crafting checks

[Mhart7707]

Ok so I'm playing a blade bound magus that is getting into crafting both mundane and magic items but I am unsure as to how I am suppose to calculate the DC for the crafting checks I really want to get into crafting as I think it would be a fun way to contribute to the party so my question is how do I calculate the appropriate DC checks for any given item

[Cyrus Lanthier]

For magic items it's a Spellcraft check against DC 5 + The caster level of the item, which is quite low and generally make-able. In order to make this check at all, you will need an appropriate Item Creation Feat. If you botch the roll badly enough, you can end up with a cursed item (!) instead of the one you wanted, so be careful I guess.

If you lack some requirement of an item besides the item creation feat (such as a certain spell), you can add 5 to the DC and still try to make the item. Note that you cannot make potions or spell trigger/completion (wands, staffs and scrolls, mostly) for items for which you lack the appropriate spell. In the end, this usually reduces the cost of the item by 1/2, and takes 1 day per 1000 gp the magic item costs to buy. You can craft faster by taking penalties, etc, but you were just asking for the base DC, I think?

Mundane items work a bit differently. You need a specific Craft skill (such as Craft: Leatherwork or somesuch) and there is a DC you have to make at minimum. That gets multiplied by your check result to tell you how much progress you make toward the completed item. This generally reduces the cost of the item by 2/3 if you make all your checks... But it takes a rather long time to craft anything of consequence with the mundane crafting rules. Anyway, if you are determined to craft mundane stuff (bravo, but the system doesn't support it too well), some common DCs should be in the description of the Craft skill, I believe.

Happy crafting!

[_Ozy_]

If you plan on crafting a lot of mundane items, you should definitely talk with your GM about some house rules, otherwise you can spend months making anything decent.

[Weirdo]

_Ozy_ wrote:

If you plan on crafting a lot of mundane items, you should definitely talk with your GM about some house rules, otherwise you can spend months making anything decent.

Unless you have these. Full plate in an hour, baby.

[Mhart7707]

So to make a wand of lighting bolt CL10 it would be a DC 15 check awesome

[Diego Rossi]

Mhart7707 wrote:

So to make a wand of lighting bolt CL10 it would be a DC 15 check awesome

If you are level 10 in a class that can cast ligthing bolt and you have memorized it or you know it if you are a spontaneous spellcaster.

As Cyrus said: "Note that you cannot make potions or spell trigger/completion (wands, staffs and scrolls, mostly) for items for which you lack the appropriate spell."

[Mhart7707]

Awesome ok cool thanks for clarifying that for me you guys are awesome

[Cyrus Lanthier]

Weirdo wrote:

_Ozy_ wrote:

If you plan on crafting a lot of mundane items, you should definitely talk with your GM about some house rules, otherwise you can spend months making anything decent.

Unless you have these. Full plate in an hour, baby.

Awesome! Expensive, but awesome. I guess if you're equipping an army this could actually pay for itself... *rubs his palms together and thinks about plans for Kingmaker*

[Weirdo]

Cyrus Lanthier wrote:

Weirdo wrote:

_Ozy_ wrote:

If you plan on crafting a lot of mundane items, you should definitely talk with your GM about some house rules, otherwise you can spend months making anything decent.

Unless you have these. Full plate in an hour, baby.

Awesome! Expensive, but awesome. I guess if you're equipping an army this could actually pay for itself... *rubs his palms together and thinks about plans for Kingmaker*

Or if you're planning on making even one set of adamantine full plate. Save 8250gp, which is more than the cost to craft the tools (what my party did). Even if you're purchasing the tools, two mithral breastplates bring your savings to 12,550gp.

[Cyrus Lanthier]

That's a pretty great savings! Lots of GMs might argue that most of the cost for Mithral or Adamantine is from the metal itself, but RAW I think you're on to something pretty amazing there.

Someone has to actually invest in the Craft skill, I suppose. That or there has to be some master smith in town who you can work out an arrangement with.

[Jeff Merola]

Weirdo wrote:

Cyrus Lanthier wrote:

Weirdo wrote:

_Ozy_ wrote:

If you plan on crafting a lot of mundane items, you should definitely talk with your GM about some house rules, otherwise you can spend months making anything decent.

Unless you have these. Full plate in an hour, baby.

Awesome! Expensive, but awesome. I guess if you're equipping an army this could actually pay for itself... *rubs his palms together and thinks about plans for Kingmaker*

Or if you're planning on making even one set of adamantine full plate. Save 8250gp, which is more than the cost to craft the tools (what my party did). Even if you're purchasing the tools, two mithral breastplates bring your savings to 12,550gp.

Just note that crafting with the Amazing Tools is more expensive than normal crafting, it's just far faster.

Cost to purchase Adamantine Full plate: 16500
Cost to craft Adamantine Full plate with the Amazing Tools: 8250
Cost to craft Adamantine Full plate normally: 5500

Time to craft Adamantine Full plate with the Amazing Tools: 9 days
Time to craft Adamantine Full plate normally (assuming 6 ranks, class skill, masterwork tools, 12 int, and taking 10): 132...weeks.

[zza ni]

also note. you can take 10 when crafting magical items(idk about normal items. i think there too).
link

[Weirdo]

Jeff Merola wrote:

Just note that crafting with the Amazing Tools is more expensive than normal crafting, it's just far faster.

Cost to purchase Adamantine Full plate: 16500
Cost to craft Adamantine Full plate with the Amazing Tools: 8250
Cost to craft Adamantine Full plate normally: 5500

Time to craft Adamantine Full plate with the Amazing Tools: 9 days
Time to craft Adamantine Full plate normally (assuming 6 ranks, class skill, masterwork tools, 12 int, and taking 10): 132...weeks.

Yes, and in most campaigns 132 weeks (two and half years) to save 66% is completely prohibitive, so you'd rather save 50% with the Tools than save nothing at all.

Cyrus Lanthier wrote:

That's a pretty great savings! Lots of GMs might argue that most of the cost for Mithral or Adamantine is from the metal itself, but RAW I think you're on to something pretty amazing there.

Someone has to actually invest in the Craft skill, I suppose. That or there has to be some master smith in town who you can work out an arrangement with.

Half off is the same discount you get for magic items, so really all it does is give a crafting party the option to spend 8K on adamantine full plate instead of +3 full plate and a +2 shield, and makes it easier to craft magic items when you don't have a lot of downtime. It's a nice item and definitely worth it if you're interested in special materials armour, but not overwhelmingly powerful.

It doesn't make sense to cut the discount on adamantine from a realism point of view, either. If a master smith spends 132 weeks making adamantine full plate, he's going to want significantly more profit than he'd make off a normal set of full plate that takes him 12 weeks to craft. Keeping the cost of materials a constant fraction of the sale price also means that the crafter's profit per hour/day/week of work remains constant.