I max out profession shopkeeper, because my DM wants me to kill things, and I abhor violence. Its a safe way to raise money with a clear conscious.
well if it was a craft skill, crafters fortune would actually grant an additional +5 so in the case of the +15 int it would be like 61, or in the case of the +11 it would be +57. id also note that a tome wouldn't stack with wishes as they are the same bonus (inherent to be precise) so the + 57 seems more likely unless you went Dwarf craftsman alternate and a feat that grants +2 to 2 skills(one being craft of course.)
Don't forget a possible extra +1 from a trait.
So, as the thread title says, how high can you realistically and when taking things to the extreme, get a crafting and/or profession check.
Hmmmm . . .
Crafting Check, Level 20
20 Ranks
+3 Class Skill
+2 Masterwork Tool
+6 Skill Focus feat
+4 Prodigy feat
+2 Master Craftsman feat
+2 Clan Artisan (Xa Hoi) Trait bonus
+2 from someone else with the Cooperative Crafting feat assisting
+9 enhancement bonus from Ring of Craft Magic (9th level spell expended)
+13 Int Modifier (18 base Int, +2 racial bonus to int, +5 int from levels, +5 tome or wish, +6 headband, for a total of 36 Int)
So, +63. But I might well be missing something.
So, let's say you want to crank out a suit of full plate armor. In that case, your base DC is 19, and we'll assume you take the +10 to difficulty and take 10 on the check. Hmm, while we're at it, we'll assume you actually can take the "any multiple of 10" from the 3.5 rules, and pump your DC all the way to 69, so you still make the check, but have a much bigger DC to feed the formula. 69*73 = 5,037, so it takes you three weeks to churn out full plate, and four more days if it's going to be masterwork.
Hrrrm. Okay, how quickly can we churn out a dan bong at those numbers? Exotic weapon, so DC 18. Pump that to DC 68, 68*73 = 4,964, a dan bong is 1 sp, so 2 minutes, 1.84 seconds.
If you go gnome you can pick up the obsessive racial for another +2
If you go gnome you can pick up the obsessive racial for another +2
Your int will be lower though, so it works out to a +1.
Craft (alchemy)
Human lvl 20 Alchemist
+20 Ranks
+3 Class skill
+13 Intelligence (18 start, +2 racial, +5 leveling, +6 headband, +5 inherent from tome/wishes)
+10 racial bonus - Heart of the Fields (Human alternate racial trait)
+2 trait bonus - Clan Artisan (Xa Hoi)
+6 Skill Focus feat
+4 Prodigy feat
+2 Master Craftsman feat
+2 Master Alchemist feat
+2 circumstance bonus - Alchemist's lab
+5 competence bonus - Cauldron of Brewing
For a total of +69.
Some situational modifiers below:
+20 competence bonus (not stacking with previous) - Crafting mundane alchemical substances (from Alchemist class)
+6 enhancement bonus - Ring of Craft Magic (6th level spell slot used)
+5 luck bonus - Crafter's Fortune extract (only works on one craft check)
That brings the total to +95.
Now for the truly obscure:
+5 from Genius Avaricious spell from Council of Thieves 6.
For a grand total of +100.
Racial Heritage --> Breadth of Experience grants an extra +2 for Profession checks.
Speaking of which, go for Venerable age for an extra +3 Int.
Amazing tools of Manufacture from ARG gives you +4 circumstance bonus. More importantly, it lets you turn out items of 2000 gp or less in an hour.
Inner Beauty trait, for another +4. If it's smithing, you could have a Soul Forger (Magust archetype) for a +1 per level. At level 7, you gain Master Smith, which allows you to use 1/10 of the gp cost for figuring out how long it takes to smith a weapon or armor. Dip one level into a Seer Metal Oracle for a +10 competence (Natural Divination), +5 insight (Riddle of Steel) and have access to Crafter's Fortune.
So, tallying the numbers (a level 19 Soul Forger, level 1 Oracle), I get a +113 craft check to either Weapons or Armor once a day, and can use 1/10 of the gp value for seeing how quick it is. True that.
How 'functional' is that character at other things tho? Any thoughts on what sort of sacrifices (if any, I'm not sure) that level 20 char would have to make as they got to level 20? Assuming non-gestalt and active adventuring to get to level 20.
Take Leadership and get that character as a cohort. They survive because you kill everything yourself.
@alientude: The cauldron hex gives an +4 insight bonus to craft alchemy. I didn't see an insight bonus in your list so I guess it should stack.
Besides a witch it could be gained by a hexcrafter magus.
If a character is such a fantastic craftsmen, wouldn't he have apprentices? Don't forget to add +2 per helping apprentice that managed to Aid Another with a DC 10 check.
How 'functional' is that character at other things tho? Any thoughts on what sort of sacrifices (if any, I'm not sure) that level 20 char would have to make as they got to level 20? Assuming non-gestalt and active adventuring to get to level 20.
Well, postulating the character I presented is a human wizard (and thus the Int is pretty much all purchased to make him more effective at spellcasting), the total resources he's spent at level 20 specifically on maxing the craft check are:
1) Three out of sixteen feats (including wizard bonus feats, Scribe Scroll).
2) One out of two traits.
3) 20 out of 320 skill ranks (2+1+13 by 20 levels, including 3 headband skills).
4) Around 1.4% of PC WBL.
5) One of six-or-more prepared 9th-level spells on one day.
Given how relatively unimportant feats are for a usual wizard build, this is not a particularly heavy investment of resources.
Don't forget the 'Arcane Reinforcement' spell from the Faction Guide - you can add your Spellcraft ranks (just the ranks themselves) as a typeless bonus to your craft check. At lv20, that's another +20 right there.
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... If it is this easy to raise all of your skill checks, then I'm curious why most DC's seem to use a DC30 check as something that is hard to make at mid-levels.
I imagine it's because the Skill system is meant to be designed so that normal folks can use it, not just 'near-godlike' high-end PCs (and certainly not just Skill-optimised high-end PCs). The Golarian setting has a level 16 Wizard who lives in the frickin' Sun because mundane life got too boring for a guy of his Wizardly might... Level 20 is beyond nuts, really.
Racial Heritage --> Breadth of Experience grants an extra +2 for Profession checks.
Speaking of which, go for Venerable age for an extra +3 Int.
In fact, for a human to do the former he would *have* to do the latter, as Breadth of Experience is only available to character over 100 years old.