I am trying to understand magic item creation and was wondering about the need for the Craft skill if I already have ranks in Spellcraft.
Specific example: Gnome Fighter with Int 10, Cha 11, Classically Schooled trait (+1 Spellcraft and Spellcraft is Class Skill) and 1 rank in Spellcraft. Through Gnome Magic he qualifies for item creation feats and he picks Craft Magic Arms & Armor at level 5.
Could this character buy a masterwork weapon from the local smith for 300+ gp, pay him a bit to hang out at the forge, spend 1,000 gp and then take 10 on his Spellcraft check to make +1 weapon? Or, does he require a Craft skill and if so, how many ranks (assuming he'll take 10)?
Crafting your own base item is never required. Just buy them or find them in dungeons and then enchant them.
There are specific costs for masterwork weapons and armor, but oddly enough there are no such costs for all other item kinds. Apparently you can make wands out of just a stick, staves out of slightly bigger sticks, and just about all wondrous items out of plain old junk you could find in any impoverished farmhouse.
Thanks for the quick responses! Now I'll bug the DM about all the junk I can find. Quick follow-up: does the junk have to be masterwork junk?