Since the Spellcraft skill can be used for making any Wondrous items, what's the point of a Wizard putting in points into any Craft skills?
To create the item itself. The Magic item crafting roll simply allows for enchanting an existing item. It is necessary to have the mundane item itself first, and in the case of Weapons and Armor the item must be masterwork.
That said, it is usually extremely easy to buy the mundane item and spend your skill points elsewhere.
In the tradition of the Great Dennis Leary;
One word, "Fabricate".
Two more words, "Take Ten".
I let my players to ignore up to 2 spell requirement when crafting with Craft skill, that makes the DC 10 points easier. It's not a big improvement, but it's there.
I also let people with craft skill to make magic items with the proper feat (ie: craft (weaponsmith) and craft magic weapons) without needing the artisan feat, whatever it was called. This make players with dwarven blacksmiths to be happy to build armors and weapons (which wizards don't ussually take)
Beyond that, yes, in most cases the Spellcraft skill is more than enough.
I let my players to ignore up to 2 spell requirement when crafting with Craft skill, that makes the DC 10 points easier. It's not a big improvement, but it's there.
I also let people with craft skill to make magic items with the proper feat (ie: craft (weaponsmith) and craft magic weapons) without needing the artisan feat, whatever it was called. This make players with dwarven blacksmiths to be happy to build armors and weapons (which wizards don't ussually take)
Beyond that, yes, in most cases the Spellcraft skill is more than enough.
Why are you doing this? Isn't making magic items absurdly easy enough as it is? What is your intention, to have all your players crafting magic?
BTW, the feat you're thinking about is Master Craftsman.
My intention is to empower non-casters, which are the ones who ussually can't craft magic items and the only ones that might use this rule (as the wizard will have more in spellcraft anyways). Also, "magic items" arent ussually built in my games. "Woundreous Magic items" are. Weapons and armors ussually aren't, because the wizard doesn't spend the feat.
In my current campaign, I'm going to make craftting magic items to cost as much as buying magic items (ie, no half cost). The difference is that, when you build it yourself, you can custom it, and you can build what you want, instead of going to the town and see what's randomly rolled there to be sold. Let's see how it works :)
In my current campaign, I'm going to make craftting magic items to cost as much as buying magic items (ie, no half cost). The difference is that, when you build it yourself, you can custom it, and you can build what you want, instead of going to the town and see what's randomly rolled there to be sold. Let's see how it works :)
If I were playing the wizard in your campaign, I would never take any item creation feats if you were going to rip out the benefit of reduced cost. Never. Wizards are feat starved as is, there is no way I would waste one on something you had gutted.
I would instead hire a fellow wizard to craft things for me, it may be more difficult and time consuming, but I know as a player,the degree of difficulty and how time consuming it is is an aribtrary thing left up almost entirely to my DM. I.E. You can dick me around and waste game time making me find and negiotate with other wizards rather than have the party adventuring, but that's up to you.
I think the very niche golemcrafting requires certain craft skills.
Actually it doesn't. You could easily hire someone to craft the body for you. Doing it yourself can add a nice bit of personal touch though.
For my games, I rule that all wizards automatically get Craft Calligraphy and Manuscript Illumination for free and it gets upped a point, again for free, every level of wizard that they take. I do this because I like the idea of wizards' scrolls looking beautiful and magical, as opposed to crayon scrawls on stained butcher paper.
Those are the ones you get from sorcerers.
In my current campaign, I'm going to make craftting magic items to cost as much as buying magic items (ie, no half cost). The difference is that, when you build it yourself, you can custom it, and you can build what you want, instead of going to the town and see what's randomly rolled there to be sold. Let's see how it works :)If I were playing the wizard in your campaign, I would never take any item creation feats if you were going to rip out the benefit of reduced cost. Never. Wizards are feat starved as is, there is no way I would waste one on something you had gutted.
I would instead hire a fellow wizard to craft things for me, it may be more difficult and time consuming, but I know as a player,the degree of difficulty and how time consuming it is is an aribtrary thing left up almost entirely to my DM. I.E. You can dick me around and waste game time making me find and negiotate with other wizards rather than have the party adventuring, but that's up to you.
Up to you, but the campaign is an evil campaign (way of the wicked), the PC don't have a lot of friends among civil society, they are in a time schedule already and don't have a lot of time to spend around. The few wizards that you have for hire aren't very high level to start with, and the few who are already have an agenda, so if you want things beyond 5th Caster Level you'll better build them yourself.
I know being able to build whatever magic item you want (including custom items, such as a cloak of resistance that double as elvenkind and minor displacement), instead of going to the shop and buying it in magic-mart doesn't sound very good when people is used to have absolutelly everything they want in the shop just buy spending gold ("yes sir, we have a +1 corrosive elf bane star-knife of returning, right here, now you ask for it"), but it is indeed a great adventage compared to just buy what's randomly rolled in the shops or waiting for it in the campaign's treasure. Sure, it's not as good as a feat that double your Wealth By Level, but that's because such a feat is one of the feats that always is mentioned in "what are the most powerful feats in the game", right beside Leadership (for a cohort with Craft Wondrous Item)
So if you don't want to take it because you feel it's a waste, don't take it, and get your magic items from treasure and shops. There's plenty to choose from.