Can Factotums craft magical items?

[a-d]

I was originally intending to use a number of crafting feats for magical items but have found at least two potential problems.

1. Factotums can't cast spells that have an xp requirement.
All crafting has an xp requirement. (So far as I know.)

2. While reading about crafting magical items on the "Wizards of the Coast" website, I found that spell-like abilities can't be used in making magical items.
Factotum's spells are described as being treated like spell-like abilities.

It looks as though Factotums would have to take levels in other spellcaster classes to craft magical items. I'm hoping this isn't correct.

Is it?

 

[Dandu]

Prepare to be unhappy.

 

[Particle_Man]

If your DM is very very nice you might be able to sweet talk him into letting you use Pathfinder rules for crafting magic items -- there is a feat you can take that, with the right number of ranks in the right skills, lets you craft items w/o being a spellcaster (and with penalties to the attempt for spells you don't have).

Otherwise, you could take the leadership feat and have your cohort and followers do the crafting for you.

 

[a-d]

Not seeing a way around spell-like ability, but is their inability to cast spells with an xp cost connected directly to the Factotum's Arcane dilettante ability or does it cover every aspect of what a Factotum can do?

Can a Factotum use scrolls when the spells have an xp cost?

Can a Factotum, even with the feat you mentioned, "Master Craftsman" craft at all since the creation of any magical item has an xp cost?

And how does someone who can't cast spells in the first place craft magical items anyway?

 

[Empirate]

1. The XP thing is meaningless in this instance. Crafting an item is not the same as casting a spell, so that clause of the Arcane Dilettante ability doesn't apply.

2. You can take item crafting feats, since you have a caster level (which is the only prerequisite).

3. For the actual crafting of an item, you must meet the item's prerequisites. These include a certain caster level, and, most of the time, certain spells. The caster level requirement can be met easily (since you have one). The spells requirement has a special note attached that reads "access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed".
This means that if you have the Craft Wand feat, a caster level of 7, a Scroll of Fear (or a friendly spellcaster who can cast Fear), and 10,500 gp as well as 840 XP to spare, you can craft a wand of Fear.


To me, it seems like you can craft happily away!

 

[rskriver]

1. The XP thing is meaningless in this instance. Crafting an item is not the same as casting a spell, so that clause of the Arcane Dilettante ability doesn't apply.

2. You can take item crafting feats, since you have a caster level (which is the only prerequisite).

3. For the actual crafting of an item, you must meet the item's prerequisites. These include a certain caster level, and, most of the time, certain spells. The caster level requirement can be met easily (since you have one). The spells requirement has a special note attached that reads "access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed".
This means that if you have the Craft Wand feat, a caster level of 7, a Scroll of Fear (or a friendly spellcaster who can cast Fear), and 10,500 gp as well as 840 XP to spare, you can craft a wand of Fear.


To me, it seems like you can craft happily away!

In DMG p. 215 under Prerequisites it states:

"A spell prerequisite may be provided by a character who has prepared the spell (or who knows the spell, in the case of a sorcerer or bard), or through the use of a spell completion or spell trigger magic item or a spell-like ability that produces the desired spell effect.

People seem to agree on all forums regarding the matter that it is not possible to craft using spell-like abilities, yet the DMG disagrees.
Am i misinterpreting something here or is it actually possible to use the factotums spell-like abilities for crafting?

Furthermore it states that: "For each day that passes in the creation process, the creator must expend one spell completion item (such as a scroll) or one charge from a spell trigger item (such as a wand), if either of those objects is used to supply a prerequisite."

Which would mean that it would require 1 scroll of the given spell per 1000gp market price worth of the magic item one would be creating. (that would be what? 21 scrolls of fear required in the above example making the posibility of using scrolls for crafting more or less useless?)

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I have played a Factotum based around the Craft Wondrous Item feat, and have done so confidently based upon that DMG p. 215 reference [MENTION=6699345]rskriver[/MENTION] cited.

As [MENTION=78958]Empirate[/MENTION] has said, xp for crafting is a different category than xp for casting.

I personally am confident a Factotum can Craft magical items by RAW.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

Yes, you can craft items. You have a caster level, and as shown above the DMG specifically allows spell-like abilities that mimic the effect of actual spells to work with the crafting.

 

[Sekhmet]

Nice almost-year necro.

 

[rskriver]

He still does not however become as good a crafter as a wizard at some points same as bards and sorcerers dont. For instance, the minimum price he could make a 50charge wand for would be 1125gp since he cannot degrade his caster level to less than 3 during the creation of a wand with a 1st level spell on it, correct? (since its on factotum level 3 he gains access to 1st level spells)