Item- Portable Workshop?

[RUMBLETiGER]

You could use the Shrink Item spell. If your workshop is a small, free standing structure, like a tool shed, a reasonably low level wizard could shrink it.

A 10th level wizard could shrink a 20 cubic foot "workshop" shed to a patch of cloth about 16 inches wide, fold it up and put it in his pocket. It would stay that way for 10 days, or until he tosses it on the ground or gives a command word. Since Shrink Item is a 3rd level wizard spell it would be pretty easy to re-prepare the spell every couple weeks, or just make it permanent with the Permanency spell. You might need to ok it with your DM that all the shed's contents shrink with it, but even if not you can carry them around in a wagon, set up shop as part of normal daily camping duties, and pack up after last watch. Plus it gives the whole group a safer place to sleep that can be well secured with magic and is very safe from the elements and inclement weather.

Just watch out for antimagic fields

Scott

Now This idea has Merit!

 

[MarkB]

You could use the Shrink Item spell. If your workshop is a small, free standing structure, like a tool shed, a reasonably low level wizard could shrink it.

A 10th level wizard could shrink a 20 cubic foot "workshop" shed to a patch of cloth about 16 inches wide, fold it up and put it in his pocket.

Sorry, but I think you may be mixing up your cubic feet with your feet cubed.

A 5 feet cubed item (i.e. an item 5 feet x 5 feet x 5 feet, equivalent to the fighting space of a Medium creature) contains a number of cubic feet equal to 5 times 5 times 5 - that's 125 cubic feet, just for a tiny room a human couldn't even stand up in. Well beyond even a 20th-level caster's limit of 40 cubic feet, I'm afraid.

 

[Samloyal23]

Re-skin a folding boat into a folding laboratory...

 

[Cleon]

Does 3.5 have anything like a portable workshop item? Something that will compact, either magically or mundane, that counts as a workspace to do crafting and magical crafting, that can be carried upon a person?

Under the SRD, a character doesn't need a workshop or workspace. According to the Craft skill writeup, all that's required is a set of Artisan's Tools of the appropriate type. (5 pounds and 5 gp, or 55 gp for masterwork).

So, "a portable workshop item" is just a set of Artisan's Tools.

That does give rise to some silly results: According to the 3E Rules As Written, a creature can make a masterwork suit of full plate using only a set of tools that amount to a couple of small hammers. Heck, if they can take the -2 penalty for improvised tools and beat that armour out with a few rocks!

There's nothing in the rules that requires them to have an anvil, forge, quenching bath, or any of the other stuff an armorsmith would need in real life.

The main exceptions in the SRD are an Alchemist's Lab (40 pounds, 500 gp) that grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Craft (alchemy) checks, or the specially equipped workrooms required to create certain Constructs, such as the Shield Guardian ("the shield guardian is animated through an extended magical ritual that requires a specially prepared laboratory or workroom, similar to an alchemist’s laboratory and costing 500 gp to establish").

So, I'd suggest using the "Alchemist's Lab" weight and cost for the kind of portable workshop you're talking about.

 

[scott2978]

Sorry, but I think you may be mixing up your cubic feet with your feet cubed.

A 5 feet cubed item (i.e. an item 5 feet x 5 feet x 5 feet, equivalent to the fighting space of a Medium creature) contains a number of cubic feet equal to 5 times 5 times 5 - that's 125 cubic feet, just for a tiny room a human couldn't even stand up in. Well beyond even a 20th-level caster's limit of 40 cubic feet, I'm afraid.

Actually I doubt that shrinking a shed would be the same as shrinking a solid block of metal shaped like a shed like you're suggesting. The volume of the actual shed item is far less than the volume of space contained within it's walls. That being the case it's still arguable whether enough volume could be shrunk to shrink an average shed.

Is it just me or does the 20th level wizard that cant shrink a shed make D&D magic seem really lame? Cloning, space travel, death beams, creating new planes of existence and twisting reality itself is ok, but making your shed smaller is out of the question?

Scott

 

[scott2978]

Under the SRD, a character doesn't need a workshop or workspace. According to the Craft skill writeup, all that's required is a set of Artisan's Tools of the appropriate type. (5 pounds and 5 gp, or 55 gp for masterwork).

So, "a portable workshop item" is just a set of Artisan's Tools.

That does give rise to some silly results: According to the 3E Rules As Written, a creature can make a masterwork suit of full plate using only a set of tools that amount to a couple of small hammers. Heck, if they can take the -2 penalty for improvised tools and beat that armour out with a few rocks!

