Help me understand the Artificer's crafting and use of items

[Rel]

I'm trying to make sure I understand the rules here. Do I have this right?:

So you want to make a scroll of Cure Light Wounds. This means that you need to make a Use Magic Device check to Emulate Spell Ability for the casting of a 1st level spell, which requires a UMD check agains DC 21 (20+Caster Level). This check uses your base UMD skill. But the rules also say that if you fail this check then you get one more try just before you finish the item, even if you've already made a check the same day. So, by my reading, you get two chances at this. If you make either of them then you successfully emulate the spell well enough to get it down on paper. If you fail both then you lose the time, gold and XP and have to start over again.

Assuming that you've successfully done it then you now have your Scroll of Cure Light Wounds (Caster Level 1) that heals 1d8+1 damage. Now let's suppose that you want to activate it:

First you don't have it on your class Spell List (since you don't have one) so you need to Emulate Spell Ability again (DC 21). But you also need to check to see if your ability score is high enough to allow the casting of the spell. In this case a Cleric would need a Wisdom score of 11 to cast that spell (10+Spell Level). If you've already got an 11 Wis then you can disregard this. If not then the DC for that is 26 (15+the Score you're trying to Emulate). But here you get to add your UMD skill plus 2 since this is a scroll and you have Scribe Scroll. And you can further add +2 for having 5 ranks of Spellcraft and another +2 for 5 ranks of Decipher Script if you have them.

So since the higher DC is 26 then you roll against that and if you make it then the spell goes off properly. If you don't then it doesn't work but the Scroll is still fine and if you fail by 10 or more then you suffer a Mishap.

Did I get that right?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Looks good to me. I believe they changed the name of the UMD check as concerns scrolls to "Use a Scroll," rather than "Emulate Spell Ability," but it works identically.

As an aside, note, importantly, that artificer scrolls are neither arcane nor divine. This means that an artificer can activate artificer scrolls, as can anyone with UMD, but they cannot be used by a normal spellcaster (unless, of course, they have UMD).

 

[Henry]

I believe you've got it, except wouldn't two checks be required - one to emulate WIS, and one to use it?

I've thought about a house rule that says Artificers don't have to make UMD checks on items that they build themselves, but I never implemented it. Other than that, it just behooves an artificer to have good INT, WIS, and CHA scores.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

During the creation phase, you mean, Henry?

No, I don't think he needs to emulate the ability score during the creation phase. I could be wrong, though.

 

[Rel]

I believe you've got it, except wouldn't two checks be required - one to emulate WIS, and one to use it?

Based on re-reading the section about UMD in the PHB, I would say you're correct (though I'm looking at a 3.0 PHB right now). But I would also permit somebody who made the Wisdom emulation successfully to fake it off of the same roll for an hour (based on the "ongoing effects" rule).

 

[Rel]

During the creation phase, you mean, Henry?

No, I don't think he needs to emulate the ability score during the creation phase. I could be wrong, though.

I think he meant the "activation phase" rather than the creation phase. I think that's why he said "one to emulate WIS, and one to use it". But I could be wrong.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I see what he's saying.

You rolled the two activation checks - caster level and ability score - into one check.

I don't know why I missed that the first time. Here's the 3.5 rules on UMD as it applies to scrolls:

Use a Scroll: If you are casting a spell from a scroll, you have to decipher it first. Normally, to cast a spell from a scroll, you must have the scroll’s spell on your class spell list. Use Magic Device allows you to use a scroll as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. The DC is equal to 20 + the caster level of the spell you are trying to cast from the scroll. In addition, casting a spell from a scroll requires a minimum score (10 + spell level) in the appropriate ability. If you don’t have a sufficient score in that ability, you must emulate the ability score with a separate Use Magic Device check (see above).

This use of the skill also applies to other spell completion magic items.

--and--

Emulate an Ability Score: To cast a spell from a scroll, you need a high score in the appropriate ability (Intelligence for wizard spells, Wisdom for divine spells, or Charisma for sorcerer or bard spells). Your effective ability score (appropriate to the class you’re emulating when you try to cast the spell from the scroll) is your Use Magic Device check result minus 15. If you already have a high enough score in the appropriate ability, you don’t need to make this check.

Since artificer scrolls are neither divine nor arcane, you may use your own casting stat as it pertains to the spell. Thus, a 1st-level artificer scroll of Cure Light Wounds requires an Intelligence score of 11. You've probably got that already.

Note, also, that because of the way artificers work, you can emulate a spell at the lowest possible caster level to cast the spell when making items. This means that it might be slightly easier for an artificer to craft certain items than a wizard or cleric.

 

[Rel]

Since artificer scrolls are neither divine nor arcane, you may use your own casting stat as it pertains to the spell. Thus, a 1st-level artificer scroll of Cure Light Wounds requires an Intelligence score of 11. You've probably got that already.

Actually, no I didn't. Thanks for pointing that out. It is going to make my Artificer player very happy not to have to fake a high Wis to use scrolls of Divine spells that he's made himself.

 

[Henry]

Yeah, I was referring to the casting. The creation part you've got down pat - and NICE CALL about the second check. I totally missed that, and for some reason only assumed it applied to items with a multi-day creation time.

Note, also, that because of the way artificers work, you can emulate a spell at the lowest possible caster level to cast the spell when making items. This means that it might be slightly easier for an artificer to craft certain items than a wizard or cleric.

For example, an artificer only needs to be 5th level to make a flame strike scroll, and have a have a 14 WIS to cast it.

Quick note - I had a player who created an item in-game that boosted his UMD checks by +10, because he complained about the concern of blowing his checks 40% of the time. I let him do this, and I have to say --- DO NOT LET YOUR PLAYERS DO THIS. Even at 10,000 gp cost, it is the most abusive item he owns, because combined with his other bonuses he never fails a check. It's only by ensuring that there were no item creators in Sharn above 11th level that I curbed his search of items disproportionately powerful to use.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Actually, no I didn't. Thanks for pointing that out. It is going to make my Artificer player very happy not to have to fake a high Wis to use scrolls of Divine spells that he's made himself.

Also remember that, because they are neither arcane nor divine, no one else can use them, either.

I think I may have mentioned this, but it bears repeating.

So, when your artificer creates a scroll of CLW, the cleric cannot use it. Neither can the bard. The rogue with UMD, however, can *try* to use it (as can another artificer).