I recently looked over the full spell description for the T4-T5 spell 'Creation', listed in the CRB.
Quote:
You create a nonmagical, nontechnological, unattended object of nonliving matter. The volume of the item created can’t exceed 1 cubic foot (or 1 bulk) per caster level. You must succeed at an appropriate Engineering or Profession check to make a complex item, and you can’t create a consumable item.
4th: When you cast creation as a 4th-level spell, it creates an object made out of vegetable matter (such as wood) that has an item level no greater than one-third your caster level. The duration is 1 hour per caster level.
5th: When you cast creation as a 5th-level spell, it creates an object made out of vegetable matter or material of a mineral nature: crystal, metal, stone, or the like. The object can’t have an item level greater than half your caster level. The duration depends on the hardness and rarity of the created object, as indicated on the following table. (...)
I am somewhat confused over exactly what is signified by the "duration" of the spell. The "Spell Description Format" explains duration but does not mention what exactly it signifies for spells whose effects bring objects into existence. My instinct would be that the 'duration' of the spell's effect indicates either
1) How long the creation process takes after the spell is fully cast (which doesn't really make sense based on the numbers provided)
or
2) How long the object *lasts*
My suspicion is that it is the latter, but if that is the case, I am somewhat confused as to why this spell description even bothers listing precious metals as an option, given the fact that they last only one round per caster level. If your character is in a position to use a full minute to cast the spell itself, then it is highly unlikely that tactical time intervals are being used, and it would vanish somewhere between 1 and 2 minutes afterwards (since the first level a technomancer can cast a 5th level spell at is 13, excepting the use of spell gems).
Am I correct in assuming that the items somehow "expire" after a given amount of time? If so, what exactly does that entail, and why would this spell be used to create anything that is going to wink out of existence in a matter of minutes? If if is not the case, what exactly does "duration" indicate for this particular spell?
