
Slithery D |

The Death Ray from the technology guide? Do you have both required feats to make it normally? If you do, I suppose you could get some extremely lenient GMs to let you make a version without any ammo. Crafting the nanite cannister to actually fire it would require yet a third feat and a second spell to be cast.

Torbyne |
Yes, if the GM allows you to take the skill you can create things with it. As pointed out already, you need specific feats to make high technology items, just as you can not major create artifacts out in the field. You would also need the GM to waive the requirement of being in a specially outfitted lab as that is an extra requirement for high technology above and beyond normal crafting requirements.

Slithery D |

The rules for crafting technological items say you can only make them with craft (mechanical) plus the feats. Specific requirements here override general. The spell doesn't say anything about that because the technology rules came after and added special limitations to stop precisely this sort of thing.
If you have the feat investment and the appropriate craft skill I'd personally allow it, it's not actually that unbalanced. You burn two 5th level spells to fire on your third action (with round/level duration precasting will be limited), and it's not always better than a 6th level Disintegrate spell.
A Death Ray only beats average Disintegrate damage at levels 13-14, plus an extra die if they make their save. True, you can pump the Death Ray DC up super high, or take lots of low DC shots (not both!), but it takes a full round attack, so more bad action economy. Better make that first shot count, because you can't move and you're going to eat AoO on every other shot when they start beating on you.

Slithery D |

Yes, if the GM allows you to take the skill you can create things with it. As pointed out already, you need specific feats to make high technology items, just as you can not major create artifacts out in the field. You would also need the GM to waive the requirement of being in a specially outfitted lab as that is an extra requirement for high technology above and beyond normal crafting requirements.
I'm torn on the special lab requirement. I think that's there to make it harder for PCs to make then the normal, permanent way, but I don't think Major Creation should require a tech lab anymore than it would require a forge to make a sword.
The easiest way for a GM to shut this down is to say that Major Creation only makes things of one material, or only allows a limited bit of flexibility, like putting a leather wrapped hilt on a sword. A tech weapon is going to involve numerous metals, some of them skymetals, and things like plastics and electronics.

Gobo Horde |
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Why can't you create it with all of its components? Axes have multiple components (wooden handle, metal blade, etc), for example.
Why do you need the feats? The spell says you only need to make the associated skill DC.
But why cant I build a death ray? I can build an axe and it probably isnt that much more complex!
sorry, I laughed a bit there :P

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The rules for crafting technological items say you can only make them with craft (mechanical) plus the feats. Specific requirements here override general. The spell doesn't say anything about that because the technology rules came after and added special limitations to stop precisely this sort of thing.
If you have the feat investment and the appropriate craft skill I'd personally allow it, it's not actually that unbalanced. You burn two 5th level spells to fire on your third action (with round/level duration precasting will be limited), and it's not always better than a 6th level Disintegrate spell.
A Death Ray only beats average Disintegrate damage at levels 13-14, plus an extra die if they make their save. True, you can pump the Death Ray DC up super high, or take lots of low DC shots (not both!), but it takes a full round attack, so more bad action economy. Better make that first shot count, because you can't move and you're going to eat AoO on every other shot when they start beating on you.
Looking at the entry, I'm not sure it would be Round/level. There's no indication that the death ray requires "rare metal," which is the rd/lvl increment on Major Creation, and would probably be in the "base metals" category. On the other hand, you only get a few shots out of those nanite canisters, which makes the utility of this particular exploit greatly reduced. I'd use it for other, more creative things. Like a chainsaw and a battery. Or a mono-whip and a battery. Or really anything that isn't a death ray, really. Pretty much the least efficient use of this plan possible.
Worth noting, that if your GM lets you do this, you may as well be Fabricating things. Which has its own frightening implications for getting ahold of actually technological weapons and equipment.

Slithery D |

Looking at the entry, I'm not sure it would be Round/level. There's no indication that the death ray requires "rare metal," which is the rd/lvl increment on Major Creation, and would probably be in the "base metals" category.
I think it's a pretty safe assumption that any tech weapon uses at least trace amounts of skymetals. And there's no time for plastics and electronics, so either ban it or put it at 1/rd per level for those.