There's nothing in the rules that requires them to have an anvil, forge, quenching bath, or any of the other stuff an armorsmith would need in real life.

The main exceptions in the SRD are an Alchemist's Lab (40 pounds, 500 gp) that grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Craft (alchemy) checks, or the specially equipped workrooms required to create certain Constructs, such as the Shield Guardian ("the shield guardian is animated through an extended magical ritual that requires a specially prepared laboratory or workroom, similar to an alchemist’s laboratory and costing 500 gp to establish").

So, I'd suggest using the "Alchemist's Lab" weight and cost for the kind of portable workshop you're talking about.

I like this idea

 

[MarkB]

Actually I doubt that shrinking a shed would be the same as shrinking a solid block of metal shaped like a shed like you're suggesting. The volume of the actual shed item is far less than the volume of space contained within it's walls. That being the case it's still arguable whether enough volume could be shrunk to shrink an average shed.

That is true, and I think if you were able to make it a modular flat-packed construction you might manage to get it compact enough for 3-4 separate castings to handle.

Is it just me or does the 20th level wizard that cant shrink a shed make D&D magic seem really lame? Cloning, space travel, death beams, creating new planes of existence and twisting reality itself is ok, but making your shed smaller is out of the question?

Well, making your shed smaller with Shrink Object is tricky, but that's not the spell I'd use as a 20th-level wizard. Polymorph Any Object is a great deal more versatile, and has a far more generous size limit of 100 cubic feet per level.

 

[Cleon]

That is true, and I think if you were able to make it a modular flat-packed construction you might manage to get it compact enough for 3-4 separate castings to handle.

Well, making your shed smaller with Shrink Object is tricky, but that's not the spell I'd use as a 20th-level wizard. Polymorph Any Object is a great deal more versatile, and has a far more generous size limit of 100 cubic feet per level.

A workshop isn't a single object, it's many objects, so the mage'd need to separately shrink or polymorph every individual screwdriver, beaker, and worksurface. Also, polymorph any object isn't dismissable (unlike shrink item or regular polymorph), so they'd have to dispel or counter the polymorph on every tool before they can use it.

Methinks the best SRD spell to use would be secret chest - simply construct the chest so it unfolds into a portable workshop when you open it.

An even better solution would be to keep your tools in a handy haversack. The central portion (80 lbs) is big enough for two alchemist's labs, the two side portions (20 lbs) can hold four sets of artisan's tools apiece. Even better, it's self-sorting, so whenever the crafter reaches into it they get the tool they want.

 

[MarkB]

A workshop isn't a single object, it's many objects, so the mage'd need to separately shrink or polymorph every individual screwdriver, beaker, and worksurface. Also, polymorph any object isn't dismissable (unlike shrink item or regular polymorph), so they'd have to dispel or counter the polymorph on every tool before they can use it.

That suggestion wasn't directed at the main topic, it was just a solution to "how come a 20th-level wizard can't shrink his shed?"

Methinks the best SRD spell to use would be secret chest - simply construct the chest so it unfolds into a portable workshop when you open it.

That would be stretching the spell's size limitations significantly.

An even better solution would be to keep your tools in a handy haversack. The central portion (80 lbs) is big enough for two alchemist's labs, the two side portions (20 lbs) can hold four sets of artisan's tools apiece. Even better, it's self-sorting, so whenever the crafter reaches into it they get the tool they want.

That's good enough for some mundane crafting, but for magical crafting you still need a fairly quiet, comfortable, well-lit place to work, and for forging armour, weapons or rings you need a suitable heat source. You'll also need some storage space for raw materials.

 

[Cleon]

That would be stretching the spell's size limitations significantly.

It's a minimum of 9 cubic feet, that should be plenty to put the 40 lbs of tools & beakers of an Alchemist's Lab, which is what I was using as a "portable workshop" model.

That's good enough for some mundane crafting, but for magical crafting you still need a fairly quiet, comfortable, well-lit place to work.

But you don't need to store a comfy room in the secret chest. Any hovel with a decent roof will do, or use the tiny hut spell.

and for forging armour, weapons or rings you need a suitable heat source. You'll also need some storage space for raw materials.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, the SRD rules have no requirement for a forge to perform Craft (weaponsmithing) or (armorsmithing). It just requires artisan's tools, and if a crafter doesn't have those they can use improvised tools at -2.

That's ridiculous, of course, but it's what the rules say.

In any game I run I'd insist on at least a heat source and anvil, but it's not a "rules lawyer" requirement. There are a couple of mentions of forges and forged metals in the SRD, so at least we know they exist in the core D&D universe.