Hi. Got a question everyone -
In our Shattered Star campaign, a PC Elias wishes to buy mithrial Hellknight plate armor.
The problem is - the armor costs 2,000 while the mithrial price for heavy armor is 9,000 for a total of 11,000gp.
If Elias took the craft skill could he make the armor himself for half of the 11,000 total price? Or would the skill only cut the base 2,000gp price of the armor?
I've checked the Core Rulebook but I haven't been able to find anything. I believe that because I'm crafting the armor myself then I should be able to cut the total 11,000 price in halve but I'm not sure. I need help with a ruling please.
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The problem is - the armor costs 2,000 while the mithrial price for heavy armor is 9,000 for a total of 11,000gp.
If Elias took the craft skill could he make the armor himself for half of the 11,000 total price? Or would the skill only cut the base 2,000gp price of the armor?
I've checked the Core Rulebook but I haven't been able to find anything. I believe that because I'm crafting the armor myself then I should be able to cut the total 11,000 price in halve but I'm not sure. I need help with a ruling please.
Here's the rule for crafting:
To determine how much time and money it takes to make an item, follow these steps.
1. Find the item's price in silver pieces (1 gp = 10 sp).
2. Find the item's DC from Table: Craft Skills.
3. Pay 1/3 of the item's price for the raw material cost.
4. Make an appropriate Craft check representing one week's worth of work. If the check succeeds, multiply your check result by the DC. If the result × the DC equals the price of the item in sp, then you have completed the item. (If the result × the DC equals double or triple the price of the item in silver pieces, then you've completed the task in one-half or one-third of the time. Other multiples of the DC reduce the time in the same manner.) If the result × the DC doesn't equal the price, then it represents the progress you've made this week. Record the result and make a new Craft check for the next week. Each week, you make more progress until your total reaches the price of the item in silver pieces.
If you fail a check by 4 or less, you make no progress this week. If you fail by 5 or more, you ruin half the raw materials and have to pay half the original raw material cost again.
So you'd add up the total cost for the armor (the base armor cost, plus the special material cost) and pay 1/3rd cost for raw materials. So you're getting a 2/3 discount off the total price but you'll have to spend time crafting.
So you're getting a 2/3 discount off the total price but you'll have to spend time crafting.
And because of the high cost of mithral heavy armor, and crafting time being based on the items market price, will be months of work without magic.
Figure a Craft check result of 20 (the minimum needed to make masterwork items, such as mithral full plate) x the DC of 20 = 400sp worth of work per week. As you need 110,000sp worth of work done thats only 275 weeks, or over 5 years time.
Mundane crafting using special materials is broken.
(As a note, should you get your craft check up to a result of 100, and do accelerated crafting (raising the DC to 30), thats still only 36 weeks of crafting time. Even if the accelerated crafting modifier could stack, and you raised the DC up to 100, with a 100 check result thats still 3 months of time required.)
Or, just buy the raw materials and pay a 9th level wizard 450 GP to cast Fabricate for you.
Although there is this interesting footnote under "Spellcasting Services"
See spell description for additional costs. If the additional costs put the spell's total cost above 3,000 gp, that spell is not generally available.
Spellcasting services of the sort that create mithral Hellknight armor via the fabricate spell are not generally available given that the spell's total cost would be 3,450 gp.
Or, just buy the raw materials and pay a 9th level wizard 450 GP to cast Fabricate for you.Although there is this interesting footnote under "Spellcasting Services"
Spellcasting services of the sort that create mithral Hellknight armor via the fabricate spell are not generally available given that the spell's total cost would be 3,450 gp.
See spell description for additional costs. If the additional costs put the spell's total cost above 3,000 gp, that spell is not generally available.
I would have to argue that that limit doesn't apply in this case, as you are supplying the wizard with the needed material component - he doesn't have to pay for it himself.
Hi. Got a question everyone -
In our Shattered Star campaign, a PC Elias wishes to buy mithrial Hellknight plate armor.
The problem is - the armor costs 2,000 while the mithrial price for heavy armor is 9,000 for a total of 11,000gp.
If Elias took the craft skill could he make the armor himself for half of the 11,000 total price? Or would the skill only cut the base 2,000gp price of the armor?
I've checked the Core Rulebook but I haven't been able to find anything. I believe that because I'm crafting the armor myself then I should be able to cut the total 11,000 price in halve but I'm not sure. I need help with a ruling please.
As others have pointed out, crafting the armor would cost one-third of the price. A different system is used to make magical items. When you make magic items you start with the mundane item and pay one-half the price to enchant it. In the end, you would pay one-third of the price to create the mundane, non-magical item, then one-half of the price of the the magical item to enchant the mundane item.
So, for instance, say you wanted to create a suit of +1 mithral Hellknight plate mail armor, the cost for paying a 9th level wizard to create a mundane suit of mithral Hellknight armor using the fabricate spell would be 3,450 gp; now enchanting that armor to +1 would cost an additional 500 gp (one-half of 1,000 gp).
On a different note, even if you, as the DM, do decide that a 9th level wizard can be found to fabricate a suit of mithral hellknight armor, is that wizard able to craft armor of such masterwork quality? Does that wizard have ranks in Craft (armor)? The availability of such a person is not certain, and may require a quest to find. It would do credit to the believability of your campaign to take such things into consideration. But, then again, unhindered massing of power and kicking-butt is fun too. ;)
I would have to argue that that limit doesn't apply in this case, as you are supplying the wizard with the needed material component - he doesn't have to pay for it himself.Or, just buy the raw materials and pay a 9th level wizard 450 GP to cast Fabricate for you.Although there is this interesting footnote under "Spellcasting Services"
Spellcasting services of the sort that create mithral Hellknight armor via the fabricate spell are not generally available given that the spell's total cost would be 3,450 gp.
See spell description for additional costs. If the additional costs put the spell's total cost above 3,000 gp, that spell is not generally available.
In that case you could supply any costly material component to the spellcaster and the footnote is moot.
EDIT: Although, I do see you point. It seems it would be wise to be ready to visit a jeweler or other shop after you've visited the spellcaster to find out what material components he needs.
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Well I think as Funky Badger pointed out....there are Hellknights to consider.
Perhaps the player is just looking at what special things the hell knight armor can do, without realizing that the Hell knights would react violently to someone who isn't a hell knight wearing their hallmark Hell knight armor. There are Hell Knights in Magnimar.
The same would go for the red mantis. If someone was using either their saw sabers and mantis armor.
Mundane crafting using special materials is broken.Or it's an indication of how rare mithral armours ought to be - they represent several years of work for a master craftsman (or craftsdwarf)
Well I think as Funky Badger pointed out....there are Hellknights to consider.
Perhaps the player is just looking at what special things the hell knight armor can do, without realizing that the Hell knights would react violently to someone who isn't a hell knight wearing their hallmark Hell knight armor. There are Hell Knights in Magnimar.
The same would go for the red mantis. If someone was using either their saw sabers and mantis armor.
The Red Mantis permit others to use sawtooth sabers; they enjoy the effect it has on keeping the fearful rumor of the red mantis alive.
I've read nothing about their armor, but I do believe they'd probably hunt people down for that.