I've never had to directly interact with Craft rules, but I'm considering making a Crafter, and the rules seem to be really dispersed and hard to cross-reference. Can someone give me a simple breakdown/let me know if my understanding is wrong? This is specific to magic items, not mundane items.
Say I want to make Wondrous Items
-First, I need the Craft Wonderous Item feat (obviously).
-Second, I select a Wondrous Item to Craft (Let's say a Headband of +2 Int)
-Third, I spend the item's craft reagents, including an amount of gold equal to half the market price (in this case, I spend 2,000 gp). I also need to supply a Fox's Cunning spell.
-Fourth, I spend the required amount of time to craft. For Wondrous Items, this is 1 8-hour day for each 1,000 gp in the item's market price (4 days for the headband). I can break this time down into 4- or 2-hour days, and if my crafting time is filled with distractions (such as crafting while out adventuring), my hours of progress equal 1/2 the actual time I spend crafting.
-Finally, I make a skill check. I'm pretty sure the skill check is Spellcraft for most items, including Wondrous Items. What is the DC? I can't find this number ANYWHERE. I know I can add 5 to the DC for each prerequisite I don't meet (excluding the crafting feat and the gp, right?). Upon a successful skill check, I create the desired item. I believe I can try again without wasting the materials if I only fail by a small amount, but the materials are completely destroyed if I fail by a large amount. In the case that the materials aren't wasted, Can I just make the skill check again tomorrow, or must I spend the crafting time all over again before I make the check again?
Am I missing anything (besides the Craft DC)? Is this process different for other types of magic items? I know crafting Potions requires Craft (Alchemy), but do any other crafting categories require a skill other than Spellcraft?
Thank you for any clarity you can shed onto this.
The DC = 5 + the CL of the item, +5 per requirement you choose to ignore.
This page has all the rulesGo to the first paragraph on the "Magic Item Creation" heading. About halfway down the page.
Or This Page first paragraph
So for the headband:
This line in the rules is important "A creator can create an item at a lower caster level than her own, but never lower than the minimum level needed to cast the needed spell. Using metamagic feats, a caster can place spells in items at a higher level than normal."
So you need to be able to cast Fox's Cunning, so minimum cl is 3.
You can make a CL headband of vast intellect at DC 8, you can double your progress by increasing the dc by 5.
You can also take 10 on craft checks.
So if you can get a +3 to spellcraft you can take 10 and meet the dc and craft the headband in 2 days instead of 4
The other craft skills are for the feat Master Craftsman and in rare cases for particular items. IE: clockwork servant requires craft(clockwork) to make. Also note that some items like wands, potions, and staves you can't ignore the required spells by increasing the dc.
-Finally, I make a skill check. I'm pretty sure the skill check is Spellcraft for most items, including Wondrous Items.
Most items can be crafted using either an appropriate skill, or Spellcraft. The description of some items mentions a specific skill, but you can always use Spellcraft instead.
In the case that the materials aren't wasted, Can I just make the skill check again tomorrow, or must I spend the crafting time all over again before I make the check again?
You failed, and have to start all over again. So most crafters prefer to "take 10" on the check.
Also: you may inadvertently create a cursed item by failing the check. (Or deliberately, even.)I know crafting Potions requires Craft (Alchemy)
Does it? I've seen that mentioned before, but never found a source.
Thanks, everyone, for the info!
