Magic Item minimum CL?

[Geramies]

I know CL is not a prerequisite to item creation unless specified in the requirements.

So, say an item requires "Teleportation Circle" to create, and it can be bypassed by increasing the Spellcraft DC by +5, do you still need to have a 17th-level caster requirement because the spell is normally only accessible by 17th level casters?

Or can someone who is, say, a 14th-level caster, still able to craft said item (by adding +5 DC to bypass spell requirement)?

[James Risner]

Generally the minimum level required to supply the spell.

[Geramies]

Another question, I can set the Caster Level to whatever I want even if I am not the proper level? It seems that way according to this FAQ:

Though the listed Caster Level for a pearl of power is 17th, that caster level is not part of the Requirements listing for that item. Therefore, the only caster level requirement for a pearl of power is the character has to be able to cast spells of the desired level.

However, it makes sense that the minimum caster level of the pearl is the minimum caster level necessary to cast spells of that level--it would be strange for a 2nd-level pearl to be CL 1st.

For example, a 3rd-level wizard with Craft Wondrous Item can create a 1st-level pearl, with a minimum caster level of 1. He can set the caster level to whatever he wants (assuming he can meet the crafting DC), though the pearl's caster level has no effect on its powers (other than its ability to resist dispel magic). If he wants to make a 2nd-level pearl, the caster level has to be at least 3, as wizards can't cast 2nd-level spells until they reach character level 3. He can even try to make a 3rd-level pearl, though the minimum caster level is 5, and he adds +5 to the DC because he doesn't meet the "able to cast 3rd-level spells" requirement.

So if I am a 10th-level caster and wanted to set my item at CL 20th, I can do that even though I lack being a 20th-level caster?

[vhok]

items have their caster levels set unless you want to use custom creation but that's getting into house rules. there are a set of rules for how you should price custom items in the pathfinder rules but its still usually not allowed as people always make insane items that benefit them the most at the cheapest cost possible.

[Diego Rossi]

As I read it, you can set a CL higher than your own, but the DC of making the item is based on the item CL, not yours.

So the DC for your 14th level caster making a item with greater teleport would be:
5 (base)+17 (CL) +5 (lacking the spell) = 27

Some people think that having a level lower than the target caster level is lacking a prerequisite, so it would be a further +5.

Some are even more strict and say that each level you lack is a missing prerequisite, so they would add +15 for lacking 3 levels.

[Lady-J]

dc to make a magic item is 5+the caster level of the item +5 for each other thing you don't meet weather it be spells or class feature so the dc to make for example an amulet of natural armor is 9 or 14 if you don't have barkskin or if your not 3 times the level of the items bonus and 19 if you have neither of those.