I'm hoping to make Craft a better skill, in order to allow any class to be able to make magic items. In my campaign, we've been gathering "interesting" items from various places and monsters, and incorporating them into the Craft skill.
So, my question is this: how would other DM's handle this process? Obviously gold is a great way to judge what can be made and when. Should I make the scavenged items be simple flavor?Any advice is welcome, thanks!
-Jhaosmire
Ummm...give everyone the master craftsman feat for free
I'm hoping to make Craft a better skill, in order to allow any class to be able to make magic items. In my campaign, we've been gathering "interesting" items from various places and monsters, and incorporating them into the Craft skill.
So, my question is this: how would other DM's handle this process? Obviously gold is a great way to judge what can be made and when. Should I make the scavenged items be simple flavor?Any advice is welcome, thanks!
-Jhaosmire
I'm very old school with regard to the creation of magic items. I have a homebrew feat chain and require special materials.
The feat chain goes personal single use -> single use -> charged -> permanent -> multi-purpose.
This is accompanied with a second feat chain that goes Personal single use -> Medium power -> major power -> minor artefact -> major artefact.
For special materials I use the 2e High Level Campaign book for formula templates and the various power component items from various sourcebooks for inspiration for the components that make up those templates.
The feat chains probably won't help much, but it only takes one or two feats to create low power consumable items but many feats to create powerful permanent items. IMC that is deliberate but I suspect it won't help you too much.
@Hugo Would you mind posting the prerequisites for those feats?
EDIT: the fact that you use special materials dissuades someone from just taking all the feats and crafting major multi-purpose artifacts by 13th level
I Basically let the master craftsman feat count as item creation feat specifically for the craft skill in addition to what else it does. that way if you are a jewel crafter you take one feat and skill up craft and you can make magic amulets and rings.
@Hugo Would you mind posting the prerequisites for those feats?
EDIT: the fact that you use special materials dissuades someone from just taking all the feats and crafting major multi-purpose artifacts by 13th level
The prereq for personal single use is caster level 1st. The others in the first chain require the previous feat as a prerequisite.
For power levels, each requires the previous feat in the chain plus:
Medium power requires the ability to cast 4th level spells
Major power requires the ability to cast 7th level spells
Minor Artefact requires the ability to cast 9th level spells and be caster level 25 (or mythic if using those rules) or have divine ranks
Major Artefact requires a divine rank of at least 3
EDIT: I should also mention that I also use the caster level and spell requirements for each item as described in the PRD.
Also personal single use, fully encompasses Scribe Scroll and scroll creation is an exception to the low power level limit.
Ummm...give everyone the master craftsman feat for free
Ah, I did not know of the Master Craftsman feat. Perfect, thank you
I Basically let the master craftsman feat count as item creation feat specifically for the craft skill in addition to what else it does. that way if you are a jewel crafter you take one feat and skill up craft and you can make magic amulets and rings.
I will definitely implement this.
Talking with my co-DM in the campaign, we're going to try another idea also: The items and monster parts our players find will act in place of required spells for building items. In some cases, if they can't seem to get a right component, then we'll have them seek a wizard to use a spell in place, but otherwise we'll be rather lenient with what each spell translates to in regards to components.
ie. a Fireball spell can be some Fire Elemental remains, magma from a magma creature, a rock superheated with Red Dragon breath, etc.