crafting before 'being played' ??

[green slime]

I don't see it as such an enormous boon. I've allowed it all along, and will continue to do so.

Some of you seem to forget that there is another cost that applies to the Item Creator: The feats themselves.

Neither Clerics or Wizards have a large number of feats to "waste", and Items can always be sundered/lost/stolen/disintegrated/what-ever.

So while the Item creator may get away with having twice the value of equipment, he is more likely to be trailing a level, (which is a high cost at odd levels), and has less feats available to resolve situations "in game", as opposed to resolving possible future issues in "down time". I guess it really depends on how much of an advantage you think those items are.... And how strict the DM is with item creation guidelines.

 

[Trainz]

I also allow it.

If I let players create 10th level characters, I give them all the starting gold of a 10th level PC, but the levels of crafters will be lower after expenses, 9th, maybe 8th if they went overboard with the crafting.

Which in effect gives them up to twice as much gear as other PC's, but has others have mentioned, they pay for it by wasting feat(s), and the other players will gladly welcome a crafting caster in their midsts.

We also allow anyone to contribute whatever amount of XP to the crafting process. Usually, the PC who will be the owner of the crafted item pays the XP cost (as suggested in the Rules Of The Game article on crafting magic items).

 

[Saeviomagy]

On the subject of craft skills:

I'd only allow it if the crafter had enough skill and modifiers that he could succeed at crafting the item by taking 10 on it.

I think that if you say "no crafting before game time", you're encouraging people to not take any ranks in craft until they're second level.

And I don't think that's a good thing.

You also make picking up craft feats for generated-at-high-level characters a total waste of time.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

The craft Feats and craft skills are a signifcant cost, and their use should be encouraged.

While I can see how this could get abusive, ahem, having done this with a Wizard myself, the general answer is to be as picky over what the Wizard can craft as you are with what the other PCs start with. If you are going to let the Rogue hyperoptimize with custom magic items that enhance his skills, the Wizard should be allowed to do the same. If you are going to limit the Rogue to items that "seem reasonable" then apply the same standard to the Wizard. The Wizard will have more. He paid for it fair and square.

 

[Arnwyn]

I'd make this a poll, but there are too many possible answers, so please just tell me what your game does.

The actual answer is "do whatever works in your campaign".

In our game, we don't bother allowing it - we use the starting gp as the character's "beginning resources" (which includes monetary funds as well as a simulator for time). Just pay for your stuff with your beginning gp. It's not a hard'n'fast rule for us, though - a character coming in at higher levels might get a bit more leeway if he/she has a lot of points in craft to make it near impossible to fail.

Magic items are right out, as beginning characters don't have any XP to expend.

But that's just us.