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I like the guidelines for magic item creation. With a little GM intervention they're great by and large. But the problem I run into in home games is the crafter/crafters taking comissions from fellow players. I've done this in 3.5 Eberron as an Artificer, and I've seen players do it in other games.
If players start taking comissions, they aren't limited by the "sell at half price" rule. they can give someone a 'deal' on belt of giant strength for 75% instead of 100%. and still turn a profit of 25% of the item's price. this gold, instead of funelling back out of the group, and keeping the treasure economy flowing, gets diverted to the crafting character, who begins to amass more wealth than the other characters.
Yes, the other characters benefit from getting the item at a discount, so they get some wealth bonus / level boost. not as much as if they kept an item found in loot vs. selling it, but still not as much as the crafter, who gets a share of treasure, and then gets the profit, and can then turn around and craft something at 50% cost for themselves.
Is there a fix for the item creation system that circumvents this? craft points or something? or does anyone have an applicable economic solution that can work simply in game?
I've never had group members try to make a profit off their fellows. If they "take commissions" from their team members, in my groups, it has always meant making the item for the 50% price. Then everything is balanced, and if wealth of the group starts getting out of hand, the DM can adjust by awarding less wealth (since the party is able to make what it needs for that reduced wealth amount).
And by the way, giving less money in this circumstance is NOT penalizing the party for having the item creation feats - those feats still let them make exactly what they want instead of getting only what they can find.
Depending on your group, I would simply forbid profiteering off other party members. Does the cleric charge for healing? Does the fighter charge for keeping a troll from getting through to attack the squishy wizard?
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I don't see this kind of behavior in my groups, either. My players typically see the benefit of ensuring that everyone's power level is as high as it can be. Sometimes, usually early in the campaign when resources are more limited, they will agree to pool money to ensure a single character gets a power boost without creating a significant imbalance.
I can certainly see how the profiteering behavior could be a problem.
I'm curious, do the other players complain about having to pay more than the base cost for the items they commission? If they think it's fair for the crafter to make a profit, then half of the problem is solved. In other words, if the players don't mind you may not need to worry.
What is the crafter doing with all of the "extra" money? If he's simply hoarding it, then perhaps there's no real issue. If the money goes into a vault, then those resources are unavailable to the group as a whole, but everyone is on a level playing field, as well.
On the other hand, if the crafter is taking that money and using it to pay for the creation of items for himself, and thus gaining a level of power far above the other players, that can be a big problem.
It also poses an interesting story challenge. One character is gaining significant wealth at the expense of the other members of his party is a fairly well-known theme. The imbalance can create resentment among the "poorer" members, leading to a schism in the group. It's not uncommon for the "wealthier" character to become a villain in the story.
But to answer your question, I don't see a way to fix the problem from a game mechanic standpoint, without completely changing the crafting rules. You'd have to take out the financial benefit of crafting items, altogether.
The most direct option is to simply outlaw the practice, but that's never very satisfying for anyone.
I think your best bet is to have the group discuss the problem (assuming there really is one). If everyone sees how the imbalance can affect the game as a whole, then perhaps they'll agree to stop the practice.
I like the guidelines for magic item creation. With a little GM intervention they're great by and large. But the problem I run into in home games is the crafter/crafters taking comissions from fellow players. I've done this in 3.5 Eberron as an Artificer, and I've seen players do it in other games.
If players start taking comissions, they aren't limited by the "sell at half price" rule. they can give someone a 'deal' on belt of giant strength for 75% instead of 100%. and still turn a profit of 25% of the item's price. this gold, instead of funelling back out of the group, and keeping the treasure economy flowing, gets diverted to the crafting character, who begins to amass more wealth than the other characters.
Yes, the other characters benefit from getting the item at a discount, so they get some wealth bonus / level boost. not as much as if they kept an item found in loot vs. selling it, but still not as much as the crafter, who gets a share of treasure, and then gets the profit, and can then turn around and craft something at 50% cost for themselves.
Is there a fix for the item creation system that circumvents this? craft points or something? or does anyone have an applicable economic solution that can work simply in game?
Have players craft items at 100% of market price?
Include 'special components' in your games that allows craftsmen to create a limited amount of items items for 50% of market price (enough for the players to craft stuff for themselves).
That would come down to 'craft points', but disguised as in-game materials.
You might want to check out my crafting rules here. They might be too big of a change, but can give you some ideas on different approaches.