will have high-end magic items) and treasure is never "items on demand", though I of course look to accommodate the basic needs of the party.
In our games, the benefit of item creation is that they can craft most of the stuff they want. Sometimes I might require a rare component or two, but mostly, they can craft what they need.
My thought line is similar to Thazar's. If someone has decided to pick up a magic item creation feat and the Dungeon Master adjusts the amount of treasure because of that, it's punishing the party for having someone choose that feat.
Personally I build treasure around the Wealth By Level, generally making sure to be above it, without considering whether or not anyone has creation feats.
I often go so far as to encourge my players to pick the feats up so that I don't have to worry about making sure that there is suitable treasure for the party, instead building the treasure based on the story.
The crafting feats allow the characters to customize their gear. This doesn't change the WBL though. WBL is market value. So as a DM, I don't have to throw things in the treasure hoards to make sure that the fighter gets a magic sword that conveniently matches his Greater Weapon Specialization choice. I don't have to make sure the monk gets the nifty monk robe. In addition, if the crafter wants to make an interesting new item, following the rules, this is even cooler.
Basically, in my opinion, customizing is the benefit. The WBL is unaffected by this. If the item's market value is 4000 gold then that is part of the WBL even if the character crafted it for only 2000 gold.
That's interesting from a GM's point of view. However, what is the difference between having these feats and not having them, then?
Say, my party wants a specific item. Should they invest a feat in order to craft it, or merely max their Diplomacy skill to gather enough information in order to find and/or buy the item?
Seriously, I'd be peeved if a feat I chose had the same interest as a maxed-out social skill (not counting the fact that crafting needs another maxed-out skill, and has some drawbacks should you fail the check).
What are those topics about WBL, anyways? If it's to gauge whether a given party has too much equipment, I'd say that it's campaign-dependent. If it's to give high-level new characters their starting money, let's not forget that crafting takes time, and can fail (quick-starting house rules might be needed here).
As a GM, I'd probably allow a couple crafted items (at their crafting cost) of medium power (to be determined as an average of what the other guys got). If the player wants more than that, I'd make him roll his d20 several times, to see if he actually makes it, in the scheduled time, without flaws, and for how much coinage. Too many failed rolls and he simply wasted his starting money, or got a flawed/cursed item, or sacrificed time (and began the actual campaign a couple sessions after the others, or started without his item and needed to come to his workshop at regular times), or any penalty I might come up at the time. Some of these might be interesting plot hooks, too.
$0.02
That's interesting from a GM's point of view. However, what is the difference between having these feats and not having them, then?
Say, my party wants a specific item. Should they invest a feat in order to craft it, or merely max their Diplomacy skill to gather enough information in order to find and/or buy the item?
Trying both can be a good idea. Note that in a given community, there is AT MOST a 75% chance of a specific magic item being available a certain week. If you fail that roll, brew potion or scribe scroll can be an incredible time saver. If you're in a small community, such as a hamlet or thorp, even basic magic items might not be available. When you reach higher levels and the rogue happens to throw his +2 dagger a little too far past the ogre mage and into the lava, even a small city only has a small, small chance of having a comparable weapon.
The good thing with diplomacy is that it has a far wider use. The good thing with item creation is that it has far less (read: next to none, unless crafting far too powerful items) of failure.
And many people have campaigns without magic marts where magic items are even harder to come by. Yes, that's non-standard, but it's a very common trend and in those campaigns it's even more vital to the party.
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When determining wealth by level how do you consider the party's magic item creation feats? For example, take a party where three casters have split all the magic item creation feats between them. Any gold the party takes in is effectively doubled when the party uses it to make magic items. Do you "punish" the party by having less gold on the monsters or is the characters feat and the equipment it produces as much a part of themselves as a druids animal companion?
Personally, I ask them to tell me in a backstory what level they decided to make them and do all of the appropriate roll checks. Sometimes checks fail, so just giving them the stuff at half prive without the rolls seems cheese to me.